Refusing to Believe / Matthew 12:22-37
A Line in the Sand
Middle school. Does that strike terror in your heart like it strikes terror in mine? How many of you remember middle school? I hated middle school. It was the worst three years of my life. I’m from Texas, so it’s not just seventh and eighth grade—it’s sixth, seventh, and eighth. So there I was, this prepubescent little sixth grader hanging out with these silverback gorilla men. Everybody was bigger, and it was intimidating.
In typical Mike fashion, growing up in middle school—as Tom Cruise said in Top Gun—I was writing checks with my mouth that my body couldn’t cash. I said some dumb stuff, and as a result, during my sixth-grade year, I got bullied and picked on. Getting bullied by an upperclassman was awful. It was by far the worst year of all my schooling years.
But the one thing worse than getting bullied yourself is watching your younger brother get bullied. Same story for my brother. He was a sixth grader, and we’re five years apart, so I was a junior in high school at the time. He was a musician—he was cool before people knew how to be cool. He played the saxophone and piano and sang, but all the jocks in the school thought that was lame. (Now he’s an opera singer by trade, so take that! Super gifted.) But back then, they thought he was lame because he didn’t like sports.
There was this one upperclassman at Schimmelfennig Middle School—say that ten times fast—who decided my brother Jason was going to be his target, his little pet project all year long. He bullied him incessantly. My brother would come home just like I did: frustrated, scared, wanting to do something, but not knowing the right response. You could see this relationship coming to a crescendo. Jason had finally had it.
After months and months of enduring this bully’s language and threats—he never laid hands on him, but he constantly threatened to—my brother finally said, “It’s done. We’re going to deal with this. We’re done.”
I said, “Hey, I’m your older brother. I’ve got some advice for you. Here’s what we’re going to do. During my lunch break, I’m going to drive over from the high school. You’re going to confront this guy in the hallway at Schimmelfennig Middle School, and I’m just going to go sit on the bench behind you. If that guy lays a hand on you, I will be right there.” At this point, I was an eleventh grader; I was pretty sure of myself. I had grown a little bit!
Sure enough, I walked in, snuck into the school, and parked it by a bench next to a little fake tree right in the corner. I watched my brother come out of the classroom just as this kid was coming from lunch. The two of them met head-on. My brother posted up face-to-face with this kid and said, “It is over right now. Either this is going to go down and we’re going to fight, or we’re going to move on and this stops.”
That bully looked at him wide-eyed, completely shocked that Jason stood his ground, and he simply walked away. Moving forward, there was never any tension between those two again.
The Rising Tension
As you think about our journey in the book of Matthew, this is exactly where we are at. In chapters 11 and 12, you watch this rising tension between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day. There is this offer of the kingdom, yet the religious leaders continue to say to Jesus, “You are not the guy we are expecting. You are not the promised Old Testament Messiah. We have other visions and plans for who that would be, and you’re simply not Him.”
In the face of all compelling evidence that proves otherwise, these men continue to harden their hearts. This relationship is meeting at a crescendo, and a definitive line is about to be drawn.
If you have your Bible, turn to Matthew chapter 12. We are going to look at verses 22 through 37. What we will see today is Jesus healing one more man. One more person is brought before Christ to see if Jesus is indeed this promised Messiah who can heal diseases and perform the miracles prophesied in the Old Testament. Once again, the response from the religious leaders will be total rejection.
Then Jesus drops the hammer. He tells the Pharisees and scribes that they have committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit—the unpardonable sin—and He exposes the evil residing in their hearts. He draws a hard line in the sand and says, “Choose. I am either the Messiah you have been waiting thousands of years for, or I am not. But you cannot sit on the fence.”
Look with me at verse 22.
Matthew 12:22 (NASB)
Then a demon-possessed man [who was] blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.
As we think about the miracles recorded in Matthew so far, Jesus has healed at least 17 different individuals, not counting the summaries where it says He went through cities and villages healing many. The religious leaders and crowds have seen Him cleanse lepers, heal Roman servants, calm the seas, cast out demons, raise a dead girl, open the eyes of the blind, and, as Brad taught last week, heal a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. They saw all of this.
