INVERSE FOCUS ADVENTIST RADIO
Matthew 12
1-8 It’s interesting how the previous verses was talking about rest and the next verse is about the sabbath and Jesus and his disciples are going through a corn field and the disciples were hungry and began to pluck the ears of corn and eat. This account is also in Mark 2:23; Luke 6:1-2. It sounds like they were passing through, so it must have been someone else’s cornfield. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 23:25, they can pluck the ears with their hand, but not take or move the standing corn. The Pharisees saw them and said it is not lawful to do this on the sabbath day. One of the factors to notice is that the disciples were hungry and they ate, it doesn’t say Jesus did it because if He did the Pharisee would have also accused Him as well. Jesus responded to them by using a story in the Bible. How David and his men were fleeing from Saul and he came to Ahimelech and asked him for bread and a weapon 1 Samuel 21:1:9. Jesus uses this story to illustrate a point about doing good on the sabbath day. This was a compassionate act and it was within the true spirit of the law. Another aspect that was mentioned was keeping themselves from women or their wives 1 Samuel 21:4.
Jesus also says that in the law of Moses the priest on the sabbath days profane the sabbath and are blameless. How is that? Numbers 28:9, 10 because of the duties that were performed in the sanctuary and it’s sacrificial offerings DA 285.2. Then Jesus says, "…that in this place is one greater than the temple." The shewbread represents Jesus, the priest represents Jesus, the law (sabbath offerings) that was written points to Jesus. The whole Jewish economy is a symbol of Jesus. So when Jesus says, one greater than the temple is here, He is the one we need to look too. He orchestrated this temple, the original is in heaven. Christ came to fulfill, not to destroy. But the point Jesus was addressing is that the Pharisees were condemning the guiltless. Automatically judging and thinking evil of others. Jesus said that the Pharisees don’t know what the temple truly means, if they did, He would have had mercy and not sacrifice. What is mercy? Jesus said this before in Matthew 9:13, "..I will have mercy.." Mercy is an attribute of God Exodus 34:6, 7 it is automatically connected with love. Mercy is the manifestation of love. In Exodus 20:6, God shows mercy unto thousands of them that love and keep His commandments. This is what God wants instead of sacrifice and burnt offerings Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8, this is what Daniel also said to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:27, "… break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor… and Zacharias said in Luke 1:72 "to perform the mercy promised to our fathers…" in Signs of the Times May 21,1902 it was because of sin that mercy was brought into active exercise. If the Pharisees would have shewed mercy they would not have condemned the guiltless. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies Psalm 25:10. Mercy and truth go together Psalm 89:14; 61:7; 57:3; 98:3; 100:5; Proverbs 16:6
Since Jesus is greater than the temple, He is also Lord of the sabbath day. He created both, the temple and the sabbath Colossians 1:16-17. The temple pointed to him Hebrews 9:11, Christ is the "good things to come " Hebrews 10:1 the earthly temple was "a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things.." The Sabbath shows that Christ finished His work of creation. The temple which represents Christ shows His work of redemption. In the book 3 Selected Messages chapter 29, pages 256-265, God has some counsel on how to observed the Sabbath day.
Here is my comments on the Sabbath. I have been desecrating the Sabbath and it stem from hearing certain people talk about it instead of listening or searching for myself. Recently, my wife asked me if it’s wrong to swim on the sabbath and I said it’s fine to swim on the sabbath. But then I looked it up in the Spirit of Prophecy and found a quote that we should not be seeking our own pleasure and it mentions specifically swimming. I did share the quote with my wife and told her I was wrong. It made me realize how far I have gone in making sure to reverence the Sabbath day. Thank you Lord for the reminder and I am sorry for not remembering to keep the sabbath day holy. The sabbath is for rest from secular affairs and to helps us trust and rely upon God’s love and power. It is also for spending time in the outdoors to see that love and power in what God created. It is the sign of sanctification and a memorial. It is for relieving the sick and those things essential. It is a sign between God and his people.
