Matthew 12 Extra Resource Recap
Last week we re-looked at Matthew 11 from our house church meeting and chapter review article. This week we’ll do the same looking again at chapter 12. I think a good lens to look at the interactions between Jesus and the Pharisees is verses 33-37. They attempted to condemn Jesus’ actions and His words by twisting the law and speaking evil against the Son of Man (v32).
Matthew 12:33–37 (ESV)
A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
This rebuke is specific to this context in the narrative, with Jesus pointing out where the religious leaders were making a grave mistake by not recognizing Jesus for who He was, and going further to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. He made a concession in v32 for those who would struggle to comprehend the supernatural reality of Jesus being the incarnate God-Man, but to speak evil against the good that He was doing and to attribute it to the Enemy is a step too far and revealing of what is in their hearts. This reality for them continues to play out through the rest of the Gospel narrative.
But for us the lesson to learn from this rebuke should be apparent, that our words matter and they point to a deeper spiritual reality within us. “The Pharisees’ worthless words are a good example of the kind of “corrupting talk” that Paul says should not characterize the believer’s speech. As people who have been transformed by God’s grace, believers should instead engage in speech that gives “grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29; Col. 4:6). For that is precisely what the gospel does to us” [GTB].
This can point us back to the discussion of the “letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law” when we were looking at the Sabbath and how the religious leaders were making it a burden instead of a blessing by heaping unnecessary rules on top of the gift of rest that God had established. Their hearts missed the spirit of the law because they wanted control and self-justification by creating rules to seem more righteous and then unlovingly judging others by their new rules. Out of their hearts came judgmental self-righteousness into their words and actions, and therefore they are known by that fruit. “The Law of Moses could never turn a bad tree into a good tree (Romans 12:3). The command to rest on the Sabbath could not create rest in our restless hearts” [SG].
But Jesus calls us to something better, true rest in Him (Matt. 11:25-30). Remember, He is the true and better Prophet, Priest and King, who earned that rest for us and freely gives it to all who turn to Him. So let’s turn our hearts to Christ, and may our words and actions reflect the new life we have in us through Him alone.
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As you wrap up your week, spend some time reflecting on your heart and your words that flow from it, and watch this short video on Matthew 12.