The true tragedy lies in a man who believes he is rich when he is actually poor, who considers himself good when he is vile, or who thinks he is educated when he is illiterate. This sentiment is echoed in the story of Samson, who stood in the valley of Sorek, surrounded by the lords of the Philistines, unaware that the Lord had departed from him.
It has been rightly said that no man is more ignorant than he who knows nothing and is unaware of his ignorance. Similarly, no man is sicker than he who has a fatal disease and does not realize it, and no man is poorer than he who is destitute but believes he is wealthy.
The Pharisees’ most pitiable trait was not their hypocrisy, but their complete lack of awareness of their true spiritual poverty in the sight of God. There is always something deeply pathetic about a person who is in great need but is oblivious to it.
Do you have unknown needs in your life? How would you know?
EPHESIANS 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
Floyd Rogers – Texas Gospel Volunteer, Christian writer
Mathew 12:33-37“Either assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. 35 The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. 36 But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Floyd Rogers – Texas Gospel Volunteer, Christian writer
Matthew chapter 12 tells us of Jesus’ harsh words for those who speak blaspheme against the Spirit. Right after this, Matthew 12:33-37 tell us that our words demonstrate who we are and that we will give an account of our words on the day of judgement. What exactly are we being told?
Is it not clear Jesus is using the metaphor of a tree and its fruit to describe our heart (our desires/motives) and our words? To be clear, the tree is our heart, and the fruit is our words. Verse 33 tells us a good tree brings forth good fruit, and the bad tree brings forth the bad. I think it’s clear Matthew is telling us if we are good people, others will know by our words, and if we are corrupt, other people will know by our words. Verse 34 tells us the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.
Consider, it is not uncommon for one’s closest friends to know things about us even we ourselves do not know. People are often blind to their own prejudices that others can recognize clearly through our choice of words. Could we not learn something about ourselves by examining the things we say, things said without care?
Now consider, Verse 36 and 37 that tells us on the day of judgment, “…by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” I don’t think this means as some have suggested that if I misspeak, I will condemn myself for saying the wrong word. These verses speak of words that are the fruit of our heart, not flubbed words that say something completely different from what we were thinking at the time. Look at the context. This is Jesus’ response to the Pharisees blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. They spoke words from their heart as they attributed an act of the Holy spirit to the devil.
Isn’t it a good idea to evaluate the words we choose and what they say about our heart. We will be judged by those words.
Mathew 12:30-31 30 The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters. 31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Floyd Rogers – Texas Gospel Volunteer, Christian writer
Matthew 12:30-31 speaks of the unpardonable sin. To give context, Jesus spoke these words immediately after rebuking Pharisees who accused him of casting out demons by the power of the ruler of the demons. The Pharisees didn’t just accuse Jesus, they portrayed an act of the Holy Spirit as the devil’s work, and now Jesus speaks of those who are either with or against him. He also warns against speaking against the Holy Spirit. With this as a backdrop, what does Jesus mean by blasphemy against the spirit? Does this mean I cannot question someone who claims to heal in God’s name?
Verse 30 tells us whoever is not with Jesus is against him. And those who do not gather with him scatter. He made this comment as he rebuked the Pharisees who were scheming against him. Consider, Jesus gathered followers and led people to the Kingdom of Heaven in the preceding verses. Is he now saying there is no middle ground; you are either for or against God’s work? The Pharisees motives and actions show they were against Jesus’ gathering of God’s people. In the next verse Jesus’ words are stronger and more to the point.
In Verse 31 Jesus says all sins are forgivable, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven, and those who speak against the Holy Spirit have no forgiveness. Blasphemy can be defined as showing great disrespect; to mock and oppose the to the point of contempt. It appears this is what the Pharisees did. Jesus addressed Pharisees who referred to an act of the Holy Spirit as being an act of the devil. They didn’t just speak carelessly, their words showed what was in their heart. They were dead set against Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit. This is not the same as judging the fruit of a prophet and I think we should address this.
