FOR ME OR AGAINST ME?

FOR ME OR AGAINST ME? Matthew 12:22-32 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; Geo. Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom of God; Rich Bersett, God’s Finger Versus the Strong Man (1/26/03); Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah; Donald Hagner, Matthew 1-13 (WBD, vol.33A); John MacArthur, Matthew 8-15 February 20, 2005 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Begin with a reading of the text – Matthew 12:22-32. Here is another example of a healing performed by Jesus. But the real point of the text has to do with the Pharisees’ reaction to the miraculous healing. Last week we studied the confrontation between the Pharisees and Jesus over the Sabbath (12:1-13). That encounter also included a miraculous healing as Jesus made a man’s withered hand whole. Today, it isn’t Sabbath-keeping the Pharisees are worried about. Their primary concern is how popular Jesus is becoming among the people. They see themselves as protectors of the traditions and the law, and Jesus has become their nemesis because He has challenged their handling of the law and their traditional interpretations. To this point Jesus has shown them to be false teachers, bent on legalism and placing onerous burdens on God’s people. He has strongly implied that they were ignorant of the important issues in the law and that they were hypocrites. It would be safe to conclude Jesus was not their hero. But that was the problem. He was quickly becoming the hero of the people. The people seemed to love it when Jesus outwitted them with His wisdom. They were beginning to look like buffoons in the public eye. And now, again, Jesus has worked a miracle, and the people are totally wowed. Let’s work our way through the text, with some limited commentary. Along the way we’ll take note of what I call some Spiritual Fundamentals. That is, some basic principles about the spiritual realm. Verses 22 and 23 read "Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”" A miracle will draw a lot of attention in any city—even among skeptics. But throw in a demon-possessed person, and you’ll really draw a crowd! The text says that they brought him a demon-possessed man. I get this picture of a some concerned people who have this friend with, well, a few problems—he can neither see nor speak. For some reason it is obvious that the root problem is demonic. As you know that is not always the case—illness and disease is a natural part of life in a fallen world. But in this case, the blind and mute man was plagued with demons.  Interestingly, verse 22 does not say Jesus cast out the demon. It says Jesus healed the man. It was an instantaneous deliverance, and quicker than you could say “I-wonder-what-the-Pharisees-think-of-this” the man has 20/20 vision and is talking with his friends. Not surprisingly, everyone is excited. Verse 23 says they were astonished, because they’ve never seen anything like this before. Suddenly it’s more than great entertainment, as the crowd is glorifying God and suggesting that Jesus might just be the Messiah (which is what the term Son of David refers to). The Pharisees were already stewing in their juices. Just a couple of days before their hatred of Jesus had reached a fever pitch and they began to plot how they could kill Him (12:14). Now He’s healed a man in public again and the people are wondering what the Pharisees think.  Verse 24 – "But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.” They were so enraged, and (dare we suggest it?) jealous of Jesus, that they actually blurted out slander, a defamation of Jesus. And it was a calumny of the most serious nature. So anxious were they to douse the flame of admiration toward Christ that they reached down deep into a bag of lies and cheap shots to try to malign Him. They accused Him of working this “apparent miracle” by dark powers. Beelzebub was a name for Satan, much like our saying “the devil” today. Only they made it plain it was by the devil of all devils when they used the name Beelzebub. This was the prince of demons. The name came from an ancient god of the people of Ekron. Believed to be a healer his name was Beelzebub. Any so-called god who is a rival to the true God Jehovah is necessarily demonic. So powerful was this pretender to deity that he was recognized as a high-ranking demonic principality. The name then became identified with Satan himself. This was no light-hearted exercise in name-calling. This was serious breach of character. Of course it wasn’t the first time they’d said such a thing about Jesus. Back in Matthew 9:34, following a miracle of surprising similarity, the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons”, leaving out the actual name. But now, incensed as they were about Jesus and worried about their own eroding popularity, they pulled out the name Beelzebub, adding emphasis to their venomous attack. The casual reader, working his way through the gospel of Matthew will probably pause here and ask himself the question, Why would they say that? It is such a strong and vicious attack on the good name of Jesus! What was driving them?  Well, it does appear that their attitude toward Jesus is driven by a mixture of jealousy, insecurity and religious elitism. They were the recognized spiritual authorities in Palestine, after all, and who was this, this carpenter’s son to come along and steal the people’s respect and admiration from them? They also were upset about what they perceived to be a reckless disregard for the traditions of the law by Jesus and His Sabbath-breaking Galilean disciples. They’re all nothing but upstarts, unschooled fishermen and tradesmen who don’t know the first thing about the deeper teachings of the rabbis of history! They’re making a mockery of the system, and they’re making us look like fools.  These Pharisees were coming unglued. They were suddenly losing their hold on the masses. Their place of esteem and honor was being challenged. They had already become so desperate that they were planning to kill Jesus! How worried they must have been that the esteemed religious leaders, the tenured teachers of the law, the pious godly men of the day would stoop to murder! These men were desperate! And they have now resorted to the petty, childish strategy of name-calling and mud-slinging.  