9-13 then Jesus goes into the synagogue and see a man with a withered hand. What is a withered hand? It is a hand dried up or not useable. An example of this is find in 1 Kings 13:4-6, where Jeroboam hand was dried up or withered and it was restored. Another text is Lamentations 4:8, it says withered is like a stick. Which means it probably has no flesh. The Pharisees in the church ask Jesus is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? They wanted to accuse him. Which means they did not allow healing on the sabbath. Jesus challenges their thinking by sharing a question about sheep falling into a pit. The sheep wants to get out and knows it’s not suppose to be there, so man is better than a sheep because he is made in the image of God. This man with a withered hand knows it is not suppose to be like that, so Jesus says it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days and ask the man to stretch forth his hand and it was restored.
This is a symbol of restoring the medical missionary work as the right arm of the gospel 7T 59.1; 1T486.2 both arm and hand Deuteronomy 26:8; Psalm 89:13-14; 1 Kings 8:42; 2 Chronicles 6:32: Psalm 44:3 their own arm could not saves them, but God’s hand, arm, and light did which is His saving health Psalm 67:1-2; Isaiah 59:16; 63:12 the hand in this verse is Moses. God’s hand is using people to bring the love of the truth. When Jesus ask the man to stretch forth his hand and he did, the Bible says it was restored whole like as the other. So one of things Jesus did was teaching and Jesus was showing that healing also was part of teaching. In the work of the gospel, teaching and healing are never to be separated. . MH 140.1
14-21 The Pharisees were not happy because it says they took council how they might destroy him. Jesus learned about this and He withdrew himself and He had multitudes follow him and He also healed them all. After he healed them, he told them not to make this known. Why did he say that? Jesus was not trying to be famous, he wanted people to know him but not for just healing, he wanted to be personal. He also didn’t want to hinder the work of spreading the gospel. Several occasion Jesus has said this 9:30; 8:4; Mark 1:44; 5:43; 7:36-37;Luke 5:14-16; 8:55-56. On one occasion He told the demoniacs to go home and tell thy friends what God has done Mark 5:19-20 this was in a different city called Decapolis. We often ask ourselves why aren’t there healing today as it was back then? 2SM 54. A prophecy is mentioned and taken from Isaiah 42:1-4. Jesus is the chosen servant and God’s spirit is in Him to bring forth judgment and he won’t even bruise a reed (plant stem) 2 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 36:6; figurative trusting in something that will fail you. Jesus will be delicate with those that don’t trust in Him. The smoking flax is those who are weak in faith or sin sick, that He will not quench or discourage it, but to help it. Not to quench out what is left, but to help ignite it and Jesus demonstrate this in the next verse. Based on verse 15 the prophecy of Isaiah 42:1-4 was fulfilled. Before judgment was shown to the Gentiles, God put his spirit upon him.
22-37 Jesus healed a person who was possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb. He healed that person and they were able to both speak and see. The Pharisees said that Jesus cast out devils by Beelzebub DA 322.2. Jesus says something about this in 10:25. First of all, Beelzebub means "dung god" or "lord of dung" Jesus was saying that if they call a master Beelzebub (originally Beelzebul), how much more shall they call them that are in the house with their master. In other words, those also associated with him. In Luke 11:15, 18; Mark 3:22. Beelzebub is the chief of the devils and the chief of devils is Satan. Mark 3:23 Jesus ask How can satan cast out satan?
Jesus says to them that a kingdom divided cannot stand and it is brought to desolation. Satan will not cast out satan. Because if it did, it won’t stand. So if he (Satan) cast out devils by Beelzebub, then the devils will not be happy and judge satan. Once again, satan will not cast out devils or demons out of other people, he wants to make them worse verse 45. So Jesus does not use Satan to cast out devils. Then Jesus says in verse 28, if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Which indicates that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are working together and Satan and his devils are working together. They don’t mix and have any partnership. 1 Corinthians 10:20-21; 2 Corinthians 6:15-18; Genesis 3:14-15; 1 John 1:5-6; Isaiah 5:20; Acts 26:18; Colossians 1:13.
