This sermon was preached to Grace Church Guildford on 19 February 2023. The audio recording of the sermon can be found below along with the transcript.
‘Our true character is seen not in how we treat our friends, but in how we treat our enemies.’ If you remember a few weeks ago in Matthew 11:29, Jesus said he is "gentle and humble in heart". Jesus claimed that at the root of his being, core of his character, is gentleness and mercy. And since making this claim, Jesus’ actions and attitudes have proved it. In Matthew 11 itself, it was this deposition that enabled Jesus to turn to the same crowd that complained about him, generation that had rejected him, and say, "Come to me and I will give you rest." And in Matthew 12, we see his heart displayed towards several different groups. In 12:1-8, he defends his disciples from unjust charges, insisting mercy is more important than ritual. In 12:9-14, he himself had mercy on a man with a shrivelled hand, healing him despite all the controversy it caused. Jesus has shown that he is kind to his friends, has compassion for the suffering. However, tonight we will see him extend this same kindness, same compassion, to his enemies as well. And this will surely prove beyond all doubt Jesus really is "gentle and humble in heart", that no matter who you are or what you have done, if you come to Jesus, he will deal gently, mercifully with you.
Afterall, it is easy to be kind to your friends. It is far harder to be gentle with those hate you. It is one thing to have compassion for the needy, it is another to have mercy on those who mistreat you. Our true character is seen not in how we treat our friends, but in how we treat our enemies, and so in our passage we see Christ’s true character, find out beyond all doubt what he is really like, see that he really is gentle and humble in heart, just like he said.
We will see this in both parts of our passage this evening. First, we will see it in how Jesus avoids his enemies in 12:15-21, and then how he addresses them in 12:22-37. As we consider each of these stories this evening, and we are going to learn: (1) Jesus treats us with tenderness (12:15-21); (2) And will judge us with justice (12:22-37).
1. JESUS TREATS US WITH TENDERNESS (12:15-21)
Who are these enemies of Jesus? These objects of his mercy in our passage? We have mentioned his mercy to the disciples and the sick. However, there is a third group in this chapter that we haven’t referenced yet. It is of course, the Pharisees. It was the Pharisees who accused the disciples in 12:1-8. It was the Pharisees who disagreed with the healing in 12:9-14. As will be the case in every story in Matthew 12, Jesus is being opposed by the Pharisees. This group of ultra-conservative Jewish teachers. They were so enraged by Jesus’ behaviour on the Sabbath, his justification of the disciples and restoration of the man, that in 12:14 we ended last week by reading: [READ]. Here we see the opposition to Jesus has moved beyond murmuring about him, it is now intent on murdering him. The Pharisees begin to plot and plan to put Jesus to death. And this plot is the immediate context, the direct cause, for how Jesus acts in our passage tonight, for we read in 12:15, "Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place." When confronted with their murderous rage, Jesus retreats. As we read on, we see he doesn’t stop his ministry, for he was followed by a multitude and continued his miracles. And yet, Jesus urges the crowd to keep news of these healings private. As bizarre as it may seem, in 12:16 we read: [READ]
If you have been around Christianity for long, I hope this seems counterintuitive to you. After all, one of the main jobs that followers of Jesus have, is to tell others about him. And yet, here Jesus instructs them to keep quiet. However, Matthew argues this is exactly what we should expect. For in 12:17, he says that this withdrawal from the Pharisees and private ministry were predicted in the Old Testament. Matthew says in 12:17: [READ].
As we have worked our way through Matthew over this last year, we have seen this language again and again. Matthew is famous for such statements, which are known as ‘fulfillment formula’. Ten times in his book, after telling us what Jesus is doing, he declares it fulfils what the Old Testament prophesised about the Messiah. In this instance, Matthew refers to Isaiah 42:1-4, which he quotes for his readers. It is the longest quotation in the whole book. And so, there is clearly a great deal that Matthew wants to bring to our attention. It begins in 12:18 by speaking of God’s chosen servant, a phrase used throughout Isaiah to speak of the Messiah, the Christ, the one God said he would send to save his people. Here Isaiah prophesies the Messiah will be loved and delighted in by God, have God’s Spirit placed upon him and go forth to "proclaim justice to the nations". For Matthew’s readers, this description in 12:18 is a clear reference to Jesus, for we heard God’s voice at his baptism in chapter 3 declare, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." And the Spirit descended on him like a dove. The events of Jesus’ baptism follow the script set down 700 years beforehand in Isaiah 42. Further, after his baptism, Jesus again did what Isaiah predicted, for he proclaimed justice to the nations, declared that the Kingdom of Heaven had come, God’s judgment was drawing near, and so his hearers needed to repent, turn away from their sin and seek forgiveness in him. In many ways, 12:18 is a summary of all that Jesus has been doing up to this point in the book.
