A Deeper Look at Matthew:  An End-Times Bible Study
Copyright 2012
 
 
Matthew 12
          
            Here, Jesus and His disciples, on a sabbath day, are hungry so they pluck some ears of corn to eat.  And, immediately (12:2), the self righteous Pharisees see this and condemn the disciples for doing this because they are "working" on the seventh day of the week.  Jesus then reminds the Pharisees that David ate the shewbread that was not lawful for him to eat (1 Samuel 21:4).  He also reminds them that the law says the priests profane the sabbath and are blameless.  He tells them that there is one in that place that is greater than the temple.  Jesus says in 12:7 that He will have mercy and not sacrifice.  This also comes from Hosea 6:6 and means Jesus wants us to have mercy on others for their transgressions against us, instead of demanding them to make a sacrifice for the wrong they have committed.  Remember what Jesus says in the beatitudes - "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
            Finally, in 12:8, Jesus says that the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.  This means, if Jesus says it is OK to pluck corn on a Saturday, THEN IT IS!
            So Jesus departs and goes into a synagogue where there is a man with a withered hand.  The religious leaders, hoping to find grounds whereby they can accuse Jesus, ask Him if it is lawful to heal on the sabbath day.  So Jesus asks them a simple question.  He says, "What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?"  He goes on to say in the next verse that a man is much better than a sheep!  He says it is lawful to do well on the sabbath and commands the crippled man to stretch forth his hand - and his hand is healed!  Praise the LORD!
            So the Pharisees hold a council against Jesus, thinking of ways to "destroy Him."  Jesus finds out about this, departs, and has great multitudes following Him and He heals them all.  12:16 says that Jesus commands them to not make Him known.  He tells them this because the Pharisees are after Him.
            12:17 says Isaiah 42:1-4 is fulfilled in Jesus.  God the Father calls Jesus His Servant, here, and that His soul is well-pleased in Him.  God the Father put His Spirit upon Him and Jesus will show judgment to the Gentiles.  Notice in 12:19 that it says Jesus will not "strive."  Jesus has no need to strive, because He knows all, and is in complete control of everything.  Jesus does not beg, He commands!  Jesus will not deviate from His course until His mission is accomplished and He "sends forth judgment into victory (12:20).”  12:21 is fulfilled in Acts 13:47-48 where the Gentiles embrace the salvation offered through Jesus Christ!
            In 12:22, a blind and dumb person who is possessed with a devil is brought to Jesus and He heals the person, so that he can now speak and see.  Praises to God!  The people are amazed and ask if Jesus is the son of David.
            The Pharisees say in 12:24 that Jesus casts out devils by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.  Jesus counters this by saying that "every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand."
            Now, I want to compare 12:26 to a modern-day prophecy spoken through Linda Newkirk.  First, Matthew 12:26 says, "And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?"  Compare this to www.prophecies.org Book 7, chapter 20, where Yahweh says, "He [Lucifer] is full of greed and lust for more and more power and control.  In this quest for power and control, he will devour his own tail to maintain power.  So, in this, My Child, you will see him devour his own evil system as he pushes for more and more control of the world."  I point this out so that readers can understand.
            Jesus asks the Pharisees in 12:27 that, if He casts out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do the Pharisees' children cast them out.  The "children" of the Pharisees are those who adhere to the Pharisees' doctrine, that is, the disciples of the Pharisees.  Jesus says in 12:27b that these people will be the Pharisees' judges.
            Jesus says in 12:28 that if He casts out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto them.  Jesus goes on to say in 12:29 that, in order to spoil the goods in a strong man's house, one must first bind the strong house.  He uses this metaphor in relation to casting out devils.  Jesus cleans out the devils in those who are demon-possessed by binding them and sending them out by the power of the Spirit of God.
            Jesus makes a strong point in 12:30, that those who are not for Him are against Him.  He says, again, in Mark 9:40:  "For he that is not against us is on our part."  Also, He says that those who do not gather themselves together with Jesus' people, scatter Jesus' people.
            The unpardonable sin is mentioned by Jesus in 12:31-32.  He says that all manner of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men - including that spoken against Jesus - except blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.  Personally, I have always thought of the Holy Ghost as extremely kind and sensitive.  As God's precious diamonds, the true Christians would never even think of saying something against the Holy Ghost.  He is here to help us in our spiritual journey and is the most wonderful gift we can receive from God when we get saved.
