Daily Bread for Oct 9, Mt 11-12

Today’s readings are Mt 11-12.

Jesus has begun His ministry, people are listening. Mt 11 depicts a sobering element in the story of Christ and His act of redemption. People have high expectations of the Messiah, who He is and what He will do. As Jesus begins to shatter those expectations, even while performing spectacular miracles, opposition rises.

John is in prison and is concerned whether Jesus is indeed the One. This is, most likely because things are not going the way John thought they would. He may have been thinking, "Why would the Messiah's herald be put in prison? Shouldn't everyone be excited that He's here?" Or, perhaps he understood how dire his situation was and was seeking reassurance. This causes him to second guess what he knows to be true. Jesus responds with a mild chastisement in Mt 11:6 saying "Blessed is the one who is not offended." John was having a hard time learning a lesson we can all benefit from, truth is defined neither by our feeling nor our circumstances, but by God’s word.

Jesus reveals that John is the type of Elijah the people are anticipating. Nonetheless, they expect Elijah himself (Mt 11:7-15). This is a significant turning point. People are beginning to come to the harsh realization that Jesus and John the Baptist are not what they expected, at all. So, instead of adjusting their expectations, they begin to judge the two men and start turning against them.

Regarding John the Baptist, his doubts are natural. He did not expect this level of opposition. Still, even though his expectations are crumbling, he does not hurl accusations as the crowd, and the Pharisees do. He's still on board. He is asking questions to receive assurance. He's not demanding proof, but he is in a very tight spot. He knows he may well be executed. So, he wants comfort and assertion that he's doing what he is supposed to do.

There should be some comfort in knowing that pillars of the Bible were, in many ways, just like us - ordinary, flawed human beings. Like all believers, John is forgiven entirely. Jesus says of John that there was no one born of women who was greater (Mt 11:11).

With the crowds, the demands for signs as proof are beginning to morph into accusations. So long as Jesus dazzles them, they're pleased. As He continues to dash their expectations, the signs begin to fade into the background, and the crowd's reaction starts to turn against Jesus.

Keep this in mind as we watch how the proof Jesus offers impacts His ministry. We see another pattern emerging here. It seems the more proof Christ offers, the more the unbelievers demand while, at the same time, becoming more and more convinced He is not the Messiah. All those who follow Him based solely on the evidence of the signs will eventually fall away. Those who truly follow Him, do it in faith, not on the evidence of the signs.

The proof the signs offer leaves the unbelievers without excuse. This is made succinct in Mt 11:20-24. Chorazin and Bethsaida are Jewish cities. Tyre and Sidon are Gentile cities. The Jewish towns will be judged harsher than the Gentile cities. Chorazin and Bethsaida were looking for the Messiah, had all the proof they needed yet they rejected Jesus.

In Mt 12:1-8, Jesus turns His attention to the Pharisees and their self-righteousness. They accuse Jesus' followers of sinning because they were plucking grain on the Sabbath. To paraphrase how Jesus responds, it would sound something like this, "You assume they sin. You revere the Temple and all its practices, but I'm even more than that. You never stopped to consider that since I am the Son of God and Lord of the Sabbath and they are with Me, they are priests of My message, therefore qualified to eat the holy bread."

Jesus then heals a man with a withered hand (Mat 12:9-14). His healings so far have been healings of cleansing and restoration. The healing of the man with the withered hand is no different. But, this time it happens in front of the Pharisees who would see the withered hand as a curse. Jesus sees it as an opportunity to demonstrate God's power to transform and regenerate. Jesus can undo the impact of the curse! What the Pharisees entirely miss is that the man with the handicap represents God’s people, the ones in the synagogue (Mt 12:11). Jesus has come to make them whole and has the power to do so. But they’re so blind and quick to judge others they’re not aware of their own need of healing.

These events lead to many accusations about Christ (Mt 12:22-32.) Ultimately, the Pharisees claim that the work He does is done by the power of Beelzebul (Satan). Jesus teaches them about the one sin that is unforgivable, commonly known today as the “unpardonable sin.” Many speculate upon what this might be, but its meaning is right there in the text. The Pharisees have denied that Christ is doing the work of God. They go so far as to attribute His work to Satan. Of course, this is an absolute rejection of Christ as the Son of God. The sin is unforgivable because rejecting Christ means eternal damnation. There is no pardon for those who deny Christ.

Jesus levels the accusations right back at the Pharisees by teaching that a tree can be known by the fruit it produces (Mt 12:33-37). Their fruit is bad. He calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers and warns them that judgment is coming.

Jesus cautions them to take Him seriously and prophesies that the sign of His authenticity will be the sign of Jonah (Mt 12:39-42). He will rise, like Jonah did, after three days. Those who repent and believe in Him will judge those who don't. Incidentally, Jesus regarded Jonah as a real person, a historical figure. Some have tried to portray Jonah as a myth or a metaphor. Jesus thought differently.

In Mt 12:43-45 the warning about the unclean spirits applies to the Pharisees who become increasingly worse with each generation. With no authentic holiness in them, they are subject to evil influences. The accusation is that, even though they believe themselves to be righteous and holy, they are filled with evil.

Jesus ends by stating that those who follow Him and believe in Him are His true family (Mt 12:46-50.) This too is a rebuke to the Pharisees who claim to be God's own people yet reject His Son.

BTW, in Mt 12:15 we read that all who followed Him were healed. This is a concise contextual statement concerning those who followed Him as He withdrew from that synagogue. They were healed. Some folks that take this to mean that everyone who follows Jesus will be healed of their physical sicknesses. But the statement made in this verse is not prescriptive of all Christians. It is descriptive of a specific event in the timeline of the ministry of Christ. Furthermore, "following" Jesus does not necessarily mean "believe in Him,” particularly in this passage. As we will see, many of the people who "followed" Him from the synagogue were "traveling along" with Him. They were apparently not true believers because they are the same people who will abandon Him in another few chapters. Our healing is neither dependent upon how much faith we have nor our status as believers. These people, like the man at the pool of Bethesda, had no saving faith! They were not believers. As soon as the going gets tough for them, they will leave.

What then do we make then of the healing? It is Jesus proving that He is the Son of God, Lord of the Sabbath, sovereign ruler over illness, sin and death. That's Matthew's point in these chapters. They are not a prescription for perfect health if believers can conjure up enough sincerity and faith.