However, in 12:19-20 we start to see why Isaiah 42 is quoted here, understand how Jesus’ actions in our current passage fulfil what Isaiah promised. How will the Messiah proclaim justice to the nations? What is the manner of this ministry? In 12:19-20: [READ].
I’m sure you heard the major piece of political news this week. In an unexpected turn of events, Nicola Sturgeon, longstanding leader of the SNP and First Minister of the Scottish Parliament, declared that she would step down. The time has come for the SNP to choose a new leader. What will take place over the coming weeks will be similar to the many other leadership races we’ve recently had. Candidates will organise press conferences to stress their suitability for the job. They will convince colleagues to vote for them by defeating opponents in debates. That is the normal way for people to become leaders: parading yourself in public and defeating your opponents.
And yet we see here in 12:19-20, that when the Messiah appeared, when the leader of God’s people turned up, when the King came, Isaiah promised he would go about his leadership race in a very different way. In 12:19 we read far from publicly parading his credentials, loudly proclaiming his candidacy, his voice will not be heard in the street. Far from engaging in arguments and debates, he would not quarrel or cry out against his opponents. Jesus would be a quiet candidate, a gentle opponent. That’s what those images in 12:20 suggest. They are pictures of Jesus’ gentleness. Isaiah speaks of a reed, one of those long hollow pieces of grass you find along a riverbank, it has been bruised and bent, is ready to break off. And yet, the Messiah would hold it so tenderly, it would remain unbroken in his hands. The idea is repeated with the smouldering wick. The candle is about to finish, the wax is all gone, the flame is burning through the last of the wick, it flickers and fade, so much so, that just the slightest whisp of wind, the tiniest bit of breath, would snuff it out. And yet, again, Jesus handles this frail and fragile flame so gently, that it continues to burn. To use a modern metaphor, we might say that Jesus is so gentle, he wouldn’t bruise a peach. He treats us so tenderly, that no matter how frail or fragile we are, we will not break in his hands.
This is what Isaiah said the Messiah would be like when he came. And we see it fulfilled here in how Jesus deals with the Pharisees, for he treats even his enemies with tenderness. When he discovers their plot, he doesn’t snuff it out, but instead slips away. He doesn’t stir up the crowd to counter their plan, but instead removes himself from the fight. With three simple arguments earlier in the chapter, he dismantled their religious rules. With a single healing he showed them up before the whole synagogue. And yet, rather than deliver the knockout blow, crush them before they killed him, he withdraws from public and continues ministry in private, heals in secret. Though they have been bruised, he will not break them. Their flame may be flickering, but Jesus does not snuff them out. For he is a quiet conqueror, the ultimate gentle giant. He is patient, and so gives them time to repent. He is kind, and so gives them another chance to consider. At the start of our service, we heard in Exodus 34:6 how the Lord is a "compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin." And is this not what we see here? Jesus, like the Father, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and forgiving. Or as he put it in 11:29, "gentle and humble in heart".
The famous puritan, Richard Sibbes, wrote an entire book on these verses called The Bruised Reed, as he mediates for chapter after chapter on the great tenderness and mercy that we see here in Jesus. In it, he tells his readers to imagine a flower in which the sweet smells of all the flowers in the world have been concentrated and then asks them to consider just how sweet that single flower must smell. Sibbes goes on to says that in Jesus there is the perfection of all the mercy and love we can experience in this world. Every kind of kindness, every tender tendency we see in good fathers and mothers, friends and lovers, are but imperfect beams of light that ultimately radiate from him. Drops of mercy from drip down to us from the ocean of kindness that is found in Jesus. And so Sibbes can famously conclude, "we have this for a foundation truth, that there is more mercy in Christ than sin in us."
