1. Why are the Pharisees so resistant to Jesus that they would claim his power comes from Satan in v. 24?

2. Based on our proper context here, what exactly is the unforgivable sin? How have the Pharisees commited this sin?

3. Is this sin still possible to commit? How can we avoid it? Who might be guilty of it now?

4. Considering how our words and actions are a direct reflection of our hearts, evaluate your words and deeds. Is your heart truly good?

5. How do we align our hearts with God?

Hey everyone, welcome to session 21. 

Here are a few quick reminders:

• Make sure to keep both biblical depth as well as fellowship in equal measure to each other.

• Make sure to maintain a safe space in your groups. True vulnerability is key for growth.

Discussion Questions

1. Why are the Pharisees so resistant to Jesus that they would claim his power comes from Satan in v. 24?

   • They resist Jesus so heavily for one or both of two reasons. 1.) Jesus is a threat to their religious dominance. 2.) Jesus' ministry is rather contrary to what they had expected and they are unable to look past their own opinions to see God standing right in front of them. 

2. Based on our proper context here, what exactly is the unforgivable sin? How have the Pharisees committed this sin?

   • The unforgivable sin is willful and intentional rejection of God. This is seeing the undeniable work of God and still choosing to slander and reject Him. In our modern context, many of us have never seen the grand miracles that Jesus has explicitly shown to these Pharisees, and yet they slander Him still. How absolutely prideful and ridiculous they are!

3. Is this sin still possible to commit? How can we avoid it? Who might be guilty of it now?

   • Yes, it still is! This sin is specially about how we respond to the direct work of God. When God does something truly miraculous, how will we respond? Will we praise Him and submit? Or rather will we blatantly reject and slander Him, trying to claim that His mighty works are the acts of demons? 

   • I fear heavily for the extremist cessationists. While the debate between continuationism and cessationism is a very old one (continuationist believe prophecy and tongues still continue today, cessationists believe they ceased long ago), there is some real danger in going to the extreme on either side. On the highly charismatic side, there is the danger of seeking cheap thrills from God and attempting to abuse the Spirit of God. On the other hand I have heard hard core cessationists claim that modern tongues and prophecy to be the works of Satan (an eerily similar claim to that of these Pharisees). Thus I find myself at the fence of being a cautious continuationist. This is a sin I am unwilling to commit at all costs. 

4. Considering how our words and actions are a direct reflection of our hearts, evaluate your words and deeds. Is your heart truly good?

   • Sorry, I can't help you audit your own lives. This is an opportunity for some real vulnerability, encourage your members to take this question seriously and deeply.

5. How do we align our hearts with God?

   • We align ourselves with Him in a few different ways: prayer, fasting, reading of scripture, engaging in a body of faithful believers, communion, giving offerings to God, and doing good works in our community. 

Hello everyone, and welcome to session 21. Today we will be continuing on our look at the Pharisees' growing conflicts with Jesus. There are some difficult passages lined up for us today, so be sure to follow along the best you can.

First Matthew sets up our context. A man who is described as blind, mute, and demon possessed is brought to Jesus. These are all things Jesus has dealt with, but this situation is rather unique because Jesus has dealt with these three problems individually up to this point, but here we see Him deal with all three at once. (France, 211) Furthermore, this is the only place in all four gospels where demon possession is directly linked to physical illness. (Turner, 172) This combo of things being healed at once by Jesus is what prompts the crowd to stop and consider Jesus' true nature. They ask "This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?" (Mt. 12:23 NASB95) The implied answer here is 'surely this man can't be the messiah,' and yet there is still that suspicion lingering, that small spark of faith that will (hopefully) become a raging fire inside the audience. 

Now, of course, we are at a point in Matthew where it isn't good enough for Jesus to simply heal a man. The Pharisees get involved, claiming that Jesus is casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul (what we would call Satan or the Devil in today's lingo). Jesus responds to them directly, first suggesting that their claim is logically inconsistent. Why would Satan cast out his own demons? If he's fighting a losing war, why would he be attacking his own? Jesus then compounds this by suggesting that the Pharisees don't have anything bad to say about the Jewish exorcists that were going around doing full rituals to cast out demons. If they are going to condemn Jesus for casting out demons, then they must condemn their own as well. 

Jesus, as always, takes this to the next level. Jesus puts forth that they know that if He is truly casting out demons with the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is truly at hand, the messiah has truly come. Then Jesus mentions about binding up a strongman to plunder his house. In essence Jesus is suggesting that the kingdom of God has arrived, and it hasn't come in peace. Rather He is waging war against Satan's kingdom. Jesus is binding up Satan to plunder his house, stealing the people he is trying to hold hostage. 

Next we get to a passage that has caused anxiety in Christians for nearly two thousand years. Jesus gives the ultimatum that anyone who does not stand with Him is against Him. He leads this directly into the unforgivable sin: the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Now some have claimed that this sin is simply unbelief, yet this is not entirely true based on our context. The Pharisees have just claimed that the obvious work of the Spirit is rather the work of Satan. Jesus often talks in parables and riddles, the Pharisees slandering Him and getting it wrong can be understood and forgivable. Yet when the clear works of the Spirit of God, the casting out of demons and healing of this man, are on display, they have no longer any excuse for slander. They are no longer railing against Jesus because they are ignorant of who He is, rather they have no way of denying Jesus' messiahship, and yet they are fighting bitterly against Him! (France, 213; Turner, 173). 

To connect this back to our previous learning, remember what Jesus says of Capernaum in Mt. 11:23, "And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day." Jesus literally raised a girl from the dead in Capernaum, and they still did not believe. It seems pretty clear that God has no tolerance for intentional disregard for His mighty works. 

Jesus then returns to a motif we saw all the way back in the sermon on the mount. He suggests that good fruit comes from a good tree and bad fruit a bad tree. In essence Jesus is suggesting that a man's words and actions are a direct result of his heart. If a man is good at heart, then it will be visible in his words and deeds. Yet if a man is truly evil at heart, then it will be similarly visible. Therefore, Jesus is bringing the charge against the Pharisees of being truly evil at heart.

Bibliography

Turner, David, and Darrell L. Bock. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 11: Matthew and Mark. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2005.

France, R. T. Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 1 of Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985.