Red Letter Bible Study--Matthew 12:22-45 (Mark 3:20-30)
A man--who can't see or talk and is possessed by a demon--is brought to Jesus and Jesus healed him. The crowd starts to piece together that Jesus may actually be the Messiah. The Pharisees think to themselves that there's only one power at work here and it's the work of Satan. Jesus knows what they're thinking and confronts it. He has a multi-layered answer for them concerning the comparison to Satan. He turns the focus to the Pharisees themselves, calling them a pack of snakes. Then some bold scribes (writers) and Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign. Jesus references the story of Jonah, and the story of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon in His answer.
The Pharisees are relentless in their pursuit to undermine Jesus. Jesus is ready for them. He starts with questioning why Satan would cast a demon, a being from his own kingdom? Wouldn't that weaken his influence? Then He questions why they, the Pharisees, have used exorcists--are they under the authority of Satan (Beelzebub) too??? If not, then where did they get THEIR power to out strength Satan and steal his power? (I have a feeling by this point they are sorry they even thought such a thing...) He lets the Pharisees know that, with their vast knowledge of the Scripture, they could so easily be gathering together for the Kingdom of God instead of scattering. Any sin and any blasphemy can be forgiven, but if you claim to have the Spirit of God, yet you speak against the Son of God, there is no forgiveness for that. Jesus says- you may not like me as a person, and that's fine. But if God through the Holy Spirit is nudging you to salvation, faith, or action, and you tell Him no--there is no forgiveness. And don't be deceived into thinking you can fake your way through it, Pharisees. A tree gives obvious fruit, the heart overflows into words, and good and evil make themselves known by what you treasure. Jesus answers the request for a sign by reminding them they already have had signs!! Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a fish and then preached and the Ninevehites repented. The Ninevehites will speak against the generation who had the true and better Jonah, Christ Jesus, and totally missed it! The queen of Sheba traveled 1400 miles to hear the wisdom of King Solomon for herself; yet this generation has the true and better King Solomon, Christ Jesus, and they wouldn't walk across the street to hear Him. So all of this to say, Pharisees, is that it doesn't matter how clean you think your house is. If you sweep everything out--all manner of sin and temptation--but you don't fill it with God, all you've got is an empty house that's wide open for the sin you had before, and 7 of sins' friends, too.
Jesus may be unloading on the Pharisees, and they may deserve it. But at the same time, He is being so kind to explain to them what they're doing wrong and explaining the right way. According to Romans 2, it's the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. (I do recognize He's not being especially kind when He calls them a snakes' nest 😅) This changes me by reminding me that I can speak and teach the Gospel from a place of knowledge and compassion. The Gospel of Jesus Christ can be shared with both boldness and kindness. The kindness of God leads to an effective unity. Jesus was showing the Pharisees--and the eavesdropping crowd, and us--that the Holy Spirit is drawing us to take part in an exciting New Kingdom, built right on the foundation of the old. There's your sign. 💓
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