LIFE OF CHRIST
Matthew 12:22-32
IMPACT
LIFE OF CHRIST #23
The words of others have impacted us
all. Sometimes the impact was positive
and other times the impact was negative.
Sometimes the words of others have blessed us and other times they have
hurt us deeply. Our words have also had impact.
The words we say often have a positive or a negative impact on others.
After a long layover, we return to our
systematic study of the life of Christ. We are trying to study His life in a
chronological way. The last time we
studied the Life of Christ, Jesus had been invited to the home of a Pharisee where
a repentant woman washed his feet with her tears, dried them with her hair and
anointed Him with expensive perfume.
Jesus’ host, a Pharisee, was the exact opposite and showed none of the
common courtesies that a host of that day was supposed to show.
A short time after this event there was a
miraculous healing.
In Matthew 12:22, we are told of a demon
possessed man who was brought to Jesus.
As a result of demon possession he was blind and couldn’t speak. Jesus healed the man so that he could see and
speak.
As a result of this event all sorts of
words were used. Let’s look at the
impact of these words.
THE IMPACT OF INQUIRING WORDS – Vs. 23
Vs. 23 – The people are amazed!
They are in awe.
They
start to ask questions. They asked, “This couldn’t be the Son of David, could
it?”
The term “Son of David” was a term used in
reference to
They were on the right track! In fact that was one of the purposes of the
miracles was to show that He was their Messiah.
It was good that they were making
inquiries. It was good that they were
trying to figure out His identity.
It is good that you and I make inquiries
into things.
Sometimes the Lord is trying to teach us
something through our circumstances. Proverbs 3:11-12
When we suspect that the Lord might be
disciplining us, we need to inquire, “Lord, what are you trying to tell me.”
Another type of inquiry we should make is
concerning the Scriptures. It is good
for us to ask questions. It is good for
us to inquire about the meaning of passages we are reading.
It is good for us to ask questions that
help us apply the Word of God to our own lives. 2 Timothy 2:15
When Paul and Silas were on the second missionary
journey in the Book of Acts, they were forced to leave Thessalonica because of
persecution. From there they went to a
town called
Perhaps you are one who has heard the
message of salvation, that you need to trust Jesus as your Savior, but you are
yet to make up your mind to do so. I
encourage you to inquire, to talk to me, to search the Scriptures. This could help you make that very important
decision to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
Christian, real growth will come as you
start to study the Word of God for yourself.
Like the Bereans, you should respond to the preaching the Word of God by
searching it out for yourself, and making sure that what you are being taught
is accurate. Also in studying for yourself,
you will find additional blessings in the Word of God.
The more you inquire into Spiritual things
the more you will learn. The more you
learn and apply your findings to your own life, the more Christ-like you will
become!
THE IMPACT OF INCRIMINATING WORDS – Vs. 24
Vs. 24 – There were those who
were in opposition to Jesus. They were
constantly trying to find reasons to discredit Him and to incriminate him as a
wrong doer.
The Pharisees, the religious
fundamentalists of their day, were often at the forefront of offering
criticism.
A notable miracle had been accomplished. An
exorcism had taken place. Often those
performing exorcisms would use all sorts of interesting means.
Jesus was different. He directly exorcised
demons. He had more power than any
would-be sorcerer ever did.
The Pharisees could not deny the miracle,
so they cried to incriminate Jesus by saying that He was casting out demons in
the name of the prince of demons, Beelzebub.
They accused Jesus of performing his exorcisms in the name of the
Devil! They were saying that Jesus’
ministry was not of God, but of Satan!
Those were demeaning, incriminating words!
Do we ever use them?
Do we ever criticize a ministry or another
church, without really knowing what’s going on there?
Do we ever criticize another brother or
sister in Christ, with information we think is true, but we’re not sure?
