Matt 12

Date: 17 January 2009

Bible (NT/OT):

Matt 12:1-21

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath." 3 He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."

A Man with a Withered Hand

9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"— so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, "Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13 Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

God's Chosen Servant

15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
18 "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; 20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; 21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope."

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, "Can this be the Son of David?" 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons." 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

The Sign of Jonah

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." 39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just 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. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

43 "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation."

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

Psalms 13:5-14:1

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.


Sun Tzu:

A Military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.

The Intellectual Devotion (Kidder, D. & Oppenheim N. The Intellectual Devotion, Rodale. NY, NY 2006)

The “Harlem Renaissance” (1920-1930’s) or “New Negro Movement” was a flourishing of African-American Literature and art in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City as millions of newly freed southern blacks moved to NYC in an exodus known as the “Great Migration.” Much of the foundation of the movement was set by W.E.B. DuBois a social theorist, author of the book, “The Souls of Black Folk,” and funder of the NAACP in 1909. This movement produced African-American authors (James Johnson, Nella Larsen, Zora Hurston) poets (Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes who began to put poetry to music and helped nationalize Jazz music) and painters (Palmer Hayden, Lous Jones and William Johnson).

Events:

Yesterday, I got up read and wrote, took Sadie out, got a weight workout. After that, I went to Lunch with Marla and her Team mates at P. F. Chang’s (Trying to eat real good before I deploy). I paid for my own lunch as pharmaceutical reps are no longer able to take doctors to lunch. There is a lot of debate over the new Pharmaceutical restrictions (no pens, notebooks, out of office lunches etc…) In my opinion these are good changes. The Pharmaceutical industry throws away millions of dollars a year on these trinkets that offices subsequently throw away. It is not the Pharm Rep’s job to feed an office or provide the pens and pencils and I am annoyed when a physician or medical assistant comes to expects their free lunch and office goods. We have had these restrictions in place for years in the Army and most physicians that I know still spend just as much time talking to the reps and learning about the new drugs. The Chief of the ED at BAMC loved to show us pictures of conferences where otherwise respectable physicians are reduced to children running around like kids in a candy store frantically grabbing the free pens, calculators and books. As Physicians we should be above this and remember that the Pharm Reps have an important job and it is not office supplier or delivery man.

Thoughts:

Bible:

1. v12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." The Pharisees were likely the first Legalists. A Legalist add’s laws that were never in the bible. We see this today as prohibitions on drinking, dancing, dating and Legalistically holding ourselves to the practices of the faith like going to church and reading our bibles. None of these practices in themselves is sin or salvific. At its best Legalism it makes forgiven, redeemed believers feel guilty when they can’t follow a bunch of manmade, extra-biblical rules like, don’t drink, don’t dance, don’t date etc… At its worst legalism leads to the heresy of Pelagianism (works not faith based righteousness).

2. v21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope." This is one of the hundreds of OT prophecies of the coming messiah. This one in particular widens the scope of the Jews messiah to the savior of Gentiles (you and me) as well. This is what the frequent usage of the term “whole world” both in the New Testament and Old Testament refers to. As the bible teaches that some will be condemned to Hell, the phrase “whole world” cannot mean that Jesus truly did save the whole world. No, the phrase refers to the extension of Gods promise to every people not every person.

3. 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Wow, this is a scary verse. Even scarier is, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. It is vitally important to evaluate this verse as this seems to imply an “unforgiveable sin.” In context, simply put, the Jews have just accused Christ of being the Devil (or at least a demon) when they say, "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons." These pharsees not only do not believe in Christ as the son of God, they have acused Christ as being a Son of Satan. But Jesus does promise, “32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven” Which is all they seem to have done thus far. They have acused Christ of being a demon. This as Christ delineates is permissible and forgiveable, so what is this “speaks against the Holy Spirit” that they have become dangerously close to? Let’s evaluate who the holy spirit is and what he does. The Holy Spirit later discussed as a “helper” in John 14:25 "These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” The Holy Spirit teaches of the person and work of Christ. Further, John 16:7-15:
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, and teaches us of the righteousness of Christ and instructs us to the Judgment to come. The Holy Spirit teaches us the Gospel. But, deeper than simply teaching us, the Holy Spirit “convicts” us. This word “convicts” signifies internal change not simply the external hearing of the Gospel. Thus, Blaspheming the Holy Spirit implies the Blasphemer has not only learned about Christ but has actually experienced the Holy Spirit’s conviction away from Sin and towards Redemption but has denied them. The Pharisees here in Matt 12 have followed Christ for some time now, they have heard him preach, they have acknowledged that he claims to be God and the Lord of the Sabbath, they have witnessed his healing. Externally speaking, they have come dangerously close to a full knowledge of who Christ is and what he has come to accomplish but still blaspheme him. This is not unforgiveable but Jesus warns of the next step, the point at which the internal conviction of the Holy Spirit changes the unbeliever internally making him believe in Christ as the King of Kings and ransom for our sin, If at this point they Blaspheme the Internal Spirit (which is actually impossible, we’ll get there J) then there is no forgiveness. Paul echo’s this in: Heb 6:4-8
“4 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

4. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. This is a very convicting verse when I hear myself utter a string of expletives. I realize the vileness of my own heart and the truth of the reformers statement, “Simul Justus et Peccator,” in English this means Simultaneously Righteous and Sinner. Meaning, every day we fight with a flesh (Romans 7) that desires sin but we also have within us a foreign righteousness (Christ’s Righteousness) at work. If I ever get a tattoo, it will include this inscription.

5. “45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation." The bible talks about angels and demons more frequently than it does the infamous “God’s Love.” Angels and Demons, while not a visible or massive are a fact of the Biblical Worldview, as difficult as it may be to accept in today’s culture of secularism that denies all hint of the transcendental.

6. 46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
Great verse, if Mother Mary did not hold any special privilege in Jesus life on earth, why do some give her special privilege in heaven? Some also deny the fact that Jesus had brothers and sisters because they feel that it stains Mary who by their tradition actually deserved heaven by her own merit not Christ’s. Either this verse is incorrect or their doctrine is incorrect, they are mutually exclusive as far as I can tell.