That was true for the Pharisees here. Despite their plotting, they had not emptied God’s endless supply of mercy. Though they planned, and eventually put the Son of God to death, they could not drain that ocean dry. For Jesus still treats them with tenderness. If you are here tonight and not a Christian, can I assure you that if you come to Christ, if you seek forgiveness in Jesus, you will find it. It doesn’t matter what you have done, how great an enemy of Christianity you may have been in the past, even if you had put Jesus to death yourself, there is enough mercy in him to cover all your sin and more. There is more mercy in Jesus than there can ever be sin in us. Your life is not long enough, your heart is not twisted enough, your past not dark enough, for you to outsin the grace of God.
Christian, if Jesus is this tender to his enemies, then how much more tenderly will he treat his followers? If God is this patient with his opponents, then how can you doubt he will be kind to you his child? O brothers and sisters, has this not been your experience over the years? Have you not, like those Israelites this morning, tested the Lord, grumbled, even turned back at times and sought the slavery of sin again. And yet, in his gentleness and grace, for all these years, God has still given you your daily bread, again and again he has forgiven your sins, and guided your path. Can you not testify tonight that Jesus has treated you with tenderness, that his mercies have been new every morning, that he has given you chance after chance, lavished you with grace upon grace. Friends, he is still the same gentle God tonight. No matter how far you have fallen, even if you have stumbled for the 77th time, you can always come back to Jesus. You need never fear asking for forgiveness. Even if we are as battered as a bruised reed, he will not break us. Even if we are spiritually waning like a smouldering wick, Jesus will not snuff us out. For he treats us with tenderness. It is in his very nature to be kind and tender, for he is gentle and humble in heart.
This is true not only when we have sinned, but also when we are suffering. When you face difficult circumstances, are struggling through whatever life has thrown at you, see here that even in those difficulties you can trust that God is being gentle, kind to you. Like a skilled surgeon, God will not cause you more pain than is necessary. See here that God does not have a heavy hand, he is not a rough commander of this universe, but instead he treads carefully around his creatures, treats each one with tenderness and compassion. Friends, every circumstance of your life is in the hands of a gentle giant, one so tender, he would not break a bruised reed, snuff out a smouldering wick. That is how tenderly God almighty treats you and me. See here in 12:15-21, Jesus treats us with tenderness.
2. AND WILL JUDGE US WITH JUSTICE (12:22-37)
You see, when we read 12:20 carefully, it not only predicts Jesus’ gentleness, but it also promises his justice. For 12:20 says: [READ] "...till [until, up to the point that] he has brought justice through to victory." O yes, Jesus is so gentle he will not break a bruised reed, snuff a smouldering wick. And yet, Isaiah promised one day, such reeds will be broken, those wicks will be snuffed, for a time will come when Jesus’ gentleness gives way to his justice, when his mercy gives way to his might. Yes, Jesus may be tender, but we must not think he is tame. For while he treats his enemies with tenderness now, a day will come when he will judge them with justice. And it this emphasis that Matthew picks up in 12:22-37. Where we see that while Jesus refuses to snuff the Pharisees out, they do all they can to snuff him out! In gentleness Jesus withdrew from them, but in foolishness they decide to pursue him.
In 12:22, Jesus encounters the most oppressed man we have met in Matthew’s Gospel so far. Not only is he demon possessed, but he is also blind and mute. And so, when Jesus drives out the demon and heals him, the miracle is of such a magnitude, provides such clear evidence that the Spirit of God is on Jesus, that the crowd who previously complained about him, are astonished and begin to ask in 12:23 could Jesus really be the Christ? Son of David? This Spirit anointed servant of Isaiah 42? Afterall, that is where all the evidence seems to point.
And yet, in 12:24 the Pharisees appear again to offer an alternate explanation. They argue this great act of spiritual power, proves that Jesus is the servant of Satan, not the servant of God. Far from being the Son of David, Jesus is really in league with the Devil, Beelzebul, the prince of demons. They had actually been saying this for some time. Back in 9:34, after Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was mute, they gave the crowd the same explanation. And so, when Jesus goes one step further here, preforms a miracle that is even more amazing, for this demon-possessed man is not only mute, but blind as well, the Pharisees try the same approach.
