Out of the Abundance of the Heart

Text: Matthew 12:25–37, NKJV Theme: Jesus exposes the hearts of His accusers and warns of the consequences of careless words. Purpose: To examine how spiritual blindness, hardened hearts, and our words testify to our true spiritual condition.

I. A Divided Kingdom Cannot Stand (vv. 25–30)

“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation…” (v. 25)

A. Jesus exposes their flawed logic (vv. 25–26)

Satan cannot cast out Satan. If Satan cast out his minions, he is working against himself, and his ultimate goal to deceive us and corrupt us.

Jesus uses common sense to confront the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees.

Why would Satan give Jesus the power to defeat him? He wouldn’t, its absurd to think that way. Its like giving the opposing team your playbook and then your best players to use against you.

Cross-references:

James 3:11-12 – “A spring doesn't produce both fresh and bitter water.” -Satan can’t be both good and evil, he is evil and can only be evil because he denies God’s sovereignty, and God’s Son as the Lord and Savior.

1 Corinthians 1:10 – Be of the same mind and judgment.

B. Jesus declares authority by the Spirit of God (v. 28)

“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

A clear declaration of divine authority.

And a point to make them think about their own divine or demonic power to cast out demons. Are they working under a divine anointing or a demonic power? It has to be one or the other and if Jesus the Messiah is saying He comes from God and you doubt or deny that – then you are demonic.

Cross-reference:

Luke 4:18 – Anointed by the Spirit to proclaim liberty.

C. There is no neutrality with Jesus (v. 30)

“He who is not with Me is against Me…”

You are either aligned with Christ or opposed to Him.

This is the truth of the gospel itself. There are only two states of being in the end: In Christ, through faith in Him as your Lord and Savior and saved from the wrath of God for our sin, or Against Christ, not having faith in Him as Lord and Savior and guilty of our sin and due the wrath of God for it. Saved or lost are the only two states of being when judgement comes.

Cross-reference:

Joshua 24:15 – “Choose this day whom you will serve.” We must all make a choice. We must choose to serve Christ or to serve Satan or some other false God, and not making a choice is a choice against Christ. Denial of God is a choice against Christ.

II. Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit (vv. 31–32)

“But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven...”

A. All other sins can be forgiven (v. 31a)

Encouragement: God's grace is plentiful.

All sin can be forgiven by God, unless you deny the Holy Spirit who is the one who regenerates and makes new, who removes your sin as far as the eats is to the west. God won’t forgive those who don’t believe in His ability to forgive.

Jesus emphasizes the power of forgiveness. Jesus’s atonement on the cross is sufficient for all who will come to Him and have faith in His sacrifice, death, burial, and resurrection for the remission of our sins.

Cross-references:

Isaiah 1:18 – “Though your sins are like scarlet…”

1 John 1:9 – Faithful and just to forgive.

B. The unpardonable sin explained (vv. 31b–32).

The unpardonable sin is the persistent rejection of the Holy Spirit’s testimony about Christ.

The Pharisees attributed the Spirit’s work to Satan. They refused to believe in the deity of Christ or even the possibility that Jesus was the Messiah, the one whom God sent to deliver them from the oppressors (which is really the sin debt we owe to God). God’s plan was even bigger and better than the idea that the Pharisee and the Sadducee had for who and what the Messiah would do for them.

Cross-references:

Hebrews 10:29 – Insulting the Spirit of grace.

Acts 7:51 – “You always resist the Holy Spirit.” We often still do this, probably more than those who accept Him. Today people are like the Pharisee and Sadducee in the way they dismiss the truth of the Holy Spirit. People are drawn by God to Jesus for repentance and the remission of sins which is salvation in Christ alone, but they don’t want to give up their own will for their lives. They don’t want to give Lordship of their lives over to Christ even knowing they will be saved. Because it would mean they must follow Jesus and live the way He wants us to live, not the way they want to live. If they follow Jesus, the Devil tells them they lose their identity, their fun lives, they become restricted from living how they want to, loving who they want to, being who they want to be. And that’s true, but not in a bad way. God wants us to live the best life possible for us, not the twisted, sinful life we want, but the righteous, loving, beautiful life He wants for us. Sure we have to make changes to our lives when we know Jesus, but its not all over night, when we come to Jesus we receive the Holy Spirit who through Divine intervention convicts us of the sins we need to purge from our lives. He does this over time, and with love not malice, truth is revealed and sin is identified. Not only that the reasons we need to repent are made clear and understood. All so we can become (be sanctified over time) like Jesus.  

III. Words Reveal the Heart (vv. 33–37)

“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (v. 34)

A. Good trees bear good fruit (v. 33).

Jesus links inner nature with outward expression. What we say reveals what we believe and who we are not just others around us, but also to God.

Fruit reveals the root.

If the word we speak is good and edifying then our root is good and edifying, but if the word we speak is hate (death), denying the good that is Christ, then our root is bad. But let be clear here, the good edifying word is that which is found in the Bible. If the bible calls something sin, its sin, if the bible calls something good, its good, there is no overlap of the two. For instance, the LGBTQ community likes to say, “God is love, so love is good, even if its erotic love between a man and man, or a woman and woman, or a man and lamp post. Just because you call love what God calls a sin doesn’t make it love. Love is defined by God, because God is love. We can’t ignore God’s definition of love and not be held accountable. If we do that then our root is bad, and will be ripped out and tossed into the fire.

Cross-references:

Galatians 5:22–23 – Fruit of the Spirit.

Psalm 1:3 – Like a tree planted by rivers of water.

B. Words come from the heart (vv. 34–35)

Jesus rebukes the Pharisees: “Brood of vipers!”

Evil hearts produce evil words.

Cross-references:

Proverbs 4:23 – Guard your heart.

Ephesians 4:29 – Let no corrupt word proceed.

C. Accountability for every word (vv. 36–37)

“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Words have eternal weight and reflect spiritual reality.

Cross-references:

Romans 10:9–10 – Confession leads to salvation.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 – God will bring every work into judgment.

Applications:

1. Examine your spiritual alignment

Are you standing with Christ, or trying to live in neutrality? Living in neutrality is the same as living in defiance of God.

The spiritual battle has no sidelines, you are on Team Jesus, or you are not.

2. Respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction

The longer you resist, the more calloused your heart becomes, and the greater the likelihood you may remain lost forever.

Don’t risk growing blind to the truth—respond while grace is offered.

3. Guard your heart and your words

Your speech is a mirror of your spiritual condition.

Let your words reflect a transformed heart—truthful, gracious, and God-honoring.

4. Take accountability seriously

Jesus says you will be justified or condemned by your words.

That includes careless, angry, or slanderous speech—spoken or typed. For our words reflect our heart to God.

Conclusion:

Jesus confronts the Pharisees with undeniable truth. He reveals:

The destructiveness of division and spiritual inconsistency.

The danger of rejecting the Holy Spirit’s work.

That our words will either testify for or against us before God.

Let us respond in repentance and faith:

Stand firmly with Christ.

Yield fully to the work of the Spirit.

Speak as those who have been changed by the grace of God.

Invitation:

If your words or your heart convict you today, don’t harden yourself as the Pharisees did. Come to Jesus with repentance and faith. He forgives all sins for those who turn to Him. Let your heart be made new—and your mouth will follow.