0411008 Jesus heals demon-possessed man, Pharisees rebuked, sign of Jonah & family comes to arrest Jesus – Matthew 12:22-50, Mark 3:19b-35, A.D. 27 Town in Galilee
And he came into a house. And the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him: for they said, “He is insane.” Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Is this the son of David?” But the Pharisees and the scribes who came down from Jerusalem heard it and they said, “This one does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul. He has Beelzebul and by the prince of the demons he casts out the demons.”
And Jesus knowing their thoughts, he called them to him, and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? And if every kingdom is divided against itself, it is brought to desolation, and that kingdom cannot stand. And if every city or house is divided against itself, that house cannot and will not stand. And if Satan, the Adversary has risen up against himself and casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? He cannot stand but has an end. And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. But no one can enter into the house of the strong man to plunder. Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man to plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.
“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters. Because of this, most certainly I say to you, all sins of the descendants of man and every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, including their blasphemies with which they may blaspheme. But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Whoever may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin””—because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.” And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is coming.
“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. Offspring of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart does the mouth speak. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. And I say to you that every idle word that men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” And he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here. And when an unclean spirit goes out of the man, it passes through dry places, seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came out,’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and having gone in, they dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.”
And while he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers came and stood outside. They sent to him, calling him and seeking to speak to him. And the multitude was sitting around him, and they told him, “Behold, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside looking for you, seeking to speak to you.” And he answered him who spoke to him and said to them, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” And looking around at those who sat around him, he stretched out his hand towards his disciples, and he said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father and the will of God who is in heaven, the same is my brother. He is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”
