At the end of chapter 11 Jesus made an offer to the multitudes:
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
This was quite an offer. This rest was a ceasing of work; but not just that, it was ceasing for the purpose of refreshment and renewal. The idea of rest was closely linked to the covenant life for the Jews. The Sabbath day was for rest of those in covenant relationship. But the religious leaders of Israel had lost sight of the purpose of the Sabbath. They had made it a burden, not a rest. They had heaped up traditions and rules on the people that weren't part of God's law. The average person who had come to understand his need and sought a relationship with God found themselves burdened, heavy laden and working, working, working trying desperately to find righteousness.
In Jesus, we find the offer of a new covenant. For us, on this side of the cross, the work has been done by Jesus. We simply come to Him by faith. In doing so, we can rest from all else; from lording over our life and failing, from trying desperately to be good and righteous, from ignoring and justifying our own sin, from the hypocrisy of pretending we are really a pretty good person. In Christ, we come as we are, yoke our life to him and rest, sweet and peaceful.
What a sweet, sweet offer. But this ushering in of a new covenant and its promises wasn't an easy thing for the Jews to accept. We see them hold fast to their burdens and pass on the offer of Jesus Christ.
12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"
"At that time" of verse one links these events in time to this offer of rest from chapter 11. There's a lot going on in this first paragraph. First, there was a limitation to how far one could walk on the Sabbath; it was normally about a 1000 yards, but there were exceptions in certain circumstances. One might wonder why the Pharisees are following Jesus around on the Sabbath; unless it was to bring a charge against him. Jesus and disciples come across this field of grain in their travels and the disciples pluck grain to eat. This shows that Jesus and the disciples traveled from city to city preaching taking nothing with them but trusting the Lord to feed them and provide for them. On this day, at this time, this field is God's provision for these men.
The law allowed the plucking of grain by a traveler or stranger. You can see this at Deuteronomy 23:24-25. They could take some grain to eat but they couldn't bring a sickle and harvest it to sell or carry away. But this was the Sabbath; this was a day of rest. To pluck these heads of grain was harvesting and that was work according to the rules and traditions of the Pharisees. Harvesting, threshing, winnowing, preparing of food and maybe even walking were all possible violations according to traditions added to the law.
According to these men, the disciples were violating the Sabbath. The teacher is accountable for His disciples and so the Pharisees make the accusation to Jesus. Exodus 3:14 says that the breaking of Sabbath is punishable by death.
3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
We know that Jesus doesn't really need to defend Himself, but He offers an answer in much the same way He did in chapter 5. Jesus didn't come to do away with the law, He came to fulfill it. To the people He said, "You've heard it said......" then He explained what the true understanding of the law ought to be.
The Pharisees, through tradition and heaping definitions on every minute detail, created something grand and burdensome from a simple idea. Jesus points to three simple ideas in defense of His disciples.
First, Jesus refers an account of David from 1 Samuel 21 to bring reason their understanding. We can see in 1 Chronicles 9:32 that the showbread was prepared for the Sabbath. The showbread was an offering before the Lord placed on the table before the entrance to the Holy of Holies. The bread was replaced with fresh bread weekly and the previous week's bread went to the priests. When David came to the tabernacle in need of food all that was there was the showbread. The priest gave this to David for himself and his men. It was an act of mercy to those who were hungry. The Pharisees couldn't condemn Jesus without condemning David.
Jesus also points to the work of the priests in the temple. They were called to offer sacrifices and all that was involved with this. This was work; gathering wood, lighting a fire, slaughtering animals, preparing them, carrying them to the altar, etc. According to all the traditions heaped on everyone else, this was profaning the Sabbath. Yet, they are considered blameless. It's as if Jesus were asking them, is it possible you Pharisees have gone too far?