There are people today who claim to heal by the power of the Holy Spirit. I don’t doubt that God can heal the sick. But I can still judge the fruit of the prophets who claim to heal. Jesus and his apostles had a 100% success rate in healing. We don’ see Jesus praying for someone to be healed who walked away unchanged. I don’t mock or reject the Holy Spirit. The point is God can heal a person through his or her faith no matter who is praying for them. Faith in the Holy Spirit is completely independent of recognizing a false prophet, and Matthew told us to examine the fruit of those who claim to do God’s work.
Floyd Rogers – Texas Gospel Volunteer, Christian writer
Mathew 12:22-2922 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and could see. 23 And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”25 And knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan is casting out Satan, he has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if by Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
The 12th Chapter of Matthew begins with an account of Jesus healing the sick and the Pharisees trying to find some way to condemn him. Matthew also explains how Jesus fulfills prophecy through his actions. Verse 22 begins with the Pharisees trying once again to condemn Jesus. They accuse him of casting out demons through the power of Beelzebul. Let’s look at what this says about the Pharisees and how Jesus turns their trap around. Are the Pharisees much different than deceived religious leaders today?
The Pharisees actions are not that different from people today who are more interested in reaching the conclusion they want than they are of finding the truth. This could be a preacher clinging on to any biblical interpretation that “proves” his denomination right, or that “proves” others wrong. The This confirmation bias seems to be seen in the Pharisees response to Jesus’ miracles. They cannot ignore the miracles that have happened, so they reject anything that would lead someone to accept Jesus as Messiah and seek out some other explanation no matter how flimsy the evidence. In this case, they did so even though it means condemning him for doing things they and their own followers have claimed to have done.
Jesus said asked if casting out demons is proof of an act of Satan, then Satan’s kingdom would be divided and could not stand. But if he cast demons out by the Spirit of God, then his claim that the kingdom of God has come is true. He went on to ask if they thought demons could only be cast out through the power of Satan, then by whose power did their sons cast out demons. Jesus once again exposed their hypocrisy.
Are the Pharisees actions any different from some religious leaders today who interpret scripture to “prove” their traditions rather than judge their traditions by God’s word?
Floyd Rogers – Texas Gospel Volunteer, Christian writer
Mathew 12:15But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, and warned them not to tell who He was. This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:18 “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen;My Beloved in whom My soul delights;I will put My Spirit upon Him,And He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.19 He will not quarrel, nor cry out;Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.20 A bent reed He will not break off,And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish,Until He leads justice to victory.21 And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”
The book Matthew is the result of a Jewish tax collector writing to Jewish people to convince them that the king of the Jews has come. Some of the things Matthew records may seem repetitive, but not when one considers the context of why he was writing in the first place. Let’s use Matthew 12:15-21 as an example.
The Pharisees had just tried unsuccessfully to trap Jesus through their self-serving interpretation of the law concerning work on the Sabbath. They claimed Jesus violated this law by healing people on the Sabbath. They interpreted the law this way only because they wanted to trap Jesus. To be clear: They abused the law for malicious motives and interpreted it accordingly. Now we see Jesus continuing to heal. But Matthew told us earlier how Jesus healed. So why is he going on with more accounts of the same thing? Well, he’s not.
Matthew stipulated in these verses that Jesus told the people he healed to keep quiet about his identity. Matthew is now telling us that Jesus’ actions here fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 42:1–4. Isaiah speaks of a servant of God who will eventually bring justice and righteousness to the world without seeking to call attention to Himself.
When you read Bible passages that seem to repeat with no reason to do so (the genealogies come to mind) consider that the reason they may seem this way is you are missing their point. There’s nothing wrong with searching the internet for writings on the matter; or better yet, asking your pastor what the significance of a verse is. You may find that passages like this, or those long genealogies recorded in the Gospel, are there for a reason.
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