The Motley Crew

Matthew 12

February 17, 2010

The Questions

Read Matthew 12:22-29

1. Try to imagine, if you will, what this man's life was like … demon-possessed, blind and mute ...

2. Who were “they” in verse 22?

3. What do you think about Jesus' healing?

4. With such a marvelous healing why wouldn't the Pharisees have said, “Praise God this man was healed – whatever the means – he can now see and speak!”

5. How did Jesus know their thoughts?

6. In verses 25 and 26 what is the major premise, the minor premise and the conclusion?

7. What do you make of how Jesus handles Himself – especially in light of verse 27?

8. What is Jesus calling satan¹ in verse 29?

9. What is He calling us?

Read Matthew 12:30-37

10. Can anyone be neutral when it comes to Jesus?

11. What is so destructive about the sin against the Holy Spirit? See 1 Corinthians 12:3

12. How can we know we have not committed this sin?

13. Verses 33-35: true or false?

14. What words will God judge us by on the Day of Judgment?

15. What are you giving up for Lent?

Footnote:

1. Throughout these notes, the name “satan” will not be capitalized, unless included in a direct quote. There is no reason to afford that kind of respect to the name that is the epitome of evil!

The Motley Crew

Matthew 12

February 17, 2010

Some Suggested Answers

Read Matthew 12:22-29

Jesus and Beelzebub

22 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. 23 All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."

25 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. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 "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.

Note: Luke 11:14-28 is one of the parallel passages to Matthew 12:22-29. This was the scriptural basis for Luther's Sermon for the Third Sunday In Lent.

1. Try to imagine, if you will, what this man's life was like … demon-possessed, blind and mute ...

He was really living no life at all

2. Who were “they” in verse 22 (“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.”)?

We don't know for sure, but I bet they saw verse 13 and verse 20. What do you think?

Verse 13: “Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.”

Verse 20 A bruised reed he will not break,
     and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
          till he leads justice to victory.

It was thought that the “they” in this verse were the friends of this man, but it might have been the Pharisees in another (futile) attempt to trip up Jesus.

If it was his friends, there aren't enough caring friends like these today. Perhaps that is something that each of us can give serious thought to, followed by action.

3. What do you think about Jesus' healing?

Our Lord is a perfect Lord. He drove out the demon and restored both sight and voice.

He heals fully, wholly, completely! In this we see His power and His compassion.

4. With such a marvelous healing why wouldn't the Pharisees have said, “Praise God this man was healed – whatever the means – he can now see and speak!”

Professor Lenski: “Opposition to Jesus upsets men's logic. They may put forth as being convincingly sound what is absurdly unsound.” (page 477).

They were out to get Jesus, wanting to keep their power.

It is important to note that they are accusing Jesus of practicing magic, which is specifically forbidden in the Old Testament, the punishment for which is death by stoning.

Exodus 22:18: “Do not allow a sorceress to live.” [broadly, practicing magic]

Lev. 20:27: " 'A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.' "

Deut. 13:1, Deut. 18:20, and Zech. 13:2-3: Being a false prophet. (Generally, death, although in Zechariah: “When he prophesies, his own parents will stab him.”)

Deut. 13: Worshiping Other Gods (stoning)

It was recalled that Paul was present at the stoning of Stephen, and felt that he was doing his part to protect Judaism.

Acts 7: 57-60: At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

5. How did Jesus know their thoughts?

The spiritual gift of wisdom.

As God, He knows all. And sometimes, God writes His Word on our hearts. That wisdom is given to us as a gift from God, to help protect the Kingdom.

6. In verses 25 and 26 what is the major premise, the minor premise and the conclusion?

Major Premise: A Kingdom divided against itself will not stand.

Minor Premise: If satan drives out satan, he is divided against himself.

Conclusion: his kingdom will not stand.

v. 25. Jesus here demonstrated the absurdity of the thinking of the religious leaders who maintained that he was in league with Satan and that he actually derived his power from the devil. He first teaches (vv. 25-28) that if he casts out demons by the ruler of the demons, then in reality Satan is fighting against himself, with the result that his kingdom has come to an end. The NET Bible.

7. What do you make of how Jesus handles Himself – especially in light of verse 27 (And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.)?

This is a “body slam” against the Pharisees! He handles Himself perfectly, pointing out that the Pharisees were driving out demons as well.

