Matthew 12-13 — Chuck Smith

Jesus and Sabbath Controversies

Matthew chapter 12, as we continue our journey through the Bible, now in the New Testament and into the 12th chapter of the book of Matthew. And at that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn and his disciples were hungry and they began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.

This was probably not corn like we think of it here in California, but probably the wheat and they call the little grain of the top of the wheat, they call that also corn. And what they do is, as it is drying around June and all getting ready for harvest, they take and they put it in their hands and they rub it to knock the hulls off of the kernel and then they eat the kernels.

And with the Jews, they constituted, the Bible said, you know, you're not to do any labor on the Sabbath day. And they said, well, you know, rubbing it in your hands is labor and thus you shouldn't be doing that.

So the Pharisees and all are really watching Jesus very carefully. They're really wanting to create accusations against him. They want excuses for not believing in him. And so it is, this is beginning actually the really controversies with the Pharisees here in chapter 12 and it really gets to be rather heated here in the 12th chapter.

So as they were going through and they were plucking these ears of corn and eating them, the Pharisees saw it and they said to him, behold, your disciples, they're doing that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day.

Who said it wasn't lawful? It was one of the rules that they had made up. It surely wasn't in the scriptures. But he said unto them, have you not read what David did when he was hungry and those that were with him?

How they entered into the house of God and they did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat and neither for them which were with him, but only for the priest. Or have you not read in the law how that on the Sabbath days the priest in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless.

In other words, the priest do labor on the Sabbath day. That is one of the big days as far as their offering sacrifices and so forth. And all of the labor that went in, in offering sacrifices. And so Jesus is showing that the priest were violating the strict kind of interpretation of the Sabbath.

And so he said, I say unto you that in this place is one greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, that I will have mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless.

For the son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day. And so when he was departed from there, he went into the synagogue and behold, there was a man which had a hand that was withered. And they asked him saying, and is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days that they might accuse him?

Healing on the Sabbath and the Mercy of Christ

Now it is still the same Sabbath day and Jesus has gone into the synagogue and here is a man with a withered hand. It is interesting to me that they knew the heart of Jesus. They knew that he could not really face a human blight without wanting to repair it.

He came to actually fix the things that were wrong in this world. And so they knew his character of wanting to help those that are in need. And here it is on the Sabbath day. And so they are really trying to accuse him and saying, you know, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?

Now according to their traditions, it was not lawful to apply anything that would heal. In other words, if you came across someone and they were hurting bad, maybe they had been in an accident and they were bleeding profusely, you could apply a tourniquet, you could stop the bleeding, but you could do nothing toward healing until the Sabbath day was over.

And thus you couldn't really bandage it up or whatever. Just make sure that you stop the bleeding with a tourniquet and that's all that you were allowed to do. So it is interesting that their interpretation of the law was you weren't to really do anything that would be tending towards the healing of a person on the Sabbath day.

And so he said unto them, What man shall there be among you that if he has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it and lift it out? How much better then is this man than a sheep?

And wherefore is it lawful to do well on the Sabbath days? Then he said to the man, Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched it forth and it was restored whole like the other. Then the Pharisees, this was the straw that sort of broke the camel's back, they went out and held a council against him, how that they might destroy him.

They were determined that he was just a persona non grata as far as they were concerned because he was upsetting their whole spiritual routine. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from there and great multitudes followed him and he healed them all.

And he charged them that they should not make him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah 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. And he shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, a smoking flax shall he not quench, till he sends forth judgment unto victory and in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

So they're beginning to understand that the Jews themselves, he was to present himself to them as their Messiah and it was when they rejected him and crucified him that then the door was opened to the Gentiles to receive the glorious grace of God and salvation through Jesus Christ.

So his name shall the Gentiles trust. Then was brought unto him one that was possessed with the devil. He was blind and he was a mute and he healed him insomuch that the blind and the mute both spake and saw.

Beelzebub, the Holy Spirit, and the Unpardonable Sin

And the people were amazed and they said, Is not this the son of David? In other words, is this the Messiah? And when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out devils, but by Baalzebub, the prince of devils.

