Matthew 12:22–37

Assistant Professor of Christian Studies, School of Christian Studies, University of Mobile

Watch Your Words
Matthew 12:22–37
The title for this week’s lesson reminds me of the memory device that children are taught to recite the Ten Commandments: (1) One God — you will have no other gods before Me; (2) Cut out idols — you will not make any graven images; (3) Watch your words — you will not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. These last words prohibit the misuse of the name of God, but they certainly tie in with our passage. Jesus made an impression on His disciples about the seriousness of misspoken words. Every word will be accounted for on the Day of Judgment. Even Jesus’ brother James was affected by His teaching when he wrote that Christians should be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to get angry (James 1:19). He also wrote that religion with an unbridled tongue is worthless (James 1:26) and that mastery over the tongue demonstrates character (James 3:3–12).

Speaking About Jesus (22–27)
After Jesus healed a demonized man, the man was able to see and speak. Those who heard of Jesus’ authority over the spirit offered two distinct responses. One group wondered aloud whether Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of David. Later when a group of Pharisees heard about the incident, they simply accused Jesus of casting out demons by the authority of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Their jealousy over Jesus’ popularity is evident by their words.

The charge that Jesus cast out demons by supernatural means apart from God is also found in an extrabiblical, historical source. In the rabbinic record “Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin,” one of the charges for the execution of Jesus was the practice of sorcery. While we recognize this charge is untrue, the source affirms that Jesus was accused by rabbis of this crime. Jesus responded to the Pharisees’ accusations by stating that kingdoms and houses divided will not stand. Then He asked a penetrating question: If He cast out demons by the authority of a demon, by whose authority were Jewish exorcists operating? How could the Pharisees say Jesus used sorcery when they recognized the authority of other Jews who cast out demons?

Speaking About the Holy Spirit (28–32)
By nature, carnal people misrepresent Jesus. They do not understand Him nor can they, unless God reveals who Jesus is to them. When the Pharisees misspoke about Jesus, they did it in ignorance. No wonder our Lord prayed: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” The same is true regarding the Father. A person who has not received God’s special revelation only knows God through His creation, through general knowledge of God’s reality. By contrast, the mischaracterizing of the work of the Holy Spirit and attributing God’s work to Satan is a serious matter and worthy of judgment.
Twice in this passage, Jesus warned against speaking against the Holy Spirit. In verse 31, the term used is “blasphemy,” and in the following verse, Jesus addressed speaking against the Holy Spirit. Since Jesus gave this instruction immediately after the accusation of exorcism by demonic means, it seems that Jesus was saying that verbally attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to demons was unforgivable. Others have suggested that the sin that will not be forgiven is the continual hardening of the heart and rejection of the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.

Speak With Care (33–37)
In this final passage of our lesson, Jesus spoke of the fruit individuals bear. A good tree will produce good fruit and a bad tree bad fruit. What is in the heart comes out through the mouth. Once again, we find echoes of this teaching in the writing of James, when he asked why from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. Jesus taught that we are accountable to God for our words. He had earlier taught in the Sermon on the Mount that we are not to call names or babble on in our prayers. Now He gave even more instruction: we will give account for every word we speak. Therefore we must be careful to speak as Jesus did, discerning good and evil and speaking the truth in love.