Jesus Is NOT the Chief of Demons
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Date: 2022-05-15
Audience: Grass Valley Corps
Title: Jesus is NOT the Chief of Demons
Text: Matthew 12:15-37
Proposition: Godly results support God’s Kingdom
Purpose: Look at the fruit, not the tree
Grace and peace
Left off at v.14: Pharisees actively seeking to DESTROY Jesus.
Jesus had advised followers who faced opposition to leave it behind and move on. What does he do? (Mt 12:15 NIV)
15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.[1]
Religious leadership focused on Jesus as upstart – began to treat him as an adversary to be defeated. Jesus response: Move on, continue to focus on loving others. But he does begin to actively discourage the fame that led to this hostility. (v.16)
16 He warned them not to tell others about him.[2]
As more and more people realized who he was, Jesus had to try to control the response and expectations of those around him.
What they expected from Messiah: Warlord
Matthew recognizes this, and tries to head the impulse off by showing how Jesus is God’s Servant as described by Isaiah.
Says that Jesus moving on and keeping things on the DL is done with a purpose in mind: (vv.17-21)
17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope.” p[3]
Quoting from Isaiah 42.
Notice main points:
- God’s chosen Servant. Loved, “in whom I delight”
This is WHO Jesus is, explains his authority
- God’s Spirit is on him
This is WHY he does what he does – God has given him Spirit – life, breath, authority, ability, direction
- Proclaim Justice to the nations – Not just Israel, but the multitudes – everyone.
Special focus for Matthew, reminding his audience that message is inclusive, not exclusive. This has been a recurring point of contention with Pharisees, who tended to condemn those who did not conform to their view.
This is the WHAT he is doing, flows from who Jesus is and why he is doing what he is doing. Remember: Justice, Biblically-speaking, is about reconciliation – bringing people together into the Kingdom of God.
- Will not fight or shout
This is HOW Jesus is doing ministry. Not raising riot. Not inciting crowd. Not about victory through bloodshed or warfare, but about that justice which can only be obtained by peace.
- Won’t break the damaged reed or snuff out the smoldering candle wick – Suggests a gentleness in approach, but also suggests that WHO Jesus is here to work with are damaged people – those in need of healing, those who need care, or treatment, or protection. Literally “until this justice is triumphant.”
Matthew is saying that Jesus is this promised Servant whose focus is to include and care for those who are broken, ill, or in need until we’re all reconciled, brough back into the Kingdom of God.
To make sure that message is heard and understood, he’s quoting this from Isaiah 42.
I’m reminding us of this almost every week, but back then, there were no chapters or verse numbers in scripture. To teach about a passage, the teacher would quote a piece of it, and the hearers would remember that passage and the whole section it was part of.
The passage we now call Isaiah 42 is about Israel failing in its role as God’s servant. It was supposed to be a beacon, drawing people into the Kingdom, but in Is 42:19-20 he says:
19 Who is blind but my servant,
and deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,
blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
your ears are open, but you do not listen.”[4]
But the passage talks about God choosing one person to restore the rest, and in describing that person, God repeats that he will be “a light to the nations, to be my salvation to the end of the earth.”[5](from Is 49:6)
Matthew keeps bringing us back to this theme of Jesus as God’s agent, reaching out to bring all people together into the Kingdom, to live as they had been created to live, in community, as a functional family that cares for and supports one another.
Jesus isn’t a political messiah or a warrior king. He is the hope of Israel and of the rest of the world, and he is operating to fulfil that identity. Which means he is NOT operating in a way to meet or exceed the expectations of the world or the Pharisees or any other group. He’s God’s agent, not thiers.
Keep that in mind as we move through these next verses.
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” [6]
Matthew keeps telling US that Jesus is the Messiah – here he’s pointing out that he’s not the only one who thinks that. At this point in Jesus’ ministry, people are beginning to notice that he’s fulfilling the prophecies. They were always looking for the Messiah to arrive and there had been plenty of claimants, especially in the decades around Jesus’ time, so they were good at trying to match the signs to what was going on.
But that’s the people. Remember, the religious leaders who had been shown up or shown wrong by the things Jesus said were looking for a way to destroy him because his message was a threat to what they believed.
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.” [7]
Beelzebul/Beelzebub = Baal Zebul = Lord/Master of the High Place. Zebub is corruption = Flies. Probably an insult perpetuated by scribes. In First Century, name was applied to chief of demons and equated with Satan.
Pharisees are saying that the healing Jesus is doing, both in this instance and any other help he’s giving, is powered by the devil.
Unable to deny his supernatural power, because thousands have witnessed it all over the country in hundreds of places and ways, they accept that he can do miracles.
