Matthew 11:20-24 Keep In Step!

Matthew 11:20-24  Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.  “Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens?  No, you will go down to Hades.  For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.  But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

In the above focus, Jesus criticizes the Jewish people for not turning completely to God in repentance.  He relates how places such as Capernaum and Bethsaida had seen wonderful miracles performed in their midst, yet did not respond to God in a wholehearted way.  They thought of themselves being right with God, in the center of God’s acceptance, ready to be received in heaven.   But Jesus sarcastically asks, And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens?   The answer is, No, you will go down to Hades.  Their failure to repent and to turn to God because of Jesus’ teaching and miracles will be accrued to them as despicable sin, rebellion against God’s actions and words.  Jesus says, non-Jewish cities, known for their wickedness throughout Israel will be judged more leniently than the cities of Israel who turned their back on the Anointed One, Jesus Christ, for they are more sensitive to God’s call than the Jewish people.  If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  Even wicked Sodom will be received better at the judgment seat than cities such as Capernaum and Bethsaida, who have rejected God’s direct intervention in their lives through the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  Sodom would have repented if they had observed such a move of God in their midst.  Otherwise, even Sodom in all its sinfulness had softer hearts than the Jewish people of Jesus’ generation.  As Pharaoh rejected the miracles of Moses because of his hard heart so were the Israelites rejecting the miracles and teachings of Jesus because of their hard hearts.  God knew this would be a time when the Jewish people would not accept the Messiah even though He performed marvelous miracles in their midst.  God through Jesus’ words and miracles was freeing people of the world from their internment in the land of slavery.  Jesus was bringing freedom from the judgment of sin to all people, everywhere.  Yet the Israelites’ with their hardness of heart rejected his call, but God knew they would, just as he knew the Pharaoh of Egypt would initially reject his call to release the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.  In Jesus’ case, the Lamb of God paid the price for the release of sinners from the judgment of God for sin.  In Pharaoh’s case, he paid the price with his own death in releasing the Children of Israel from the hand of slavery.  The recalcitrant attitude of both generations, their hardness of heart, freed God’s hand to achieve what He intended to do from the beginning of time: to make a people of his own, known forever as his children.

Jesus describes his generation very accurately when he talks about demon possession.  “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.  Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’  When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.  Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there.  And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.  That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”  (Matthew 12:43-45)  In this analogy we find a generation willing to be clean of an impure spirit.  They clean the house of their dwelling by following laws and regulations, even many repenting.  They are able to make the dwelling hospitable, but it is still unoccupied, clean but unoccupied.  The effort to make it clean worked, but without an occupant, it is open to invasion by other spirits.  The first spirit, who finds no rest anyplace else goes back and finds his former dwelling place without any occupant; consequently, he brings seven other stronger spirits to take over the dwelling.  The Messiah is the occupant they should have received.  He would have kept the dwelling place clean an orderly, but they refused to accept Jesus as the Lord or the dweller of their household.  They chose to follow the old ways of rules and regulations.  Willing to go to the Temple and pray, to sacrifice and to give alms, but they were unwilling to accept Jesus as Lord of their lives.  Without a Lord in their house, they were open for evil spirits to invade their culture, their society, their political framework.  Jesus calls their obdurate behavior wickedness, causing their final condition to be worse than when they first set out to clean their house.  And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.  Of course, the leaders of the Israelites wanted proof that they should allow Jesus to be the occupant of the Jewish culture, their way of living.  Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”  (Matthew 12:38)  They were content with the way the Jewish people were living, their way of serving God through the priesthood and the Temple.  They did not want anything to change, so they asked Jesus to do a spectacular miracle so that they could accept this alteration in the way they lived and served God.  But Jesus would not take the bait, for He knew no matter what He did the priests and the teachers of the law would never accept him as the Messiah, for they would lose their preferred position with the people.   He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign!  But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  (Matthew 12:38-40)  Yes, they were adulterous, for they preferred their lifestyle and choices over the commands and authority of God.  They would never accept the message of serving God and him only, for if they did they would have to accept Jesus as the Messiah.

To accept Jesus as the occupant of your heart (house) there should be a change in the way you live and act.  Your words should reveal that the house is clean and that there is a different spirit in your life.  If the house is infiltrated by foreign spirits, not of God, your life will still be full of resentment and hurt.  Words towards others will not be uplifting, but destructive.  We are all open to different spirits other than the Holy Spirit’s nature.  How many of us are always kind, generous, quick to forgive, loving, caring, open to revealing an uplifting nature, rather appearing dark and foreboding, thinking evil about others.  We might deceive ourselves by categorizing our nature as mostly good, but others will be better interpreters of who we really are.  Mirror, mirror on the wall can be misleading if we incorrectly interpret what we see, forgiving ourselves of our flaws as we analyze ourselves.  In today’s focus, we see Jesus dealing harshly with the Israelites.  They see themselves as beautiful, ready to be lifted into heaven.  But Jesus sees something different—a stubborn, recalcitrant people, who will eventually turn completely away from him, screaming: crucify him.  These are the people He sees in the verses above.  These are the people of a fickle generation, a people with hardened hearts who do not care a wit about what He has done for others.  They followed him around Israel looking for the fishes and the loaves, looking for a miracle to deliver them from their infirmities.  But to yield their lives to him as Lord, the occupier of their land, was another story.  Even today, as we experience confusion on the internet, many are giving their domain over to other spirits, more wicked than the ones that first occupied their unregenerate souls.  All of us can move into that arena, but the devil is wily; he knows how to deceive and defeat the nature of Christ if we allow ourselves to be open to his abode.  Jesus is talking about God’s judgment of his generation, but our generation is as dangerous as his was, for we can seek our own priest who will tell us how to act, what truth is.  We now have the ability to spend our leisure time focusing on all kinds of voices.  We must remember always as Peter says, it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and it begins with us.  (1 Peter 4:17)  Let us not deceive ourselves, but understand fully who is in our household.  Bitter water cannot produce sweet water.  Hate and anger do not produce love and goodness.  If necessary, sweep out the house daily and put it in order with love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  (Galatians 5:22-23)  Paul goes on to tell the church, Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  (Galatians 5:25)   Do not be left behind bound by fleshly pursuits and attitudes.  Today, keep in step with the Spirit, keep in tune with his voice and his guidance, and you will experience inexpressible joy in the Lord.