Matthew
12:14-29
“Then the Pharisees went out, and
held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself
from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; And
charged them that they should not make him known: That it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have
chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon
him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not strive, nor cry; neither
shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench,
till he send forth judgment unto victory.
And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.” (Matthew 12:14-21)
The
Pharisees had attempted to establish supremacy over Jesus by challenging what
he and his disciples were doing as being a violation of the law. When he showed the fallacy of their charges
they were angry and began to try to destroy his influence by more serious
charges.
Rather than
staying and fighting it out, Jesus withdrew.
People still continued to come to him for healing and he healed them
all. He warned them not to let the
authorities know where he was so the prophecy if Isaiah 42:1-4 could be
fulfilled. “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul
delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the
Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed shall he not break,
and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto
truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he
have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.”
Jesus would not
cause confrontations by speaking publically or shouting to make his voice
heard. He would not aggravate the
current political or economic issues or try to play them down. Instead he would focus attention on what was
right. His approach would not change
until the entire world came into compliance with God’s standard, and as a
result, the Gentiles would turn to him, waiting for his victory.
“Then was brought unto him one
possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the
blind and dumb both spake and saw. And
all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?” (Matthew
12:22-23)
The people were aware of the prophecies that
Messiah would be a descendant of David. When
Jesus cast out a demon that was making him unable to speak or see, they were
convinced that he was the Messiah.
Isaiah 9:6-7 had promised, “For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be
upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The
mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace
there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order
it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for
ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
For about
three hundred years the Pharisees had stood against the efforts of the
Sadducees to introduce Greek culture to the Jews. They were convinced they were the only ones
who actually served God. The idea that
it was God who was empowering Jesus challenged their very core beliefs in their
own righteousness.
“But when the Pharisees heard it,
they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of
the devils.” (Matthew 12:24)
Like many
people today, the Pharisees didn’t consider
the possibility that they were in the wrong.
Since Jesus didn’t do things the way they wanted, he had to be wrong and
since they were sure they were obeying God, he had to be empowered by
Satan.
“And Jesus knew their thoughts, and
said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation;
and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided
against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom
do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.” (Matthew
12:25-27)
As Jesus
pointed out, their logic made no sense.
Any country, group or organization the begins fighting among themselves
eventually destroys itself, however large or small it is. Satan
uses that fact to destroy churches and Christian organizations. Knowing that, he would be foolish to fight
against his own people. His kingdom
would have collapsed hundreds of years ago.
Furthermore, many of them claimed to cast out demons. If Jesus was casting them out by Satanic
power, it was probable that they were doing the same, implying they were from
Satan as well.
“But if I cast out devils by the
Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's
house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he
will spoil his house. He that is not
with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad”
(Matthew 12:28-30)
On the other
hand, if Jesus was casting out demons by the power of God, it implied they were
also from God and the promises of his kingdom were very close. After all the only way to defeat a strong
person was to somehow get something too strong for him to overcome to hold him
back, and God is the only one strong enough to restrain Satan. Trying to throw him out if he was free would
not be humanly possible. A person has to
decide what he believes about Christ.
Either he is the Son of God, or he is a liar and cannot be a good man or
a great teacher.
Very true, Donald -- Jesus must be the Son of God, or a liar, or insane, but it sidesteps the issue to say He was just a great teacher, a wise man, or a good person. How we view Jesus Christ is the single most important thing about us, as it determines our eternal destiny.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great post & God bless!
Laurie
Unfortunately, a lot of people try to sidestep the issue.
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