22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.” 25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. 33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:22-37 NIV)
People in Jesus' time attributed disease and disability also to demons, and there was a popular and lucrative profession in expelling demons from those who suffered from disease and disability. In the popular mind, therefore, it was a very short step from healing the man with the withered hand and expelling demons from a deaf mute. Although Jesus didn't advertise himself as an exorcist, he had the power to expel demons and to heal. It was part of "doing good" that was the hallmark of his ministry. What infuriated his critics was the effect that this activity had on the crowds. They wondered if such a man might be "the son of David" (verse 23). What was the connection here? Nothing in the promises of God to David in the scripture indicated that his "son", the messiah, would be a healer (2 Samuel 7).
No one really knows the answer to that question, but I have my own theory. There are hints in scripture, resulting in widespread post-biblical stories, that David's son Solomon, as part of his legendary "wisdom" also knew how to heal and do miracles, including exorcism (see pages 102-4 in Lidija Novaković's book Messiah, the healer of the sick: a study of Jesus as the Son of David in the Gospel of Matthew). These Galileans may have known such stories. When they saw Jesus' healings and miracles, they were reminded of the Solomon stories. But "son of David" also meant the messiah, and they were certainly able to put the two together.
How could the critics silence this growing belief? Well, they reasoned that, just as the Egyptian magicians in Moses' time could duplicate Moses' miracles in order to oppose the plan of God (Exod 7-9), so someone in their own time might use demonic powers to do counterfeit miracles and healing. It was the sort of claim that it would be difficult to disprove, which was why they used it.
But in verses 25-29 Jesus uses logic to show how ridiculous this quibble was. "Is Satan helped by my driving his demons out of their victims?" He asked. "Of course not! No kingdom—like Satan's—could survive, if its ruler destroyed his own troops." The principle, Jesus said was that he had come to destroy the kingdom of Satan. In the temptations in the wilderness told in chapter 4, he had "bound the strong man." After succeeding in doing that, his Galilean ministry of healing and exorcisms was the plundering of the Strong Man's household. In verse 30, he applies the same logic to himself and his own followers: You cannot say you are "for" me and attack my deeds and those of my disciples. You are either totally for me, or totally against me. So declare yourself and be honest with these people who hear your criticisms. Do you want all of my healing miracles to be undone?
In verse 32 Jesus follows up with an important warning. In other contexts he had said that it would be better for a person who caused a single disciple to lose his faith to be thrown into the sea with a huge boulder tied to his neck (Matt 18:6 and parallels). That is the principle repeated here. If criticism of the Son of Man had no corollary in the people's faith in him as the messianic Savior, it might be forgiven. But since declaring his messianic miracles a fraud had an inseparable link to the people's ability to believe and be saved, that action could not be forgiven. This "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" simply put means denying the one basis for salvation. That is why it cannot be forgiven. No salvation is possible, if Jesus is unable to heal and save.
Check back tomorrow (Thursday) for the next segment of Matthew 12.
