Tag Pharisees

^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 fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” (Matthew 12:22-24)

Jesus did a great work in the life of a man who had been blind, unable to speak (mute), and demon-possessed. The rabbi from Nazareth healed the man thoroughly. When He was done the same man had the ability to see, to speak, and live free from the controlling presence of evil spirits. People familiar with the man were amazed (ἐξέστησαν – verb, imperfect, middle, indicative, third person, plural). The word translated amazed, where it is used in other places, carries the connotation of the person or persons being astonished and moved to ask questions. Here below are some examples:

• • Forgive Sins? (Mark 2:12) – In response to hearing Jesus claim to forgive sins (Mark 2:5-6) and then support that claim by healing a paralytic (Mark 2:8-10), the surrounding scribes and crowd declared that this was unprecedented. They were struggling to handle the assertion that the Son of Man had power on earth to forgive sin; but they could not deny the supporting proof. Their amazement was a mix of astonishment and wonder about who this Man is and what is possible. The work of the Spirit through Jesus left them asking questions and scratching their heads.
  • Are These Not Galileans? (Acts 2:7) – Galileans speak with a very distinctive accent (Matthew 26:73). That accent was still present when speaking in another language. (People from Texas speak with a drawl. When they speak in French or Spanish, they still speak with a drawl. An accent is not a language. It’s a phonetic overlay; it is how my vocal system has been trained to form sounds. Growing up in a region like Texas, my vowel shapes, consonant timing, stress patterns, and intonation curves become neurologically wired. When I speak another language, unless I am trained to mask my natural speaking tendencies, I will typically carry those patterns with me.) When a crowd constituted of people from many language backgrounds hears Galileans speaking fluently in other languages, they are both astonished and now have questions. “These are obviously Galileans. Right? How are they doing this?” They crowd is wowed and wondering what is going on. The work of the Spirit through them has the crowd confused and asking questions.
  • How Can I Do This? (Acts 8:13) – There was a Simon that was a practitioner of witchcraft in the region of Samaria. (He is not to be confused with the Simon Peter the apostle or Simon the tanner.) When the Spirit of God began working through the deacon Philip to heal disease and cast out demons (Acts 8:4-8), Simon the sorcerer was convinced that the power was great (Acts 8:13) and he wanted wield it himself (Acts 8:18-19) to regain control of the people. He was both amazed by the work of the Spirit and move into asking questions. The work and gift of the Spirit through the saints made Simon think and inquire.
  • Is This Not Him? (Acts 9:21) – Saul has been changed. Prior to his encounter with Jesus of Nazareth on the road to Damascus, he was a violent and insolent persecutor of the church; enroute to Damascus he was breathing threats and murder against Jesus followers that he would find in the city. Whether it was a man or woman, if they would not denounce faith in Christ, he supported their execution. He was the leading adversary of the church. Now he is preaching Christ to the Jews in Damascus. The change is confusing. What the Jews are seeing is completely contrary to what they had heard about Saul. The work of the Spirit has washed, regenerated, and equipped Saul to preach Christ (Titus 3:5); that work has amazed onlookers and the results are raising questions.

Table 1: Paul’s Record of Persecuting the Church

• Can Anyone Forbid Water? (Acts 10:45) – The Jewish brethren that had accompanied Peter to the house of Cornelius the centurion were not expecting much. That is, they did not expect their leader’s preaching to lead to saving faith in the Gentiles that would be validated by a response from heaven. “These Gentiles, upon hearing and receiving the message of the gospel, have been baptized by Jesus… just like us.” The Jewish observers were amazed and asked “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” (Acts 10:45–47).

In each of the verses where amazed (ἐξίστημι – lemma) is used, the astonished persons ask questions. Why? That is, why do they ask questions? Because their thinking is being challenged. They are prompted to ask why their expectations are not met, why their model of the world did not predict or accommodate reality, and why they did not see the outcome coming. In most cases that is the point of the work performed, the mission of the miracle, and the goal of that particular work of God: challenge and change our thinking.

When the perspectives of the multitudes were challenged they questioned their own understanding. But when the Pharisees were faced with the disquieting power of Jesus to do what they could not, they protected their faulty models and egos by attributing the work of the Son of Man to an alliance with Satan (Matthew 12:24). Rather than ask if there was something about Jesus that needed to be considered, they asserted that there was something evil about Jesus that should be openly condemned. This is the way of religious folk who love to be in control. When faced with the genuine power of the Spirit and the prospect or promise of becoming less important, they strike at the work or worker to reduce credibility. The work of the Spirit through a surrendered vessel exposes them and causes them to lose their controlling hold on people. Because the Spirit, the person led by the Spirit, and the work of the Spirit cannot be controlled, it must be condemned. They are threats to those who want to hold sway in the life of God’s people. If it cannot be utilized for selfish purposes it will be criticized and people will be counseled to characterize it as evil. But don’t look down on the Pharisees. I can get more out this passage by prayerfully considering ways in which I am guilty of the same thing. And I hereby admit that sometimes I am guilty of a pettiness that criticizes others because of my own insecurities or threatened ego. Lord, have mercy.