You know, if there is no real character inside a man, even if he holds a prominent office or has a title of respect, sooner or later, the good and godly around them will bring pressure enough that they will not be able to carry on the charade any longer. Something will inevitably happen that will cause them to lose their cool, blow their cover and be shown for the persons they really are. You can’t fake religious maturity very long. Masks of piety and pretense of sincerity give way to full disclosure.  When that happens, people get desperate, and the first thing they do is to attack those who truly are trying to live a righteous life in Christ. It’s a spiritual principle. Whenever you find someone spewing hateful things about another it’s a sure sign that that person is being revealed for the hypocrite that he is. Let’s call it spiritual fundamental #1 ***Retaliatory accusations are usually evidence of defeat and despair.***  You know, the devil is just like that. He is an already defeated foe, and because he knows that he lashes out desperately with hateful ways to try to drag others down with him to the pit. The Pharisees were likewise desperate and their true colors came to light under the pressure. Let’s look at Jesus’ response to the accusation of the Pharisees. Verses 25-29 – Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them," Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?" Jesus answers the charge of His being empowered by Satan by showing the faulty logic of such a statement. If it were true that He was under the control of the devil, why would he be casting himself out? That would be ridiculous.  In verse 27 Jesus explains that if their accusation is true, then their own exorcists were also demonically driven. “And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.” Then comes the third line of reasoning from Jesus, in verses 28-29 – “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or, again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.” We have a burglar alarm system here in the worship center. You know that already—about half of us have set it off accidentally at one time or another. The idea behind it is simple. If someone wants to get into this building to rob or vandalize us, they’re going to get caught unless they disarm that alarm system. Barcom did not yet exist in the first century. Every man had to guard his own house. Often that job fell to one of the larger and more intimidating of his household servants. If you wanted to get into Linda Cornett’s house, you’ll have to deal with Larry first. That’s the way it is, Jesus explains, in the spiritual realm. Anyone in the service of God who wants to plunder the kingdom of Satan must first hamstring Satan’s strongman. This is exactly what I am doing, says Jesus. I am coming after Satan, so that I can get into his place and save the people who are captive in his property. The real point of this teaching isn’t about strong men and well fortified homes, nor even about the nature of the kingdom of evil.  The real point is this, Jesus explains: If I am in fact destroying the strong man of Satan’s domain through such activities as exorcism and healing, then that means that the kingdom of God is here. And that means that I am the Son of David, the Messiah of God! Please notice another spiritual fundamental--#2: ***Miracles are more than just demonstrations of God’s power or compassion (through they are that, certainly)…they are a sign of the presence of His Kingdom.***  When God works a miracle through the faith of His people, or heals a sick person by the laying on of hands, or provides rich resources from seemingly nothing, or brings salvation to a hopeless sinner, or provides peace beyond understanding for a hurting, confused person who prays to him, when God answers the prayer of a child—these are signs that God’s kingdom is arriving on earth. Signs that His promise is being fulfilled.  If you thought that all the good things God does for you and through you are just to make you comfy and happy, think again. He is parading His faithfulness before a watching world, so that people will give Him the glory that is due Him. Now, is God loving and compassionate toward you, and your faithful Provider? Yes, He’s all that—and more. He is the mighty and sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe! And His kingdom is progressing! And every miracle and every demonstration of the goodness of God is a sign that He is keeping His promise! Let’s look at verse 30 for a moment. “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” What is this verse saying? It’s saying that there are two kingdoms, and only two. And if you are not living for God and serving in His camp, guess what kingdom you are serving! So diametrically opposite are the goals of these two kingdoms that it is impossible to be in both of them at the same time. He says that if you do not agree to “gather” with me, you will necessarily be “scattering” alongside Satan. Charles Sheldon wrote: “Jesus is a great divider of life. One must walk parallel with Him or directly across His way.”  Spiritual fundamental #3 is this: ***There is no middle ground. You are either for Satan or for God.*** And you cannot opt out, because to not choose is to choose for Satan. Neutrality is not an option. Look back for a moment at the strong contrast Jesus makes between the two. In verse 27 He says, “And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out?” Then in verse 28: “But, if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” The grammatical construction and choice of words in the original language here make it clear Jesus intended a strong contrast. There is an eternally important war going on in this earth. The redemptive purposes of God lined up against the destructive purposes of Satan—to kill, steal and destroy. It is time to decide. Jesus’ emphasis on the arrival of the Kingdom is underscoring that this world has entered into the last chapter of its history. It will soon come to a close with a cataclysmic end and the final judgment.  Revelation 20:10 declares that "The devil who deceived them [people], was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Four verses later, verse 14-15 read: "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." In case you were wondering when was the best time to finally make your decision for Christ, the time is NOW. In the final two verses of this morning’s text, Jesus comes back to the way in which the Pharisees reacted to His miracle of healing the blind and mute man. And he has something very drastic to say about those who, when they witness God’s Spirit in action, demonstrating God’s power and goodness and kingdom, but react with disdain and say something like, "It is only by Beelzebub…that this fellow drives out demons." Verse 31-32 – "And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." So we have arrived at the famous text of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, or the “Unforgivable Sin.”  