            Jesus says in 12:33 that you make good fruit when you make the tree good and you make corrupt fruit when you make the tree corrupt.  A tree is known by its fruit.  Taking this further, a human being is known by the "fruit" he produces. The fruit of your life is found in what you DO and what you SAY.  What kind of fruit do you produce?  Good people are those filled with the Spirit of God and let the Spirit of God lead them.  They yield fruit that is known as the "fruit of the Spirit."  These fruits are found in Galatians 5:22-23.  Contrariwise, those people who do not have the Spirit of God and let, instead, their flesh rule over their lives, yield bad fruit.  When you live after your flesh, you produce fruits known as the "works of the flesh."  These fruits, or works, are found in Galatians 5:19-21.  People that produce fruits like these will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21b).
            Jesus calls his generation one of vipers in 12:34 and asks them how they can speak good things, being evil.  He goes on to say that, "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."  Simply, when your heart has a surplus of love and the good things of God, good things come out of your mouth.  When your heart has a surplus of hate or pride caused by the infiltration of demons and sin, bad things come out of your mouth.  Jesus confirms this again in 12:35.  Simply, good people say good things while bad people say bad things.  That isn't so hard to understand, is it?
            Jesus says you will give account at the day of judgment for every "idle word" you speak.  Do you know what an "idle word" is?  Spending time with idle, rich people, I see this quite often.  An idle word is a lazy word that does nothing to benefit anybody, including the person who says the idle word.  People who take their security in their abundance of money, generally speaking, are VERY lazy.  People like this are full of idle words.  Those that speak idle word after idle word are some of the most evil people on earth.  If your mouth cannot speak good, wholesome, instructive words, it is full of evil and belongs in hell - and this is where people who speak idle words go!
            Jesus confirms, in 12:37, that you will be justified by your words and condemned by your words.
            The scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus for a "sign" in Matthew 12:38.  Jesus says that an evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign and tells those requesting this that the only sign they will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah (12:39).  Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale, so Jesus will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  Jesus says this because this is the way they would know He was the Christ.  HE WOULDN'T STAY IN THE EARTH FOREVER!  No, Jesus, the Christ, would rise from the dead!
            Now, why would the Pharisees ask for a sign?  Didn't they believe that Jesus was the Christ by causing the blind to see, lame to walk, cleansing the lepers, and raising the dead.  If the Pharisees don't believe in Jesus for all this, what would cause them to believe?  These Pharisees were stiff-necked and hard-hearted!  People like this will never believe in Jesus!
            Jesus says in 12:41 that the men of Ninevah will rise in judgment against Jesus' generation because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, but one greater than Jonah is with them.  In the next verse, Jesus says, likewise, the queen of the south would act in judgment against Jesus' generation because she came from the furthest parts of the earth to hear Solomon, but one greater than Solomon is with them.
            Jesus teaches about evil spirits in 12:43-45.  Here, He says that when an evil spirit leaves a man it goes "through dry places," seeking rest.  And, if he cannot find rest, he goes back to the person that he came out of.  If he finds that place cleaned up, empty and garnished, he will take seven evil spirits more evil than himself and fill the place up.  Jesus says this is the manner in which it will be with this wicked generation.
            Jesus teaches an important lesson here.  Simply, when an evil spirit goes out of a man, that man needs to take steps to fill up his spiritual house with the things of God.  He does this through genuine repentance, constant prayer, reading God's word, and regular fasting.  If the man doesn't do this, and leaves his spiritual house empty, even more spirits - and more evil spirits - will return and destroy the man spiritually.
            Matthew 12 ends with Jesus being told by a person that His mother and brethren are outside desiring to speak with Him.  So, Jesus answers by asking, "Who is my mother?  And who are my brethren?"  Jesus stretches forward his hand toward His disciples and says they are His mother and brethren.  He qualifies this by saying that those who do the "will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."  And I will tell you that those who serve God by putting Him first and love their neighbor as themselves, these are the people who do the will of God.  These people are the mother, sister and brother of Jesus, and of each other.  Please, if you are not sure you are a child of God, please repent and accept Jesus into your heart today!  It is SO important!