“Hearts Devoted to God”
(Matthew 12:33-50)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
July 28, 2019
The Passage
Matthew 12:33-50
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. 35 A good person produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil person produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching; and look—something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any. 44 Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ Returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.”
46 While he was still speaking with the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to the one who was speaking to him, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 49 Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Introductory Comments:
Illustration: One of my favorite shows to watch with my boys is “Forged in Fire” on The History Channel. It’s relatively clean and it involves blades, fire, and hitting things with hammers, so we enjoy watching it. Oftentimes, a blade-smith will produce a beautiful blade which they present to the judges and it nearly looks perfect. However, one of the tests the judges perform on the blade is the strength test. Frequently the viewer will see a beautiful blade snap in half during the strength test. When you look at the inside of the blade, you can see an issue with the grain on the inside of the blade. The core of the blade was bad. The heart of the blade was bad and the blade ended up being thrown to the side and was good for nothing.
In today’s passage, Jesus is addressing the heart. He is addressing hearts that are full of evil, He’s addressing evil filling hearts further, He’s addressing hearts that won’t believe in Him, and He is pointing us towards having obedient hearts.
Before we journey through this passage, let’s pray together.
(prayer)
Remember the context of Matthew 12. Jesus is speaking to those who are doubting His supernatural power and who are denying the very power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus warns them against committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, a sin which will not be forgiven.
Now, He addresses the hearts of the Pharisees and others who refuse to believe in Him.
Let’s see what Jesus says about their hearts and let us be encouraged by the work of Jesus so that our hearts are properly devoted to God.
First, . . .
I. Our words show our hearts (vv. 33-37) [on screen]
The point which Jesus is getting at here is that the reason the Pharisees are saying these evil things about Jesus, namely that He does miracles by the power of the devil, is because they have evil in their hearts.
What comes out is evil because the source is evil.
Listen to verses 33-37.
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. 35 A good person produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil person produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Jesus gives these two metaphors to explain that the heart is the source of what comes out of us.
Jesus speaks of a tree and a storehouse. An evil tree will produce evil fruit. A good tree will produce good fruit. Similarly, an evil storehouse will contain evil things and a good storehouse will contain good things.
What you do (or say) relates to who you truly are inside.
What’s in your heart, church? It will be shown by what you say.
Jesus is so serious about the evil of the Pharisees that He calls them brood of vipers, or children of snakes.
This is the same term that John the Baptist used to describe some religious elites.
These are serious words to use to describe someone. Jesus is telling these people that they are intensely evil.
Jesus exclaims that they cannot speak good words because there is no good within them. They are evil inside, so evil comes out of them.
Jesus also reminds those with evil hearts that they will stand before God and face judgment.
At the judgment seat of God we will give account for what we say. Jesus says, “by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
We will be judged and condemned by our words primarily because our words indicate what is in our hearts.
We must be keenly aware that God is concerned with what we say and He is concerned with what is in our hearts.
Just liked “Forged in Fire,” it’s what’s inside that matters.
Our words show our hearts.
Second, . . .
II. Jesus’ works show His greatness (vv. 38-42) [on screen]
If the scribes and Pharisees weren’t angry at Jesus before, we know that they are now.
They want to trap Jesus, they want to make Him look foolish. They seemingly don’t know what else to do, so they challenge Him to show them a sign.
Let’s see how it goes down. Look at verses 38-42.
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching; and look—something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here.
Can we just acknowledge the fact that Jesus has already given many signs indicating that He is the Messiah?
Jesus taught with authority, He healed many, He perceived thoughts, He cast out demons; even in this very chapter, we see Him heal a man who was mute and blind.
Yet, the Pharisees and scribes still ask for a sign.
Jesus knows their hearts and how ridiculous it is that they are asking for another sign.
He also knows that even if He gives them another sign, they will not believe because their hearts are evil.
He labels them an evil and adulterous generation. They have evil hearts which are unfaithful to God. They will get no special sign.
Jesus says that they will only get one sign, which is the sign of Jonah.
Now, remember that Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days, he emerged out, preached the message of God, and the city of Nineveh repented.
Similarly, Jesus is giving us a glimpse of the fact that He will be in the grave for three days and come out.
The irony is that Jonah didn’t actually do anything miraculous. The people of Nineveh, for all that we know, didn’t even know that he was in the belly of a fish.
Jesus, on the other hand, has already provided many signs and powerful teaching. Jesus preached and demonstrated the power of God, yet many of the Jewish leaders did not repent and would not repent even after His resurrection.
Nineveh, which was populated with the pagan enemies of the Jewish people, repented after seeing less powerful signs and hearing from a less powerful prophet. Jesus was greater than Jonah and the people still did not repent.
Jesus continues by speaking about the queen of the south.
Jesus is pointing out that the queen of the south (by the way, this is probably the queen of Sheba) traveled all the way from the ends of the earth to visit Solomon and take in his wisdom. All the while, Jesus, the very personification of wisdom, is right there among the people and they are rejecting Him.
The actions of the queen of the south will condemn the actions of the scribes and Pharisees.
Here’s what we must catch, and Matthew has been pointing us to this time and again: Jesus is greater. Jesus is greater than Jonah; He’s greater than Solomon; He’s greater than David; He’s greater than all the patriarchs, prophets, and priests in all the world throughout history; He’s greater than the Sabbath and all the law; He’s the greatest!
Do you believe in the greatness of Jesus? Have you been convinced by His miracles? Do you have faith that He really is the Messiah? Have you been changed by our great God through the power of Jesus Christ?
His works, His miracles, His teachings demonstrate His greatness.
Third, . . .
