22 Some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon in him. Jesus healed the man, and then he was able to talk and see. 23 The crowds were so amazed that they asked, “Could Jesus be the Son of David?”
24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “He forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!”
25 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said to them:
Any kingdom where people fight each other will end up ruined. And a town or family that fights will soon destroy itself. 26 So if Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom last? 27 If I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, whose power do your own followers use to force them out? Your followers are the ones who will judge you. 28 But when I force out demons by the power of God’s Spirit, it proves that God’s kingdom has already come to you. 29 How can anyone break into a strong man’s house and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.
30 If you are not on my side, you are against me. If you don’t gather in the harvest with me, you scatter it. 31-32 I tell you that any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.
33 A good tree produces only good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces. 34 You are a bunch of evil snakes, so how can you say anything good? Your words show what is in your hearts. 35 Good people bring good things out of their hearts, but evil people bring evil things out of their hearts. 36 I promise you that on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. 37 On that day they will be told that they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said.
Read Matthew 12:22-37 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
I am not sure what it is, but often when I read passages from the gospels, and specifically passages that share what Jesus taught, any sections of the passage that relate to faith, trust, belief, and obedience will stand out in my mind. Perhaps this is because I am looking for examples of each, or maybe these areas stand out because there are plenty of examples.
However, after reading this passage, I get to add another topic to this list: speech, specifically focusing on the words we say. As Jesus is wrapping up this discussion, He shares some profound ideas. One of these ideas is this: “Your words show what is in your hearts.” (v. 34b)
Oftentimes, we will compare talk with action and say things like, “Talk is cheap.” When comparing what we do verses what we say, what we do will often carry more weight than our words alone.
But in this passage, Jesus draws our attention to the importance and significance of our words. He continues by saying, “Good people bring good things out of their hearts, but evil people bring evil things out of their hearts. I promise you that on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. On that day they will be told that they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said.” (v. 35-37)
It seems as though Jesus is elevating what we say into being a salvation issue. If on the day we are all judged, we will be called to answer for every careless word we have said, there are some of us who will have a lot to answer for (myself included). Jesus even tells us that our words will determine our innocence or our guilt. That is a pretty heavy statement.
But perhaps, this statement is one more reason we should accept Jesus into our lives. If we bring Jesus/God into our hearts, then Jesus’ statement tells us that others will be able to see it through our words: “Your words show what is in your hearts.” (v. 34b)
This is a statement that is as positive as it is negative. Our words can show us as being selfless or selfish; our words can point people to our value as children of God, or they can point people to a past ruled by survival of the fittest; our words can help lift each other up, or they can tear others down.
Jesus came to help lift us up by showing us God’s opinion of us. If God loves you so much to send Jesus to redeem you, why put anything but thankfulness and gratitude in your heart for Him!
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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