Matthew 12

Here Jesus confronts the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. They claim to be experts in the law, and yet they don’t consider the example of David or the priests when it comes to the Sabbath. And they would have more compassion for a sheep on the Sabbath than they would for a man! By his actions and teaching Jesus shows that mercy and love should rule the Sabbath, as well as rule the law:

Romans 13:10 (WEB) “Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.”

Jesus is identified by several names here, all of which point to His authority, dominion, and even divinity! First, He is the Son of Man, which has several implications, with the most important being from the book of Daniel:

Daniel 7:13-14 (WEB) “I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be destroyed.”

Jesus is also the suffering servant from the book of Isaiah (the suffering servant songs in Isaiah are found in 42:1-4, 49:1-6, 50:4-7, and 52:13-53:12). Here Matthew quotes from Isaiah 42:1-4 to explain Jesus’ secrecy, but he also shows that the Jewish messiah will bring hope to the Gentiles! I believe the best understanding of His secrecy is that He has a divine timetable to adhere to, and He’s keeping the Jewish authorities at bay.

Finally, Jesus identifies Himself as the Lord of the Sabbath, which I believe is subtle claim to deity. Yes, He’s claiming authority to declare how the Sabbath should be obeyed, but who has the authority to do that? Only God, because it is His Sabbath (Exodus 31:13; Leviticus 19:3; Ezekiel 20:12; etc.)!

As we continue through the passage, we’re reminded that righteousness begins in the heart and is shown by words and actions (12:33-37). Then we see that people are looking for a sign/reason to believe (12:38-42) and are given the sign of the resurrection! In 12:46-50 we’re reminded that when we believe we become a part of a new family, and we show that we’re a part of that family by following God and His Word!

Let’s take 12:43-45 next. Jesus makes it specific to that generation. They are experiencing the grace of God through Jesus and His ministry (the unclean spirit is gone). If they end up rejecting Him as a nation, then what happens next will be truly horrible. We see that with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D.

I believe this plays into 12:22-32. Jesus is continually challenging the religious leadership and the lack of belief in that generation. In the context of Jesus defending His ministry and pointing out the Pharisees illogical assumptions, Jesus makes a statement about the Spirit:

“Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come.”

Jesus makes these comments right after sharing that He is able to cast out demons by the Spirit of God and not by the power of Satan. I have come to believe that the best way to understand this verse is to see it as specific to that time and context. In other words, it could happen precisely because Jesus Christ was physically ministering on the earth at the time in the power of the Spirit, and the Pharisees were saying that He was casting out demons by the power of Satan. If we are worried about an unpardonable sin in our generation, it is simply an unwillingness to believe in Jesus Christ.

John 3:36 (WEB) “One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Thought for the day: A tree is known by its fruit. What is your fruit?

Galatians 5:22 (WEB) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”