The difference is this time, Jesus responds to their reasoning. We have seen there are occasions when gentleness and mercy mean that we should stay quiet, avoid the argument, give someone space and time. And yet, here we see there are other moments where mercy means we should ask a question, correct a comment. For Jesus the time for staying quiet, gently avoiding these Pharisees is over. Yes, he withdrew in 12:15, but now he steps forward.
In 12:25-29, Jesus makes three arguments, each proving that the Pharisee’s reasoning makes absolutely no sense at all. For example, in 12:25-26, Jesus points out that if Satan wanted to strengthen his kingdom, then casting out demons is hardly the way to do it. It would be like a football manager breaking his own players legs, or like a Formula One driver slashing his own tires! Why would the Devil drive out his own demons? It makes no sense! Similarly, in 12:29, Jesus points out, logically, the only one who can drive out demons is one who stronger than the Devil. Therefore, the only possible conclusion is that of 12:28. Namely, that Jesus drives them out by the Spirit of God, and so the Kingdom of God has come, the Son of David, the promised King has arrived. Jesus shows this is the only explanation that makes sense of the evidence. By engaging with and logically disproving their reasoning in 12:25-29, Jesus is essentially doing here what Christians today call Apologetics: asking questions and making arguments to show the inner inconsistency, broken logic, of other positions. It is what we do when we ask questions like: "How could something come from nothing?" "Why is there any meaning to life?" "Where does morality come from?" When we gently ask others those kinds of questions, we are following in Jesus’ footsteps, for here he shows the Pharisees their view is a house of cards, built on sand, doesn’t make any sense.
However, after gentle correction in 12:25-29, Jesus moves on to just condemnation in 12:30-37. Having reasoned with the Pharisees, he now warns them, and does it in the most serious way, for he speaks of what is often called "the unforgiveable sin". In 12:30-33, we read: [READ]. It is easy to get so caught up in what the second half of 12:31 means, that we skim over what Jesus says in the first half. What a wonderful promise that is – "every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven". As we said before, its not possible to measure the mercy of God. We cannot begin to fathom the depths of sin that can be swallowed up by grace. For Jesus says if we come to him, there is pardon for any, every crime! And yet, we must ask what is this sin, that will not be pardoned? What is "blasphemy against the Spirit" in 12:31, or "speaking against the Holy Spirit" in 12:32? What is this unforgiveable sin?
Undoubtedly the greatest tragedy of WWII took place not on the battlefields, but in the concentration camps that existed throughout Eastern Europe. Over the course of 4 years, around 6 million Jews were brutally and ruthlessly murdered. It is one of the most horrific events in the history of humanity. However, when it first began, and the news of mass murder started to slip out to the Western World, people struggled to believe it was really happening. How was an atrocity of such a scale possible? Surely the numbers were too great, the logistics of transporting and killing so many too problematic? And yet, at the end of the war, when the allies gained access to the camps, the true scale of the atrocity was evident to all. Train stations and gas chambers, mass graves and incinerators were revealed. And over the years, the evidence for the Holocaust has only increased. So much so, that today it is surely undeniable. You can literally go and walk through the gas chambers where it happened, or to the various museums around the world and see the piles of shoes and clothes and human hair that were taken from the bodies of millions. It is of course sad that when news of what was happening first spread during WWII, there were some that didn’t believe it. And yet, that is surely nothing compared to those who continue to deny it happened today. The evidence is so great, proof so clear, that you might even say to be a Holocaust denier is unexplainable, unforgiveable. You can’t reason with someone who refuses to reach the clear, unavoidable, conclusion that all the evidence supports. What more can you say or show them to demonstrate that the Holocaust really did happen? Cannot be denied?