Jesus said, if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. The kingdom of God is the kingdom of heaven Daniel 2:44; 7:27; Revelation 12:10; Luke 11:2; Revelation 20:9.
Jesus is stronger than Satan, as a matter of fact before Lucifer became Satan, he was created by Jesus, perfect and in harmony with the will of God. Lucifer is a created being, but he chose to do his own will and rebel against God and became Satan, the adversary. So Jesus says a strong man has a house and he must first bind the strong man before he can spoil his goods. In Luke 11:21-22, it gives a clear account of what Jesus is saying.
When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: (Luk 11:21)
But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. (Luk 11:22)
Christ has done this throughout is whole life and ministry. The greatest of this is at the cross. We were satan’s spoils and Christ has bind satan and spoil his house. Romans 5:6-11; 1 Samuel 30:1-8, 17-20; Hebrews 2:14. But we must accept it into our lives and allow Christ to abide in our hearts. Christ is doing the gathering and Satan is always trying to do the opposite. Christ has one fold and He is gathering them into that fold.
Which leads to responding to the Holy Spirit. All sin can be forgiven, but the sin against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven. Does that mean the Spirit won’t work with us after a few times? No, the Holy Spirit is a Comforter and a Teacher John 14:26, when we do things wrong He will teach us and give us comfort. He will reprove us of sin, righteousness and judgment John 16:8 and to seek forgiveness. Can the Holy Spirit forgive sin? There is a point when you blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and it is not forgiven. In Acts 5:3-9, it refers to that Ananias and Sapphira sinned or lied to the Holy Ghost, which is also the Holy Spirit and in verse 9, it says they tempted the Spirit of the Lord, which is also another name for the Holy Spirit. The sin against the Son of Man is forgiven because Christ was made sin for us 2 Corinthians 5:21, He borne reproach and shame Psalm 69:7, the Bible says consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself Hebrews 12:3, even to this day Christ still enduring it through the person of His saints. While He was on the cross, He said "Father forgive them for they not what they do" but the sin against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven because he is the one that convicts of sin because he is the Spirit of truth John 14:17 and guides people into truth 16:13. The Holy Spirit is a intricate part in glorifying Jesus 16:14. Resisting the Holy Spirit is accepting the spirit of satan.
Base on this a person is compare to a tree and the tree is known by its fruit. The fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance Galatians 5:22-23. A tree can be good or it can be corrupt. Jesus says, if you are evil you cannot speak good things, because whatever is in your heart, you will say or speak and the Bible says life and death are in the tongue and shall eat the fruit of it Proverbs 18:21. Jesus called the Pharisees "generation of vipers" verse 34; 23:33 this is what John the Baptist also called them Matthew 3:7, which are serpents. Satan speaks only lies and the Pharisees are doing the same thing. We have to give an account of every word in the day of judgment. For our words will justify us or condemn us. Continually resisting the Holy Spirit Acts 7:51 is saying in your mind "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice…I know not the Lord…" Exodus 5:2
Those who exalt their own ideas above the plainly specified will of God, are saying as did Pharaoh, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice?" Every rejection of light hardens the heart and darkens the understanding; and thus men find it more and more difficult to distinguish between right and wrong, and they become bolder in resisting the will of God (Manuscript 3, 1885).
We are rejecting light and accepting the darkness and becoming an evil tree which cannot bear good fruit. Our hearts are evil and cannot speak good things. The warning that Christ gave in regards to the sin against the Holy Spirit is closely connected with idle and evil words. DA 323.1. It is by the Spirit that God works upon the heart; when men willfully reject the Spirit, and declare It to be from Satan, they cut off the channel by which God can communicate with them. When the Spirit is finally rejected, there is no more that God can do for the soul. { DA 321.3}
The Holy Spirit is the one who inspire words 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Samuel 23:2; 2 Timothy 3:16. Seeking to draw you to Christ by repentance and confession. Resisting it in thought and word constantly is committing the sin against the Holy Ghost.
Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Hebrews 3:7
The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit does not lie in any sudden word or deed; it is the firm, determined resistance of truth and evidence (Manuscript 30, 1890). 5BC 1093.1
Sin Against the Holy Ghost—No one need look upon the sin against the Holy Ghost as something mysterious and indefinable. The sin against the Holy Ghost is the sin of persistent refusal to respond to the invitation to repent (The Review and Herald, June 29, 1897).
38-45 Jesus has healed and manifest His true character to the Jewish leaders, but now they are asking for a sign from Him. Jesus called them an evil and adulterous generation wanting to see another sign. After all the miracles Jesus has done, they are still seeking for more proof. When the Pharisees said that Jesus cast out devils by Beelzebub, they have reached a limit where there is nothing else that the Holy Spirit can do for them. But Jesus says that the only sign left will be the sign of the prophet Jonas. Here we see Jesus once again referring to scripture to try to get their attention and awaken a sense that He is fulfilling the prophecy which is His death and resurrection. This is not the only time a sign was asked of Him 16:1-4; Luke 11:16: John 2:18; 1 Corinthian 1:22. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly Jonah 1:17 so will Jesus be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. In Luke 11:30, Jesus said "For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation." Jesus was the sign but they refused it.
Jesus then talks about a judgment and says that the men of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah and the Pharisees are looking at Jesus who is greater than Jonah and Nineveh shall rise with this generation in the judgment and condemn it because they have rejected Jesus. The queen of the south shall also rise with this generation and condemn it because she heard the wisdom of Solomon and Jesus is greater than him.
The main point is that Jesus used Jonah and Soloman and the heathen responded, but God’s own people who had Jesus Himself, who is greater than Jonah and Solomon and the leaders rejected Him. God sent His own Son who gave the greatest light and works of God they rejected and refuse to accept Him. The last sign was His resurrection, which is what Jesus mentioned as the only sign given.
So when a unclean spirit is out of a man and he is going through dry places, seeking a place to rest and can’t find any. He will return to that man from where he came out of. When he returns he find that man empty (not filled with the Holy Ghost), dry and garnished 2 Peter 2:20-21; Galatians 5:1; Hebrews 10:26-27. That unclean spirit goes and find seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they all enter and dwell in that man. So he is worse now than when he was before. So we see here that Satan will not divide himself, he wants him to get worse and worse. The enemy only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. The devil is always deceiving and leading people astray. He does not want people to know who Jesus is. They are in bondage when they are under his influence.
46-50 While Jesus was talking to the people, His family members were seeking to speak with Him. Jesus said "Who is my mother and my brethen?" Because they were listening to His instructions and the truth. He stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said "Behold my mother and my brethren." In other words, here is my family members. Whoever does the will of my Father which is in heaven, these are my family members. Why did they want to speak with the Jesus? DA 321.2 They were concerned about Jesus and His labor. His brothers heard that the Pharisees rebuke Jesus by saying He cast out devils by the prince of devils. They were also concerned how Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees and they got Mary his mother involved to try to persuade Jesus to be more prudent and to control him because of His bold statements. Christ always told the truth in love and His family members felt the reproach because they were the family members of Jesus. "What a support Christ would have found in His earthly relatives if they had believed in Him as one from heaven, and had co-operated with Him in doing the work of God! Their unbelief cast a shadow over the earthly life of Jesus. It was a part of the bitterness of that cup of woe which He drained for us." DA325 Jesus’ brothers desired that He should concede to their ideas and this would have jeopardize His mission from heaven. This is why Jesus said those who do the will of my Father which is in heaven is my family members.