Matthew Chapter 12
Sometimes when I read the Gospel books, there are so many things to focus on in each chapter that one can spend days thinking and reflecting on it.
Mathew chapter 12 is no different. Here we read about how the Pharisees were constantly trying to find fault with Jesus.
“Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
Nothing Jesus did … even when it was evidently good was right with the Pharisees.
Now this poor blind, mute and demon possessed man was brought before Jesus. And Jesus healed him – completely! He could speak, he could see and he was free from the demons!
And yet, this was what the Pharisees said about Jesus.
“This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
Now I am not sure if these religious leaders really believed that the only way Jesus could cast out demons was because He was doing it through the quthority of Beelzebub, or they simply just said this out of spite.
But Jesus did not hold back when we got to verse 33.
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.”
What did He mean by that? Jesus wanted the Pharisees to think about what they just said.
Jesus either good and does good things or He is bad and does bad things. And this is evident by the fruit – the actions or outcomes of what He does. If He did good things, He had to be good and not evil. And it is the same the other way round. If He did bad things, He had to be bad and there not good.
And Jesus continued on in verse 34:
“Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
We know what this means the moment we hear it. In fact, we may have well experienced it ourselves.
What is inside a man would eventually come out of a man. And the things we say often reveals what is actually in our very heart.
If inside our hearts are bad things, the bad things will come out in our words. If inside our hearts are good things, good things will come out in our words.
I like to think that I am a patient man and people do get that impression that I am so. But if I am being honest, I can be very impatient and have a temper… especially when I was driving.
There was once, some years back, when I was driving my daughter around to the various universities campuses as she was considering her options. It was a long day as we went around several places.
But what got me increasingly frustrated and fed up were the other drivers in the road! They were slow. They drove badly. I was the perfect driver. And as each bad example of driving happened around me, I got angrier and angrier and gave each of them a few choice words.
When we got home that night, my daughter said to my wife, “Pa has a terrible temper! And he was so impatient with all the drivers around.”
I still remember that till today because I was ashamed I had behaved in that way. And reading these words of Jesus reminded me that our words are evidence of what is actually lurking in our hearts.
The Pharisees were either careless or cruel in the way they taunted Jesus that He was from Baalzebub. But on judgement day, all of us have to give an account for every idle word that we speak (v36).
Idle words.
Not bad words. Or vulgar words.
Some versions use ‘careless’ words. It could also mean useless or worthless words.
And Jesus explains that these are those words that will either justify us or condemn us.
Every idle word will either justify us or condemn us. Elder James certainly got it right when he said we should be quick to listen, but slow to speak and anger.
Prophet Jerimiah in Jeremiah 17:9 said:
“The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?”
We are justified or condemned from the words we speak which comes from the heart. That is why we need to pursue for that new heart and new spirit that God promises in Ezekiel 36:26.
As we start a new week, let us consider our words… and ultimately our hearts.
We need God to change our hearts. Only then will our words be good.
