Matthew 12:22-50, Additional Reading Isaiah 65

Thursday, March 06, 2025
 

The Pharisees Rebuked

22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to [a]Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by [b]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “[c]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and [d]any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he [e]is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I by [f]Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

30 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

31 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 Whoever [g]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever [h]speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak [i]what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 The good man brings out of his good treasure [j]what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure [k]what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every [l]careless word that people [m]speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 For [n]by your words you will be justified, and [o]by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a [p]sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a [q]sign; and yet no [r]sign will be given to it but the [s]sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

46 While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”[t] 48 But [u]Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 12:22 Lit Him
  2. Matthew 12:24 Or Beezebul; i.e. ruler of demons
  3. Matthew 12:25 Lit Every
  4. Matthew 12:25 Lit Every
  5. Matthew 12:26 Lit was
  6. Matthew 12:27 V 24, note 1
  7. Matthew 12:32 Lit will speak
  8. Matthew 12:32 Lit will speak
  9. Matthew 12:34 Lit good things
  10. Matthew 12:35 Lit good things
  11. Matthew 12:35 Lit evil things
  12. Matthew 12:36 Or useless
  13. Matthew 12:36 Lit will speak
  14. Matthew 12:37 Or in accordance with
  15. Matthew 12:37 Or in accordance with
  16. Matthew 12:38 I.e. attesting miracle
  17. Matthew 12:39 I.e. attesting miracle
  18. Matthew 12:39 I.e. attesting miracle
  19. Matthew 12:39 I.e. attesting miracle
  20. Matthew 12:47 This verse is not found in early mss
  21. Matthew 12:48 Lit He
 
 

A Rebellious People

65 “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which did not call on My name.
2 “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, [a]following their own thoughts,
3 A people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;
4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
5 “Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My [b]nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 “Behold, it is written before Me,
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will even repay into their bosom,
7 Both [c]their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the Lord.
“Because they have burned incense on the mountains
And scorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

8 Thus says the Lord,

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is [d]benefit in it,’
So I will act on behalf of My servants
In order not to destroy [e]all of them.
9 “I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And My servants will dwell there.
10 “Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who seek Me.
11 “But you who forsake the Lord,
Who forget My holy mountain,
Who set a table for [f]Fortune,
And who fill cups with mixed wine for [g]Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the sword,
And all of you will bow down to the slaughter.
Because I called, but you did not answer;
I spoke, but you did not hear.
And you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”

13 Therefore, thus says the Lord [h]God,

“Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry.
Behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty.
Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.
14 “Behold, My servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart,
But you will cry out with a [i]heavy heart,
And you will wail with a broken spirit.
15 “You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones,
And the Lord [j]God will slay you.
But [k]My servants will be called by another name.
16 “Because he who [l]is blessed in the earth
Will [m]be blessed by the God of truth;
And he who swears in the earth
Will swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight!

New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come to [n]mind.
18 “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
19 “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
20 “No longer will there be [o]in it an infant who lives but a few days,
Or an old man who does not [p]live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred
And the [q]one who does not reach the age of one hundred
Will be thought accursed.
21 “They will build houses and inhabit them;
They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 “They will not build and another inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For as the [r]lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.
23 “They will not labor in vain,
Or bear children for calamity;
For they are the [s]offspring of those blessed by the Lord,
And their descendants with them.

24 It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 65:2 Lit after
  2. Isaiah 65:5 Lit nose
  3. Isaiah 65:7 Lit your
  4. Isaiah 65:8 Lit blessing
  5. Isaiah 65:8 Lit the whole
  6. Isaiah 65:11 Heb Gad
  7. Isaiah 65:11 Heb Meni
  8. Isaiah 65:13 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  9. Isaiah 65:14 Lit pain of
  10. Isaiah 65:15 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  11. Isaiah 65:15 So with Gr; Heb He will call His servants
  12. Isaiah 65:16 Or bless(es) himself
  13. Isaiah 65:16 Or bless(es) himself
  14. Isaiah 65:17 Lit heart
  15. Isaiah 65:20 Lit from there
  16. Isaiah 65:20 Lit fill out
  17. Isaiah 65:20 Lit one who misses the mark
  18. Isaiah 65:22 Lit days
  19. Isaiah 65:23 Lit seed

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