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Up to this point, the kingdom of heaven has been proclaimed to be
engizo[G1448]: at hand, drawn near, approachable.
Matthew 3:2, 4:17, 10:7.
At the close of Matthew 11, Jesus proclaims:
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
We now come to a familiar point of contention
Matthew 12:
10 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.
11 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?
12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful
to do good on the Sabbath.
13 Then He said to the man, Stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out,
and it was restored as whole as the other.
This alone was enough to provoke them to want Him killed!
14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Now we have come to the unacceptable point of contention.
Matthew 12:
22 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.
23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, Could this be the Son of David?
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, This does not cast out demons
except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.
Now we are faced with one of the most dramatic changes of tone in the presentation
of the Gospel. Here is the full text:
Matthew 12:
25 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. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?
Therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 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.
30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 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.
Now let’s get straight to it! Previously, as noted, the expression used in reference to the kingdom was “at hand, or drawn near”. Listen closely to what the Lord has to say now:
But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.(literally, up against you: phthano epi).
No city or house (think denomination, school of thought, theological argument or doctrine)
will stand! Opposing the Holy Spirit in any way will result in desolation! I have already proposed a question concerning the meaning of “scattering abroad” in another forum, so I will not repeat that here.
The Generation That Does Not Gather
We can ask, “how will our children cast out demons? Or will those demons be their judges?"
engizo[G1448]: at hand, drawn near, approachable.
Matthew 3:2, 4:17, 10:7.
At the close of Matthew 11, Jesus proclaims:
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
We now come to a familiar point of contention
Matthew 12:
10 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.
11 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?
12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful
to do good on the Sabbath.
13 Then He said to the man, Stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out,
and it was restored as whole as the other.
This alone was enough to provoke them to want Him killed!
14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Now we have come to the unacceptable point of contention.
Matthew 12:
22 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.
23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, Could this be the Son of David?
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, This does not cast out demons
except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.
Now we are faced with one of the most dramatic changes of tone in the presentation
of the Gospel. Here is the full text:
Matthew 12:
25 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. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?
Therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 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.
30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 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.
Now let’s get straight to it! Previously, as noted, the expression used in reference to the kingdom was “at hand, or drawn near”. Listen closely to what the Lord has to say now:
But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.(literally, up against you: phthano epi).
No city or house (think denomination, school of thought, theological argument or doctrine)
will stand! Opposing the Holy Spirit in any way will result in desolation! I have already proposed a question concerning the meaning of “scattering abroad” in another forum, so I will not repeat that here.
The Generation That Does Not Gather
We can ask, “how will our children cast out demons? Or will those demons be their judges?"