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.
- What was so important about the deliverance of the man who was possessed in this passage?
- What is the sin that God will not forgive?
- Who will God bring as witnesses in the judgment against the Israel of Christs day?
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