Message
Matthew 12:22-32
“Not Just Sticks and Stones”
Let’s do an “Eavesdropping Accuracy Test”. I’ll tell you a phrase and you try and think what sort of person would use such a phrase.
• “We may refuse or reduce a claim, or cancel this policy, or also both if you fail in your Duty of Disclosure as detailed in this booklet” … insurance agent.
• “Light up the hose (more hoses) ” and “Make up all (get ready for the next fire)” … fireman.
• “We had to cantilever some of the joists” … carpenter.
• “The agpar score was 10” … delivery nurse or paediatrician.
• “You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so as anything you do say will be used as evidence in Court” … policeman.
• “The motherboard has failed and is no longer able to give P.O.S.T. diagnostic signals” … computer analyst.
The point of the exercise is to show that our words matter.
A delivery nurse wouldn’t tell new-born baby that anything they say will be used against then in court.
A computer analyst is not going to “light up the hose” onto his computer.
Words matter.
They give an indication of your interests and values.
They show what goes on inside us.
They demonstrate the sort of language we allow ourselves to have.
And because words matter God has given us a commandment that talks about our words.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Exodus 20:7
Usually, when we read this command, we see it as applying to blasphemy.
“O my God I got such a surprise”
“Jesus Christ that really ticks me off”.
“OMG. OMG. OMG”.
It’s all blasphemy isn’t it. Taking the name of the Lord our God and using it to fill up a space in our vocabulary. Putting the name of God on the same level as many other four letter words which dominate language today.
We wish it wasn’t the case – but this is the world we live in.
Many people have no relationship with God, so they don’t even see blasphemy as an issue. It is a real problem isn’t it.
But here is the bigger problem.
Because the commandment doesn’t say “you shall not blaspheme”.
It says, You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God.
It isn’t just an issue of language … it is an issue of representation.
Does God get upset when not-yet-believing people misuse his name?
To a certain extent he does, but many of these people don’t know any better.
What makes God more upset is when His own people misuse His name.
Let me put the command up again.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Exodus 20:7
Now notice that the word LORD is all in capital letters.
This is the name – sometimes we use the word Jehovah, or Yahweh to represent the Hebrew word.
It is a powerful name.
Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Gen 2:7)
The LORD gives our very breath.
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” (Gen 12:7)
The LORD called the people into a covenant
God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation (Ex 3:15)
The LORD has on going care for the people – he saved them
When the people disobeyed the LORD is the one who chastised so they would come back. The LORD sent the people into exile, and He returned them as well.
And this is just the beginning. The LORD is involved in so many ways.
6114 times in the OT you can find the name of the LORD.
Every aspect of your relationship with God is found in His Name.
What you say as His representative.
What you do as His representative.
It matters.
So understand that this isn’t just about blasphemy and swearing.
Because the reality is – if we want to – we can easily control our language.
I know this to be true … and so do you.
We know we can control our language because we adjust our conversations according to the people that we are with.
It is much easier not to swear when other Christians are around. Isn’t it.
And when the Pastor visits – well that is a no-brainer. You don’t swear when he is around and if a swear word happens erupt you say things like “I didn’t mean that.” “I don’t know where that come from.” “It just slipped out.”
How does a swear-word just slip out?
It is either in you, or it isn’t.
Ultimately swearing and blasphemy is an issue of control.
But not misusing the name of the LORD your God.
That is an entirely different issue.
You see misusing the name of the LORD is a real problem.
Jesus says:-
These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me (Matt 15:8-9).
In Australia 60% of people identified with some form of Christianity. About 40% of those are actually members of a church and only 10% of those worship regularly on Sunday. Basically there are many people who identify with the name of God – but they do nothing with that identification.
Isn’t that misusing the name of the LORD?
When it comes to making vows before the Lord Jesus says:-
All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one (Matt 5:37)
Yet how often have we found ourselves in this situation?
Someone shares a difficult situation in their life, or a concern or a need.
The words “I will pray for you” soon flow from our mouths.
And then we go off into our busy days and, even though we have made a vow to pray, we don’t act upon it.
Isn’t that misusing the name of the LORD?
Jesus had some hard words for the spiritual leaders of Israel:-
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean (Matt 23:27).
