MUB
1.30.2005
MATT 12;22-28
22Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub,£ the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."
25Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I WAS DOING SOME STREET WITNESSING IN EAST LANSING, I MET AN AMERICAN INDIAN. UNDERSTAND, I WAS STILL A COLLEGE STUDENT, AND I WAS MORE BOLD THAN KNOWLEDGEABLE. I DON’T RECALL MY EXACT WORDS, BUT GUESS THEY WERE SOMETHING LIKE THIS, DO YOU KNOW JESUS AS LORD AND SAVIOR OF YOUR LIFE? HIS RESPONSE WAS UNLIKE ANY I HAD EVER HEARD BEFORE. HE SAID, I KNOW YOUR JESUS, BUT YOUR JESUS WILL NEVER FORGIVE ME. MY RESPONSE WAS, JESUS CAN AND WILL FORGIVE YOU, IF YOU WILL ONLY LET HIM. HE SAID, LET ME TELL YOU A STORY, YEARS AGO, I WAS IN MY STATION WAGON WITH MY WIFE AND FAMILY, THIS DRUNK DRIVER CROSSED THE CENTER LINE, HIT US HEAD ON , AND I LOST MY WIFE AND MY CHILD. HE TOOK MY LIFE, HE DESTROYED MY LIFE, AND I WILL NEVER FORGIVE HIM FOR THAT. AND AS LONG AS I CANNOT FORGIVE HIM, GOD WILL NEVER FORGIVE ME. I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY, HE TURNED AND WALKED AWAY. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO THINK LIKE THIS MAN THOUGHT, GOD WILL NEVER FORGIVE ME FOR MY SIN. OUR TEXT SPEAKS TO THIS TODAY.
AS WE CONTINUE IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST, IF YOU HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING ALONG, YOU REALIZE THAT WHERE WE ARE TODAY, DOES NOT SEEM TO BE IN ORDER. THE WRITERS OF THE GOSPELS DID NOT WRITE CHRONOLOGICALLY.
AS WE STUDY TOGETHER, AS WE EXAMINE THIS ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS, I NEED TO LAY OUT A GROUND RULE FOR INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE.
YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS AS YOU CORRECTLY UNDERSTAND THE WORD OF GOD. THIS IS THE FIRST RULE, READ AND STUDY IN CONTEXT. LOOK AT THE WHOLE PICTURE. I WOULD SUGGEST TO YOU, THAT IF I PICK AND CHOOSE, AND IF I HOP FROM HERE TO THERE, I CAN MAKE THE BIBLE SAY JUST ABOUT ANYTHING I WANT IT TO SAY. THIS IS WRONG. WE ARE TO CORRECTLY DIVIDE THE WORD OF TRUTH.
THEY BROUGHT TO JESUS, A MAN POSSESSED OF A DEMON. HE WAS BOTH BLIND AND MUTE, COULDN’T SEE AND COULDN’T SPEAK. IT TAKES ONLY A QUICK REVIEW, TO SEE THE MANY MIRACULOUS HEALING’S OF JESUS. THIS IS NOT UNCOMMON, NOT OUT OF THE ORDINARY. IT IS TO BE EXPECTED, THAT PEOPLE WOULD BRING THIS MAN TO JESUS, AND THAT THEY WOULD EXPECT THAT JESUS WOULD HEAL HIM, AND THAT IN FACT JESUS WOULD HEAL HIM.
WE CAN ASSUME, THAT THE DEMON POSSESSION AND HIS BLINDNESS AND BEING MUTE, ARE TIED TOGETHER. JESUS HEALS THE MAN, AND HE CAN BOTH SEE AND SPEAK, AND THE DEMONS ARE GONE. SCRIPTURE DOESN’T TELL US HOW THIS HEALING TAKES PLACE, LAYING ON OF HANDS, OR IF JESUS JUST SPEAKS. WHAT WE DO KNOW IS, THE MAN WAS HEALED. THE PEOPLE RESPOND, CAN THIS BE THE SON OF DAVID?