Jesus then speaks of Him self as being present among them; One greater than the temple. This is probably the most subtle but the most important point. The temple and all that was done there pointed toward Him. The endless work of offering sacrifices for their sins would end with the one sacrificed offered for all sin. They had come to find righteousness in their keeping the law, not in repentance and trusting in the Lord. Can we understand that? For us it may be likened to the one who went to church seeking God. Then before long they found righteousness by going to church. They stopped seeking God and felt better about themselves because, after all, they attend church every Sunday.
Jesus is greater than the temple. We might be reminded that in John 6:35 Jesus declared Him self to be the bread of life. In John 1:29, John the Baptist declared Jesus the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. In John 10 Jesus told us He was the good shepherd. In John 14 we know Jesus said He is The Way, The Truth and The Life; and more importantly that no one comes to the Father but by Him. There can be no doubt that Jesus is greater than the temple. This idea seems clearer to us since we have these New Testament verses but the priests should have known this. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. The same God revealed Him self through the prophets and the law.
Jesus offers Hosea 6:6 as an example to them. This is second time (also Matthew 9) Matthew records Jesus quoting this passage. Let's look at the first six verses of Hosea:
Hosea was speaking to a nation born of God but had run off the rails. They were apostate; chasing other gods and guilty of spiritual harlotry. Understanding the Living God will be all encompassing. The light that shines in our life will push out the dark things if we stay in pursuit of Him and His ways. Likewise, when a people turn away, the light is quickly extinguished with dark things.
In reading the beginning of this passage of Hosea, at first you might think they were turning to the Lord. But the Lord sees the heart. Their faithfulness was shallow and only on the surface. They wanted to perform a few religious acts and then reap all the benefits of the Lord. There wasn't a true change of heart. There wasn't a true seeking after God and His ways. Had they done so, they would have a thorough understanding that God desired mercy and not sacrifice; the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Here these Pharisees stood in the presence of God in the flesh. With their knowledge of the scriptures and the history of the Jews, these men could have stood before God and found answers to all their questions, had they had a heart that sought after the Lord. They desired sacrifices and burnt offerings and found righteousness in that. They had forgotten mercy and the knowledge of the Lord.
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. He isn't offering a defense as if He needed to defend Himself to them, He is speaking authoritatively as the One who created the Sabbath. It's as if Jesus said, 'You've heard it said ....... but I say to you......' And Jesus, the creator of the Sabbath explains that mercy trump ceremony every time.
9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. (It's interesting that Matthew refers to it as 'their' synagogue; it wasn't 'the' synagogue or the place to meet the Lord, it had apparently become a place of rules and traditions; sacrifice and offering and not mercy and knowledge of the Lord.) 10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"-that they might accuse Him.
This was a place where the Pharisees and their ideas were widely accepted. This was their home turf and so they thought it would be easy to make an accusation toward Jesus in front of the people there. Matthew makes it clear they continued to follow Jesus on the Sabbath so they could accuse Him. They pose this question about healing on the Sabbath in a way that sounds innocent as if inquiring further about the Sabbath law. But these men weren't teachable, they weren't willing to consider the thoughts of Jesus, they simply were looking to get rid of Him.
To heal on the Sabbath was work in the eyes of the Pharisees and thereby restricted. Healing could be done the day before or the day after. If someone was in a life threatening situation, then it was lawful to sustain their life on the Sabbath but you couldn't improve their condition; that would have to wait for the next day.
This seems like such a crazy question to us so we can only imagine the smugness with which these guys asked this question. For them, in their traditions, they were sure they would get Jesus.
11 Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13 Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.
Every man there would offer an animal assistance if it fell into a pit on the Sabbath. This was acceptable, even though it was classified as work by the definitions of the Pharisees. Jesus gives them an example where they allow the breaking of their own traditions. Then Jesus drew this comparison between the value of a sheep and the value of a man. 'How much more' indeed is the question. Shouldn't these men who claimed to be priests before God be concerned about the people? Yet, they seemed to show more value toward a sheep. The conclusion was that it is okay to do good on the Sabbath. Doesn't it seem odd that the Son of God would have to say this? Shouldn't this, wouldn't this have been understood by about a loving God?
