Just by way of a short reminder, Jesus is on His second tour of Galilee. This is early in the second year of His public ministry and large crowds follow Him everywhere He goes. We’re looking at the account of yet another confrontation with the Pharisees recorded in Matthew 12. Jesus has healed a man who could neither see nor speak because he was afflicted by a demon. The Pharisees argued that Jesus could only cast out demons with the help of Beelzebub, the lord of the flies (a name given to Satan).
We’re ready for verse 33. “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit rotten, because a tree is judged by its fruit.” Here, Jesus repeats His teaching in the Sermon on the Mount regarding how to recognize false teachers in Matthew 7:15-20. The idea is that their actions should be consistent with their teaching and their teaching consistent with the will of God and if those things don’t ring true, disregard them as false.
“You brood of vipers, you’re so evil that you’re incapable of saying anything good. The things you say expose what is in your heart. A good man has a good heart and so he does good things; but an evil man has an evil heart and can do only evil things. (Verses 34 and 35) “Vipers” is from echidna, a term generally used to describe a poisonous snake. A snake is always a snake and cannot be anything but a snake and do what snakes do. Jesus is using this as a metaphor to illustrate the Pharisees corrupting, deceptive influence and the fact that they were so pervasively evil that it was impossible for them to do or say anything good or right.
“But I’m telling you that men will have to account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (Verse 36) “Careless” (“idle” in the KJV) is from argos, a combination of the negative a and ergon, not working or idle. It was often used to describe something unprofitable or careless in the sense that proper attention or thought was not given to a subject before speaking. Jesus is saying here that they will be held accountable on the day of judgment (the white throne or final judgment of Revelation 20:11) for every careless or thoughtless word they have spoken.
“For by your words you will either be acquitted, or by your words you will be sentenced.” (Verse 37) Instead of “acquitted”, the KJV has “justified” from dikaloo, literally to judge whether a person is righteous or not. Then “sentenced” is katadikazo, literally, to judge against or pass a sentence or condemn. So, following what Jesus has said in these past several verses, the words we speak expose what is in our heart, we will give an account for the words we have spoken and those words will either find us righteous or they will condemn us.
Following this stern warning about the importance of words spoken, the Pharisees seem to soften a little. “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, Master, we would like to see you perform another miracle to prove You are Who You claim to be.” (Verse 38) The KJV says they wanted to see a “sign” from semeion, a supernatural miracle. The Pharisees asking for a “sign” was a common occurrence. (compare Matthew 16:1 and John 6:30) It was their way of challenging or testing Jesus and proof of their own unbelief.
But Jesus rebukes them for their unbelief. “But He answered them saying, Only a worthless and morally bankrupt generation asks for a miracle; but none will be given except the example of Jonah. And just like Jonah was in the whale’s belly for three days and three nights, the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Verses 39 and 40) Now let’s be clear. When you look at most of the children’s Bible story books, usually there’s a picture of Jonah sitting in the whale’s belly in front of what looks like a camp fire with a sad look on his face. But when you read the Book of Jonah it clearly says that in his distress Jonah cried out to God from Sheol (the place of the dead). Jonah didn’t live for three days in the whale’s belly, he died and his soul went to Sheol in the heart of the earth (Jonah 2:2).
So Jesus tells the scribes and Pharisees that, like Jonah, He will be dead and be three days in the heart of the earth (again, Sheol). And just as Jonah was vomited out of the whale alive (Jonah 2:10), Jesus was resurrected alive after three days (Matthew 28:6). The scriptures are clear that during those three days His Spirit was with the Father (Luke 23:46), His soul was in paradise, the compartment of Sheol where the Old Testament saints were (Luke 23:43), also called Abraham’s bosom in Luke 16:22-23, and His body was in the grave (Luke 23:53).
“The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when they heard Jonah’s message, and now One greater than Jonah is here.” (Verse 41) God had commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach against their great wickedness and warn them of coming judgment. However, Jonah refused to go, as Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire and was threatening Israel. However, when Jonah did eventually go to Nineveh, they repented in sackcloth and ashes (Jonah 2:5-6). Jesus’ message was clear, Nineveh was known to be an extremely perverse and evil place (Jonah 1:2); but as wicked as the men of Nineveh were, they repented. The Pharisees listened to His message, yet refused to repent, so their wickedness was exposed.
“And the queen of the South will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she traveled from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, yet One greater than Solomon is here.” (Verse 42) Jesus is referring to the queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1-13) who traveled to Jerusalem from Ethiopia (well over 500 miles by caravan) to hear the wisdom of Solomon and witness the wonders and grandeur of his kingdom. And she blessed the Lord God of Solomon and gifted him with 120 talents of gold (9,000 pounds, probably worth over 46 million dollars at that time).
Then we come to an interesting parenthetical passage that refers back to what Jesus was talking about in verses 24-28 (when the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons with the help of Satan and couldn’t recognize the work of the Holy Spirit), and 39 (when they wanted to see yet another miracle to be convinced of Jesus’ authority).
