Matthew describes Jesus as being above the regulations about the Sabbath as he defends his disciples against the criticisms of the Pharisees. Then Jesus heals on the Sabbath revealing the heart of the pharisees who had placed the care of animals over that of people. After Jesus healed and cast a demon out of a man the people exclaim he must be the messiah. Jesus had just performed one of the four miracles that were signs of the coming Messiah. To which the Pharisees commit the sin against the Holy Spirit by attributing the work of God to the work of Satan.
SHOW NOTES
Matthew 12 NLT The significance of the Sabbath
12 At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2 But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”
By their question the Pharisees confirm their rule-based thinking. Their morality is legal not relational. They are concerned with minimalistic questions such as, “What is wrong with eating fresh grain on the Sabbath?” They are not concerned about when the disciples had last eaten and why they had delayed eating. Jesus in reply gives them a case study from their history.
3 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat.
There are two legal violations in this study. They entered the domain of the priests, the Holy Place where the bread was on display. Secondly, they ate the bread that was reserved for priestly consumption. What is unstated but understood is that there was no divine penalty in word or deed for this action.
Jesus is demonstrating that human need supersedes imposed law. Jesus, knowing how difficult and slow paradigm changes are gives them another case from their history to consider.
5 And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath?
The law stipulated that on the Sabbath day there was to be no work done. How then can the holy priests be exempt? They are because the temple services are most needed on the Sabbath day. The law was concerned with the sacredness of the Sabbath and the sacredness of the Temple illustrated with its exclusion barriers. Only the holiest man, the high priest, was allowed into the holiest area, the Most Holy Place for a few minutes a year.
6 I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple!
The temple was the house of God and the center of Judaism but now God had arrived. He supersedes the temple itself. If the priests who were less than the temple are exempt how much more are the disciples exempt for serving God-in-human form on the Sabbath.
7 But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’
This statement is found in Hosea 6:6. Jesus has already quoted it in Matthew 9:13 in connection with calling the tax collector Matthew to be a disciple. Apparently, this is a favourite quote for Jesus. Mercy is greater than the penalties of the law as Jesus demonstrated by liberating the woman taken in adultery, his seven healings on the Sabbath, touching lepers and healing them, associating with women and tax collectors in public and healing them.
8 For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”
This means the Sabbath is to serve Jesus and disciple rather than them serving the Sabbath. Jesus will now put this understanding to work in blessing those around him on this Sabbath day. He is LORD of the Sabbath and he determines Sabbath activity.
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
9 Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, 10 where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?”
They were hoping he would say, “yes,” so they could bring legal charges against him. The Pharisees had learned nothing from what Jesus had just taught them. They immediately reverted to their legal mindset. They had forgotten about mercy. Their attitude was legal and so also judgmental. We often judge others to create loopholes for our own infractions of the law. Here comes another case study for the Pharisees.
11 And he answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. 12 And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.”
The Gadarenes valued their pigs more than their demon possessed brothers. The Pharisees valued their sheep’s well-being more than people comfort since they make allowance for a sheep’s comfort but not for an afflicted Judean.
13 Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one!
This was not an emergency, but for Jesus it was always the right time to show mercy. He showed up the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, and they hated him for doing so. As a result they plot their wicked revenge.
14 Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.
There are Pharisees everywhere. A Pharisee is a professional fault finder. They believe this is a gift from God to them. Pharisees can find fault with other religious groups. They can find fault with a spouse, with children, with relatives, with politicians, with leadership. They can find fault with an innocent, compassionate, serving God incarnated as a Galilean. Once the fault or perpetrator is identified it must be eliminated. Do you get it? Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan to illustrate the Pharisee syndrome. It is the cause of all classism, racism and sexism.
Jesus, God’s Chosen Servant
15 But Jesus knew what they were planning. So he left that area, and many people followed him. He healed all the sick among them, 16 but he warned them not to reveal who he was. 17 This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah (42:1-4) concerning him:
18 “Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen. He is my Beloved, who pleases me.
I will put my Spirit upon him,and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
Jesus proclaims the justice of God by healing all the sick who came to him. God’s justice is not punishing sinners but healing sinners. They after all did not choose to be sinners. Adam made that choice for them. The wonder of Jesus is that later he does this from the Cross. He heals the executioners by granting them forgiveness and understanding,
19 He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public.
20 He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle.
Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. 21 And his name will be the hope
of all the world.”
Jesus is clearly non-violent from this prophetic passage (19-20). He is the gentle One (Matthew 11:28-30; John 10:10). Because of these gentle passages and the glory passages in the Old Testament some Jewish teachers believed there would be two Messiahs. A priestly non-violent Messiah and a kingly or military Messiah who would be like king David.
Christians have a similar teaching. Jesus, at his first coming is a non-violent, gentle, loving healer. At his second coming he is the avenging judge to punish rebels. He is the same being with two different phases. The New Testament teaches the opposite. It is adamant that Jesus encompassed all of God not only the loving half of God at his first coming (Colossians 2:9).
