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She was not looking for signs and wonders. She simply wanted to hear
King Solomon. Today we can read King Solomon’s wisdom in the book
of Proverbs and the Song of Solomon. Today we can relive Jonah’s
adventure and thrill in his ministry. Today we can read about Jesus’ miracles
and listen to Him preach as we read the gospels. Yes, Solomon was a king
and Jonah was a prophet, but Jesus was God who took on human flesh. Why
did the Ninevehites respond? Why did the Queen of the South respond?
Why didn’t the generation of Jesus’ day respond?
Promise of Judgment. Then Jesus concluded
with the following illustration.
Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.” (NASB) Matt. 12:43-45 The encounter with the religious leaders started when Jesus cast out
a demon from a man who was blind and mute. So it appears that Jesus picks-up
on this miracle and then uses it to make a point. His illustration is
simple. If an evil spirit is exorcised and cannot find a new home, he
will return to his old home in order to determine if he can return. When
the demon returns, he discovers that he can possess the man once again;
therefore, he brings along seven new friends. The final spiritual condition
of the man was worse than in the beginning.
Then Jesus added a shocking comment, “So it will
be with this evil generation.” The generation had seen and would
see Jesus perform many signs. They had heard and would hear Jesus preach
many messages. Some were already rejecting Jesus, including most of the
religious leaders. Others would reject Him in the future. Jesus, who
was the light of the world, came shining in the darkness, and the darkness
rejected Him because it did not understand.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (NASB) John 1:5 The darkness refers to the spiritual condition of every man and woman
who has not believed in Jesus Christ. Those who reject God are in a worse
condition than those who seek Him and find Him. My
True Family. The next two
verses tell us that while Jesus has been speaking to the crowds
in the inner patio of the house His mother and brothers had arrived.
While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” (NASB) Matt. 12:46-47 The Greek verb translated as “standing” is a pluperfect.
This reveals that Jesus' family had been standing outside for some
time waiting to get inside to see Jesus. Finally someone, perhaps
shouting over the crowds, told Jesus that His family had been standing
outside.
Jesus’ response was unexpected.
But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.” (NASB) Matt. 12:48-50 We should not conclude from Jesus’ statement that He did not
love His family. When Jesus was dying on the cross, He asked the
beloved disciple, John, to care for His mother (John 19:25-27). That
was not a act of indifference. Instead, Jesus gave His mother to
the beloved disciple, to someone He knew would care for her. So why
did Jesus say, “. . . whoever does the will of My Father who
is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother”? The
answer is that Jesus’ was speaking of a spiritual family. It
is composed of those who believe in Him. That is the message of the
following passages,
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name . . . (NASB) John 1:12 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him (NASB) Rom. 8:16-17 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. (NASB) 1 John 3:2 Ultimately, this is the only family that counts. The religious leaders
were unwilling to obey God, unwilling to submit to Jesus, unwilling
to believe and unwilling to humble themselves. But those who truly
believe in Jesus want to do the will of God. The main mark of true
faith in God is the desire to submit, yield, and obey Him. Those
who do the will of God are those who have believed in Jesus - those
who belong to God’s spiritual family.
Conclusion. Those who reject Jesus Christ
because they believe that His miracles were not real, were just magic
tricks, were performed with demonic powers or were imagined have committed
a great error. Those who have concluded that Jesus’ signs were
performed by demonic powers have committed the unpardonable sin. They
are in the deepest of troubles. The Jewish religious leaders committed
this sin because they had concluded that Jesus was demon-possessed.
This is a sober warning to those who reject Jesus’ miracles
as some ancient Egyptian magic trick or the work of Satan himself. The
following words are the words of Jesus, not the words of this author,
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (NASB) John 3:16 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. NASB) John 3:17-19 Jesus is our God. He calls us to believe Him. True belief will respond
with repentance over sin and seek His forgiveness. True belief will also
yield to Him. If you believe in Jesus, want your sins forgiven and are
ready to follow Him, then please tell Him!
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