Two Are Better Than One

(From MATTHEW #19 - 12:22-50)

D. 12:22-37 WARNING AGAINST AN EVIL HEART

1. 12:22-32 BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT

a. 12:22 JESUS HEALS A BLIND AND DUMB DEMONIAC

TOte proSEneg-kan auTOdai-mo-niZOme-non [1139], tuphLON [5185]kai koPHON [2974]:

Then they brought to him a demoniac, blind and dumb:

kai e-theRApeu-sen [2323] auTON, HOste ton koPHON laLEIN kai BLEpein.

and he healed him, so that the dumb spoke and saw.

b. 12:23 And all the crowds were amazed, and said, Is this the son of David?

kai eXIstan-to [1839] PANtes hoi OCHloi, kai Ele-gon, MEti HOU-TOS es-tin ho huiOS DauID?

c. 12:24 THE CONCLUSION OF THE PHARISEES IS JUST THE OPPOSITE

hoi de Pha-riSAIoi [5330] aKOUsan-tes, EIpon, HOUtos ouk ekBALlei

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This mandoes not

ta daiMOni-a [1140] ei me en to Be-el-zeBOUL, ARchon-ti [758] ton dai-moNIon.

cast out :demons but by :Beelzebul, prince of the demons.

d. 12:25-26 JESUS REASONS VERY ACCURATELY TO REVEAL THEIR ILLOGICAL CONCLUSION

eiDOS de tas en-thuMEseis [1761] auTON EIpen auTOIS,

And knowing their :thoughts he said to them,

PAsa ba-siLEIa me-risTHEIsa [3307] kath' he-auTES e-reMOUtai [2049];

Every kingdom divided against itself is made desolate;

kai PAsa POlis e oiKIa me-risTHEIsa kath' he-auTES ou staTHEse-tai [2476]:

and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

kai ei ho Sa-taNAS [4567] ton Sa-taNAN ekBALlei, eph' he-auTON e-meRISthe;

26and if :Satan casts out :Satan, he is divided against himself;

pos oun staTHEse-tai he ba-siLEIa auTOU?

how then shall his :kingdom stand?

c. 12:27 JESUS CHALLENGES THE SONS OF PHARISEES TO CAST OUT DEMONS

kai ei eGO en Be-el-zeBOUL ekBALlo ta daiMOni-a, hoi huiOI huMON,

And if I by Beelzebul cast out the demons, your :sons,

en TIni ekBALlou-sin? diA TOUto auTOI kriTAI [2623] Eson-tai huMON.

by whom do they cast out? therefore shall THEY be your judges.

f. 12:28 CONCLUSION: CASTING OUT DEMONS IS A PROOF OF THE KINGDOM PRESENT

ei de en PNEUma-ti TheOU eGO ekBALlo ta daiMOni-a,

But if I by God's Spirit cast out the demons,

Ara EPHtha-sen [5348] eph' huMAS he ba-siLEIa [932] tou TheOU.

then is the kingdom of :God come upon you.

g. 12:29 ALSO - TO SPOIL SATAN ASSUMES HE HAS FIRST BEEN BOUND

epos DUnaTAI tis ei-selTHEIN eis ten oiKIan tou is-chuROU [2478],

Or how can one enter into the house of the strong,

kai ta SKEUe [4632] auTOU harPAsai [726], eAN me PROton DEse [1210] ton es-chuRON?

and spoil his :goods, except he first bind the strong?

kai TOte ten oiKIan auTOU di-arPAsei [1283].

and then he will despoil his :house.

h. 12:30 Who is not with me is against me; and who gathers not with me scatters.

ho me on met' eMOU kat' eMOU esTIN; kai ho me suNAgon [4863] met' eMOU skorPIzei [4650].

i. 12:31 THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN - BLASPHEMING THE HOLY SPIRIT

diA TOUto LEgo huMIN, PAsa ha-marTIa kai blas-pheMIa [988] a-pheTHEse-tai [863] tois anTHROpois;

Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto :men;

he de tou PNEUma-tos blas-pheMIa ouk a-pheTHEse-tai.

but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

j. 12:32 THE GRAVE CONSEQUENCES OF WRONG WORDS

kai hos eAN EIpe LOgon kaTA tou huiOU tou anTHROpou, a-pheTHEse-tai [863] auTO;

And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of :man, itshall be forgiven him;

hos d' 'AN eiPE kaTA tou PNEUma-tos tou HaGIou, ouk a-pheTHEse-tai auTO,

but whoever shall speak against the Holy :Spirit, itshall not be forgiven him,

OUte en TOUto to aiOni [165], OUte en to MELlon-ti [3195].

neither in this :age, nor in the oneto come.