Unwilling to acknowledge that Jesus is God’s agent, because that would require them to change their position on some things and accept some things they were uncomfortable with, his opponents reject that idea completely.
What does that leave them with?
Supernatural power that isn’t from God?
Must be the devil!
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?[8]
And then, and I love this bit:
27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. [9]
If I’m Satan’s agent because I do exorcisms, what about all of the exorcists in your ranks? What are you saying about them? But if I’m God’s agent, with authority granted by God’s Spirit? Then the truth is that the Kingdom of Heaven is here, and you need to let go of your foolish resistance and get in here!
29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house. [10]
To put this in simpler terms for our modern ears, if Satan isn’t the source of Jesus power over Satan, then Jesus has greater authority than Satan. He’s able to bind these demonic powers and throw them out, rescuing the possessed person from them.
Which brings us to Jesus making his point.
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. [11]
In short: You’re picking a side. Are you part of God’s Kingdom or not?
One of my favorite philosophers of the last century, Bob Dylan, once said, “Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, But you're gonna have to serve somebody.”
People love to get tied up in the idea of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit being unforgivable and what they think that means, but really this all comes down to a simple matter of allegiance. Where is yours?
And for everyone who thinks they’ve committed some unforgivable sin, whatever Jesus is describing, he’s calling these guys he’s speaking with to turn back and enter the Kingdom. And they just called him Satan. Right there, after watching him cast out a demon! To protect their own power and pride. They saw the agent of God do an act of God and ascribed it to the devil to try to make themselves look good and Jesus is like, “Come back to the light side and leave that nonsense behind before it gets you in real trouble!” So quit worrying about how bad you think you’ve been and start thinking about which side you want to be on! Because it’s either with Jesus or not, and you really want to be WITH JESUS, serving justice.
Are you uncertain how you can know what is Godly and what isn’t?
It’s simple.
Jesus tells us it’s all about what we create.
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.[12]
You’re a fruit tree, my friend. But unlike your average apple or orange or fig tree, you get to decide what you’re going to grow. What you store up inside yourself is what is going to become the fruit coming from you.
What comes out of you that isn’t compatible with bringing everyone in to the Kingdom of God? Do you want to get rid of it? Easy peasy: Stop taking it in!
If you’re trying to live out Jesus’ command to love your neighbor, stop letting unloving things be a part of your life. That might mean changing the shows you watch or the magazines you read or the people you hang with. It might mean making a point of changing your thought life so that you aren’t spending so much time thinking about them in a way that doesn’t honor them as a human being who is made in God’s image. It means being intentional about replacing the bad with good so that you will have good to grow out of you.
You’re a fruit tree. But so is everyone else. What fruit is coming from them? Is it the inclusive love advocated by God and commanded by Jesus? Because if it isn’t, if it’s something evil, then they aren’t God’s agent.
Wait, this just got harder, didn’t it?
But that’s what Jesus just told us.
35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.[13]
Which means we are supposed to look at the fruit, not at the tree.
If someone is a pillar of their church and speak in a very spiritual way, we tend to think, “Wow, aren’t they Godly?” But it’s the actions and results of their work that actually show who their allegiance lies with. If the result of their work is that people are turned away from the Kingdom, then they aren’t working for God.
If someone seems questionable to you, either because of who or what you perceive them to be, but when you look at what they do they are demonstrating that love and kindness that Jesus did, then they are acting as God’s agent, even if they don’t realize it.
Obviously, this is oversimplified. Remember, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’ve got to serve somebody. Who you serve is your master. It’s who you’re for. It’s who you represent. It’s a sign of whether you are standing in the Kingdom or if you’re choosing to be outside.
Some people just try to get by, stumbling around, trying to balance the good and the bad as if they can be neutral, but it’s really an all-in or all-out kind of thing. Here’s what Jesus said to wrap up his point:
36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” [14]
So, good comes from good, evil from evil, and even the things we have said will show who and what we are and who and what we represent.
Does your life look like you are serving as a representative of God? What fruit is growing from your tree? Because you need to look at the fruit, not the tree. The fruit you produce shows just who you serve.
The more time we spend in Matthew’s descriptions of Jesus and the stories of his life and teaching, the more convicted I am that we are meant to give our allegiance to God and live as if we were within the walls of his Kingdom. Beginning right now and continuing forward as his agents to the best of our ability. Press on!
Let’s pray as we come to an end of our worship in study session for today.
[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:15.
[2] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:16.
[3] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:17–21.
[4] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Is 42:19–20.
[5] W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Is 49:6.
[6] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:22–23.
[7] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:24.
[8] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:25–26.
[9] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:27–28.
[10] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:29.
[11] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:30–32.
[12] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:33–35.
[13] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:35.
[14] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 12:36–37.