Transcript

Jesus Turns The Table ... Once Again

Matthew 12:22-32
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Pastor Randy Smith

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Though there is nothing funny about war, I must admit that it was hard to keep a straight face when I heard the reports from Iraq's Defense Minister during the recent Gulf War crisis. Known by the media as Baghdad Bob, he made it his ambition through false propaganda to maintain the morale of Iraqi people. And as the allied forces were advancing with increased supremacy, his comments became more reckless, outlandish and preposterous.

• "There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!"
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• "I triple guarantee you, there are no American soldiers in Baghdad."
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• "The situation is excellent, they are going to try to approach Baghdad...and I believe their grave will be there."
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• "They're coming to surrender."
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• "We have crushed the whole force which dared to venture there. Now they're outside the wall and the heroic Republican Guard is now in control of the whole area."
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• "We are surrounding them and pounding them. The whole trend has changed and we are going to finalize this very soon."

Words of desperation!

As we continue our study in Matthew, we have seen that Jesus was pounding the people with God's truth. He taught the Word unlike any of their scribes. He controlled nature, healed sicknesses, forgave sins and cast out demons. The Jewish leaders had tried to oppose His ministry, but the more they attempted, the more their plans backfired. Recently we saw that they concluded there was only one thing left to do - chapter 12, verse 14: "The Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him."

Soon we will see Jesus retreat, not in defeat, but to spend the remainder of His earthly ministry instructing His disciples. But between the thought of executing Him and the actual actions that led to His execution, like Baghdad Bob, the Pharisees out of desperation pull one last-ditch attempt to foil our Lord's ministry. And once again, Jesus turns the table and presents Himself as the ever-wise and ever-merciful Savior. In today's account, Jesus will give irrefutable proof in the face of severe opposition that He is indeed the promised Messiah.

1. THE SITUATION (12:22-23)

Let's set the stage. We begin first with the situation. What action was it this time that prompted the Pharisees' opposition?

Verse 22, "Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw."

A remarkable event took place, but Matthew devotes little attention to it because his primary concern is to focus on the response that this event precipitated.

On the one hand "all" the people according to verse 23 "were amazed." And their crystallized response was, "This man cannot be the Son of David, can He?" The question is asked with a tone of confusion. "Our religious leaders are rejecting Him and He comes off too passive to fit our expectations, but how can we deny these miraculous actions? Could this man possibly be the promised Messiah?" There was doubt, but at least the people were more open-minded than the Pharisees. They were open to the possibility that Jesus was the Messiah and that thought was something the Pharisees needed to squelch immediately.

2. THE ACCUSATION (12:24)

So from the situation we move to the accusation, our second point. Verse 24, "But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, 'This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.'"

Here is where the Pharisees pull their "Baghdad Bob" two millennia before the man ever existed! They cannot deny the miracle, nor do they attempt to, so what they seek to do is discredit the source of His power. Demons were cast out and a mute and blind man was made well. That was indisputable. So they aim their guns at the source of Jesus' power. They foolishly propose that He gets His power from Satan. They suggest that Jesus is working for the devil.

Jesus will refute their accusation and show just how ridiculous it is, but for a moment let's consider the "Baghdad Bob ways" people seek to dismiss Jesus today.

Jesus forces all humanity to make a decision as to who He is. Basically there are only five options - each beginning with the letter "L". Possibly Jesus was a Legend - in other words, He never existed. Yet He is spoken of in more than just religious works. Even secular history clearly records that a man name Jesus was alive in the first century. Sure some attempt to deny His existence, but they are the same crackpots that also deny the Jewish holocaust.

I suppose we could believe that Jesus is only a moral example or good Leader, but not God in the flesh. Yet good leaders do not say: "For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" (Jn. 8:24). And, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." Martin Luther King was a good human leader, but he never claimed to demand worship from his followers. Dr. King might have asked people to die for the cause, but as a good human leader he never would have asked people to die for him.

Maybe Jesus is simply a man out of His mind - a Lunatic. But large crowds do not follow lunatics. Jesus demonstrated nothing of a split-personality. He was always prudent, temperate, balanced and in control of Himself and the situation.

A fourth option is to say that Jesus is a Liar. But we have to ask, would He really have gone to the cross for a lie? Why are there no other records of Him ever telling a lie, stretching the truth or speaking contradictions? Liars often have other character flaws, but Jesus did not exhibit any. And lying is evidence of personal selfishness - to protect one's own hide. Jesus' whole message was one of considering others more important and doing the will of His Father.