Do we ever evaluate another person’s
motives, ministry or behavior in such a way that incriminates them? Romans
14:4, James 4:11-12
THE IMPACT OF INSTRUCTIVE WORDS –
Vss. 25-29
Jesus was falsely accused. The attack
against Him was brutal. But the first thing Jesus did was to instruct. He showed how ludicrous it was for the
Pharisees to say that He was casting out Satan’s demons in the name of Satan.
Vs. 25 – Jesus begins by saying
a divided house can not stand. That’s great advice for all situations.
Something that’s divided can not stand.
Vs. 26 – If Satan is casting
out Satan, his kingdom will not stand. If Satan were casting out his own demons,
he would have been working against himself! Satan is too smart for that!
Vs. 27 – The Pharisee’s
evidently had disciples, children if you will, who cast out demons and somewhat
successfully. If Jesus was casting out demons in the name of the devil, did
that mean that their disciples were doing the same thing?
Vs. 28 – If Jesus was not
casting out demons in Satan’s power, then it would mean that he was doing it in
God’s power. That would mean the
And if the
Vs. 29 – You can’t rob a strong
man’s house unless you restrict the strong man. Satan’s demons can not be
evicted unless Satan is restricted in his power.
Jesus bound the strong man, Satan, and had
the victory.
The Pharisees’ accusations were ridiculous,
and Jesus gave instruction to prove it.
The instructive Words of the Lord Jesus
showed how foolish the incriminating words of the Pharisees were.
We as Christians should remember that our
instructions are to come from God and His Word.
The Lord Jesus is God, we should learn from
His Words as recorded in Scripture.
The whole Bible is the inspired by God. We
are to learn from God’s Word.
Let us also remember that the words we use
are to be instructive words. We are not
to go around tearing down but building up. Ephesians 4:29
When you wonder if you should share a
certain tidbit of information with another, remember that God says, “If it
isn’t edifying, don’t share it!”
THE IMPACT OF INDICTING WORDS – Vss. 30-37
If anyone can indict, or charge with wrong
doing, or accurately accuse, it is our Lord.
He uses indicting words here.
Vs. 30 – Jesus is blunt. “If
you not on my side. If your faith is not in Me, then you are opposed to me. You
are against me.”
There is no such thing as being neutral
about the Lord Jesus!
Someone may say, “I’m not opposed to Jesus,
I just haven’t trusted Him as Savior the way you do.”
My friend, if you haven’t trusted Jesus,
you are opposed to Jesus whether you think so or not.
And if you are not gathering with Him by
serving Him in ministry, you are scattering. You are hurting His ministry. By
doing nothing for the cause of Christ you are hurting His ministry.
Vss. 31-32 –
These are heavy words. These are
disturbing words of indictment. These
are words, which I, for one misunderstood at one time.
Remember, first of all, that our God is a
forgiving God. Ephesians 1:7, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 32:5
God is very gracious in the scope of His
forgiveness. God forgives even sins
against the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man.
The sin that did not receive forgiveness
was the sin against the Holy Ghost. That
sin was attributing the works of the Spirit of God done through Jesus Christ,
to the devil.
It was calling the works of the Spirit of
God done in Jesus the work of the Devil.
I believe that this sin was unpardonable
because someone that hard-hearted would never repent and turn to the Lord Jesus
in faith.
Is there any unpardonable sin today?
The only unpardonable sin is refusing to
place your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. If you fail to do that, there is no Heaven
for you! John 3:36
There is a day in the life of each person
who does not know Jesus Christ as Savior, when there is no more opportunity to
receive Christ. God will take his or her
life, and he or she will go into eternity without Christ. We don’t know when that day is, so it
behooves you if you do not know Christ as Savior to trust Him this morning. He
died for your sins. He was buried. He rose again. All you need to do is make a
full faith commitment to Him.
Words have impact!
THE IMPACT OF INQUIRING WORDS – Vs. 23
THE IMPACT OF INCRIMINATING WORDS – Vs. 24
THE IMPACT OF INSTRUCTIVE WORDS – Vss.
25-29
THE IMPACT OF INDICTING WORDS – Vss. 30-37
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