2. 12:33-37 GUARD THE HEART - FOR OUT OF IT ARE THE ISSUES OF LIFE

a. 12:33 FRUIT: THE PROOF OF A TREE

EpoiEsa-te to DENdron [1186]kaLON, kai ton karPON [2590]auTOU kaLON;

Either make the tree good, and its :fruit good;

epoiEsa-te to DENdron saPRON [4550], kai ton karPON auTOU saPRON:

or make the tree corrupt, and its :fruit corrupt:

ek gar tou karPOU to DENdron giNOske-tai [1097].

for the tree is known by the fruit.

b. 12:34 AN IMPOSSIBILITY: TO SPEAK GOOD FROM AN EVIL HEART

genNEma-ta [1091] e-chidNON [2191], pos DUnas-the, a-ga-tha laLEIN, po-neROI ONtes?

Offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things?

ek gar tou pe-risSEUma-tos [4051] tes karDIas to STOma [4750] laLEI.

for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

c. 12:35 MEN BRING FORTH ACCORDING TO THEIR HEART

ho a-gaTHOS ANthro-pos ek tou a-gaTHOU the-sauROU [2344] ekBALlei a-gaTHA:

The good man out of the good treasure brings forth good things:

kai ho po-neROS ANthro-pos ek tou po-neROU the-sauROU ekBALlei po-neRA [4190].

and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

d. 12:36 A WORD FROM THE HEART WILL BE THE BASIS FOR JUDGMENT

LEgo de hUMIN, HOti pan 'REma [4487] arGON [692] ho laLEsou-sin hoi ANthro-poi,

And I say unto you, that every idle word that :men shall speak,

a-poDOsou-sin [591] peRI auTOU LOgon en heMEra KRIse-os.

they shall give account for it on judgment day.

e. 12:37 For by your :words you shall be justified, and by your :words you shall be condemned.

ek gar ton LOgon sou di-kai-oTHEse [1344], kai ek ton LOgon sou ka-ta-di-kasTHEse [2613].

E. 12:38-45 THE FINAL END OF AN EVIL GENERATION

1. 12:38-42 MARKS OF AN EVIL GENERATION

a. 12:38 SCRIBES AND PHARISEES DEMAND A SIGN

TOte a-peKRIthe-san auTO tiNES ton gram-maTEon [1122] kai Pha-riSAIon, LEgon-tes,

Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying,

DiDAska-le, THElo-men aPO sou seMEIon [4592] iDEIN.

Teacher, we would see a sign from you.

b. 12:39-40 ONLY SIGN JESUS WILL GIVE

ho de a-po-kriTHEIS EIpen auTOIS, Ge-neA po-neRA kai moi-chaLIS [3428] seMEIon e-pi-zeTEI [1934];

But he answered andsaid to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign;

kai seMEIon ou doTHEse-tai auTE ei me to seMEIon IoNA tou proPHEtou:

and no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet:

HOsper gar en IoNAS en te koiLIa [2836[ tou KEtous [2785] treis heMEras kai treis NUKtas;

40for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale;

HOUtos EStai ho huiOS tou anTHROpou en te karDIa tes ges treis heMEras kai treis NUKtas.

so shall the Son of :man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

c. 12:41 THE NINEVITES AND JUDGMENT

ANdres Ni-neuEItai a-naSTEson-tai en te KRIsei meTA tes ge-neAS TAUtes,

TheNinevites shall stand up in the judgment with this :generation,

kai ka-ta-kriNOUsin [2632] auTEN: HOti me-teNOe-san [3340] eis to KErug-ma [2782] IoNA;

and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah;

kai iDOU, PLEIon IoNA HOde.

and lo, more than Jonah ishere.

d. 12:42 THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH AND JUDGMENT

baSIlis-sa NOtou e-gerTHEse-tai en te KRIsei meTA tes ge-neAS TAUtes, kai ka-ta-kriNEI [2632] auTEN:

Thequeen of thesouth shall rise up in the judgment with this :generation, and shall condemn it:

HOti ELthen ek ton peRAton [4009] tes ges aKOUsai ten soPHIan So-loMOnos;

for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon;

kai iDOU, PLEIon So-loMOnos HOde.

and lo, more than Solomon ishere.

