January
18th Christ’s power over
Satan
22: Then was brought unto him one
possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the
blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23: And all the people were amazed, and
said, Is not this the son of David? 24: But when the Pharisees heard it, they
said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the
devils. 25: And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom
divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house
divided against itself shall not stand: 26: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is
divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27: And if I by
Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore
they shall be your judges. 28: But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God,
then the kingdom
of God is come unto you.
29: Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods,
except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30: He
that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth
abroad. 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. 32: And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it
shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall
not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 33:
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt,
and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34: O generation of
vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of
the heart the mouth speaketh. 35: A good man out of the good treasure of the
heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure
bringeth forth evil things. 36: But I say unto you, That every idle word that
men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37:
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be
condemned.
No
more signs
38: Then certain of the scribes and
of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39:
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh
after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the
prophet Jonas: 40: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's
belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of
the earth. 41: The men of Nineveh
shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they
repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
42: The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation,
and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to
hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. 43:
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places,
seeking rest, and findeth none. 44: Then he saith, I will return into my house
from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and
garnished. 45: Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more
wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of
that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked
generation.
The
real family of Christ
46: While he yet talked to the
people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak
with him. 47: Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand
without, desiring to speak with thee. 48: But he answered and said unto him
that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49: And he stretched
forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my
brethren! 50: For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven,
the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
The healing of a man with a demon
who had made him dumb was considered by the Rabbi’s as a miracle that only the
Messiah would be able to perform. This is because it was always important to
ask the demons name. But if the man is dumb this cannot be done. In this case
the man was blind, dumb/deaf and demon possessed. The reaction to this miracle
was that the People were amazed and said, Is not this the son of David? In
other words, isn’t this the Messiah? The Pharisees however attributed the work
of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s ministry to Satanic power. Christ answers by
saying that even Satan would not be so stupid as to cast out demons because
then he would be destroying his own work. Then Christ turns on them and asks in
what power their own children cast out demons? And then he says they will be
your judges. Then Christ says that it is in the power of the Holy Spirit that
he casts out demons. We must never forget that Christ lived and ministered in
the power of the Holy Spirit. Then Christ goes on to explain that EVERY sin
committed by man can be forgiven BUT there is one sin that is never forgiven.
And that is blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. Then Christ contrasts the Evil
heart with the Good heart. From the evil heart comes every form of wickedness.
Having rejected Christ’s Messianic sign, they then ask for a sign, but Christ
refuses to pander to their whim. And he tells them that they will only have the
sign of the Prophet Jonah. The Sign of Resurrection. Then Christ goes on to
point out that the Assyrians of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment to condemn
these men, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, but a greater
prophet has preached to them - The Son of God. Christ also says that the Queen
of Sheba will stand in the judgment and testify against them because she came
to hear Solomon’s wisdom but a greater than Solomon was preaching to them – The
Son of God. Christ is greater than Jonah and greater than Solomon. Jonah went
lower than any man had ever gone. He discovered the foundations of the earth.
Solomon was the height of Israel,
their greatest king in wisdom and wealth. But Christ went deeper than Jonah and
will sit on a throne greater than Solomon. Then Christ gives a chilling warning
to the religious leaders telling them that after their rejection of the Messiah
their spiritual state will be seven times worse than before they met him. While
Christ was still speaking His mother and brothers came. Christ enlarged his
family to include all those who hear the word of the Lord and do it.
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