THE PHARISEES , ONCE AGAIN QUESTION AND CHALLENGE JESUS. NOT TO HIS FACE, BUT TO THE CROWD. THEY WANT THE PEOPLE TO QUESTION, TO RAISE DOUBTS. THE ACCUSATION THEY BRING IS THIS;"IT IS ONLY BY BEELZEBUB , THE PRINCE OF THE DEMONS THAT THIS FELLOW DRIVES OUT DEMONS". WHAT THEY ARE SAYING IS THIS, HE CASTS OUT DEMONS, NOT B/C
HE IS OF DAVID, BUT B/C HE IS OF SATAN. THEY GAVE WHAT SHOULD BE CREDIT FOR GOD, AS CREDIT TO SATAN. HOLD ONTO THIS THOUGHT. .
JESUS KNOWS THEIR THOUGHTS AND ANSWERS THEM. "EVERY KGD DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF WILL BE RUINED, EVERY CITY OR HOUSEHOLD DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF WILL NOT STAND." THE ACCUSATION OF THE PHARISEES WILL NOT STAND UP. SATAN DOES NOT OPPOSE SATAN. THE CONFLICT IS NOT BETWEEN GOOD AND GOOD, IT IS BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL.
SCRIPTURE POINTS THIS OUT AS A HOUSE DIVIDED, THE END IS ALWAYS RUIN. LINCOLN SPOKE ABOUT THIS IN A CAMPAIGN SPEECH, DESCRIBING OUR OWN COUNTRY. THE NATION CANNOT STAND IF IT IS DIVIDED, IT WILL FALL.
WE NEED TO SEE THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THIS AS WELL. THE POSITIVE TRUTH OF THIS, A HOUSE THAT IS UNITED WILL STAND STRONG. PS. 133;1 "HOW GOOD AND HOW PLEASANT IT IS, WHEN BROTHERS LIVE TOGETHER IN UNITY." JOHN 17;21 , "THAT ALL OF THEM MAY BE ONE,, FATHER, JUST AS YOU ARE IN ME AND I AM IN YOU."
THE CHURCH MUST BE UNITED. WE AS A GROUP OF BELIEVERS NEED TO BE UNITED, IN OUR PURPOSE, IN OUR MISSION, IN OUR LOVE FOR CHRIST, IN ALL ASPECTS OF OUR CHURCH LIFE AND MINISTRY.
CHRIST THEN DEFENDS HIMSELF. IF I DRIVE OUT DEMONS BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THEN THE KGD OF GOD HAS COME UPON YOU.
VS 29, THE PICTURE HERE IS PROPHETIC, SATAN IS THE FIRST STRONG MAN, JESUS IS THE STRONGER MAN WHO OVERPOWERS HIM. THINK ABOUT THIS, IF YOU HAVE A STRONG MAN WHO IS TIED UP BY AN EVEN STRONGER MAN, WHICH OF THE TWO DO YOU WANT ON YOUR SIDE?
V30, JESUS DRAWS A LINE IN THE SAND, CHOOSE SIDES, EITHER YOU ARE FOR ME OR AGAINST ME, THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND.
V31 &32, JESUS SAYS, EVERY SIN AND BLASPHEMY WILL BE FORGIVEN. UNDERSTAND, THIS IS NOT A LICENSE TO SIN, THIS IS NOT A GO AHEAD AND DO IT, AND IT WILL BE ALRIGHT COMMAND. THIS IS A CONDITIONAL, ALL THESE SINS CAN AND WILL BE FORGIVEN, HERE IS THE CONDITION, IF YOU ASK FORGIVENESS. THE OLD MAN ON THE STREET IN EAST LANSING, IF HE SIMPLY ASKS FORGIVENESS, GOD WILL GIVE IT. IF YOU HAVE SIN IN YOUR HEART, SIMPLY ASK GOD TO FORGIVE AND HE WILL.
THERE IS ONE EXCEPTION, THERE IS ONE SIN THAT CANNOT BE FORGIVEN. IT IS BLASPHEMY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. REMEMBER THE FIRST RULE OF INTERPRETATION, DO IT IN CONTEXT. THE CONTEXT IS THAT THE PHARISEES, HAVE GIVEN CREDIT TO SATAN, SOMETHING THAT GOD HAS DONE.
