Matthew 12:22 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. 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 Jonah: 40 For as Jonah 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.

Words matter. Words always matter. It is the idle word that you will give account of in the day of Judgment.

Jesus always chose His Words carefully – and it makes sense that He would. He is the INCARNATE Word of God. When the Apostle John penned the first verse of the first letter he wrote, God led him to pen:

John 1:1-2  In the beginning was THE WORD, and THE WORD was with God, and THE WORD was God.  [2]  The same was in the beginning with God.

Who is the One called THE WORD? John went on to write:

John 1:14  And THE WORD was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Jesus Christ is THE WORD of God. He is THE WORD made flesh, the Communication of God. Words matter, and THE WORD matters. What Jesus says matters above all else.

1 Jesus Can Only Heal The Willing. In our text today we read:

Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb

A man was brought to Jesus. Three things were diagnosed as being wrong with this man. He was possessed with a devil. Evil had hold of him. When evil gets hold of someone, they can’t hear or speak the things of God. Sin separates us from God.

Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Sin possesses us and covers us so that God cannot hear us.

Isaiah 59:2 ESV but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

The Thrice Holy God will not hear us if we cherish sin in any way or fashion. We – each and every one of us – must come to Christ. We must feel the healing touch of His nail scarred hands, and hear His Word. Someone who loved that person brought that person to Jesus. And Jesus – Jesus alone – blessed that Person so that

Matthew 12:22 … {Jesus} healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

The Word gave words to the one who was wordless! And the people praised God!

But the Pharisees did not.

Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

The Pharisees were blinder and dumber than the man who was brought to Jesus for healing. They had made up their minds. They had shut Jesus out. They didn’t like His Gospel message, so they turned Jesus off. People do this every day. They have preconceived ideas based on their preferred lifestyle. They lock it in place, and no matter what is said turn off any other hearing. The Pharisees didn’t want to hear Jesus, so they said something about Jesus that could not be proven. They slandered the Lord. “Jesus casts out demons by Beelzebub, the Prince of Demons”. They demonized Christ and His followers before the people – saying what could neither be proven nor was true.

They were pretty good politicians!

But Jesus did not attack back, but explained.

Matthew 12:25-28 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.

No Kingdom divided against itself can stand. Jesus is the exact opposite of Satan. Satan and his kingdom of darkness have one Word that they speak, whereas Christ and His Kingdom of light have a totally different Word. Jesus was casting out demons and sickness by the Word of God and the Spirit of God. He was not using demons to cast out demons. Darkness cannot cast out darkness.

Romans 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Darkness supports darkness, light supports light. Godliness supports God, godlessness supports Satan. Jesus said:

Matthew 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

You are either WITH Jesus, or you are NOT. There is no fence sitting with Jesus, no Switzerland in this war between light and darkness. Satan’s Kingdom is a Kingdom of Darkness. Christ’s Kingdom is a Kingdom of Light, a Kingdom that cherishes the Word of God and magnifies the Will of God.

2 The Pharisees – Rejecting The Word Of Christ – Were Guilty Of The Unpardonable Sin. The Unpardonable Sin Is To Speak Against The Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:31-32 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.

The Unpardonable Sin is not a thing you DO, but a thing you SAY.

Jesus Christ is THE Word of God Who cast out demons by the Spirit of God. The Pharisees saw a clear work of God and rather than giving God the glory they gave the glory to Satan. They said that Christ was using demons to cast out demons. When a person’s heart is that hardened then it is too hard to be breached by the Gospel of salvation.

The Pharisees got into this predicament and committed this sin by continually speaking that which was not true to God’s Word. They kept saying the wrong thing and kept rejecting Jesus until they could no longer attempt to hear the Gospel of salvation. Their lips spoke poison that cursed them.

Matthew 12:33-35 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.

Just as a thermometer in the mouth determines if a person is sick or well, the words a person speaks shows whether that person is saved or lost. Words are the fruit of our lives. If we are saved by hearing the Word of Christ’s Gospel then our hearts are changed. And if our hearts are changed then our words will reflect that.

Jesus called the Pharisees “vipers” because their mouths were filled with poison. Like the serpent of Eden, the Pharisees spoke against the Word of God and against the Spirit of God. “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things”. The saved person is changed inwardly, and that change is both SEEN and HEARD outwardly.

3 We Must Listen To Jesus To Be Saved. We Must Follow The Risen Savior To Be Blessed. The only way to salvation is to listen to Jesus.

Matthew 12:36-37 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.

By our words we shall be either justified or condemned. Words matter. What we say matters. What Jesus said matters.

At this point the Pharisees did what most people do when losing an argument – they changed the subject. “Well Jesus, show us a sign”. Jesus said:

Matthew 12:39-40 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 Jonah: 40 For as Jonah 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.

Jesus has given us all the sign we need in His death and resurrection. As Jonah was three DAYS and three NIGHT in the belly of the whale, so JESUS was three DAYS and three NIGHTS in the heart of the earth.. He died for our sins. He was buried for our sins. Three days and three nights later He rose from the grave.

He rose from the heart of the earth so He could redeem the hearts of His people!
Blessed be His Name forever.