And Jesus knew their thoughts and he said, Every kingdom that is divided against itself is brought into desolation. Every city or house that is divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided against himself and how shall then his kingdom stand?

And if I, Baalzebub, cast out the devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 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 unless he first of all binds the strong man and then he will spoil his house? He that is not with me is against me, and he that doesn't gather scatters abroad.

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven.

But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. So the warning that Jesus gives now concerning the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and how that this is a sin that is unpardonable.

Just what is the sin of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Well you say, well it looks like it was attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan. Because that's what prompted Jesus to give this warning about blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

I don't think that a person can blaspheme the Holy Spirit in just a moment's time. I don't think it's a single kind of an action on a person's part. I think that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the continual rejection of the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart and showing to you that Jesus Christ is God's provision for your sin and urging you to come to Jesus Christ.

The Bible tells us that no man can come to Jesus except the Spirit draw him. And so I believe that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is rejecting over and over and over again when the Holy Spirit is pointing out to you that Jesus Christ is God's provision for your sin and inviting you to receive Him into your life and to accept Him as your Savior.

And if you reject Jesus as your Savior and continue to reject Him as your Savior I do believe that God has made no other provision for your sin. And thus there's no forgiveness, neither in this world nor the world to come.

And I do believe that when they are saying concerning Jesus that He is casting out devils by the devil himself, by Beelzebub that that is really showing that they are getting very close to that place of rejecting Jesus once too often and where they will no longer even have any conscience towards sin that they will have grieved the Holy Spirit of God and He is no longer even convicting them of their sin.

I think that it shows that they are getting close to that place when they are attributing. You see, here's this fellow. He can't see. He can't speak. And Jesus heals him. What can you say? Here is the proof that He has the power of God working through Him.

Here is the proof, the really final proof, that He is the Messiah. And, you know, this was the prophecies concerning the Messiah when He would come, the healing ministry of Jesus. And now they see it evidenced before them, and they have been saying, No, He's not the Messiah over and over again until now they are faced with this kind of proof that He is.

But they have said no to His being the Messiah so long that they could not change. And thus, the warning of Jesus, you know, you're getting close because you're attributing now these miracles to Satan and it means that you're getting really close to that line that once you cross it, there's no hope for your salvation.

So Jesus is warning them then concerning the unpardonable sin, the continual rejection of Him. So He said, Either make the tree good and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit.

O generation of vipers, how can you be evil? How can you being evil speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. So it's interesting. You don't have to be around a person very long before their true nature is revealed, listening to their conversation, listening to their words.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. An evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say unto you that every idle word that man shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment.

For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. So be careful how you speak. Then certain of the scribes and the Pharisees answered saying, Master, we would see a sign from you.

The Sign of Jonah and the Judgment of Unbelief

Now this seems to me rather odd. They've just seen this man who was blind and who was a mute and they saw him. He's now speaking. He can now see. And they say, you know, he did it by the power of the devil.

And now they're saying, well, show us a sign. Well, what did you just see? You know, you ignorant guys. What's going on here? I mean, I think it's a rather strange place for them to say, Master, we would see a sign from you.

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and an adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

And the men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and they'll condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, but a greater than Jonah is here. So Jesus said, you know, you're looking after a sign.

That's evil. That's wicked. You're not going to see any sign except one. And what was the sign going to be? His death in the grave for three days and then his resurrection. That's going to be the sign that they will see.

And so they saw it. Many did believe because of it, but there were many who did not. Even though they saw the evidence of the resurrection. The Queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it.

For she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold a greater than Solomon is here. Now Jesus is speaking of a future resurrection and in that future resurrection, actually the men of Nineveh will rise in that resurrection and they will condemn this generation that saw the miracles of Jesus because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, but Jesus said a greater than Jonah is here.

You know, their repenting at the preaching of Jonah is sort of a miracle in itself. The message that Jonah had was not at all a message of promise or a message of hope. It was a message of condemnation and it wasn't from a minister who had a real heart and a love for them, but one who actually wanted to see them perish.

Nineveh was an enemy of Israel and they were a threat to Israel and you remember Jonah when he was called of God to go to Nineveh headed the other direction and of course was intercepted by that whale or huge fish and brought back and deposited on the beach.