I think when we consider this idea of the "unforgiveable sin", we often imagine that there is some kind of line drawn somewhere, that if we cross it, if we sin in a particularly grievous way, we end up putting ourselves beyond the grace of God. And so over the years, many have found themselves worried and anxious about whether they have done this, whether they have messed up so badly that God will not forgive them. However, I think describing it in this way really isn’t helpful. First, it seems to contradict what the Bible says elsewhere. For example, in John 6:37, Jesus promises: "whoever comes to me I will never drive away". Friends, if you come to Jesus, you will always find forgiveness. Peter denied the Lord three times, and he was forgiven. Paul blasphemed God and persecuted Christ, putting his followers to death, and he too found forgiveness. And so, when we consider the unforgiveable sin, we need to think less about an imaginary line that might be crossed, and more about the amount of knowledge we can have. I think that is what our passage pushes us towards. As one writer puts it, I think the unforgiveable sin is "hardened, determined... unbelief...in the face of the most undeniable evidence." (MacArthur)
You see, before this in Matthew, there has been much evidence to show that Jesus is the Messiah. However, we are now getting to the point that it is becoming unjustifiable, inexcusable, to come to any other conclusion. We have had over a year of miracles, now culminating in this specific healing, which is a high-water mark as it were, for this is the most oppressed man so far. Jesus’ miracles are now of such magnitude, that even the generation that rejected him find themselves asking whether he could in fact be the Christ. This healing is such a clear and unequivocal sign of the Spirit being on Jesus, that it really isn’t possible to come to any other conclusion. As Jesus has just shown the Pharisees, there is no other solution that makes any sense. It must be the Spirit of God. What else could it be? So much so, that to see this miracle with your own eyes, and say otherwise, is to show that you will never believe, never acknowledge Jesus, no matter how clear the evidence, no matter what he says or does. As Jesus goes on to say in 12:33-35, it shows that your heart is so hard, that you will never say anything but evil. O yes, when these Pharisees spoke against Jesus, the Son of Man, before, they could be forgiven. But now that they have seen the Spirit with their own eyes and still refused to believe, what more can be done? What else can Jesus say to or show them when they have rejected the Spirit of God? Indeed, that is what we see in the rest of the chapter, for when the Pharisees ask Jesus for another sign in 12:38, Jesus refuses to do any more miracles. Afterall, what can he do for them that he has not already done? They have already seen all the evidence and yet refuse to believe! Like those who deny the holocaust today, what else can be said? After they have walked through the gas chambers, looked at the piles of clothes and shoes, spoken to eyewitnesses, considered all the evidence, and yet still deny it happened, what more can be done?
I think when we have this understanding of the unforgiveable sin, then it rightly becomes more tightly tied to the time of Jesus than that of today. I struggle to think of a situation where the same level of divine disclosure takes place today. Afterall, the ministry of Jesus was a unique time in the history of the world. These Pharisees had the Son of God walking among them, the Spirit of God moving in amazing ways that we do not see today. And yet, do you see how it is really just the extension of the same basic truth we have seen previously, that the more we know about Jesus, the more accountable we are to Jesus. That with great revelation, comes great responsibility. And it is will this idea of accountability to God that Jesus concludes his teaching, for in 12:36-37 we read: [READ].
If you are here tonight and not a Christian, not acknowledging Jesus to be your Saviour and Lord, then do you see here that the same one who treats you tenderness, will one day judge you with justice. Many of you come to Grace Church week after week, hear the Gospel again and again, hear how Jesus came in love to this earth, lived a perfect life and died on the cross to take the punishment for his people, rising again on the third day to give us new life, so that all who turn from their sin and trust in him, who come to him as their Saviour, will be saved. Every time you hear that message, is your heart getting harder and harder against it? Or will tonight you finally accept it?
If I were to stop you tonight as you left the building and ask you to tell me who Jesus is, what conclusion have you come to? What words would you say to me? Would you, like these Pharisees, hold on to some solution, that makes no sense at all? Jesus is a good teacher but not God? How do you explain the fact that he claimed to be God? Jesus wasn’t really a person in history? I challenge you to find an actual historian who agrees with that! Jesus doesn’t really matter to my life? Do you not realise that is Jesus is God then he is Lord of your life? Friend, how do you explain Jesus? Who do you say he is? And as you think about that question, take great care how you answer it, for Jesus says that by such words you will either be acquitted or condemned. For this one who treats us so tenderly, will judge you justly if you refuse to acknowledge who he is, accept him as the Spirit anointed Saviour of the world.
ALEXANDER ARRELL