JESUS CONFIRMS TO JOHN THAT HE IS THE COMING ONE (Matthew 11:1-19)
John the Baptist sends messengers to confirm the identity of Jesus
Being in jail and unable to witness the works of Jesus, John the Baptist sent out two messengers to seek confirmation that Jesus was the Coming one.
Jesus proves His identity through His works and through fulfilling prophecies
Jesus gives numerous proofs substantiating His position as the Messiah.
His works
The blind see
The lame walk
The lepers are cleansed
The deaf hear
The dead are raised up
The poor have the gospel preached to them
His Prophecies
Isaiah 29:18-19
Isaiah 35:5-6
Isaiah 42:1-4 (Cf. Matthew 12:15-21)
Isaiah 61:1-3
Jesus confirms John as the Messenger sent to pave the way for the Messiah (Malachi 3:1)
Jesus praises John as the greatest and the last prophet to close the Old Testament era (Matthew 11:11; John 1:6-9, 29; 1 Peter 1:10-11)
Christians of the New Testament have a different blessing than the disciples of the Old Testament era: As Christians of the New Testament era, we have Christ and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us!
JESUS CONDEMNS THOSE WHO DWELL IN SIN (Matthew 11:20-30)
Jesus compares the cities in Galilee to the ancient cities that God has judged, including Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum.
The ancient cities Jesus mentioned (Tyre, Sidon, Sodom) were judged by God for their corruption and violence (Genesis 19:4-9; Ezekiel 26:2-17; 28:17-19, 24-26).
Korazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum knew the ancient cities were judged because they did not repent. They should have
learned from these cities and repented of their sins, yet they continued to waste away in sin.
TAKE THE YOKE OF JESUS, FOR IT IS LIGHT (Matthew 11:25-30)
God reveals Himself and His wisdom to the humble, to those who want to know about Him. To those who are proud and do not want to learn about Him, they will remain blind to His wisdom.
Lay our yoke on Jesus -- depend on Jesus and not on ourselves -- and we will feel the lightening of our load.
JESUS IS OUR BEST SABBATH (Matthew 12:1-14)
The Pharisees falsely accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath (Cf. Deuteronomy 5:12-15; 1 Samuel 21:1-6)
The disciples did not break God’s command, as the Pharisees had accused. If the Pharisees used their heart to love God instead of their evil cunning thoughts to be gods, they would understand the true meaning behind God's commandment to keep the Sabbath: It's all about resetting our heart to God.
1) Spiritually, the disciples were not working.
The disciples were living and learning in the presence of the Lord. They were in Sabbath!
2) Physically, the disciples were not working.
According to the Law, they were not working by going through the fields for food. They were gleaning to eat, which was not considered work. Eating is not working.
Matthew 12:6-8
Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
When we abide in and accomplish the will of God, we are in the presence of God and are in God’s Sabbath. Showing the love of God is being in God's Sabbath (Matthew 12:11-14)!
Jesus is not about following the Law. Jesus is about living and showing the love of God.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS COME UPON US (Matthew 12:22-50)
Jesus casts out demons by the Spirit of God
The above text, we see the Pharisees try to trap Jesus in technicalities of the Law. Here, we see them trying to discredit Jesus by announcing that Jesus casts out demons by the evil spirit of Beelzebub, another name for Satan.
Jesus makes a valid counter-argument:
Matthew 12:25-27
Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?
Jesus healed the demon-possessed man through the Holy Spirit. As we have seen in previous chapters, the demons knew who Jesus is and cower in fear in His presence.
1) Jesus' power is greater than Satan's and demons'
2) Jesus' power overcomes the powers of Satan's and demons' – Therefore, Jesus power comes not from Satan, as the Pharisees bore false-witness, but from God, who is greater than all of His creations.
Matthew 12:29
How can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
Since the Fall, the title deed to this earth has fallen into Satan's hands. He is the Prince of this world (Ephesians 2:2; John 12:31), but one day, he will be bound (Revelation 20:2) -- We can only pray that we have by then made our own decision to follow Jesus.
Blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is the unpardonable sin
John 16:13
When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
The Holy Spirit guides us in all truths. Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is the act of rejecting God. God can save us from all sin, as long as we are willing to follow Him. However, God cannot save us if we actively reject Him, which is why blaspheming against the Holy Spirit it the unpardonable sin.
If we have committed the unpardonable sin, we would not care whether or not we are in sin. After all, if we have developed a great enough apathy to ignore the truth revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, how little would we care if continue to sin against God? If we wonder or worry at all about committing sins that would disappoint God, we have not committed the unpardonable sin. Do not allow our hearts to be so hardened that we would turn permanently away from God. Heed the voice of the Holy Spirit within us and reside under His love!
We will be judged by our hearts
When the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked for a sign, Jesus called them a "wicked and adulterous" generation.
Matthew 12:34
Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Jesus knew that in their heart, they did not ask for a sign because they were genuinely curious. Jesus knew they asked because they wanted to put Him on the spot, to force Him to perform a miracle that would "prove" that He was God.
Think back to the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31). What did Abraham say to the Rich Man when he begged to have someone be sent to warn his brothers about Hell?
Luke 16:29-31
Abraham said to him, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." And (the Rich Man) said, "No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent." But he said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead."
The Pharisees weren't interested in who Jesus really was. They had already made up their mind about Jesus, and they were not bowing down to a peasant. They were more interested in catching Jesus in a trap, so that they could get rid of Jesus for good. Instead of humbling themselves and sincerely seek God, they demanded that God prove Himself to be God. This is the heart of a prideful people; this is the heart of this generation -- "Wicked," because they were motivated by selfishness and pride; "adulterous," because they worshiped themselves.
Matthew 12:36-37
For every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law would be more than familiar with the Old Testament, including the story of Jonah.
Matthew 12:40
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Proud of their understanding of the Scriptures, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law would not have missed Jesus' point here: The Messiah would spend 3 days and 3 nights in the grave and be resurrected. When they see this sign, they would know who the Messiah is.
Be filled with the Holy Spirit
We can be possessed by demons. Our bodies are like a house. Demons can come in, and if they find the "house" empty, they will call their friends over, and they will all come and possess the body. As Christians, we are better protected against demon possession, because our bodies are already occupied by the Holy Spirit! Do you think the Holy Spirit will be open to sharing His temple with demons? Demons come, and they will find the Holy Spirit within us, and they will leave our bodies alone, because they know that they have no power over the Holy Spirit!
1 John 1:4
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
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