2. 12:43-45 PARABLE OF THE UNFILLED HOUSE.

a. 12:43 STATE OF THE CAST-OUT SPIRIT

HOtan de to aKAthar-ton [169] PNEUma eXELthe [1831] aPO tou anTHROpou,

But when the unclean spirit is gone out of the man,

diERche-tai [1330] di' aNUdron [504] TOpon, zeTOUN aNApau-sin [372], kai ouch heuRIskei.

he passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and finds itnot.

b. 12:44 HIS THOUGHT

TOte LEgei, Eis ton OI-KON mou e-piSTREpso [1994] HOthen eXELthon;

Then he says, I will return into my :house whence I came out;

kai elTHON heuRIskei schoLAzon-ta [4980] kai se-sa-roMEnon [4563] kai ke-kos-meMEnon [2885].

and he comes andfinds itempty and swept and garnished.

c. 12:45a THE FINAL STATE OF A FOOLISH MAN

TOte poREUe-tai, kai pa-ra-lamBAnei [3880] meth' he-auTOU hepTA HEte-ra PNEUma-ta

Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits

po-neROte-ra [4191] he-auTOU, kai ei-selTHONta ka-toiKEI [2730] eKEI:

more evil than himself, and they enter in anddwell there:

kai GEne-tai ta EScha-ta [2078] tou anTHROpou eKEInou CHEIro-na [5501] ton PROton.

and the last stateof that :man becomes worse than the first.

d. 12:45b So shall it be also to this :evil :generation.

HOUtos EStai kai te ge-neA [1074] TAUte te poneRA.

F. 12:46-50 MARKS OF CHRIST'S BRETHREN: DOERS OF HIS WILL

a. 12:46 JESUS' MOTHER AND BRETHREN

Eti auTOU laLOUNtos tois OCHlois, iDOU, he MEter

While he was yet speaking to the crowds, lo, his :mother

kai hoi a-delPHOI auTOU hiSTEkei-san [2476] Exo, zeTOUNtes auTO laLEsai.

and his :brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him.

b. 12:47 And one said to him, Lo, your :mother and your :brethren stand without, seeking to speak to you.

EIpen DE tis auTO, I-DOU, he MEter sou kai hoi a-delPHOI sou Exo heSTEka-sin, zeTOUN-TES soi laLEsai.

c. 12:48 But he answered andsaid to him that told him, Who is my :mother? and who are my :brethren?

ho de a-po-kriTHEIS EIpen to LEgon-ti auTO, TIS es-tin he MEter mou? kai TInes eiSIN hoi a-delPHOI mou?

d. 12:49 HIS ANSWER

kai ekTEInas [1814] ten CHEIra auTOU ePI tous ma-theTAS auTOU,

And he stretched forth his :hand over his disciples,

EIpen, I-DOU, he MEter mou kai hoi a-delPHOI mou!

andsaid, Lo, my :mother and my :brethren!

e. 12:50 HOW TO BE COUNTED AS A RELATIVE OF JESUS

HOstis gar an poiEse to THEle-ma [2307] tou paTROS mou tou en ou-raNOIS,

For whoever shall do the will of my :Father who isin the heavens,

auTOS mou a-delPHOS, kai a-delPHE, kai MEter esTIN.

HE is my brother, and sister, and mother.

NOTE: 12:22-32 - Again, it is good to remind ourselves concerning this, because Jesus very clearly gave this warning to the Pharisees. Attributing works done through us by the Holy Spirit to Satan, is exceedinglydangerous. There is noforgiveness for thissin. John in 1 John 5:16 confirms this serious warning. I have witnessed this sin clearly on one occasion.

In the same passage Jesus very clearlystates that the Kingdom of God is present, when we by God's Spirit cast out demons. Marie and I have witnessed and been together part of this manifestation.

12:33-37 most clearly reveals God's thinking on fruit as being an infallible sign of the nature of a tree: eithergood or corrupt. We are not to be deceived. An individual with corrupt fruit (see the works of the flesh in Galatians 5) is a corrupttree, and we are notto receive from him. Jesus follows on to say that idle(asGON [4487]) words from our mouth will bring surejudgment. David prayed, “Set a watchbefore my mouth, O LORD, that I might notsin against You!”Because David is a man after God's own heart, this is a good prayerfor us to follow and use also! I do.

12:43-45 - Jesus uses this parable to warn the evil generation of His day, of the great danger in which they stood.

12:46-50 - And lastly - natural flesh tiesmust notbe as strong as our ties to Jesus. He mustbe superior. Unless we love Him morethan father, mother, spouse and children, we are notworthy of Him and His Kingdom. You say, “That is a harsh standard!” Better to hear it now, and make adjustments to conform if that is necessary, - than to hear it from the BEma, Christ's Judgment Seat - at His return! - J.A.W.