Matthew 12:18

Matthew 12:18

In Matthew 12:18 the Bible says about Jesus, "I will put my spirit upon him." Jesus walked in the Spirit and lived by the Spirit. He was led by the Spirit of God. In a similar way, we also can be led by the Spirit of God. As a matter of fact, we will not be able to serve God without His Spirit. God’s Spirit comes into us when we experience the spiritual birth through faith in Jesus Christ. If you do not have the Spirit of God, then you are not one of God’s children. In Romans 8:9 it says, "...Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His."

A second requirement to be led by the Spirit of God can be found in Ephesians 5:18, where it says, "...be filled with the Spirit." Believers must daily examine themselves, to make sure that they are willing to be controlled by the Spirit. Believers must make sure that they are not acting according to their own selfish interests. First Thessalonians 5:19 says "Quench not the spirit." You will quench the Spirit when He urges you to do something, but you do not do it.

Another important principle to be led by the Spirit of God, is to make sure that you remain rightly related to Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John chapter 16 that the Spirit of God would reprove the world of sin. If you are convicted of any sin make sure that you are quick to turn from it and to confess it, in order that you might continue to walk in fellowship with Jesus Christ. If you do not, you will grieve the Spirit of God and will get off track from walking in the power and leading of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30 says, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption." You will grieve the Spirit of God whenever you do things that you ought not to do. In thinking about the Holy Spirit in practical matters, always emphasize the word "holy". He is holy and He wants us to live holy lives also. He will lead us into a life that is more and more holy.

The last thing that Matthew 12:18 says about Jesus is that, "He shall show judgment unto the Gentiles." Verse 21 also refers to the Gentiles and says, "And in his name shall the Gentiles trust." These verses in Matthew are part of a series of verses quoted from Isaiah about the Messiah. The Messiah did not come for the Jews, but he came for the whole world. We find in the teachings of Jesus the greatest revelation that has ever been given about the truth concerning God, and so it says that "he shall show judgment unto the Gentiles." But Jesus is more than the greatest of teachers. He is also the Savior of the world, and so it says, "In his name shall the Gentiles trust." If you have the leading and the power of the Spirit, you can be part of the work of leading others to believe in the Christ of God.

Matthew 12:19 states again the attitude and humility of Christ. If you desire to be involved in the spread of the Gospel, you can learn from the example of Jesus and how He approached the task. The Bible says, "He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets." The word that is translated "strive" means quarrel or argue. Jesus did not quarrel or argue in the presenting of the truth. The servants of God should attempt to follow the example of Jesus. We present the truth about Jesus. We offer it, but we do not argue with those who choose not to believe. If someone chooses to reject God, they do it to the damning of their own soul. The presenting of the Gospel should be adorned with kindness and patience towards those who are not yet in the faith. To have any kind of quarrelsome spirit will take away from the attraction of the gospel, and will not be after the example of Christ.

Matthew 12:19 also says that Jesus did not cry. This means that He did not cry out in a loud voice. Some people seem to think that to preach means to shout. Some seem to think that the louder that you preach, the more spiritual you are. They are wrong. If anyone is loud or obnoxious in the presenting of the gospel, then they know very little about being led by the Spirit of God in the way that Jesus was.

Matthew 12:20 says one last thing about Jesus in describing Him and His attitude. It is truly a wonderful verse and very revealing about the patience and kindness and mercy of God. It says, "A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory." God is not in the business of destroying and tearing down. He is in the business of saving and building up.

In the book of Matthew to describe John the Baptist and to emphasize the strength, determination, and comparative goodness of John the Baptist, Jesus said that John was not a reed shaken with the wind. In contrast to John the Baptist who was the faithful servant and prophet, many people are like a bruised reed. They have been bent, if not broken. They have been crushed down by the mounting weight of their own failure and weakness. If there is anything that is a characteristic of our time, it is the moral failure of so many. What is God’s attitude to those who are weak and who fail so often? He is always there with His arms out, willing to forgive, and to ultimately make something better out of your life.

Have you ever been stepped on when you were down? One of the horrible experiences of life is when you meet someone who will demean, mock, ridicule, condemn, or criticize you when you are already down. But God is not like that. You can be sure that He will forgive you and help you back up when you have failed, because "a bruised reed shall he not break and smoking flax shall he not quench." The Lord always sees your potential, and as long as you are on the earth, He has a plan to bring out the best in you, no matter how much you may have failed up to this point. "The gifts and calling of God are without repentance." Believe in the forgiveness of God through Christ. Never think that you are too bad or too much of a failure to be accepted by God. Remember what it says in Romans 5:20, "...Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." It also says in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Matthew 12:22-29 says, "Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb; and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the Son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? But if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house."

