The Inconsistent and Foolish

A hardened heart makes a man say weird things

“Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or  how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Matthew 12:22-30

We enter this passage with Jesus healing, again. He never stops. He’s full of compassion and mercy. Yet, this passage holds hard truths to face, but we have to face them. It’s important to ask the hard questions. When we read we must not see ourselves as “better than” everyone we read about, but see ourselves and think “Is that my attitude today?” And as we see Christ, we must be honest about our lives. Are we lying to ourselves or do we truly love the Jesus we are seeing in scripture? So let’s look at a few things and be honest with ourselves today.

Are we accusing Christ?

“Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”

The Pharisees thought he was practicing magic with Satan’s power. The name “Beelzebul” means master of the house. It points to Satan. We see the hardness of their hearts express itself in this passage. Hatred and pride with make a man say anything. It’s a crazy thing to say, too. It made no sense and Jesus points it out. This is the natural response of men who are against Christ. Tell a man about Christ and watch every kind of hateful or excuse-filled response flow from their heart. Christ never did anything wrong and yet again, we see that men don’t care. They want their autonomy. They want their respect. They want their sin and if you put anything in their path and warn them, be ready for reactions.

If we just think of a man like Martin Luther, some common accusations he faced included being accused of heresy for challenging the teachings of the Catholic Church, being labeled as a rebel for his criticisms of the church's practices, and being condemned for promoting ideas that were considered dangerous or radical by the authorities. Luther was often accused of undermining the authority of the Pope and the traditions of the church. He was accused of being a devil. If men can’t condemn your work, they’ll attack the source of your work. I personally have been said to be a “Bible Thumper” and “Hollier than Thou.” And I’ve been laughed at, talked down to, had my bible thrown to the ground, asked if I’ve ever been choked to stop me from talking, scoffed at, and ignored. Men hate Christ and hardness of the heart and love for sin creates this type of response.

We should hear again, Christ say, “If they called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?”

This should give us more and more confidence in the things thrown at us.

Are we Inconsistent in our thoughts of Christ?

“Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.”

We again see the omniscience of Jesus. We read this at the beginning of chapter 9. We need to remember that what we think are secrets, are wide open to Christ.

Now, Jesus is making a very distinct point here. He’s saying that that Satan wouldn’t go against himself. It doesn’t make sense for Satan to act in that way. Why would the devil cast himself out? He would be destroying his own work. If he does that, his kingdom would fail.

Jesus then points out that this is inconsistent. The Pharisees were casting out demons and they weren’t critical of their own followers for casting out demons! And yet, they are criticizing him.

The thing they should have concluded is that Jesus is from God and his power is from God. But the problem is, if this is true, and if the kingdom of God is here, then they are looking at the King. The one stronger than Satan is right in front of them. He’s plundering the “master of the house.” Beelzebul is in trouble. They are in trouble. This will ruin everything they have going for them. Jesus isn’t evil, they are.

We must ask ourselves continually, when we see Christ for who he is are we going to repent and seek mercy? Or will we reject him and say inconsistent and silly things? You have to choose.

Are we for or against Christ?

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

There are no “middle-ground christians”

If you aren’t with him, you are against him. Many want to live on “the fence” they want to be a middle man. They consider themselves “good folk” and not that bad. They hear the Gospel and see themselves as “good to go” but have no repentance or confession. They aren’t open or bold. They are blenders.

The warning here, is that this is a dangerous place to be. Are we with Christ? If not, we are against him. We need to make a decision. We need to make resolutions in our minds and hearts. Choose Christ and let the ball land where it may. If we are laughed at, let it be. If we are rejected, let it be. If men welcome us, let us rejoice. But let us choose our side. Indeed you and I have chosen a side. Whether we admit it or not. This is the frightening reality. Choose Christ and be open and bold. He’s better than everything and is all you need. Cling to Christ.