God’s Beloved Son – Matthew 12

“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, ’Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!’ But He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is one greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:1-8

The disciples did not eat a breakfast fit for a king. They ate raw grain. The Pharisees confronted Jesus, complaining that His disciples were law-breakers. Jesus answered their accusation with Scripture. King David created a precedent for their action when he ate showbread from the temple. Previous priests set a precedent for eating showbread on the Sabbath.

Jesus indirectly proclaimed Himself Messiah to the Pharisees. The One greater than the temple that He spoke of was He. The One who embodies the mercy of God is Messiah. Jesus Messiah is the Lord of the Sabbath. He, the Sabbath Creator, has the authority to define it’s perimeters.

“Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’—that they might accuse Him. Then He said to them, ‘What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then, is a man than a sheep? Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’ Then He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.” Matthew 12:9-14

“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” For the Pharisees, the healing of a man should not happen on the Sabbath Day. It was considered a forbidden work.

In churches today, some church leaders might be upset that a healing miracle took place during a worship service. It wasn’t on the program. It might challenge their denomination’s position about miracles.

Jesus took people out of the equation when He talked to them about sheep. The Law of Moses did not apply to sheep. The law of people towards sheep and other livestock is that you water, feed, protect and rescue them as needed. Jesus appealed to the Pharisees to consider the man with the withered hand as they did their sheep. He needed mended. All Jesus needed to do to heal him was say four words... “Stretch out your hand.” The man did, and it was restored.

Did the Pharisees accept what Jesus said? No, they departed and made plans to destroy Him.

“But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust.’” Matthew 12:15-21

Thankfully, the bad responses of the Pharisees did not deter great multitudes from following Jesus. Thankfully, they kept coming to Jesus for healing and He kept healing them. Jesus did just what the prophet Isaiah prophesied Messiah would do. The Chosen One, the Beloved, did justly. He loved mercy. Jesus did not use raw power or public shouting to force compliance. He healed bruised reeds and kept the lamps (smoking flax wicks) burning.

The Prophet Isaiah wrote of the coming Messiah hundreds of years before it came to pass. The Holy Spirit spoke to Isaiah about Messiah with these words, “My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased.” In Matthew 3:17, when Jesus was baptized, a voice from heaven spoke and people heard it. The Heavenly Father said for all to hear, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” God confirmed at that moment that Jesus was Israel’s and the world’s Messiah.

“Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute. And He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” Matthew 12:22-23

Son of David is a reference to Messiah. Curses on humanity’s wholeness began with a temptation from the devil. Jesus reversed the curse of the demon-possessed man. He came to Jesus blind and mute and departed from Jesus with eyesight and ability to speak.

“Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.’ But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every 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? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me, is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.’” Matthew 12:24-32

The Pharisees thought of Jesus in the most evil of terms. They assumed He was a puppet of Beelzebub... in essence the antichrist or Satan. They mischaracterized Him. They were not seeing Jesus as He was. Their view of Him was distorted by evil thoughts. Jesus knew what they were thinking. He tried to help them to navigate to a right perspective. He told them that Satan being against himself would end in defeat. Jesus casted out demons by the Spirit of God. He was stronger than the demons who had possessed the blind and mute man. Thus, the demons departed from that man at His command.

Jesus warned the Pharisees and those who were listening to Him not to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The main ministry of the Holy Spirit is to testify of Jesus. Revelation 19:10 says that the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. To deny Jesus is the unforgiveable sin because it is only in Jesus that sin is forgiven.

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak; they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:33-37

The Pharisees were full of poison. Poison spewed from their mouths. Jesus called them an offspring of vipers. Idle words about Messiah are condemned on judgment day. The Greek words for “idle words” (rema argos) can be translated as lazy or barren words. Poisonous words against Messiah are of no benefit to those who speak or those who hear them. They are deadly.

“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed, a greater than Solomon is here.” Matthew 12:38-42

The scribes and Pharisees wanted Jesus to do signs for them perhaps as Moses did for the Israelites enslaved in Egypt. Jesus had already raised a dead girl back to life. He healed lame, mute, deaf and leprous people. He expelled demons. He empowered His disciples to replicate His ministry. Multitudes of people have been coming to Him to learn about God. Yet, they ask Jesus for a sign. The reason the Pharisees demanded a sign was because they were an evil and adulterous generation. They were bent on not believing in Jesus no matter what He did.

Perhaps, the Pharisees liked “the Son of Man” comparing Himself to Jonah who ended up in the belly of a great fish due to his disobedience. However, the Son of Man was going to be in the heart of the earth for three days and nights due to sins of others not His own.

The people who repented after the preaching of Jonah realized and acknowledged their need of God to save them. The Queen of the South, Candace of Ethiopia, traveled a great distance to learn from Solomon because she realized and acknowledged her need of his wisdom. The Pharisees, unlike the tax collectors and “sinners,” neither realized nor acknowledged their need of the “Son of Man.” They mocked Him and falsely accused Him.

Jesus preached good news when He said, “the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” He would not remain in the heart of the earth. After a brief pause, just as Jonah resurrected from the great fish, He would resurrect from the heart of the earth. He would end death’s reign not vice versa.

“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” Matthew 12:43-45

Jesus warned His listeners against hardening their hearts against Him. He was able to expel evil spirits from them, but if they did not abide in Him, the evil spirits would return with more demons than before to ensure the physical destruction of their bodies and their souls.

“While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, ‘Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.’ But He answered and said to the one who told Him, ‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother, sister, and mother.’” Matthew 12:46-50

In Matthew 10:37-39, Jesus taught His disciples saying, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

In Matthew 12:46-50, Jesus practiced what He preached. He prioritized His Father’s business over His own earthly family’s wishes. They wanted to interrupt His teaching. Jesus prioritized Bible teaching over family relationships.

In Matthew 28:19-20, the primary mission of Christ followers is to “Make disciples of all nations.” In Matthew 12, our Lord Jesus taught us how to remain focused despite personal attacks. He kept healing when people plotted to destroy Him. He kept His relationship with God above all others. God said of Him, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”