Verse 27. By whom do your sons cast them out? There were Jewish exorcists who professed to cast out demons. Josephus tells of one named Eleazar, whom he says did cast them out. Christ does not say whether they did or not, but argues: "If I, by Satan, cast out demons, by whom do your own exorcists, whom you assert have this power, cast them out"? Compare Acts 19:13. B. W. Johnson's Bible Commentary

Acts 19:13. Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the LORD Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

Josephus: See the accounts in Antiquities of the Jews. 8:2,5 and The Wars of the Jews, 7:6,3, Both of these works (and others by Josephus) are available at a web site “The Works of Flavius Josephus,” http://www.biblestudytools.com/history/flavius-josephus/

8. What is Jesus calling satan¹ in verse 29 ("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.”)?

A strong man.

This is how God is using satan … to show us the difference between good & evil. God didn't want robots. This is the why of free will – we can choose goodness and we can choose to reject and oppose evil in every form!

Verse 29. Or else, how can anyone enter into a strong man's house,.... This is another argument of Christ's proving that his casting out of devils could not be by Satan, but by the Spirit of God; for if he did not act by any superior power to Satan's, and such by which he was able to master, overcome, and bind him, he could never spoil his goods, as he did; or dispossess devils out of the bodies or souls of men.... John Gill's Exposition of the Bible.

John 16:33. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

9. What is He calling us?

satan's possession … ( and carry off his possessions ) … until we are saved!

It is only through Jesus that the “strong man” (satan) can be opposed … and only Jesus can can tie him up and save us.

We are no threat to satan if we don't practice our faith, but we are an active threat to satan when we study God's Word, when we worship with fellow believers, and when we pray.

“For no one can believe how the devil opposes and obstructs fulfillment [of the petitions in the Lord's Prayer]. He cannot bear to have anyone teach or believe rightly. It pains him beyond measure when his lies and abominations . . . are disclosed and exposed in all their shame, when they are driven out of people’s hearts and a breach is made in his kingdom. Therefore, like a furious foe, he raves and rages with all his power and might.” Martin Luther, The Large Catechism.

Read Matthew 12:30-37

30 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 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.

33 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

10. Can anyone be neutral when it comes to Jesus?

Not according to verse 30 (“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”) Christ wants everyone to be saved, but that salvation can come only through Him (“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6)

v. 30. Whoever is not with me is against me. The call here is to join the victor. Failure to do so means that one is being destructive. Responding to Jesus is the issue. The NET Bible.

11. What is so destructive about the sin against the Holy Spirit?

See 1 Corinthians 12:3 (“Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.”)

The Spirit calls us into the faith, so when we speak against the Spirit we are out of the faith & unable to ask for forgiveness in Jesus' name.

The issue here is ardent disbelief, when we cannot see our sin because we cannot accept the Holy Spirit, and therefore cannot accept Jesus.

One of our members mentioned that she was listening to one of the preachers on BBN radio (Rev. Ervin Lutzer of Moody Church in Chicago ) who was talking about people who sold their souls to the devil. His first point was that we cannot sell what we do not own. When we come to faith in Christ and acknowledge Him as our Lord and Savior, He owns us. Lutzer than went on to say that he had a conversation with a man who felt that he needed to honor his obligation to the devil because he was a man of integrity. Lutzer responded to him that Satan is a liar, cheat, and deceiver and has no integrity. So how can you honor an agreement with someone who has no integrity? Especially since we, as Christians, do not own our own souls – Christ does.

 

The wicked and the lawless, who despise the Word, have already the severest punishment possible; since they heed not the Word of God they are not of Him. What more terrific judgment could be pronounced upon a wicked child, which despises the command of God and disobeys its parents, than to call it the child of the devil? Truly, this is no light matter. I for my part would rather be in the hands of the executioner or the cannibals, than to be a victim of the devil, who is a liar and murderer, and thrusts into everlasting damnation. Be careful to avoid such calamity. Learn, I beg you, learn with all diligence, to appreciate the treasure which is yours in the word of your Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that outside of the Word there are no means of escape from the devil, sin and eternal death; hence it must be accepted in confidence and firm faith. Martin Luther, Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Judica).

 

Another of our members read this passage, a “below the line” note in her Bible, The Life Application Study Bible (NIV):

“The Pharisees had blasphemed against the Spirit by attributing the power by which Christ did miracles to Satan (12:24, below) instead of the Holy Spirit. The unpardonable sin is the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God's power in Christ. It indicates a deliberate and irreversible hardness of heart. Sometimes believers worry that they have accidentally committed this unforgivable sin. But only those who have turned their backs on God and rejected all faith have any need to worry. Jesus said they can't be forgiven – not because their sin is worse than than any other, but because they will never ask for forgiveness. Whoever rejects the prompting of the Holy Spirit removes himself or herself from the only force that can lead him or their to repentance and restoration to God.”