Jesus and the Prince of Demons
22 Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. 23 The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”
This is one of the four Messianic identification tests the Jews held. The Jews could cast out demons by asking the demon its name. They then used the name to cast the demon out. This man was dumb and could not tell the demon’s name. This is why the crowd is so amazed at Jesus’ miracle.
24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.”
Faultfinding and hatred are not logical and warp the way we think. It is part of the darkness that Jesus’ light shines on and exposes for those who are willing. These religious leaders attribute the work of God to Satan. This is the sin against the Holy Spirit because it is born of a blind hatred against love and compassion.
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 26 And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive. 27 And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.
Jesus exposes their false logic and draws their attention to the evidence this miracle is exposing about himself and his message of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus also confirms that there were successful exorcists among the Judeans.
28 But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. 29 For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.
This will be unequivocally demonstrated at the Cross and the resurrection when Jesus entered the devil’s domain and delivered some of his prisoners (Matthrew 27:50-53).
30 “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
Face the truth, if we are Pharisees or professional fault finders we are working against Jesus.
31 “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.
Jesus came with the baggage of humanity. He was a male Jew from Galilee. All these adjectives created barriers people. One could be excused from misjudging Jesus because of his human baggage. His executioners did so and they were forgiven by Jesus. The Holy Spirit is unincumbered. He has no baggage to prevent his entrance into the human heart. If we reject the Spirit who can help us? We have rejected the best.
33 “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. 34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”
We do not make mistakes in what we say. We reveal our thoughts and feelings. At times we are inspired and communicate beyond ourselves as the Spirit empowers us. This is why Jesus now refers to Jonah who has a bad heart but is given a good message for the Ninevites which he passes on against his own wishes.
The Sign of Jonah
38 One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”
The question of Jesus authority is centered on his ability to forgive sin. This authority is mentioned in 10:1, 12:38, 16:1, 19, 28:18. When Jesus says to his disciples, “All authority has been given me.” He is not talking in generalities but specifically about his authority to forgive sin. This was the central issue about Jesus’ divinity in Matthew. The Jews did not expect the Messiah to be divine but an empowered human leader like king David and king Solomon. Jesus is revealing he is God by forgiving sin. Jesus has already demonstrated this ability when he pronounced the paralyzed man forgiven and proved his ability by healing him. With this evidence the Pharisees are again asking for a miracle. It is proof of their unbelief in the divinity of Jesus.
39 But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
This generation is adulterous because his miracles are the evidence has already been supplied and they have refused to believe in the divinity of Jesus. They will instead plan the death of Jesus because he does not meet their false expectations of Messiah and furthermore, he threatens the temple economy.
Jonah is the sign Jesus gives. Jonah took responsibility for the storm and asked the sailors to throw him overboard. Despite his shortcomings and bad attitudes Jonah is honorable in this respect. Some suggest he preferred death to bringing possible salvation to his hated enemy the Ninevites. Whatever his motivation, Jonah prefigures Jesus taking responsibility for the salvation of the world by laying down his life. The religious leaders asked Pilate to throw Jesus “overboard” into the sea of death. As the great fish could not digest Jonah and vomited him up, so death could not “digest” Jesus and he emerged from death after three days.
Jonah was sent to bring the love of God to the Assyrians, a powerful pagan empire. Jesus came to bring the love of God to the empire of this world. They had parallel responsibilities. Jonah did not understand his mission, but the Assyrians did. Jesus understood his mission, but his hearers did not.
41 “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.
42 The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.
In both examples Jesus identifies the problem as refusal to repent. It was not ignorance or misunderstanding or lack of acceptance that was the problem. It was rebellion. Jesus will indict his generation repeatedly because they refused him (John 5:40; Matthew 23:34-39) and they will not repent of their hardness of heart which means they have no mercy in their hearts for others.
43 “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but findingnone. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. 45 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”
Exorcisms can be reversed and then the person is worse off. Judas is an example of this possibility. Jesus called him to unselfish service and Judas healed the sick and cast out demons as he was empowered to do so. Then the demon of selfishness came back and found more space and brought some fellow demons with him and they together destroyed Judas.
An evil spirit can leave because an exorcist drives it out. The possessed person may not have wanted the exorcism and so the evil spirit can return. When the possessed person reaches out for help there is more chance that exorcism will be permanent.
The True Family of Jesus
46 As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 47 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.” 48 Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. 50 Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”
The intimacy of the Godhead is reflected in the community of Believers. It is for those who repent and reform under the power of the Spirit. These resulting bonds are stronger than the bonds of blood or DNA. It has always been Jesus’ purpose to come and adopt us into the divine family (Romans 8:14-17; Galatians 4:4-7; 1 John 3:1-10) This he would have done even if Eve and Adam had not sinned (Ephesians 1). We were made to enjoy the intimacy of being loved and served by God.
Ian Hartley, November 2024
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