But when he then went to Nineveh he was angry and he hated the Ninevites and it was almost with a smack of the lips and you know, you've got it coming, but his message was just monotonous and it was just in condemnation where he said, 30 days and you're going to be destroyed.

Yet 30 days and comes destruction and that was his message and it was actually in bitterness, it was in anger and yet they repented at the preaching of Jonah and here Jesus comes with a message of God's love, God's grace, God's forgiveness and they are rejecting the message of Jesus and so he's, well might the men of Nineveh in the day of the resurrection condemn this generation who will be also rising in that one day when they will all be rising to stand before God.

So also the Queen of the South, the Queen of Sheba who came to hear the wisdom of Solomon she will rise in the resurrection and she will condemn this generation because she came to hear the wisdom and went home just convinced of the wisdom of Solomon greater than Solomon is here.

Demonic Bondage and the Need for Christ

So Jesus then said, when an unclean spirit is gone out of a man he walks through dry places seeking rest and finding none he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came and when he has come he finds the house empty, swept and garnished and so he goes and he takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter into and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first even so it shall be also unto this wicked generation.

You know we don't really see much or experience much what is called demon possession here in America. It is something that is quite common in pagan nations where people are many of them worshipping Satan and worshipping the evil spirits and they become possessed by these evil spirits and you don't see it much here.

I have seen a few cases but not many people that I really felt were demon possessed and it is an interesting thing I have often been called to exorcisms where they wanted us to pray that God would free a person from this possession by an evil spirit but I hesitate to do it unless the person really wants to accept Jesus Christ.

I think that you can do them a great disservice by just commanding the evil spirit to leave and that if it isn't replaced that vacuum in their life is not replaced by Jesus then it is an invitation really for the evil spirit who has been cast out to come back finds a place all empty, swept, garnished and he goes out and gets seven others even worse than him so that the last state of that person is worse than it was before he ever had an exorcism practiced on him.

So it is one of those things that you just don't do just because someone wants it done. You want to make sure that the person who is possessed is wanting to receive Jesus. And the beautiful thing is when Jesus comes in, Satan goes out so while he yet talked to the people behold his mother, that would be Mary and his brothers stood without desiring to speak with him.

Jesus' True Family and Mary

Now I know that the Catholic Church talks about the perpetual virginity of Mary that she remained a virgin the rest of her life but that isn't biblically correct. From the Bible we read that Mary had other children and here is Mary coming and she wanted to speak with Jesus and the brothers were with her now from Mark's Gospel chapter 3 it does indicate that they were worried about him.

They were worried that he was probably too involved in the ministry that he was fulfilling and that he was just almost beside himself or almost insane. And so they were going to try to rescue him from himself.

And so they came to to the house where he was ministering and sent the message in your mother and your brothers are out here they want to see you. And so he answered and sent unto him that told him who is my mother and who are my brethren.

And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and he said behold my mother and my brothers. For whosoever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven the same is my brother and my sister and my mother.

Now you know the Catholics do practice praying to Mary and you know holy Mary mother of God have mercy on us in this our hour of death and so forth amen. You know it's an interesting thing they say well if you want the favor of someone or you want something done if you can convince their mother that it should be done and let her go and intercede for you.

Surely he won't reject his mother's intercession. And so Mary is looked upon as an intercessor. But you know I really wouldn't want her to intercede for me because he might be saying you know who is my mother.

And so you know here is I think that this should really put to rest the idea that Mary is a mediatrix between us and Jesus right here who is my mother and who are my brothers. And so then saying concerning the disciples and all that were following him my mother my brother.

And whosoever does the will of the father which is in heaven the same is my brother my sister and mother. So the same day Jesus went out of the house and he sat by the seaside and great multitudes were gathered together unto him so that he went into a ship and he sat and the whole multitude stood on the shore and he spoke many things unto them in parables saying behold a sower went forth to sow.

The Parable of the Sower and Fruitful Discipleship

And when he sowed some seeds some fell by the wayside and the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell on stony places and they had not much earth and immediately they sprung up. But since they had no depth of earth when the sun was up they were scorched and they became and they withered because they had no root.

