Mateus 12

Mateus 12

Morgan - “Only two forces are at work in the world, the gathering and the scattering. Whoever does the one contradicts the other.” Broadus -The image in the second member is from gathering grain in harvest, as in Mt 3:12; Mt 6:26; John 4:36. Men often fancy that they are by no means opposing Christ’s service, though not engaged in it; that they are friendly to religion in others, though not personally religious. But in the nature of the case, this is impossible. Stier: “Neutrality here is no neutrality, but a remaining on the side of the enemy; indolence here is no mere indolence, but opposition; the merely not believing and not obeying is still resistance and rejection.” The gospel is of such a nature, as to its offers and its claims, that it cannot tolerate indifference. If it deserves our respect, it deserves our entire and hearty reception. If we are not yielding Christ our whole heart, we are really yielding him nothing. Professed neutrality, with real hostility of heart, may even be more offensive to Him, and is sometimes more injurious in its influence, than avowed opposition.—In Mark 9:40; Luke 9:50+ there is an expression which at first seems to contradict this, viz., ‘He that is not against us is for us.’ But so far is this from being the case that both sayings (Alexander) “may be exemplified in the experience of the very same persons. For example, Nicodemus, by refusing to take part with the Sanhedrin against our Lord, although he did not venture to espouse his cause, proved himself to be upon his side (John 7:50 f.); but if he had continued the same course when the crisis had arrived, he would equally have proved himself to be against him.” Comp. the apparently contradictory sayings of Prov. 26:4 f.; Gal. 6:2, 5; Rom. 3:28, as related to James 2:24.. (Matthew 12 Commentary) THOUGHT - This axiomatic apophthegm reminds me of the famous scene in the Alamo - "Those who stay, cross over the line (in the sand)." - see "Drawing a Line in the Sand" (Video). The line between the Kingdom of Jesus and the Kingdom of Satan has been clearly drawn in the "eternal sands of time" (so to speak). There is no straddling the middle. Jesus said "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?" (Mk 8:34-36) Have you lost your life for the sake of Jesus? Have you crossed over the line? There is no straddling this line! To not chose to follow Jesus is a decision against Him! Gather (4863)(sunago from sun = with + ago = to lead, ) means literally to lead together. To gather (in) or gather (up) (Mt 13:47; 25:24, 26; Lk 3:17; 15:13; Jn 6:12f; 15:6). It is the opposite skorpizo (scatter) and merizo (distribute, divide out); Scatters (present tense - continually)(4650)(skorpizo) means scatter or disperse, to cause a group or gathering to go in various directions. It is the opposite sunago (gather). It is used as a metaphor drawn from seed sowing, for what one does to help those in need distribute, disperse, give generously (2Co 9.9) QUESTION - What does it mean that “He who is not with Me is against Me” in Matthew 12:30? GOTQUESTIONS.ORG ANSWER - Matthew 12 is a pivotal chapter in the narrative of Jesus’ earthly ministry and one that includes Jesus’ notable statement that “he who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad” (Matthew 12:30, NKJV). Up to the point when Jesus says, “He who is not with Me is against Me,” He had been proclaiming the good news about the kingdom that He was offering, but in Matthew 12 He and His kingdom are rejected—particularly by the leaders of the nation. The situation comes to a head when Jesus heals a blind and mute man (Matthew 12:22). The crowds were in awe and were wondering whether He might be the Son of David, the Messiah (Matthew 12:23). The Pharisees, on the other hand, quickly rejected Jesus’ healing work as Messianic and instead asserted that Jesus had healed the man by demonic power (Matthew 12:24). Jesus challenged the absurdity of this critique and the failed logic of a divided kingdom and Satan fighting against Satan (Matthew 12:26–29). He then presented them with a dilemma, asking in whose power their sons cast out demons (Matthew 12:27). The point Jesus was making was that, if Jesus was casting out demons in the power of God, as He was claiming to do, then indeed the kingdom He was presenting had come because the King had come (Matthew 12:28). Jesus then took it one step further by saying that “he who is not with Me is against Me.” The people had to make a choice. Their Messiah had come, offering to them the prophesied and covenanted kingdom of the heavens (which was ultimately God’s kingdom in the heavens come to earth in fulfillment of God’s covenant to David, with the Messiah ruling on David’s throne in Jerusalem). Jesus was the Messiah, and He was presenting His kingdom to the people. They had to choose—if they were for Him, they would have to change their mind (repent) about how they could gain entrance into the kingdom (Matthew 4:17). They would have to recognize that they could only enter the kingdom by the internal spiritual righteousness Jesus described, and not by their external obedience to the Law of Moses (Matthew 5—7). The Pharisees and other leaders were deeply opposed to changing their minds about these things; they could not accept that He was the Messiah, lest they have to submit to what He was telling them. Their rebellion illustrated Jesus’ statement that “he who is not with Me is against Me” (Matthew 12:30). Like the Pharisees of that era, we also have a choice to make about Jesus. Jesus famously asked the question of His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Each one of us has to answer that question for ourselves. Either we acknowledge that He is who He said He is—the Messiah—or we reject that and attribute His words and works to something other than the true ministry of our Creator, Messiah, Savior, and King. With this choice there is no third option. Jesus did not give His listeners the option of avoiding the choice. “He who is not with Me is against Me,” He said. And if we claim to be for Him, then we must come to Him as He prescribes and not as we might prefer. The Pharisees were open to God’s involvement in their lives and the lives of the nation of Israel, but only on their own terms. As creations of the Creator, we don’t get to make the rules; we simply have to decide whether we are for Him or against Him. Matthew 12:31 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. NET Matthew 12:31 For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. GNT Matthew 12:31 Διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὑμῖν, πᾶσα ἁμαρτία καὶ βλασφημία ἀφεθήσεται τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἡ δὲ τοῦ πνεύματος βλασφημία οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται. NLT Matthew 12:31 "Every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven-- except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. KJV Matthew 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. ESV Matthew 12:31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. NIV Matthew 12:31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ASV Matthew 12:31 Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. CSB Matthew 12:31 Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. NKJ Matthew 12:31 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. NRS Matthew 12:31 Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. YLT Matthew 12:31 Because of this I say to you, all sin and evil speaking shall be forgiven to men, but the evil speaking of the Spirit shall not be forgiven to men. NAB Matthew 12:31 Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. NJB Matthew 12:31 And so I tell you, every human sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. GWN Matthew 12:31 So I can guarantee that people will be forgiven for any sin or cursing. However, cursing the Spirit will not be forgiven. BBE Matthew 12:31 So I say to you, Every sin and every evil word against God will have forgiveness; but for evil words against the Spirit there will be no forgiveness. Any sin - Isa 1:18 55:7 Eze 33:11 1Ti 1:13-15 Heb 6:4 *etc: Heb 10:26,29 1Jn 1:9 2:1,2 but blasphemy against Mk 3:28-30 Lu 12:10 Ac 7:51 1Jn 5:16 Matthew 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE ULTIMATE ANTITHESIS Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven - The word antithesis means exact opposite and describes a situation where two opposites are introduced in the same sentence, for contrasting effect. In this passage we have the ultimate antithesis of sin which is forgivable and sin which is unforgivable! This sentence is the ultimate good news/bad news! The GOOD NEWS is that ANY (literally the Greek word is all) sin we have committed, no matter how heinous, how depraved, how wicked, how long in duration, etc, is forgivable by God. This is good news for everyone, because it flings the doors of the Kingdom of God open so that anyone may enter through the gates of the Gospel. He adds blasphemy to leave no doubt that it too can be forgiven and will allow Him to more strongly bring out the one exception. The BUT introduces a striking contrast of the BAD NEWS of a sin which cannot be forgiven, blasphemy against the Spirit. So the question everyone asks is this -- "What is this unforgivable sin against the Spirit?" There is some disagreement among experts regarding this sin, for some say this exact sin cannot be committed in our day. Why do they say that? They say that because they identify this sin specifically was a slanderous accusation against Jesus, specifically accusing Him of performing miracles by the power of Satan rather than by the power of the Holy Spirit. And since Jesus is not physically present and casting out demons and healing lame and curing lepers, etc, then this exact sin cannot be committed because the men who committed it witnessed these miracles. The question then arises does Jesus' warning having any application to men today? Is there any way a person could blaspheme the Spirit today? First and foremost, if you are worried that you have committed this sin, then you can be sure you have not! The fact that you have a consciousness (conviction, awareness) of your sin is evidence you have not committed the unpardonable sin! Second, while the exact sin Jesus describes in context cannot be committed, there is a sin which is unpardonable -- Simply stated it is the sin of continually resisting the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit Who shows us we are sinners and in need of a Savior. For example if an unbelieving person is lying on their deathbed and the family is pleading with them to accept Jesus as Savior before the die and they refuse to the very end of their life, clearly their sins are not pardonable. This sin is not exactly the same as the scribes and Pharisees committed but the effect is the same - eternal death. In a similar manner, if a person is repeatedly offered the Gospel and they stubbornly continued to refuse it, even disparagingly refuting it, there comes a point in time known only to God when that person is no longer able to be saved. We see this scenario in Hebrews 6 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. 7 For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. (Hebrews 6:4-9+) I realize that Hebrews 6 is a controversial passage but I interpret it as those who were given every opportunity to believe and yet chose to willfully reject the Spirit's wooing them to Jesus to be their Savior, even after clear exposure to and experience of the grace of God, these individuals have crossed a line (which in my opinion ONLY GOD KNOWS) and can no longer receive pardon for their sins. They have in essence become "unpardonable." (See MacArthur's explanation toward the bottom of the page of his sermon The Unforgivable Sin) Joseph Addison Alexander was a well-respected theologian in the 1800's who penned a poem that alludes to the line a person can cross and which when they pass that line, they are beyond the grace and mercy of God. And to reiterate, if you think you've crossed it, YOU HAVE NOT! You have not committed a sin so horrible that Jesus cannot and will not forgive if you accept His payment on the Cross for the sins you have committed. The Gospel door remains open to you. So with that introduction here is the poem There is a time we know not when, A place we know not where; Which marks the destiny of men To glory or despair. There is a line, by us unseen, Which crosses every path; Which marks the boundary between God’s mercy and His wrath. Therefore I say to you, any (ALL) sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people - As alluded to above, Jesus' makes it clear that blasphemy is like any other sin and is forgivable. Paul made that clear in (1 Ti 1:13-14) writing "even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus." This is GOOD NEWS that the greatest apostle in the history of the church is a FORGIVEN BLASPHEMER! As defiant and irreverent as blasphemy against God is, it is nevertheless forgivable by our merciful, gracious, forgiving God! That is called AMAZING GRACE! Recall also that Peter the leading apostle of the 12 disciples blasphemed, denying Christ 3 times and even "began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” (Mk 14:71, 72) God forgives blasphemers and whether we were as overt as Paul or repetitive as Peter we have all slandered the beautiful Name of Jesus and God and yet He has forgiven us! As