The only logical option is to understand that Jesus is who He claimed to be: Lord, deserving our worship and ultimate allegiance.

I like the way C.S. Lewis put it in Mere Christianity: "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great moral teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to" (p. 56).

Like He does to the entire world - Jesus demands a response. The Pharisees respond, but instead of acknowledging His lordship they claim He is working for Satan.

3. THE JUSTIFICATION (12:25-29)

As we move to the third point, let's see how Jesus justifies His actions in the light of their accusation.

Jesus turns their confrontation of Him to a confrontation of them. Verse 25, "And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, 'Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.'"

Jesus first begins with a truism. Civil wars will not advance an organization. A house divided against itself will not stand. How well would a platoon succeed if the soldiers always attacked each other? How many games would a football team win if nobody listened to the coach? How strong would a family be if it was filled with mismanagement, strife and selfishness? These institutions would be doomed by their division!

So, therefore, verse 26, "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?"

Folks, Satan is wicked, but he is no fool. Outside God he is the most intelligent being. He will lose in the end, but he has got a plan. He is adamant about seeing his kingdom built and through his schemes of deception taking down as many with him as possible. And if he is seeking to build a kingdom, why in the world would he be in effect casting out himself? Would Satan take a man in his possession and deliver him? Is Satan really behind all of Jesus' exorcisms? Would Satan divide his kingdom and destroy his own works?

Jesus continues to pour it on. Verse 27, "If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges."

The Jews claimed to cast out demons. I was just reading to my children that bizarre account in Acts 19 where they attempted to expel a demon and the evil spirit leaped on them and they fled naked and wounded (Ac. 19:16). So if they claimed to cast out demons by God (whether or not it actually happened I do not know), how much more is Jesus worthy to make the claim especially if He did it so much more effectively? They were trapped.

You see, the Pharisees kept taking and Jesus kept cornering them with their own words. The more they said, the deeper they dug themselves in a hole. To suggest that Satan casts out Satan is absurd. Therefore the only option left was that Jesus was operating under the power of the living God. That is the only logical conclusion.

Verse 28, "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

Casting out demons was a clear sign that Jesus was in control. Satan held his sway over precious souls for centuries. His agenda was advancing in this world as he built his kingdom on the backs of empty and disillusioned people. Yet the dawn had arrived. The light was shining over the horizon. The prophetic reign of the Messiah had now come evidenced by His authority to destroy the works of the devil. What the Jewish leaders ascribed to Satan was in effect the inauguration of God's kingdom taking a foothold. Satan's fun would be over. He would suffer his greatest defeat only to be overshadowed by the day when he will be tossed in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). The last days had arrived. Satan's doom was secured as the evil one through the power of the cross would be dealt a decisive death blow (Col. 2:15).

Look at verse 29, "Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house."

The Bible teaches that our war is not against people. According to Ephesians 6, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12). People are only prisoners of war. They are engrossed and enslaved to the dark forces. They have listened to the "father of lies" (Jn. 8:44). They have been "blinded…so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Cor. 4:4). They have "walked according…to the prince of the power of the air" (Eph. 2:2). They sit shackled in Satan's house unaware of the betrayal and deception they are experiencing.

But as the verse says, Jesus came to plunder the "strong man's house and carry off his property." Jesus came to set the captives free (Isa. 61:1; Lk. 4:18). And just before he plunders Satan's property, He will bind the strong man.

The whole argument fits clearly in the context. Jesus was casting out demons (verse 22) to prove that He was stronger than Satan and that His kingdom overpowers Satan's kingdom. And now because He had proven His strength over Satan, He would bind Satan and give hope to Satan's captives.

But what exactly does it mean that Jesus will "bind" Satan? Well, without a doubt Jesus says that Satan is bound in our verse. The cross was the decisive deathblow to our foe. John 12:31, "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out." But the question remains, to what degree is Satan bound? And the answer to that question hinges upon you interpretation of Revelation 20:2-3 which says, "And he [the angel] laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time."

Millennialists will say the 1,000 years should be taken literally and that Satan will be bound in greater degree during the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth that begins immediately after His return. Amillennialists (those who say there is no millennium) say the 1,000 years should be taken symbolically to refer to the church age. Therefore they say Revelation 20 and our verse in Matthew 12 are saying the same thing.