Now they bring the eighteenth case before Jesus. We aren’t told who brought this man, but it was likely a setup by the Pharisees. They bring the ultimate test case: this man is demon-possessed, blind, and mute. That is a tragic trifecta. They bring their hardest scenario hoping Jesus will fail, because if He fails, they don’t have to bow their knee to Him. They don’t have to admit He is in control.
Jesus’ response in my loose translation of the Greek is simply: Bring it.
Notice how verse 22 spends just half a sentence on the miracle itself: “he healed him so that the mute man spoke and saw.” It’s effortless for Jesus because He is the Messiah. Matthew’s focus is not on the mechanics of the miracle, but on the reaction of the people.
Matthew 12:23 (NASB)
All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, ‘This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?’
The crowds are amazed. The Greek word used here means to be beside oneself, to be utterly astounded to the point of nearly losing one’s composure. In modern terms, it blew their minds. They are on a knife’s edge, asking, “Could this really be the Son of David?”
They are waiting for the religious leaders to validate what is obvious. They want the experts to say, “Yes, His birth, His genealogy, His baptism, His temptation, His teaching, and His miracles all prove He is the Messiah.” But that is not what happens.
The Absurdity of Unbelief
Matthew 12:24 (NASB)
But when the Pharisees heard [this], they said, ‘This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.’
Notice first what they don’t say. They don’t say, “See, Jesus couldn’t do it!” They can’t deny the miracle took place in plain sight. Instead, they make an outrageous claim: “You did heal him, but you did it by Beelzebul, the prince of demons.” They attribute the power of Christ directly to Satan.
In verses 25 through 29, Jesus exposes the utter foolishness of their thinking. First, He shows that their argument is completely illogical.
Matthew 12:25-26 (NASB)
And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, ’Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. ’If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?
Jesus says, “Knowing their thoughts…”—which is always a terrifying reality. He points out that a divided kingdom cannot stand. If Satan is casting out his own demons, he is working against himself. It is completely illogical to claim Jesus is on Team Satan.
Second, Jesus points out that their argument is inconsistent with their own beliefs.
Matthew 12:27 (NASB)
’If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast [them] out? For this reason they will be your judges.
Jewish exorcists practiced among them, and the Pharisees attributed those exorcisms to God. Jesus says, “If you claim your own sons cast out demons by God’s power, why are you claiming my power comes from Satan? You are being completely inconsistent with your own theology.”
Third, Jesus demonstrates that they are in flat-out denial.
Matthew 12:28-29 (NASB)
’But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ’Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong [man]? And then he will plunder his house.
Jesus tells them, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” If you are going to burglarize a strong man’s house, you must first overpower and bind the strong man. In this illustration, Satan is the strong man, his house is this fallen world, and Jesus has entered to bind him and liberate his captives. Every angle proves their accusation is bankrupt.
Then Jesus draws the line.
Matthew 12:30 (NASB)
’He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
There is no neutrality with Jesus. You are either with Him or against Him. There is no middle ground where you can say, “I’m glad church works for you, but I’m just going to stay neutral.” Jesus says there is no Option C. You are either gathering with Him, or you are scattering.
The Unpardonable Sin
Next, Jesus delivers one of the most sobering statements in all the Gospels.
Matthew 12:31-32 (NASB)
’Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. ’Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the [age] to come.
These verses have caused people anxiety for centuries. What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? Can it be committed today? Have you committed it?
To understand this, look at the context. In Matthew 12:18, God declared through Isaiah, “I have put my Spirit upon Him.” Jesus performed these signs by the power of the Holy Spirit to validate His identity as the Messiah. The religious leaders looked directly at the clear, undeniable work of the Spirit through Christ and declared it to be demonic. By attributing the Spirit’s testimony to Satan, they were decisively shutting the door on the only means of salvation.
Can this sin be committed today? In this specific historical context—looking at Jesus performing miracles in the flesh and attributing His Spirit-empowered work to Beelzebul—no, that unique historical situation cannot be replicated.