And some fell among thorns and the thorns sprung up and choked them but other fell into good ground and brought forth fruit some a hundredfold some sixtyfold and some thirtyfold. Who has ears to hear let him hear.

And when the disciples came they said unto him why are you speaking to them in parables. And he answered and said unto them because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but to them it is not given.

For whosoever hath to him shall be given and he shall have more abundance. But whosoever hath not from him will be taken away even that which he has. Therefore I speak to them in parables because they seeing see not and hearing they hear not and neither do they understand.

And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which said by hearing you shall hear and shall not understand seeing you shall see and not perceive. For this people's heart is waxed gross and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes they have closed lest at any time they should see with their eyes hear with their ears and should understand with their heart and should be converted.

And I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes for they see your ears for they hear. For verily I say unto you that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see and have not seen them and to hear those things which you hear and have not heard them.

Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. Now he's going to explain to them the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not then comes the wicked one and catches away that which was sown in his heart and that which is received this he is the one that received the seed by the wayside.

But he that received the seed into the stony ground the same as he that hears the word and anon he receives it with joy and yet he has not root in himself but endures for a while. For when the tribulation or persecution arises because of the word and by he is offended.

And he also that received the seed among the thorns is he that hears the word and the cares of the world the deceitfulness of riches and other things choke out the word and he becomes unfruitful. But he that receives the seed into the good ground is he that hears the word and he understands it and which also shall bear his fruit and bring forth fruit some a hundredfold some sixty some thirty the message of God goes out and the word of God going out is like seed that is being sown.

And in sowing the seed of course he's talking and the idea is that of the wheat and so forth and planting the seed and you broadcast the seed and as you're broadcasting the seed you know the wind will carry some of it over into the the hard ground and it might sprout up for a moment but no depth of earth and it soon dies away.

The various types of soil in the hearts of people when the word of God is planted in their hearts some are like stony ground it seems to come up real fast seems to begin to flourish but it doesn't have any depth.

The stones are there and it soon when persecution or whatever arises it dies and it just doesn't carry on. Then they're among the thorns. This is the one that concerns me because I believe that so much seed falls among the thorns and the thorns it grows up but it grows up with the thorns.

And because the thorns are growing up with it the thorns ultimately sort of choke out the seed. And in describing the thorns he said the cares of this life the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things choke out the word of God that it doesn't bring forth fruit.

So what is the Lord interested in in your life. He's interested in the fruit that comes forth from your life. And that should be a major question in each of our hearts and lives tonight is my life bringing forth fruit for the Lord.

That which fell on the good soil brought forth fruit some hundred some sixty some thirty fold but it was bringing forth fruit which is God's desire. I think that it should be of great concern to each of us to examine ourselves and to ask is my life really bringing forth fruit for the Lord.

And what kind of fruit is coming forth from my life. Is the Lord pleased with my life and the fruit that my life is bringing forth. And so I think it's of course the first of the parables but I think it's a very important parable and one that can have application to us tonight because I'm sure that within this audience tonight there are different types of soil upon which the seed has fallen.

And you might read this over again and just ask yourself what kind of soil is in my heart. You know what kind of soil has the seed fallen on. Is it fallen on the stony ground. Is it fallen by the way side where it just doesn't really do anything dies almost immediately.

The Wheat and the Tares: Judgment at the Harvest

Or is it fallen on good ground. And bringing forth fruit. And that should be the main concern. And surely is of my life that I want my life to bring forth fruit for the Lord for his kingdom. Another parable he put forth unto them saying the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

But while men slept the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up and it brought forth fruit then appeared the tares also. So the servant of the householder came and said to him sir did you not sow good seed in your field.

Where did these tares come from. And he said unto them an enemy has done this. And the servant said will you that I should go and gather them up. But he said no less when you gather up the tares you root up also some of the wheat with them.

Let them both grow together till the harvest. And at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers gather ye together. First the tares bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn.

So again the tares growing with the wheat. I've heard people say well we're looking for the perfect church. Well don't look here and I don't want to discourage you but you'll never find the perfect church.

I don't care how good it is. The enemy always seems to sow tares among the wheat. And so you might look at your own self and say am I true wheat or am I a tare. They're growing up together and the Lord said don't try to separate them.