III. Evil worsens with unrepentant hearts (vv. 43-45) [on screen]
Jesus then begins to speak about the spiritual world. Remember, He just cast demons out of a man, and He has demonstrated power over the forces of evil time and again.
He knows a thing or two about the spiritual world, so we should pay attention.
Let’s see what He says. Look at verses 43-45.
43 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any. 44 Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ Returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.”
Now, let’s just state right off the bat that these words from Jesus are not meant to give us a discourse about the intricacies of evil spirits. We shouldn’t get lost on what it means for a spirit to roam through waterless places looking for rest.
The point is that an evil spirit leaves a person, which Jesus refers to as the spirit leaving a house. When it returns it finds that the house is cleaned up, and then it returns with more evil spirits.
Jesus says that the state of the person is worse off than the beginning because more evil spirits return to the person.
Well, what does all this mean?
Here’s the point: we can’t just fix a few evil habits and expect that we’ll be good after that. We can just clean ourselves up a bit and expect to be free from the evil in our lives. Evil is a matter of the heart, as we learned in point one.
We must not be made clean, we must be made new!
J. Vernon McGee provides this concept in his commentary on this passage: we don’t need reformation, we need regeneration.
Matthew Henry adds, “Unless the heart is transformed, the life will never be thoroughly transformed.”
We can’t fix enough things on our own to be set free from sin and evil. We are cursed by it.
Illustration: I just watched the old Beauty and the Beast cartoon movie with my three-year-old yesterday. The beast was getting ready for dinner. He took a bath, cut his hair, brushed his fangs, even put on fancy clothes, but he was still a beast. It wasn’t till the end of the movie when the curse on him was broken that he became a man once again. In the same way, you can’t clean yourself up enough on your own power. You must have the curse broken. Hallelujah! Jesus Christ can set us free from the curse!
The forces of evil are real. The power of sin is real and we must fear its power and consequences in our lives if we don’t have Jesus. If you do not repent and turn to Jesus, evil can worsen in your heart. Turn to Jesus and be set free!
Finally, . . .
IV. Intimacy strengthens with obedient hearts (vv. 46-50) [on screen]
If we want to have godly hearts, rather than evil hearts; if we want intimacy with God, rather than enmity with God; it starts with obedient hearts.
Listen to what Jesus says in verses 46-50.
46 While he was still speaking with the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to the one who was speaking to him, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 49 Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
This is a bit of an odd occurrence in light of what else is going, yet it offers us a very helpful glimpse into Jesus’ feelings on what it means to be close to Him.
Jesus is presented with the information that His mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to Him. Just for the record, this is His actual family; this is not a metaphor.
Jesus drops this statement which could have been received as highly offensive in ancient Jewish culture. He basically says, “Those are not my family, these are family,” while pointing towards His disciples.
The family unit was special to Jews and it was wrong to offend one’s family member. Jesus knew this fact, which points even more to the importance of what He was saying.
Jesus was saying more important than anything else, even more important than one’s family, is to do the will of God the Father.
There’s an implication as well to the fact that believers are bound together to one another in love under the banner of Jesus Christ and obedience to God. However, the primary point here is that obedience to the Father is what most unites us to Jesus.
In fact, our obedience to the Father leads to a bond with Jesus Christ through which He refers to us as His brothers and sisters. How cool is that?
In order to have a close intimate relationship with Jesus we must obey the will of the Father.
Here’s something else we must understand: doing the will of the Father begins with repentance and devotion to Jesus Christ.
Concluding Thoughts:
Jesus is the way to the Father. He reveals God’s will to us. The Holy Spirit of God draws us to the Son of God, who opens the door to the Kingdom of God.
We must give ourselves to God and let Him change our hearts.
We must flee evil and pursue God, which takes us to our bottom line for today:
Bottom Line: Our hearts should be far from evil and should be close to God. [on screen]
(repeat)
We cannot escape evil on our own. Our hearts are cursed by sin and evil. So, we need to take our hearts to God and ask Him to make them new.
By being made new by Jesus our hearts can be close to God. We can follow Him in obedience and do His will. We can live as sons and daughters of the one true God.
Challenge yourself to live this out this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
- Submit your heart to God. [on screen]
Have you ever truly submitted your heart to God? Have you ever submitted the core of your being, the center of who you are, your heart, to God?
Perhaps you have but you don’t feel like God has your heart at this time. Submit yourself to Him once again. Beg Him to have His way in your heart and in your life.
- Demonstrate obedience to the will of the Father. [on screen]
Jesus said those who do the will of the Father are those who are His family.
Live in obedience to the will of the Father this week.
Love according to the will of the Father. Be generous according to the will of the Father. Be baptized according to the will of the Father. Forgive someone according to the will of the Father. Pray according to the will of the Father.
Whatever it might be, demonstrate your obedience to the will of the Father this week. Make a commitment to do so.
Closing:
God wants our hearts. Are we devoted to Him?
The hearts of the Pharisees were so full of evil that they couldn’t see the Son of God standing right in front of them. In fact, their hearts were so hard that they may have been beyond repentance.
Don’t harden your heart against God. Believe in Jesus. Trust Jesus. Follow after Jesus.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
Invitation Song – Wherever He Leads I’ll Go
Benediction:
If you have any sort of spiritual decision that you would like to make, you can contact me or Pastor Richard and we would be glad to talk to you anytime.
Don’t forget about LLL this Thursday. We will have a saxophonist who will join us. I used to play the saxophone, but I won’t be the one there playing at LLL.
Also, our Back-to-School Bash is coming up on Wednesday, August 14th from 5-7 PM. I hope you make plans now to be a part of that.
Let’s dismiss by singing the Doxology.
(Sing Doxology)
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