I spent five years at theological college. Theology literally means “the study of God” … and that sometimes became a problem.
In the context of a theological college God can become a system to be learnt, or an issue to be debated. On some occasions we would talk about God like He was an empty place in a chair. One student once described theological college as a “spiritual desert”.
Isn’t that misusing the name of the LORD?
This commandment is not just about words. It’s about integrity and not wearing a false mask. It’s about keeping Christ above all and not bringing His work into the dirt.
That is where Matthew 12:22-37 becomes so important for us today.
Jesus has been doing work which has been challenging people to think about who He is and what He has come to the earth to do.
Then the Pharisees step into the picture and start undermining that work. They start to question the source of power and the motive of Jesus.
And what is their answer? He can drive out demons because He is the prince of demons!
Once again, through the use of a very clear parable, Jesus shows how ridicules this accusation is.
Why would Satan first possess someone and then come along and disposes them? Why would Satan make His home in a person, only to just “cast Himself out”?
What the Pharisees are saying is that first Satan sends out his demons to wreak havoc in the hearts and lives of men and women so that, little by little their souls are destroyed. Then, when the soul has been given to him on a platter, Satan gives the power for the expulsion of the demon who has been his obedient servant.
If a household worked like this it would mean division … and ultimately loss.
No. Jesus is the strong man who has come to set the prisoners free.
Now that is the event. And very closely tied to this event is a discussion by Jesus about the use of words … our words.
He who is not with me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters (vs.30).
… anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven (vs.32).
… you will have to give an account on the day of judgement for every careless word spoken (vs.36).
You see what is happening here? Jesus is showing us the importance of reflecting the name of God with integrity. The Pharisees knew that Satan doesn’t cast out Satan. They only accuse Jesus because they are jealous of the fact that He has a greater following then they do. But in the process they attribute to Satan a work which God only can do.
It’s called blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit begins when people start attributing the work of God to the devil.
It misconstrues the evidence of God’s working and denies His power.
In effect it is a deliberate choice to turn against God even though all the facts point to Him.
Ultimately it is a denial of the only way of salvation.
The Pharisees are guilty of committing the eternal sin.
Now in the same context Jesus talks about words. Ordinary words. In fact the exact phrase is every careless word you have spoken.
All the insignificant words … words we think didn’t matter … we will have to give an account.
All those crass jokes we told which we’re so funny but not to be shared with people at church.
All the language we use that seems to evaporate when we are with other Christians. Those words …
They’re the careless words that Jesus is talking about. Why in this context does He make the connection between the eternal sin and careless words? Because, at the end of the day there is no such thing as a careless word.
Words come from within us.
Nobody makes us say anything we don’t want to say.
It can’t come out of us if it is not in us in the first place.
Words are a reflection of what is happening in our heart.
If we start becoming loose with our words we are in danger of putting ourselves on a treadmill that takes us away from the Saviour. It might be a long road but there is a connection between blaspheming the name of God, and misusing his Name, and then ultimately committing the eternal sin. That’s the connection Jesus is making here.
When we see it in that light we can see just how easy it is for all of us to fall in to the situation where we misuse the Name of the LORD?
So how does all of that tie in with the reality that we are seeking to understand using the commandments as a way to having freedom to enjoy God?
The key point here is that “Words Matter”.
And when it comes to the reality of our short-comings and weaknesses the Scripture contains some very powerful words to those who have recognised that they have misused the name of the LORD.
To those who know they have let God down the Scripture says:-
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
To those who are looking for a God-given identity the Scripture says:-
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
To those who think they somehow need to fix the wrong words they have said the Scriptures say:-
It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).
Our words matter. But the Word of God matters even more. For through the Word we are reminded that – even in the misuse of the name of the LORD there is still forgiveness.
31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come (Matt 12:31-32).
You can speak your way into the kingdom.
It is almost impossible to speak your way out of the kingdom.
That is because, in Christ, God has spoken your name. And even though He grieves when you misuse His name – well He still keeps calling your name.
Don’t misuse the wonderful eternal security which you have been given because you have been named.
Instead go and show the world what your true identity is.
Prayer