Keep in mind from the last lesson, some disciples of the Pharisees practiced exorcisms (Matthew 12:27), those who obviously didn’t know the Lord did too (Matthew 7:22) and Paul talks about traveling bands of Jewish exorcists (Acts 19:13). So, the practice of casting out demons by those who obviously had no authority to do so was common. Also, keep in mind what was discussed regarding one of the favorite deceptions of Satan, for demons to pretend to be cast out. Now Jesus is going to reveal what really happens.
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it roams through dry places in search of rest, but does not find any.” (Verse 43) We need to look at this in a little more detail, otherwise it can be confusing. Jesus doesn’t say the demon was cast out or forced to leave, He’s talking about a voluntary thing. That is all too clear when He says in the very next verse that the unclean spirit decides to go back where it had been before.
Then there are two words that need to be examined to make sense of why the demon makes that decision. First, He says the demon roams through “dry” places. This is from anudros and means, waterless. Here it is used as a metaphor to describe places that lack the kind of human activity attractive to this demon. In other words, these “dry” places are somewhat lifeless (maybe boring) and possibly it’s looking for a little more excitement.
This idea is confirmed when the verse says the demon is in search of “rest”. Here is anapausis, a great example of a word meaning being determined by the context. The meaning of anapausis is rest, refreshment or it’s used to describe the cessation of something. But this “rest” is not a rest from work or a rest of inactivity. Instead, it’s a rest from the burden or distraction of trying to find harmonious satisfaction in ones existence. This demon was looking for something that was missing in the life or activities of the man it had possessed. So, it decided to look elsewhere; but the end of the verse says the demon couldn’t find anything better.
“Then it says, I will go back to the place from which I came. And when it arrives, it finds that place unoccupied, cleaned up and decorated.” (Verse 44) Since the demon couldn’t find anything better, it decides to go back to the same place it had left. The description of the man being “unoccupied, cleaned up and decorated” is a way of saying there was nothing to prevent the demon from coming back and after searching for something better and not finding it, the demon decides it wasn’t so bad after all.
“Then it goes out and finds seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make themselves at home. And now the condition of that man is worse than it was before. And that is how it will be with this wicked generation.” (Verse 45) I should note here that these three verses illustrate the personal nature of demons. They make decisions, have preferences, make observations, move about, speak and possess different degrees of wickedness.
In this account the demon was not satisfied with its existence in the possession of this particular man. So, it made the decision to leave and go look for something more to its liking. But since the search was unsuccessful, it decided to just go back to where it was before. But it had a plan. The demon decided it would liven things up by bringing seven more demons with it that were even more wicked! Then two perspectives are illustrated: the man is far worse off than before, but the demons is more satisfied with the situation.
Jesus applies this principle to a generation, describing a downward spiral of apostasy. When people allow themselves to be deceived. When they don’t make the effort that’s required to really know the truth. When they refuse to submit to a Holy God. When they’re satisfied with a false religion of their own making that even dabbles in the supernatural. When they allow themselves to get caught up in Satan’s devices (not just purporting to cast out demons, but the self-righteousness, the hypocrisy, the greed, etc.) . When they fail to recognize the true work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Things don’t improve; they get worse. The deception gets stronger, the destruction more real. Here Jesus is predicting the destruction of Jerusalem and the decimation of the Jewish nation.
There were two problems that eventually converged and led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by the Roman army led by Titus. One was the confrontational opposition and hateful rejection of the Christ by the Pharisees and the religious establishment. The other was the constant rebellion against the Roman occupation by the Jewish zealots, who by and large did not embrace the Christ as well. Over 1 million Jews were slaughtered (Josephus wrote that the Roman soldiers enthusiastically killed men, women and children until there was no one left to kill), much of the city was burned and the temple destroyed.
Let's finish this passage. This is verses 46 and 48 (verse 47 is not found in the best manuscripts) . “And while Jesus was still speaking, His mother and brothers stood away from the crowd wanting to speak to Him. But Jesus replied to the one who told Him, Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” The KJV says His mother and brothers “stood without” where “without” is from exo, a word that probably could be rendered “away” here, due to the context of the large crowd being present (remember Mark 3:20-21 that references the large crowd, but also Jesus entering a house) and His family being concerned for His safety (remember also that same account where they wanted to pull Him away, saying He was “beside Himself”, meaning, out of His mind). So, it seems this whole scene described in Matthew 12 (as well as Mark 3 and Luke 11) takes place in a house full of people, including the Pharisees involved in the confrontation.
“And stretching out His hand towards His followers, He said, Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” (Verses 49-50) Of course Jesus is emphasizing the fact that following and serving God is more important than loyalty to family. He wasn’t denying His love for His family, there is plenty of evidence of that. He is simply using their presence to contrast earthly relationships with spiritual, eternal ones.