The Pharisees had place a man with a withered hand before Jesus. This man had no value in the eyes of the Pharisees. He would not be allowed in the temple and probably not welcome in the synagogue most days. This man stood before them as Jesus spoke to the Pharisees. Imagine the moment when Jesus turned His attention to this man. He heard that Jesus cared about men and about doing good, even if it was the Sabbath. What a moment when Jesus said to him, "Stretch out your hand." This was not possible. This man's hand was withered, meaning dead, lifeless, curled up. I can imagine the man looking at his own hand as it uncurled from a useless claw; wrist straitened, fingers stretched out and spread apart. At a word, this mans hand was just like the other; whole and complete.
Suddenly the home field advantage wasn't working out so well for the Pharisees. The folks in the synagogue that day saw the Lord of the Sabbath do good to a man. I can only imagine the smile on his face. I bet he lifted that hand high, clapped and shook everyone's hand. What a celebration he had and I can see the Jesus smiling and enjoying it while everyone had an astonished look on their face.
Instead of the Pharisees acknowledging a miracle and celebrating the healing of one of the people...................
14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.
This is pretty incredible. They had become so hard hearted and prideful they didn't recognize love and mercy any longer. I wonder if there was at least one of them that said, "Hey guys, why are we so upset, this is a good thing!" or "Maybe we are wrong; let's rethink our position." Luke 6:11 says these men were enraged at Jesus.
This passage from Isaiah 42 speaks of the ministry of Jesus. He is gentle and humble; offering healing to the multitudes. We can hear the echo of Matthew 28; "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden.........." He didn't seek quarrels or arguments; He wasn't confrontational for the sake of a fight. In this culture reeds had many uses and a bruised reed was discarded. A smoking flax was a nuisance and it was extinguished to be replaced. We might view this man with the withered hand as a bruised reed or smoking flax. The weak and damaged were passed over and ignored by the self righteous Pharisee but Jesus came to minister to them.
The deeper truth is we are all bruised and damaged; we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Our soul is dry and withered by sin and coldness of the world. We hide behind our own pride and hypocrisy some times. We play the religious game; dress up and go to church and play a part, often never acknowledging our weakness and need.. The truth is we often resemble the Pharisees more than we resemble the man with the withered hand. Take this opportunity today to stretch out your withered soul before Jesus; a bruised reed he will no break, a smoking flax he will not quench.
22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
Jesus had healed great multitudes, everyone who was brought to him. Consider Mark's account of this. He said that people were coming from all over, traveling many miles:
............A great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. 9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 10 For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." (Mark 3:8b-11)
It must have seemed that the entire region had heard of Jesus and all were coming. This must have seemed as though it were somewhat out of control to the disciples. Out of this great multitude of healings, there were a few people that left an impression. Matthew records this account of a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. This man must have seemed like a lost cause; probably most had lost hope. But upon hearing of Jesus someone brought this man to Him. Jesus showed His power and authority over this demon possession and this man was delivered. He now spoke and his sight was restored.
It was from this healing the crowd began to understand that Jesus was not just a prophet and a Rabbi. What they were seeing was evidence of something greater; something they'd never seen before. The multitudes were amazed. The language used means they were so overwhelmed with the evidence they were beside themselves; and not just beside themselves but that they remained there. They could not escape this amazement. They had not arrived at any conclusion but they began to question whether Jesus could be the Son of David. They are considering whether Jesus is the messiah.
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."
The Pharisees had to be stunned at this; they felt this required a response and fast before things got out of hand. As far as they were concerned this fellow couldn't be the messiah, he wasn't living up to their expectations. He was breaking their religious rules and here they were the holy men of Israel, the righteous men, and Jesus wasn't accepting them and their ways.
Beelzebub is thought to be a Canaanite god that was god of the Baals. By this time he was believed to be the ruler of all demons. These Pharisees are accusing Jesus of sorcery; of using a wicked power to have authority over the demons. They said Jesus is in league with the devil! The accusation amounts to calling Jesus a false messiah and using Satan's power to deceive the people.