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."”

Blasphemy is defined as “extreme slander or curse of the deity.” Old Testament law pronounced death (no forgiveness) on anyone who blasphemed God (Lev. 24:16). The TNIV Study Bible, p. 1605.

Lev. 24:16. Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

12. How can we know we have not committed this sin?

When we are concerned about it. No one who believes in Christ can commit this sin, because Christians do not attribute to satan the power by which Christ performed His miracles.

v. 32. Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. This passage has troubled many people, who have wondered whether or not they have committed this sin. Three things must be kept in mind: (1) the nature of the sin is to ascribe what is the obvious work of the Holy Spirit (e.g., releasing people from Satan’s power) to Satan himself; (2) it is not simply a momentary doubt or sinful attitude, but is indeed a settled condition which opposes the Spirit’s work, as typified by the religious leaders who opposed Jesus; and (3) a person who is concerned about it has probably never committed this sin, for those who commit it here (i.e., the religious leaders) are not in the least concerned about Jesus’ warning. The NET Bible.

Verses 30-32. Here is a gracious assurance of the pardon of all sin upon gospel terms. Christ herein has set an example to the sons of men, to be ready to forgive words spoken against them. But humble and conscientious believers, at times are tempted to think they have committed the unpardonable sin, while those who have come the nearest to it, seldom have any fear about it. We may be sure that those who indeed repent and believe the gospel, have not committed this sin, or any other of the same kind; for repentance and faith are the special gifts of God, which he would not bestow on any man, if he were determined never to pardon him; and those who fear they have committed this sin, give a good sign that they have not. The trembling, contrite sinner, has the witness in himself that this is not his case. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary. (Emphasis added)

There was a discussion of mortal sin, and whether or not it was “unforgivable.” The bottom line is that any sin that is repented restores our relationship with God. The following summary is from the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) web site:

Mortal sin is called mortal because it is the "spiritual" death of the soul (separation from God). If we are in the state of grace it loses this supernatural life for us. If we die without repenting we will lose Him for eternity. However, by turning our hearts back to Him and receiving the Sacrament of Penance we are restored to His friendship. Catholics are not allowed to receive Communion if they have unconfessed mortal sins. [Emphasis added]

Venial sins are slight sins. They do not break our friendship with God, although they injure it. They involve disobedience of the law of God in slight (venial) matters. If we gossip and destroy a person's reputation it would be a mortal sin. However, normally gossip is about trivial matters and only venially sinful. Additionally, something that is otherwise a mortal sin (e.g. slander) may be in a particular case only a venial sin. The person may have acted without reflection or under force of habit. Thus, not fully intending the action their guilt before God is reduced. It is always good to remember, especially those who are trying to be faithful but sometimes fall, that for mortal sin it must not only be 1) serious matter, but 2) the person must know it is serious and then 3) freely commit it.

URL: http://www.ewtn.net/expert/answers/mortal_versus_venial.htm

13. Verses 33-35: true or false?

33 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

True!

As one person put it, “I'm not the judge … just a fruit inspector.”

In addition, we must remember that beauty is not the same as goodness. Jerry pointed out that the Bradford Pear is beautiful, but isn't a fruit tree. Sometimes we just need to test the fruit; he affirmed that a crab apple is awfully sour! This is part of that discernment process that we talked about a couple of weeks ago.

14. What words will God judge us by on the Day of Judgment?

36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

I believe in Jesus as my Savior! (John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”)

These are the words of acquittal and salvation. The words that will condemn are those that deny Christ.

This verse should be read in conjunction with verses 31 and 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.”

It's important to note that not every word that we've ever spoken will be the basis for judgment. The most important are those where we have affirmed our belief in the salvation given to us by Jesus Christ through his sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection.

Verse 37. By thy words shalt thou be justified, etc. Acquitted or condemned in the day of judgment. To justify is the opposite of to condemn. Those who confess Christ with the mouth (Romans 10:9) shall be saved; those who deny him will be lost. Words have a weighty influence on our eternal destiny. B. W. Johnson's Bible Commentary

Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. “

There was a discussion of making the sign of the cross, which is affirmation both of our baptism and of our confirmation. It was also pointed out that Luther, in the Small Catechism, urged that we make the sign of the cross when we begin our morning and evening prayers. In Section 2, “Daily Prayers-Morning Prayer,” Luther writes:

In the morning when you get up, make the sign of the holy cross and say:
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

During the Divine Service, a number of Lutherans make the sign of the cross during the Invocation and again after receiving Holy Communion. Making the sign of the cross fell out of favor among some Lutherans who felt that it was “too Catholic,” but in doing so there might have been a “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” However, this practice is firmly rooted in Luther's teachings.