If you are worried that you have committed some unpardonable sin that puts you beyond God’s grace, let me assure you pastorally: Scripture makes it clear that whoever comes to Christ will never be cast out. There is no sin beyond the reach of the blood of Jesus for those who repent. As long as you have breath in your lungs, you can turn to Jesus and find forgiveness. The only truly unforgivable state is final, unrepentant rejection of Christ.
Fruit and the Heart
Jesus then provides three illustrations showing that this is not merely a mouth problem; it is a heart problem.
Matthew 12:33 (NASB)
’Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.
A tree is recognized by its fruit. A healthy tree produces good fruit, and a diseased tree produces bad fruit. The blasphemy pouring out of the Pharisees was the natural fruit of their corrupt hearts.
Matthew 12:34-35 (NASB)
’You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. ’The good man brings out of [his] good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of [his] evil treasure what is evil.
Jesus calls them a “brood of vipers.” The words coming out of their mouths are simply the overflow of what fills their hearts. Good treasure produces good; evil treasure produces evil.
Matthew 12:36-37 (NASB)
’But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. ‘For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.’
Every careless word will be accounted for on the day of judgment. Our words reveal whether our hearts have submitted to the King or remained in rebellion.
Why did these religious leaders reject Him so fiercely despite all the evidence? In John 11, after Jesus raised Lazarus, we get a glimpse into their motives.
John 11:47-48 (NASB)
Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, ’What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. ‘If we let Him [go on] like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’
Their true motive was self-preservation. They were afraid of losing their power, their position, and their control. They had too much to lose in this world to bow their knee to King Jesus.
The Cost of Following
We may not be first-century Pharisees, but we often wrestle with the very same heart posture. We hold on to comfort, position, or past habits because we are afraid of what following Jesus will cost us.
In Luke chapter 9, we see three individuals who encountered Jesus, each struggling to surrender full control.
Luke 9:57-58 (NASB)
As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, ‘I will follow You wherever You go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘The foxes have holes and the birds of the air [have] nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’
The first man said, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus reminded him that following Him might cost earthly comfort and security. That man walked away because he loved comfort more than the King.
Luke 9:59-60 (NASB)
And He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.’ But He said to him, ‘Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.’
Jesus called the second man, who replied, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” This man was consumed with earthly duties and family affairs, putting earthly responsibilities ahead of the call of the kingdom.
Luke 9:61-62 (NASB)
Another also said, ‘I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’
The third man wanted to say goodbye to his family first, but Jesus told him that no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom. If you try to plow a field while looking behind you, your rows will be crooked. He was unwilling to let go of his past.
Are you holding on to comfort, earthly concerns, or your past? What is keeping you from full surrender to Christ?
I remember when Jesus found me. I was a beer-drinking, girl-chasing, immoral fraternity guy in college. But God broke through my sin and showed me my desperate need for Christ. He showed me that all the things I chased could never satisfy my soul. He offered me redemption, and He offers the exact same redemption to you today.
The King in Disguise
Back in the 1940s, America was still recovering from the Great Depression. The South was hit especially hard. Jobs were scarce, and people often survived by bartering with their neighbors—trading flour for chickens just to make ends meet.
There was a family in East Tupelo, Mississippi, who told the story of an older man who would regularly come to their door with whatever goods he had in his truck to barter. He would bring his young, only son with him. The family had several daughters, and this young boy wanted to play with them while his father was bartering.
But the girls thought this boy was strange and socially awkward. They would literally crawl and hide under the porch so they wouldn’t have to play with him. In fact, his name became an insult between the sisters. Whenever they wanted to tease one another, they would taunt, “You’re going to grow up and marry him!”
One day, one of the sisters proclaimed, “I’m going to make something of my life. I’m going to get out of this town, marry someone rich and famous, and be important!”
Her sister laughed and replied, “No, you’re not. You’re going to end up staying right here in Tupelo and marrying Elvis Presley!”
(That sister ended up marrying a Baptist preacher!)
The boy’s father was Vernon Presley, and that awkward boy was Elvis Presley, who would grow up to be known worldwide as “The King.”
The moral of the story is simple: beware of rejecting a father’s only son—because He just might be the King.
Jesus is the Father’s only Son. He is the promised Messiah, the King of kings. Do not harden your heart against Him. Step off the fence, lay down your pride, and put your faith in Him today.