MattheW 12:45 | 1555 it self will not stand . 26 If Sa tan drives out Sa tan , he is di vid ed against him self . How then can his king dom stand ? 27 And if I drive out de mons by Be el ze bul , by whom do your peo ple drive them out ? So then , they will be your judg es . 28 But if it is by the Spir it of God that I drive out de mons , then the king dom of God has come upon you .
29
“ Or again , how can any one en ter a strong man ’ s house and car ry off his pos ses sions unless he first ties up the strong man ? Then he can plun der his house .
30
“ Who ev er is not with me is against me , and who ev er does not gath er with me scat ters . 31 And so I tell you , ev ery kind of sin and slander can be for giv en , but blas phe my against the Spir it will not be for giv en . 32 Any one who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be for giv en , but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spir it will not be for giv en , ei ther 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 rec og nized by its fruit . 34 You brood of vi pers , how can you who are evil say any thing good ? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of . 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him , and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him . 36 But I tell you that every one will have to give ac count on the day of judg ment for ev ery emp ty word they have spo ken . 37 For by your words you will be ac quit ted , and by your words you will be con demned .”
The Sign of Jonah
12:39-42pp — Lk 11:29-32 12:43-45pp — Lk 11:24-26
38
Then some of the Phar i sees and teach ers of the law said to him , “ Teach er , we want to see a sign from you .”
39
He an swered , “ A wick ed and adul ter ous gener a tion asks for a sign ! But none will be giv en it ex cept the sign of the proph et Jo nah . 40 For as Jo nah was three days and three nights in the bel ly of a huge fish , so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth . 41 The men of Nin e veh will stand up at the judg ment with this gen er a tion and con demn it ; for they re pent ed at the preach ing of Jo nah , and now some thing great er than Jo nah is here . 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judg ment with this gen er a tion and con demn it ; for she came from the ends of the earth to lis ten to Sol o mon ’ s wis dom , and now some thing great er than Sol o mon is here .
43
“ When an im pure spir it comes out of a person , it goes through arid plac es seek ing rest and does not find it . 44 Then it says , ‘ I will re turn to the house I left .’ When it ar rives , it finds the house un oc cu pied , swept clean and put in or der . 45 Then it goes and takes with it sev en oth er spir its more wick ed than it self , and they go in and live there . And the fi nal con di tion of that per son is worse than the first . That is how it will be with this wicked gen er a tion .”
12:26 If Satan drives out Satan Jesus argues that , if Satan were facilitating exorcisms , he would be counteracting his own attempts to control the world , because he is the ruler of the demons ( compare note on 10:25 ). 12:27 your people Refers to Jewish exorcists . 12:29 enter a strong man ’ s house Jesus uses this illustration to assert that he already has defeated Satan ( the strong man )— which is why he can expel demons ( plunder the house ). Jesus ’ analogy likely comes from Isa 22:15 – 25 . Compare Mk 3:27 and note . 12:31 blasphemy against the Spirit Speaking with degradation against God ’ s truth ( compare 1Ti 1:20 ). In this case , it refers to the Pharisees ’ claim that Jesus ’ power comes from Satan , rather than the Spirit of God .
12:33 – 37 The Pharisees ’ assessment of Jesus ’ power reveals their true nature . As the fruit of a tree indicates the nature of a tree , so their actions indicate their evil intent .
12:34 You brood of vipers See note on Mt 3:7 .
12:38 – 42 Some Pharisees wish to see a sign from Jesus to prove his authority . The only sign they will receive is Jesus ’ resurrection , which he refers to metaphorically . Compare 16:1 – 4 .
12:38 Pharisees and teachers of the law Two groups of Jewish religious leaders . See note on 2:4 ; note on Jn 1:24 . 12:39 adulterous generation Adultery is widely used in the Bible as a metaphor for sin and unfaithfulness to God ( e . g ., Isa 57:3 ; Eze 16:32 ; Hos 1 – 3 ; Jas 4:4 ). the sign of the prophet Jonah Jonah ’ s rescue from the great fish was a sign that the prophet and his message were from God . Similarly , the ultimate sign validating Jesus would be his triumph over death ( Mt 12:40 ). Although the Pharisees likely did not understand Jesus ’ statement , they might have recalled it after his resurrection . 12:40 three days and three nights See note on Lk 24:1 . Son of Man See Mt 8:20 and note . 12:41 they repented at the preaching of Jonah In contrast to many of Jesus ’ contemporaries , the recipients of Jonah ’ s message — who were Assyrians , the enemy of God ’ s people — repented . See Jnh 3 . 12:42 The Queen of the South Refers to the Queen of Sheba , who visited Solomon and marveled at his wisdom ( 1Ki 10:1 – 13 ; 2Ch 9:1 – 12 ). In contrast , the scribes ( teachers of the law ) and Pharisees refuse to accept the wisdom of one greater than Solomon .
12:43 – 45 Jesus describes the evil and adulterous generation in terms of a disembodied spirit who returns to its host with greater severity .
12:45 seven other spirits Seven is often used as a number of completeness or totality in the Bible ; here , the possession by demons involves a complete takeover of the person . this wicked generation Despite his many miracles , Jesus ’ divine authority is called into question repeatedly . This parable warns against such stubborn disbelief . By rejecting Jesus , the generation will become