The first thing that I see in these verses is the reaffirmation of God’s mercy. Yes, it’s there: every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men. In our rush to the negative message in the second half of the verse, we can too easily overlook the good news. It’s as if to say to us this morning, Don’t forget the most important thing about Jesus—he can to give His life in our behalf, so that we can be forgiven and saved from that lake of fire that we sinners deserve. The word blaspheme means to severely denigrate someone else (usually God, in scripture). Jesus’ implication here is that that is precisely what the Pharisees did. They denigrated the Holy Spirit of God. Wait a minute, they didn’t say anything to or about the Holy Spirit—how can you say they blasphemed the Holy Spirit? First of all, I didn’t say it—Jesus did.  When the Pharisees witnessed the miracle performed by the Lord, they were watching God’s power at work. When that kingdom power is demonstrated, it is always the work of the Holy Spirit of God. When they saw the man’s reaction when he could see again, and they heard the voice of the man who theretofore could not speak, they saw the Spirit move. But they reacted in exactly the wrong way. Instead of giving praise and thanks to God, acknowledging what His Spirit had accomplished, they knowingly attributed that holy work to Satan. To say that this is extremely inappropriate is a maximal understatement. You can’t treat the goodness of God in a worse fashion than labeling His kind, compassionate and sovereign deed as a work of the devil. It is spiritually inconceivable—but that’s what they did. Are you ever surprised by the dastardly behavior of human beings? Just when you think you’ve seen and heard the worst, then comes along a story on the news of a teenage brother and sisters who kill and mutilate their grandparents and mother, bury their chopped up remains in a slab of concrete floor in the basement, then steal their car and go on an interstate joy ride. Unbelievable!  But I’ve found that the way I’ve sometimes spurned the grace of God in my own behavior is equally despicable. Forgiven through the costly sacrifice of the Son of God, reconciled by His mercy to the heavenly Father, having tasted the kindness of the Lord and the powers of the coming age through the Holy Spirit He graciously placed in me, I brazenly, pre-meditatively, rebelliously sin again! But, here’s the good news—no, the GREAT news! He will still forgive me when I sorrowfully acknowledge my sin and return to Him repentant! His grace and willingness to forgive is unending—how excruciating a sacrifice He paid for me! Mercy triumphs over judgment—again! But, there is one sin that is so wrong, so deadly, so unequivocally anti-grace, that it is UNforgivable. What could it be? We’ve seen God’s mercy and patience stretched to intolerable limits to forgive us for all kinds of heinous sins. What could it be that even His mercy cannot endure? To denigrate and reject His Spirit like the Pharisees did. What is the nature of this sin? Tell me, how does one commit this terrible sin so that I can avoid doing it at all costs. To answer the question, let’s look again at the Pharisees’ reckless behavior. When they knowingly blamed God’s work on the devil, they did the one thing that is unforgivable. They encountered the very presence and power of the Spirit of God, recognized it for what it was, and yet resolutely rejected Him.  You can rebel against the loving Father, you can spit in the face of the crucified Son, and you can yet be forgiven. But you cannot blaspheme the Holy Spirit and expect forgiveness. Why?  If I sin against God the Father and blaspheme Jesus, the Son of God, I can be forgiven precisely because I can hear the Spirit’s voice and witness His power convicting me of my sin, so that I can repent and be made right with God. But if I scorn and resolutely reject the Spirit, there is no hope that I will ever be convicted and repent again. When I blaspheme the Spirit, but ultimately rejecting Him, I effectively cut off any possibility of God getting through to me, reminding me that He accepts and forgives me If you are buried in a collapsed mine with a single air hose pumping life-saving oxygen into your dusty chamber, and you recklessly plug the hose with your finger, you have sabotaged your only hope. Here’s the spiritual fundamental we need to understand from this text: Nothing is more spiritually dangerous than ‘trifling’ with the Holy Spirit of God. He is our sole lifeline to God’s grace. Without His conviction I will never rekindle the desire to seek God’s forgiveness. Without the Spirit of God bringing that conviction I just won’t care any more. I want to add this important point of clarity. If you are ever concerned that you might have committed this unpardonable sin, rest assured you haven’t. If you had, you would no longer be concerned. This grave, unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is not something you accidentally might do. It is a calculated, premeditated, deliberate rejection of the Spirit.  Bottom line, if a person senses God speaking to him and calling him to salvation; if he witnesses the power and grace of God at work and recognizes the hand of God; if he understands in his heart that he is to obey God; that is his moment to respond in faith, because the Spirit has spoken to him. To reject the appeal of His voice is risky business. God has not arranged any other way to get through to us. Proverbs 29:1 – "A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy." In closing, the final Spiritual Fundamental, #5, is this: *** When you are encountered by the Spirit of God, pay careful attention—it is time for a decision. *** Hebrews 3:12-14 – "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." The Spirit of God will “strive” with our spirits only for so long—until such time when He recognizes we have ultimately and finally rejected Him. Until that day, His Spirit will keep convicting us, inviting us, asking us, “Are You For Me or Against Me?”   [Back to Top]