Matthew 12:22-37 - Damariscotta Baptist Church

“Binding the Strong Man”

Matthew 12:22-37

We continue today in chapter 12 of the Gospel According to Matthew. Up to this point in the chapter the Pharisees had been questioning the validity of Jesus’ claims of being the Messiah. The new movement He was creating was causing problems for the religious teachers and leaders. He was drawing multitudes of followers who used to pay homage to them. Word had gotten out that Jesus was helping the poor and paying attention to the sick and even healing them. The Pharisees challenge Jesus with His claim of being from God because He was working on the Sabbath. Certainly God wouldn’t break the Sabbath. Jesus’ response was that He was Lord of the Sabbath. That was even more preposterous to the rabbis and religious leaders. Jesus had to be stopped.

Today’s Scripture continues with more rejection by the religious leaders. It is still the Sabbath and Jesus has already allowed His disciples to eat the heads of grain in the field and healed a man with a crippled hand inside the synagogue. Both which would be forbidden in the Jewish culture as they know it. Jesus was now outside the temple healing everyone who needed care. Someone brings a demon-possessed, blind and mute man and Jesus heals him.

Wow!

This was supposed to be impossible.

Those who were part of the multitude were amazed and immediately reacted with a Messianic expectation. The religious leaders responded with an opposite view. They attributed Jesus’ power to Satan. The religious leaders don’t know what to do with Jesus so they resort to associating Him with Hell. They have made up their minds and will continue to accuse Jesus of using sorcery.

Jesus responded to their accusation of Him working by Satan’s power by poking holes in their theory. First, Jesus uses logic. Kingdoms that are divided against themselves don’t survive. History has proven this. Every great empire that has existed in history has fallen from within. Whether by corruption, incompetence, the overstretching of the empire or civil war when there are divisions from within, desolation occurs. Jesus challenges the Pharisees to explain how Satan would benefit by Him casting out a demon and healing the man so he could see and speak.

Second, Jesus questioned how their own Jewish exorcists were able to cast out demons? There were Jewish exorcists that were sanctioned by the Pharisees to use herbs and magical formulae with mixed and little result. Thus, the amazement when Jesus was able to free the man from the demon with no mumbo jumbo.

In fact, Jesus then stated that He used the Spirit of God to cast out demons.

Jesus continued His accusation with an analogy. In order to steal from a strong man’s home, one has to tie up the strong man first, then he can take what he wants. Jesus was claiming His authority over Satan’s power. Jesus was stronger than Satan. By demonstrating power over the demon that possessed the man, Jesus proved He was the “stronger man.”

We need to remember that Jesus has given us permission to use His name and authority so that we too are able to bind the strong man.

There is nothing in our life that must stay under Satan’s control.

But do we really believe this?

We read the Scripture and it makes for a good story and works as a resource for good sermons, but how do we put it into our lives?

Right here is a great example.

Satan and his devils are still alive and well. They are strong and have tricky ways of keeping themselves in power over areas of our lives.

The word “addiction” could be better spelled, d-e-m-o-n, demon.

Odds are, based on the number of people in this room, there are some addictive behaviors that exist. They are strong and they are difficult to overcome.

But “surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

The One who binds the strong man and “will plunder his goods,” is our risen Lord. There is hope, there is freedom in Christ.

Jesus goes on to reveal the desperate place of those whose hearts were so hard they would state that Jesus’ workings were from Satan’s power.

Jesus begins with stating that either you were with Him or you were against Him. There was no middle ground of “well, maybe?” If one made the choice not to work with Jesus, then they had made a choice to work against Him. Regardless if they were actively opposed or passively disregarding Him.

Jesus then gave a solemn warning to the religious leaders that were rejecting Him.

Their rejection, especially after they had seen with their own eyes the miracles and work He had done demonstrated they were completely rejecting the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

This was the unforgivable sin.

Jesus warned that to reject Him from a distance or with little information was bad, but to reject Him after experiencing the testimony of the Holy Spirit was fatal.

The Holy Spirit’s ministry was to testify of Jesus, John 15:26. When the Holy Spirit’s testimony was fully and finally rejected it meant He was being called a liar, blasphemy had occurred.

I remember reading this passage when I was a teenager in youth group and wondering if I had blasphemed the Holy Spirit and if I was doomed and would never be forgiven. I remember having lots of doubts. I questioned almost everything I read. Mostly because what I read and what I experienced both in church and at home didn’t always match. I asked my pastor one day what he thought. He wisely answered that if I had any concern whatsoever about blaspheming the Holy Spirit, then I was certainly not guilty of that sin. It was continued rejection, a settled disposition of life that rejects the testimony of the Holy Spirit who commits the unforgivable sin.

Jesus turns the focus around towards the religious leaders. Their own words were their judge. It was the bad fruit of their words, by condemning Jesus, that revealed the bad root growing in their hearts.

Jesus was striking a sore spot in their belief system and they had become defensive. In their defensiveness the religious leaders had stopped seeing with their heart. Jesus even went so far as to call them a, “Brood of vipers!” Essentially Jesus had called the religious leaders “sons of Satan.” It was with an evil nature that they spoke evil of Jesus.

Interestingly, Jesus claims that, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Our words, and I will also add our tone, reveal our heart. If we have placed “good treasure” in our heart, “good things” will come forth from it.

Then Jesus addresses the “idle word.” Oh! Oh! This may come closer to home. What was Jesus addressing? Our daily chit chat and catching up with one another?

When we look at this in context, consider to whom Jesus was speaking. He was addressing the religious leaders of His day. They were the ones who were supposed to be leading the Jewish people to God and in faith. Here they were attacking God incarnate and calling Him a servant of Satan. The words that were coming out of their mouths were more than idle. But what about those leaders who were listening and saying nothing? They too were going to be called to account. There was no middle of the road, no fence sitting allowed.

Jesus made Himself quite clear, verse 37,

“For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Jesus was answering an anticipated objection, that He made too much of mere words.

Jesus’ response to such a thought was that what you say reflects your heart therefore one can be rightly judged by what they say. Reminds me of a song I learned in Sunday School,

O be careful little eyes what you see

For the Father up above

Is looking down in love

So, be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little ears what you hear

For the Father up above

Is looking down in love

So, be careful little ears what you hear

O be careful little tongue what you say

For the Father up above

Is looking down in love

So, be careful little tongue what you say

O be careful little hands what you do

For the Father up above

Is looking down in love

So, be careful little hands what you do

O be careful little feet where you go

For the Father up above

Is looking down in love

So, be careful little feet where you go

O be careful little heart whom you trust

For the Father up above

Is looking down in love

So, be careful little heart whom you trust

O be careful little mind what you think

For the Father up above

Is looking down in love

So, be careful little mind what you think

This all may sound rather daunting. However, Paul also wrote about the importance of words in Romans 10:9,

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

When in doubt, let’s turn to Romans 10:9.

Let’s pray.