Regardless of the degree to which Satan is bound, no one would dispute the fact that Satan, though restrained, is on a long leash. He cannot prevent the lost from being saved, but he does, 1 Peter 5:8, "[Still prowl] around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

So should we be "binding Satan" today? You hear about that often in many church circles. My answer is "no."

Some quick reasons for my response: First, if Jesus already bound Satan why do we need to do it? Second, it is illogical. For how long and over what area do I bind Satan? Why can't I just bind his activity in all the earth for the rest of time? Third, we are never commanded in Scripture to "bind Satan" nor are we commanded to talk to Satan. I personally have nothing to say to him. And fourth, it is contradictory with the ways Scripture calls us to engage in spiritual warfare.

Ephesians 6 calls us to employ our "spiritual armor." Prayer is part of that spiritual armor and while it is fine to pray that the Lord hinder his work and provide a hedge of protection (Job 1:10), our primary prayer is that the Lord would give us the strength and the faith to "stand firm." We are told in James 4:7, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Our focus is not to be on Satan, but the Lord. The battle is His, and He must fight it. Our victory comes in submission and total reliance upon Him.

4. THE ADMONITION (12:30-32)

So from the situation to the accusation to the justification, we go to the admonition. Now that Jesus has fully turned the table and taken control of the situation, He sets some clear guidelines as to what He expects.

Verse 30, "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters."

Neutrality is not permitted. Fence-sitters are not accepted. The King has arrived, the kingdom is at hand and the battle lines have been drawn. Anything less than complete allegiance is blatant rejection of His authority. There are only two teams. To give anything less than exclusive devotion is to side with Satan. As Jesus said, "He who is not with Me is against Me."

Let's go right to verse 31 and 32. "Therefore [in conclusion to all that has just been said] I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

These verses have frightened Christians to death over the centuries wondering if they committed to so-called "unpardonable sin." Let's examine them carefully within the context.

First of all we see the incredible mercy of Jesus Christ. He says in verse 31 that sin and blasphemy can be forgiven. He even personalizes it verse 32 that blasphemy against Him can be forgiven. And praise God for that or none of us ever would have ever entered into a relationship with Him. The foul words we said about Jesus Christ, the times were entertained by jokes that mocked His name, the things we did that brought shame to His exalted status - and yet the exalted One is willing to extend forgiveness even for the most heinous sin of blasphemy (cf. Mt. 26:65), a sin that required stoning in the Old Testament (Lev. 24:14-16). As Paul said in 1 Timothy, "Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Tim. 1:13). God delights in forgiving, and He even forgives blasphemy.

Yet by way of sharp distinction, these verses also teach that one form of blasphemy will not be forgiven - that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. What is that, and can we still commit that sin today?

In a formal sense, my answer is: "no." Staying within the context, Jesus demonstrated Himself with miracles to be the Messiah. The Pharisees witnessed the full disclosure of His presence. And rather than bowing to His authority, claimed He received His power from the devil. They blasphemed the Holy Spirit. They spoke not out of ignorance or unbelief, but consciously disputed the indisputable. And such a sin, according to this text, cannot be forgiven. We can say it was unforgivable because they gave the Holy Spirit the ultimate insult. So in the formal sense I believe this was something that applied directly to the earthly ministry of Christ.

Yet in the general sense, I do believe people can still commit this sin. If people come to the point of hearing the full disclosure of the gospel and they reject the message, they are in a sense placing themselves in a position without hope. Nothing better will come along. The gospel cannot be improved upon. And failure to repent leaves one without any hope of ever being saved.

The Jewish Christians in the first century were considering an abandonment of the faith and a return to Judaism. And what did the writer to the Hebrews tell them?

Hebrews 6:4-6, "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame."

Hebrews 10:26-31, "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, 'VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.' And again, 'THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.' It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

So the excuses to reject the ministry of Jesus are as flimsy as Baghdad Bob's excuses. But the evidence for His ministry and the severity of rejecting Him are rock-solid and without question. As we go to Communion, are you in Communion with Jesus Christ? Is He your Lord and Savior? Have you repented of your sins and acknowledged His rightful authority in your life? Are you against Him or with Him? Are you a prisoner in Satan's house or are you enjoying the freedom of Christ's kingdom?