15. What are you giving up for Lent?

Group discussion. A few of the thoughts included chocolate, sweets in general, and some television.

We closed with prayer.

Footnote:

1. Throughout these notes, the name “satan” will not be capitalized, unless included in a direct quote. There is no reason to afford that kind of respect to the name that is the epitome of evil!

Additional Notes:

1. The Monday Night service will begin after Easter. It is needed because so many people are hurting so badly, and just need someone to listen. We'll sing a couple of sing, get a brief teaching from the Bible, and then pray and listen.

2. On the same web page where the notes for the Motley Crew are linked, I've included a few Lenten Devotions that I've come across or created in recent weeks, including scripture and Luther's sermons during Lent. I hope that some of these might be of some help to members of the group. The URL is:

http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/prayer_and_study_resources.htm#Lent . If you know of others, please let me know.

3. Next week will be the kick-off for the 40 Days Of Love. The book, The Relationship Principles of Jesus, and workbook, 40 Days of Love, will be available for purchase $10 for the book and $5 for the workbook). If you have the book, read the first seven chapters. Weekly notes will be distributed just like the 40 Days of Purpose spiritual campaign.

Parallel Passages

For Additional Study:

Online Resources

Book of Concord in PDF Format, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod <http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/LCMS/TrigBOC.pdf> (2MB file)

These texts are in the public domain and may be copied and distributed freely. The source of these translations is Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921).

A number of other Lutheran texts can be found in the Belief and Practice section of the website of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod: http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=112

John Gill's Exposition of the Bible. <http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/gill/matthew12.htm>

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary.
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mh/matthew12.htm

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary <http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mhc/matthew12.htm>

Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. <http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/jfb/matthew12.htm>

B. W. Johnson's Bible Commentary <http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/johnson/matthew12.htm >

Greek Interlinear Bible, http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Greek_Index.htm

Based on NA26/27. A word-by-word translation of the Greek New Testament.

John Lightfoot's Bible Commentary
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/light/matthew12.htm

J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel or A Harmony of the Four Gospels (Cincinnati, The Standard Publishing Company, 1914)
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/four/matthew12.htm

The NET Bible. <http://bible.org/netbible/> A completely new translation of the Bible with 60,932 translators’ notes. It was completed by more than 25 scholars – experts in the original biblical languages – who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Excellent notes, citing both the Greek and Hebrew, as needed. Greek and Hebrew fonts available without cost.

Harold H. Buls - Sermon Notes <http://www.pericope.org/buls-notes/index.html> and a second collection, Sermon Notes of Dr. Harold H. Buls <http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-bul.html>. Adapted from Exegetical Notes, Series A, Festival Season Sundays, Gospel Texts, by Harold H. Buls, Concordia Theological Seminary Press: Ft Wayne IN, 1980, pp.9-12.

W. Robertson Nicoll, The Greek Expositor's Testament. Vol. 1. (New York: George H. Doran Co., ca. 1910). Five volumes containing excellent notes on the Greek text and summaries of commentators. Available at Google Books (www.books.google.com) and the Internet Archive (www.archive.org; easier to find here than at Google Books).

Other Additional Resources:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/SPLC/Motley%20Crew%20Research%20Resources.html

Other Consulted Resources

Barker, Kenneth L., ed., TNIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006)

Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Readers Edition. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006)

Davies, Benjamin, ed., Baker's Pocket Harmony of the Gospels (Baker Book House, 1975). Formerly printed as Harmony of the Four Gospels.

Green, Jay P., ed., The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament. Vol. IV. Second Edition. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1985)

Halley, Henry H., Halley's Bible Handbook. New Revised Edition (24^th Edition). (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965).

Henry, Matthew, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961). Originally published in 1706 (through Acts); the commentary on Romans through Revelations was completed by 13 nonconformist ministers and published in 1811.

Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments. Three Volumes. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2008).

The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009).

Nave, Orville J., ed., Nave's Topical Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1979)

New Bible Dictionary. Second Edition. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1962)

NIV Archeological Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005)

Strong, James, ed., The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990)