It was impossible for the Pharisees to deny that Jesus did the miracles that He did, so they tried to demean the miracles by saying that Jesus did them by the power of the devil. The answer that Jesus gave was another of His wonderful statements that have echoed through the centuries; "...Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand." Certainly the history of the United States has been proof of the truth of this statement. Of all the wars that our country has fought, the one that brought the most casualties and the greatest destruction was the civil war. If our congressional and presidential leaders are going to be productive in leading the nation, they will have to put the real needs of America and its citizens above the interests of their own political parties. If political divisions become deep enough, then there will be negative consequences for the destiny of the nation. Many of the great kingdoms of the world were destroyed from within more than they were destroyed from without.

In Matthew 12:30 Jesus said, "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad." The human race has been divided by Jesus into two groups. We know that these two groups are the true believers and the non-believers. Jesus also describes the two groups in two different ways. First Jesus says that whoever “is not with me is against me” This is one of the issues on which there can be no compromise. You are either an active participant in favor of the person and teachings of Jesus, or else by default you are accounted as being in opposition to Jesus Christ.

Secondly, Jesus says that “he that gathers not with me scatters abroad.” Jesus is speaking about the results of your life, its influence, and the fruit that it bears. We all influence those around us for good or for bad. Because only God is intrinsically good, any good that we do can only be by the grace of God. If you want to do good, then make sure that you go with God the Father and with the Lord Jesus Christ. If you choose your own way in life, no matter how moral you may appear to be in an outward sense, the fruit of your life will be wasted and you will actually be a negative influence on others.

Sin is spelled "S - I - N". The central letter is "I". When you control your life and make your own decisions in resistance to God, then you are living a sinful life no matter what you do. Sinfulness is selfishness. Sinfulness is rebellion and resistance to God. It says in Proverbs 21:4, "...the plowing of the wicked is sin." Those who resist God are swept along in the tide of humanity that goes the way of destruction; and they not only go themselves, but they help others to go with them. And so Jesus said, "...he that gathers not with me scatters abroad."

In Matthew 12:31-32 Jesus said, "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."

There is both a positive and a negative implication to what Jesus teaches us here. The positive is His great forgiveness, which is one of the many things that we love so much about God. Everyone who is a true believer values the fact that all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven. This teaching starts with a promise, but ends with a warning because there is one exception to the possibility of forgiveness. According to Jesus, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is one thing that will not be forgiven. Adultery, and lust, and any other sexual sins can be forgiven. Lying and stealing can be forgiven. Hatred and murder and all other sins can be forgiven but Jesus said there is one sin that will not be forgiven. He called it the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. “Whosoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."

For anyone who wants to know what is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit that is mentioned in Matthew 12:31, the best clue to understanding it can be found in the next verse, Matthew 12:32, when Jesus said, "...whosoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him." To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to speak against the Holy Spirit. When you speak against someone, you can either speak against them behind their back or you can speak against them to their face. Jesus is talking about a confrontation between a human being and the Spirit of God.

When a person comes to Christ for the forgiveness of sins, that person does not initiate his contact with God. It is the Spirit of God who comes and speaks to human beings. He comes to convince or convict them of their sins and to invite them to receive the forgiveness of sins and to follow Christ. It is the Spirit of God who initiates everything. Jesus said in John chapter 16 and verse 8 that the Spirit of God would “…reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”

In the book of Genesis during the time of Noah, God said, "My spirit shall not always strive with man." The Bible also says in Proverbs 1:29-31, "For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would none of my council: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."

The great and loving God will put no one in hell. Humans, of their own free will choose hell when they have rejected the love of God, and when they have turned away from the forgiveness in Christ. In spite of the loving arms that are held out to them by God, in spite of the tears and the blood that was shed for them by Christ, and in spite of the work of the Spirit to bring them to their senses, some people will never be forgiven because they are continually committing the one sin that Jesus said could not be forgiven. They blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. They make a determined and conscious decision to forever resist and reject God.

In Matthew 12:33-37 Jesus said, "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." This passage is really a continued explanation of verses 31 and 32. Jesus points out that those who will ultimately be condemned will actually condemn themselves. Their own words shall condemn them.

Words are important. Jesus here gives two reasons that words are important. The first reason is given in verse 34. Jesus said, "...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." The words that you use are a description of the true person that you are. You cannot claim to be one thing and then use words that paint a different picture of yourself. The words that you use are the true indicator of who you really are.

The second reason that words are important is because Jesus said in verse 36 that we shall give account for every idle word that is spoken. We will probably be held accountable for the words that we say not only because they reveal what is really going on inside of us, but also because of the impact that our words can have on others. The wrong words spoken at the wrong time can cause great pain. The wrong words spoken to a naive person can lead them astray. The wrong words spoken can be the starting point of many sins. It is no wonder that James 1:19 says, "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak."

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