Questions for Self Examination

1. When in close proximity to great works of God through others, do I reflexively ask questions that guard my assumptions, or do I open my heart to reconsider what I think I know in the light of Scripture?

2. Do I ever label the work of others as “evil” or “wrong” simply because it challenges my expectations, my thoughts on excellence, or personal worth?

3. How do I respond when the work of another person exposes pride or control in my own ministry? Do I resist or repent?

4. In what ways might I have criticized the work of others instead of praying for discernment and humility?

5. Before judging another minister’s gift or calling, do I first examine my own heart for bias, insecurity, or fear? Do I evidence a willingness to help or a wanton desire to undermine the work of other ministers.

Before the coming of Messiah there must be the coming of His messenger. This is what the prophecies had foretold and this is fulfilled in a wily wilderness preacher around the time of Jesus.

• The messenger will be a desert prophet (wilderness) crying out for repentance in preparation for the coming of the Lord. (Isaiah 40:1-3; 740 BC – 680 BC) ¹ “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. ² “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins.” ³ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.“

Matthew, the tax-collector-turned-apostle, tells the reader that John the Baptist is the person of Isaiah’s prophecy. The strange prophet in the wilderness crying out for change, according to Matthew, is the prophesied voice. Look at it! In Matthew’s narrative John is referred to as the voice of one crying in the wilderness: this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 40:1-3). The main idea of Isaiah’s prophecy is that the person crying out is trying to get the people ready for the arrival of the Lord. Now think about what John the Baptist, according to Matthew, was saying to the people:

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:1)

It is clear that John the Baptist is trying to get the people ready and that Matthew, a Jewish man, sees in the ministry of the baptizer the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.

• The messenger will confront evil, call for true righteousness, and then the Lord will come to His temple. (Malachi 3:1; 432 BC – 425 BC) ¹ “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.

The prophecies foretold a person who would prepare the way before the Lord Himself: Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me (Malachi 3:1). That is what John was doing – preparing the way before the Lord. John’s ministry attempts to ready the common people and priests for the coming of the Lord to His own temple. The baptizer had spoken openly and directly to the scribes and Pharisees about their need for repentance (Matthew 3:7-12). John’s denunciation of their ministry was aimed at helping them avoid an unpleasant confrontation by the Lord of the temple. Why? In the previously mentioned prophecy from Malachi there is a prediction that warns the priesthood (Malachi 3:2-3). It says to the religious leaders that the Lord they claim to be seeking will come suddenly or unexpectedly to His own temple. They did not listen to John and the Lord whom they were seeking suddenly came to His own temple (Malachi 3:1). [What Jesus found was precipitated a physical reprimand by the Lord Himself (John 2:13-17). The response of Jesus to uncleanness in the temple was itself a sign. He cleansed it by removing the corruption and chastening the corrupters. See Malachi 3:2-3.] John the Baptist, is a messenger arriving before the Messiah (Jesus of Nazareth) preparing the people and promoting genuine repentance in the priesthood.

• The messenger will succeed in promoting a revival characterized by a turning of hearts Malachi 4:4-6 (432 BC – 425 BC) ⁴ “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments. ⁵ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. ⁶ And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

This prophecy from Malachi mentions the return of Elijah. It says that Elijah the prophet would be sent before the coming of the day of the Lord. Both Matthew and Luke provide accounts of Jesus telling people that the Elijah of this prophecy is… John the Baptist (Matthew 11:7-15; 17:1-13; Luke 7:24-29; Mark 9:2-13). In essence, Jesus says that John, if they are willing to receive it, is the Elijah that that was mentioned by the prophet Malachi (Matthew 11:14-15).

¹⁴ And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matthew 11:14-15)

If you are not willing to receive it, as evidence by a refusal to repent, then John is not Elijah to you; John himself would deny being Elijah when asked by the unrepentant religious leadership (John 1:19-21). To those willing to receive the gracious gift of a warning from God through the prophet in the wilderness, John is Elijah. In person? Reincarnation? No, he is Elijah in spirit (personality type) and power (Luke 1:5-17).

The Relevance

God still works this way. That is, Christ does not come casually into a life, a church, or a community. Before His arrival there will be people who will promote preparation. They are Elijahs if you are willing to receive them. These people will speak unapologetically about repentance, reordering priorities, and truth-telling. These things come before revival; repentance precedes renewal. (Among Gentiles repentance is not the same as among the Jews. John the Baptist could say repent because he is speaking to the Jews. They had been tutored by the law. Paul, an apostle to the Gentiles, starts the spiritual conversation differently. As Gentile they are ignorant concerning the law and the prophets. If he had started with “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” they would have had questions? E.g., repent from what and whose kingdom. For the Gentile a repentance is still needed. But it is from believing in things other than Christ for salvation. After receiving Jesus, Gentiles willing to place their faith in Christ must be patiently taught to live for Him. See Matthew 28:18-20). Repentance is not entry-level Christianity. It is ongoing spiritual realism. It is the ongoing the refusal to make peace with sin wherever it is found.

John’s words to the Pharisees also remind the modern Jesus follower that heritage is not a substitute for holiness (Matthew 3:8-9).

In His grip by His grace,
Roderick Barnes