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
This is remarkable that Jesus knew their thoughts and it had to be shocking to the Pharisees. Jesus is pointing out that their accusation isn't even logical. Why would Satan cast out demons of Satan? A divided kingdom couldn't stand.
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
There were Jewish exorcists actively casting out demons. Jesus is saying that He could make the same accusation against those the Pharisees endorsed to cast out demons. Casting out demons was done frequently and often practiced by the Jews.
(Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 8:2:5): 'God also enabled Solomon to learn that skill which expels demons, which is a science useful and health-bringing to men. He composed such incantations also, by which distempers are alleviated. And he left behind him also the manner of using exorcisms, by which they drive away demons so that they never return, and this method of cure is of great force unto this day; for I have seen a certain man of my own country, whose name was Eleazar, releasing people who were demoniacal in the presence of Vespasian, and his sons, and his captains, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the cure was this. He put a ring that had a root which was one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon in the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils; and when the man fell down immediately, he adjured the demon to return into him no more, making still mention of Solomon, and reciting the incantations which he composed. And when Eleazar would persuade and demonstrate to the spectators that he had such a power, he set a little way off a cup or basin full of water, and commanded the demon, as he went out of the man, to overturn it, and thereby to let the spectators know that he had left the man; and when this was done, the skill and wisdom of Solomon was shown very manifestly.' [1]
What a contrast. In the Jewish practice we see hocus pocus magic and mystical incantations. With Jesus, He simply speaks a word. It certainly appears the Jewish methods resemble sorcery more so than the power of the word of Jesus.
These followers of the Pharisees would be the judges. They would tell them that they were wrong about this accusation against Jesus.
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
Its as if Jesus said, if you Pharisees are wrong and I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God as I said, then you need to draw the conclusion that the kingdom of God is upon you. This is about as straight forward as anyone need be, they needed to think about what they were saying and pick a side.
Luke phrased it slightly different:
20 But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Luke 11:20)
The idea of casting out demons by God's spirit of by the finger of God was essentially the same; the conclusion that should be drawn from this 'sign' was that the kingdom of God was upon them.
It is significant to note that the sign of the coming of the kingdom was not full churches and great revival meetings, but the defeat of pain. (Barclay)
Jesus had entered into Satan's domain. Satan was the prince of the power of the air for a time. This is the strong man's house. How can one enter it and plunder it, without first binding the strong man? How could Jesus enter this kingdom and be about His work if He had not first defeated the strong man? Jesus came with a higher authority than the authority of Satan. Jesus had established that authority when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness.
The plunder that Jesus was snatch from the strong man was the eternal souls of men and women (you and I!!). Jesus makes it clear that there is no middle of the road. You can't make an accusation against the testimony presented by the Spirit and still claim to be a righteous man of God, as the Pharisees were doing. Whoever isn't with Jesus is against Him. And whoever doesn't gather (presumably the plunder of the enemy) scatters abroad. There's only two thing happening; gathering and scattering. If you aren't gathering for Jesus, then you are scattering whether you confess to it or not.
31 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
On the surface it seems odd that this blasphemy against Jesus is forgivable but the blasphemy against the Spirit is not. Jesus appeared to be as any other man and therefore people could easily mistake His identity. But it was the job of the Holy Spirit to testify that Jesus is, and was, exactly who He said He was. To reject this testimony of the Spirit amounted to a final rejecting of Jesus. Jesus made it clear to the Pharisees that their rejection that day would not be forgiven, even into eternity. This wasn't about their religion that day and that time; but about who they were before God and this had eternal consequences.
33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
What was the fruit of the words of these Pharisees? Did what they say and do glorify God? Edify His people? These men were self righteous and had transformed the law of God into a religious system of every growing legalism. They added to laws they already couldn't keep and claimed they were keeping them.
