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A HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS

R. Learning From Israel’s Rejection Of Christ

(Matthew 12:22-37; Mark 3:20-30)

I. Introduction

A. Though Christ’s ministry of preaching the gospel of the Messianic Kingdom and healing the infirmed was initially widely received, there came a point in time where Israel’s leaders publicly rejected Him and led the multitudes to turn against Him. That event occurred in Matthew 12:22-37 with Mark 3:20-30.

B. Those passages are instructive for teaching us how to discern and accept the work of God in our midst that we not reject it. We thus view Matthew 12:22-37 and Mark 3:20-30 for our insight, application and edification:

II. Learning From Israel’s Rejection Of Christ, Matthew 12:22-37; Mark 3:20-30.

A. While acknowledging that Jesus performed miracles, Israel did not trust in Him, Matt. 12:22-24; Mk. 3:20-22:

1. Jesus’ earthly family did not first believe in Him: His “friends” (KJV), literally “those with Him,” a Greek idiom for one’s kinsmen (B. K. C., N. T., p. 117), came to get custody of Him since His preoccupation with ministry to His missing of meals left them thinking that Jesus was out of His mind, Mark 3:20-22.

2. The crowds did not trust in Him: When Jesus cast a demon out of one who had been made deaf and dumb, the crowds in unbelief asked, “This couldn’t be the Son of David, could it?” since the Greek particle meti in the question meant it was rhetorical, expecting a negative answer. (Matt. 12:23; Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 522; J. D. Pentecost, The Wrds. and Wrks. of Jes. Chr., 1991, p. 205)

3. Israel’s religious leaders did not believe in Christ: Though acknowledging that Jesus had performed a miracle of exorcism, they claimed that He had achieved it by Satan’s power, Matt. 12:24; Mark 3:22.

B. Jesus then countered the unbelief He faced by use of three logical arguments, Matt. 12:25-29; Mark 3:23-27:

1. First, Jesus said that if He cast out demons by Satan’s power, Satan’s kingdom would not stand, so Jesus could not logically be working with Satan to destroy Satan’s kingdom, Matt. 12:25-26; Mark 3:23-26.

2. Second, Jesus argued that if His Hebrew critics believed that their own exorcists worked by God’s power, they could not logically claim that He worked by Satan’s power to perform His exorcisms, Matt. 12:27-28.

3. Third, Jesus argued that by casting out demons, He was proving that He was stronger than Satan, for He was accomplishing what Satan would not logically want Him to accomplish, Matt. 12:29; Mark 3:27.

C. Christ thus called His audience to make the decision to believe in Him, Matthew 12:30.

D. Jesus then pronounced severe divine condemnation on those who rejected the Holy Spirit’s works in Him to perform the authenticating miracles He performed, Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-30:

1. [Some Charismatics believe Jesus in Matthew 12:31-32 and Mark 3:28-30 predicted that those who sin against the Holy Spirit in the Church era will not be forgiven, but go to hell, that refusing to believe that the gift of tongues or healing or other such sign gifts are for today is a sin against the Holy Spirit deserving no forgiveness and eternal condemnation! However, this is not true as we explain in this section!]

2. The miracles Jesus performed fulfilled Old Testament prophecy to identify Him as the Messiah and God Incarnate to Israel (Isaiah 35:5-6a; 61:1 with Matthew 11:2-6). These miracles were performed by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28) Who had come upon Christ at His baptism (Matthew 3:16-17).

3. Since the people of Israel claimed Jesus’ power was that of Satan, they blasphemed the Holy Spirit!

4. God planned for people to believe in Christ through His authenticating miracles, so if the people believed that Jesus performed His miracles by Satan’s power, they were closing themselves off from salvation. Since there was no other means by which God had planned for people to believe in Christ, their slander of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ ministry left them in the position where they were not able to be forgiven!

5. Had the people changed their minds, they would have been saved (as occurred with Paul in Acts 9:1-19).

6. This sin against the Holy Spirit could only be committed in Jesus’ earthly ministry, for only then was God’s Messiah authenticating Himself by the Spirit’s work of miracles through Him, Ibid., Pentecost, p. 207. This sin thus cannot be committed by anyone today as the same circumstances do not now exist!

Lesson: Out of a rejection of the Scripturally predicted miracles Jesus performed in the Holy Spirit’s power, and out of the illogical thinking that existed with that rejection, Israel’s people would not be forgiven for rejecting Christ since there was no other evidence to be given in God’s plan to persuade them to believe in Him.

Application: If God authenticates a truth by fulfilled Bible prophecy and logical reasoning, may we believe that truth since God will hold us accountable in eternity to have believed it.