Seeing and Responding to God

Scripture Reading

Matthew 12:22-32

22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Devotional

In this scripture, Jesus restores a man’s ability to see and speak by getting rid of the demon that oppressed him. When witnesses saw this, they began to wonder if Jesus was the Messiah; however, the Pharisees do a complete 180 and say that Jesus is harnessing the power of Satan rather than the Holy Spirit. Attributing a clear act of the Holy Spirit to Satan rather than God is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit – the only unpardonable sin. Jesus is quick to correct the Pharisees by explaining that Satan doesn’t work against himself because his kingdom would not stand.

Furthermore, the name “Beelzebul” means “master of the house,” so when Jesus uses the analogy of someone tying up a strong man in his house, he is referring to God defeating Satan. See, Earth is Satan’s house, and quite frankly, he’s on house arrest until Jesus returns and he is finally defeated thereafter. Here, Jesus shows everyone that God entered Satan’s house, bound him, and restored what was taken away from this particular man. What an amazing miracle! In a way, it also represents what Jesus is about to do for all of humanity – give them the ability to discern through the Holy Spirit and restore the relationship between man and God such that we can dwell in his presence once more. When I read this, I sometimes wonder how many times God may have been trying to show me something and I just didn’t see him or I didn’t take opportunities to share the Good News. In many ways, that’s just like being the man who is blind and mute. A believer not being able to see and respond to God is exactly what Satan wants despite it not being what we want. Sometimes our sin blinds us and stunts our spiritual growth.

Going back to the scripture, we see an unbeliever restored through the power of the Holy Spirit and that person is given sight and the ability to speak and at the same time a veil has been removed from the eyes of the witnesses’ such that they understand that Jesus is the Messiah. So, we see two things here – discernment and restoration for the unbelievers and witnesses. At the same time, we see the Pharisees who are supposed to be the religious leaders, basically the theologians of their time, and yet they can’t see what even the unbelievers see. God is right before their eyes, doing what only God can do and yet they call the work of the Holy Spirit the work of Satan. They lack discernment and they will not be restored.

One a side note, if anyone is worried or concerned about having committed the unpardonable sin in this scripture, it is clear that you have not. Having a heart of repentance means that you are covered by the grace of God. If you feel like you committed such a sin, you can bring it to God and be forgiven. This scripture is not saying you will lose your salvation.

So, what can we glean from this scripture and apply to our lives? Firstly, we should not judge the unbeliever and we should not criticize where someone is in their faith journey. Sometimes it would appear from the outside that someone is doing all the “right” things like going to church, doing nice things for others, and maybe even some of those people are leaders of the church; however, their heart may be far from God. Alternatively, we may see people wrestling with their faith, stumbling often or seemingly oppressed from visible sins, but their heart is yearning and seeking God. And as for the unbelievers, we should keep hope alive for them. God wants everyone to be saved. 1 Samuel 16:7 says:

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

We need to be careful as believers to be encouraging others in their walk, not judging them. It can be easy for someone to forget what their faith walk has looked like. It’s kind of like a parent who may have been a wild teenager and then now find themselves middle-aged or older and judging the poor decisions of youth these days. If you’re going to point the finger, it’s best to do it in the mirror.

The second takeaway from this scripture is that sin can cloud our ability to see God and respond to his calling. However, we serve a God who restores and he will lift the veil from your eyes and continue to wash away your sins. All you need to do is ask. If right now, you’re not seeing God in your life or if you question whether or not he’s calling you to do something, let’s pray together.

Prayer

Father God, thank you for the Holy Spirit you gave to me to be a guide, a source of encouragement, and messenger. I pray that you would help me today to see you, hear you, and respond to you. Sin has clouded my mind, but my heart desires to be with you. I repent of my sin and I ask that you do a great work today. Lord, help me to see you in the midst of my situation and respond to you when you call. I desire to be a part of your perfect plans. In Jesus’ name, Amen.