The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Matthew #2526

When you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, you have got big, big problems!

If you recall from our last study, Jesus Christ had entered into the church of the Pharisees, which was their synagogue, their house, and proceeded to set one of His sheep free from the pit by healing a man's hand that had withered on the unfruitful vine. Matthew 12:9-10 "And when he was departed thence, He went into their synagogue. [10] And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him." Now this miraculous healing from the Word of God Himself shall be the beginning of their house becoming divided. So, put on your eyes to see for understanding and picture in your mind's eye the following scene.

Matthew 12:14
Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against Him, how they might destroy Him.
The Pharisees have drawn their spiritual swords against Jesus Christ and are plotting to kill Him, though He has just performed a good and wonderful work right before their very eyes, even in their own house. Of course they did not view it in that "light"! They saw it as if He had just stolen one of their congregation from them, a sheep they had held captive by their own vain (empty) traditions of men. However, Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and to that end He is about to give them a witness they will never forget!

Watch and observe the wisdom and power of Messiah.

[15] But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all;
Christ withdrew Himself by walking out of their "house" (Hint: Satan's house!) and as He did He took all their goods with Him, i.e. their congregation followed Him right out the door! Of course this is not the vision that the carnal minded Pharisees saw walk out the door.

This will all be explained in a parable a few verses hence, but first notice that not only did great multitudes of people follow Jesus Christ as He departed from the synagogue, He healed all those who followed Him! Wow! You "see", they ALL needed (spiritually) healed after withering to the point of (spiritual) death in that "God forsaken" house!

Then He charged them not to make Him known, as in renown. In other words, He was not looking to "make a big splash" and be publicly exalted. Remember what we read of Him in Matthew 11:29 "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

[16] And charged them that they should not make Him known:
Not only are the people witnessing the power of God as the Old Red Dragon is being kicked and bound (vs. 29) in his own house, but Messiah is fulfilling scripture and prophecy right before their eyes concerning the manner in which He is doing so! Take heed and observe from Messiah how to be wiser than the serpent!
[17] That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
All the many prophecies that were fulfilled in and by Jesus Christ document without refute that Christ was indeed the Messiah. No other person could ever "fit the bill" as He did... like Ps. 22 or Zech. 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."

The next few verses are quoted from Isa. 42:1-4.

Matthew 12:18
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved (Son), in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon Him, and He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
Notice that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, comprising the triune Godhead, are all mentioned in this verse which is quoted from Isa. 42:1... which is in the Old Testament. Imagine that! You might also remember this verse from Matthew 3:17 at Jesus' baptism when a voice from heaven said "...This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Isaiah 42:1
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
Justice in all the earth shall be executed in the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3) at the second advent, which follows the witness and testimony of Jesus Christ that He gives with meekness and lowliness of heart... not contentiously, boisterously, or with vainglory.
Matthew 12:19
He shall not strive, nor cry (aloud); neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets.
Isaiah 42:2
He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
He can be so loving and gentle that His touch will not even break a bruised reed and He can "trim a burning wick" without ousting the "light"!
Matthew 12:20
A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory.
Isaiah 42:3
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

[4] He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

Be ye likewise gentle and lovingly patient, not fainting nor growing weary, "till He have set judgment in the earth." Follow Christ's example in being wiser than the serpent for He has given us His power, His Spirit, His Word, to tread on snakes and scorpions and over ALL the power of the enemy! Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." This is true even if you are standing in the mist of Satan's camp for in Christ we have the victory!
[21] And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.
There is great purpose in the witness and testimony of Jesus Christ and His servants for God loves all of His children whether they be yellow, black, or white. They are all precious in His sight! To wit, Christ is also the hope of the gentiles!

So Jesus, now having perceived that the Pharisees were plotting to kill Him, walked out of their synagogue with a great multitude of people following Him and He healed them ALL.

Now notice what happened next.

Matthew 12:22
Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
This is another wonderful and marvelous miracle showing the power of the Holy Spirit in that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, has power over the prince of darkness and all his evil spirits too! "And all the people were AMAZED" at what He had done (next verse)!
[23] And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
The people not only were in awe of His wondrous power to heal and cast out demonic spirits, they further recognized that this must be the Messiah, the son of David, the root and offspring of Jesse! In other words, there is no doubt that what is happening is of God! Now that is going to cause a real headache for the Pharisees! How in the world are these religious hypocrites and play actors going to explain this away!

Here's what they came up with...

[24] But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
They accused the Holy Spirit, the power of Almighty God, of being Satan's power, though they knew better! Unbelievable... or should I say unforgivable? Imagine after seeing His power and witnessing His wondrous works, they blatantly denied the power of the Holy Spirit and therefore Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by attributing His power to Satan himself!

But you see, here is the clincher! The Pharisees also just admitted that He did in fact cast out evil spirits which is a victory over Satan's kingdom!

Here is the wisdom with which Christ handled this and convicted them.

[25] And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
Again, Jesus knew their evil thoughts and motives and He now exposes their evil hearts from which proceeds corrupt and evil fruit. We will learn and document from God's Word that these are kenites (sons of Cain) who are of their father the devil... who is the corrupt tree from which evil fruit is found.

So Christ has just made an irrefutable statement which has been true by observation since time immemorial, and that is that any kingdom or city or house which is divided against itself cannot stand! (Keep in mind what has transpired in that their house has just been divided!)

[26] And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
A king does not send his generals around to destroy his own troops, thereby causing the fall of his own kingdom! Truly this is unarguable in the simplicity of its logic! And you "see", Christ's works were CLEARLY destructive to Satan's kingdom to which they even admitted! In other words, they did not argue that He did good works and that He healed people and cast out evil spirits. Their argument was by whose POWER He did it... which they attributed to Beelzebub, the Lord of the Dunghill, i.e. Satan! Woe!
[27] And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
Where's their power come from? Go ahead! Ask all these your children (those whom He had just healed) who has the power of God and let them be the judge of just how much power you have! You "see", though they pretended to have the power of God, the Pharisees and their disciples could not cast out demonic spirits, else they would have you'd think, but Christ did indeed cast them out in the sight of the people! Therefore who can demonstrate the real power of the Holy Spirit? Again, the Pharisees admitted that He cast out evil spirits and if that is something Satan would not do himself, to cast out his own troops to his own demise, then it must be that Christ did so by the Spirit of God! Thus, they are truly caught between a rock and a hard place here because their argument concerning Beelzebub will not hold up!
[28] But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
And it HAD come unto them! There was absolutely no other possibility or conclusion to be reached other than the UNDENIABLE fact that Jesus Christ cast out devils by the Spirit of God. The Pharisees therefore would have to admit that the kingdom of God, which is the King and His dominion, was right there among them. You must understand the importance of this in that their refusal to believe in Christ was not a matter of uncertainty or based on doubt or "unbelief" that He was the Messiah! They flat out willfully and knowingly, with their whole hearts and minds and souls, REJECTED and DENIED the Holy Spirit of God!

But wait, there's even more logic and proof declaring that Jesus Christ has the Spirit of God and the power over Satan!

[29] Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
This is precious indeed! For Christ did walk right into Satan's own house (their synagogue) and spoil (take) his goods from him, didn't He? This indeed was clear proof before their very eyes that He had "subdued" the power of the "strong man", Satan himself! To wit, Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God easily had the victory over Satan and the kingdom of darkness!  And naturally so... for Light always has the power over darkness.
[30] He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
And WOE be to those who work against the power of God to destroy His precious children, as in "scatter abroad" His sheep! This is serious business!When you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, you have got big, big problems! To that end, in our next study we shall learn about the sin that is unforgivable!Don't miss it!

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.


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