Now wait until the harvest. And that's sort of a scary thing because the Lord's allowing them to grow among the wheat and it isn't until the final harvest that the distinguishing will take place and the tares will be gathered bound and thrown into the fire where the wheat will be gathered and put into the barn.

The Mustard Seed and Abnormal Church Growth

But again waiting until the harvest time before it is really revealed is to me sort of a scary thing. Another parable he put forth unto them saying the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which if a man took and he sowed it in the field which indeed is the least of all seeds but when it is grown it is the greatest among the herbs and it becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and they lodge in the branches thereof.

Now this morning we talked about as expositional constancy that when something is used in a parable and it has a certain meaning or you know it is used for something sort of as an analogy that there is that expositional constancy if it is evil in one portion of the parable then in all the parables where it is used it is evil.

Now birds in parables are evil and so in expositional constancy if there are birds you know that it is evil and so the birds lodging in it mean an evil is lodging within the mustard seed that is grown into a tree.

First of all mustard seeds don't grow into trees. If it would grow into a tree it would be abnormal growth and so you know there are some churches that have tremendous growth programs and they become huge, great trees and the birds are lodging in them but yet it is an abnormal growth and it is not good.

So this parable that is speaking here is not really something that you should want to emulate or hope that you would be a part of this because the mustard seed growing into a tree would be abnormal growth and not healthy.

And the fact that the birds are lodging in it again would be a bad thing. Another parable he spake unto them the kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven which if a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened and these things he spake Jesus to the multitude in parables and without a parable he did not speak unto them.

Leaven again in the scripture is something that is evil. It is Jesus said beware of the leaven of the pharisees. And thus in expositional constancy here leaven is used of Jesus and the woman actually taking and putting the leaven in her dough that she is making and you put in a little leaven and it leavens the whole lump of dough and so it speaks of sin.

You know just allowing a little bit how that it will just spread. And how does it spread by rotting the leaven as it rots the air bubbles develop and of course it causes the bread to rise then with the leaven that is in it but yet it is used in an evil sense in that there is a rottenness that spreads you get puffed up I guess but not good.

Jesus Explains the Wheat and the Tares

So Jesus sent the multitude away and he went into a house and the disciples came to him and said Lord declare to us the parable of the tares and the field. And he answered and said unto them he that soweth the good seed is the son of man.

The field is the world. Expositional constancy. Wherever you find the field it is a reference into the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom. But the tears are the children of the wicked one.

The enemy that sowed them is the devil. And the harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the angels. And therefore the tears are gathered and burned in the fire and it shall be at the end of this world.

And the son of man shall send forth his angels and they shall gather out of his kingdom all of the things that offend and then which do iniquity and shall cast them into the furnace of fire. And there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

And then shall the righteous shine forth as the son in the kingdom of their father who has ears to hear let him hear. So then going on the kingdom of heaven is like into a treasure hidden in a field. The witch when a man hath found he hideth and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Kingdom as Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price

So the kingdom of heaven like into a treasure hid in a field again. Expositional constancy. The field is the world. And then who is the one who gave everything to redeem or to purchase the world. And that would be Jesus.

And what is the treasure. And this is the mystery. You are the treasure that he purchased the world in order to take you out of it. That just touches my heart tremendously to realize that he loved me so much and he values me so highly.

He considers me his treasure and he purchased the world so that he could take me out of it and that he might take you out of it his special treasure. And so go home tonight just saying I'm a special treasure.

You know the Lord treasured me so much he came to this world. He died on the cross to redeem the world from Satan's power that he might possess the treasure that was in the world you taking you out of it.

So the kingdom of heaven is like into a merchant man seeking goodly pearls who when he has found one pearl of great price when he sold all that he had and he bought it again. The kingdom of heaven is like into a net that was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind which when it was full they drew it to shore and sat down and gathered the good into vessels but cast the bad away.

And so shall it be at the end of the world the angels will come forth and sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus said unto them do you understand these things. And they said unto him yes Lord. I wonder if they really did I don't understand them. You notice I did pass over that one of pearl of great price because I don't know that I really have the right interpretation on that one.