These men accused Jesus of being in league with Satan. Jesus turns the tables on them, not in a round of name calling but in a evaluation coming from the Son of God. In calling these men a brood of vipers Jesus called them the offspring of Satan, or sons of Satan. The fruit of their words revealed their heart. The accusations they made were evil and this evil flowed from an abundance of evil in their heart.
An idle word is a word that has no value because it doesn't do anything; it bears no fruit. It doesn't lift up or glorify; it doesn't minister grace or grow by instruction. Idle words get in the way of the good words that do bear fruit. When idle words are spoken, one can't hear; thereby distracting others from good words. Its as if idle words get in the way. These words aren't just spoken and forgotten, but men will account for every idle word. Wow! This will make you think before you speak. And we should, much more than we do. There is power in the word. The words that come out of your mouth will justify you or condemn you. How does this work? Look what Paul said in Romans 9:8-9:
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
This is how you are justified by your words, not be any perceived goodness. The Pharisees thought highly of themselves. They thought that goodness flowed from their words. Jesus said, the fruit revealed a dark heart.
David Guzick notes that many preachers might find themselves guilty of this sin of idle words. Any man that stands before other men should not forget this verse lest the old nature of a dark heart be revealed instead of the heart of one born again.
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
Jesus said their words their heart would be revealed and their future and eternity would be established. This is the words they chose. They wanted Jesus to give them a sign; if a sign was given they would criticize it, if none was given they would claim their rejection of Him was justified. They call him teacher as if they had respect for him, yet there was none.
39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
Jesus condemned their seeking of a sign calling them evil and adulterous. They had no desire to be faithful to their God and this was revealed over and over. Signs were heaped on signs as a multitude pressed against Jesus no matter where He went. Countless people walked away who couldn't previously walked; heard when they had been deaf; spoke when they had been mute; and delivered from all sorts of afflictions. These men could have simply looked around and seen a life that had been changed by Jesus.
The only sign given to these Jews was the sign of Jonah. Here is a prophet that was sent to the gentiles. He experienced a type of death, burial and resurrection. He preached to the Ninevites reluctantly and they heard and repented. These gentiles repented and their testimony speaks out against these Jews. If these gentiles heard the word of a reluctant prophet who didn't love them, how much more should the Jews here the words of a the Son of God. They will see the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus; this will be there sign.
A gentile queen came to Solomon from a great distance to see his great wisdom and wealth. How much more should these Pharisees see that one greater stood right before them with greater wisdom and greater wealth than Solomon. The testimony of these gentile groups will bring shame to those in Israel that should have seen that their messiah was right in their presence. The queen saw the sign, the Ninevites saw their sign. Jesus was the sign for these Jews and they weren't seeing it.
43 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation."
We can picture a man who was delivered from an unclean spirit. The man tries to clean up his life and be moral, live clean, be upright and righteous. Yet, we know the heart is deceitful and wicked. We know by our selves, by our own power, we will lose the battle with sin. The unclean spirit goes out and without the man to reside in, it is seeking rest. It then decides to return to the man that it considers "my house". The man's life might be swept clean and in order and this spirit doesn't mind that at all, as long as it is empty. This spirit returns and brings other wicked spirits.
The only way we can be changed from the inside is by filling that emptiness with another Spirit. Jesus offers us a filling of the Holy Spirit when we repent and trust in Him. The rejection of Jesus leaves an emptiness that will lead to the last state of that man being worse than the first.
46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."
The thought is that the family of Jesus came to Him to calm him down a bit. They have felt that Jesus had gone overboard on being so abrasive toward the religious folks and in front of the multitude.
48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."
We know that the brothers of Jesus rejected him initially. It's clear that His mother and brothers didn't have any special access to Him. He didn't put the multitude on hold to have a word with them.
It is the will of the Father in heaven that we would come to Christ, repent and trust in Him. It is the will of the Father that we become the sons and daughters of the Most High God. As we do, we become family and Jesus considers us his brothers and sisters.
©2015 Doug Ford
[1] Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., pp. 43-44). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.
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