Wedding Song - God Knew That I Needed You

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Thursday Bible Study - Matthew 12


THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW ~ Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Once, as Yeshua was going through a grain field on a Sabbath, His disciples, being hungry, began to pluck the heads of grain and to eat them. The Pharisees observed this and they spoke to Him. ‘Look! Your disciples are doing something not lawful to do on the Sabbath.’ He replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry? How he entered the house of Elohei and there ate the holy bread which was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests? And have you not also read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests, too, break the Sabbath in the Temple and are yet held guiltless? I want to tell you that One greater than the Temple is here. And if you had understood what is meant by the saying, ‘it is mercy, not offerings, that I want’ (Hosea 6:6), you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Yeshua – Lord of the Sabbath; not only was Yeshua Lord (creator and owner) of the Sabbath, but HE KEPT Sabbath as required of ALL who claim the Name and call themselves children of Elohim. Luke 4:16 says keeping Sabbath was His custom!

So Yeshua left them and went into their synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand, so, to get something against Him they asked Him, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’ To this He answered, “If one of you has a sheep which happens to fall into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not lay hold of it and pull it out? A man is surely worth far more than a sheep. So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then He said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” And the man held out his hand and it became as well as the other. The Pharisees then went out and met in council against Him, plotting as to how they might destroy Him.

Yeshua heals a withered hand
Pharisees meet in council to plot ways to discredit Yeshua

Yeshua knew this and left that place, followed by great crowds; and he healed them all. But He gave strict orders that they should not advertise Him in public. This was in fulfillment of what the prophet Isaiah had said might come true, namely, ‘See My Servant, the Man of My choice, My Beloved, in Whom My soul has found delight! I will endow Him with My Ruach and He will proclaim judgment among the nations. He will not wrangle nor make noise; in the streets no one will hear His voice. He will not break a bruised reed, nor will He put out a struggling flame until His judgments have been crowned with victory. And the nations will put their hope in His Name’ (Isaiah 42:1-4). Then they brought to Him a man possessed by a demon. He was also blind and dumb, but He healed him, so that the dumb and blind man, could both speak and see. The people were all astounded, and said, ‘Can this be the Son of David?’

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ‘This Man casts out demons only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons.’ Yeshua knew their thoughts and made reply, “Every kingdom divided against itself faces ruin, and every city or family divided against itself will not stand. Then, if Lucifer casts out Lucifer, he is divided against himself. How, then, will his kingdom stand? Again, if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whose help are your own sons casting them out? Let them be your judges! But if the Ruach of Elohei helps Me to cast out demons, then the kingdom of Elohei has come to you. How, indeed, can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his goods unless the strong man is first bound? Only then can he plunder the house.”

Pharisees call Jesus a blasphemer

“Whoever is not with Me is against me, and whoever does not gather with Me, scatters. For that reason I warn you that every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Holy Ruach cannot be forgiven, either in this world or in the next. Whoever will speak a word against the Son of Man may get forgiveness, but whoever shall speak against the Holy Ruach shall not be forgiven either in this world or in the world to come.”

“You must either make the tree good and the fruit good or make the tree bad and the fruit bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. You offspring of vipers, how can you say good things, wicked as you are? For the mouth speaks what the heart contains. A good man, out of the good treasure in his heart, says good things; and a wicked man, out of the wicked things in his heart, says wicked things. I tell you, therefore, that on the Day of Judgment men will have to give an account for every thoughtless word they have spoken. For it is by your words that you will be acquitted, and it is by your words that you will be condemned.”

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we wish to see a sign from You.’ He replied, “Only a wicked and adulterous age looks for a sign, but it shall get no other sign than that of Jonah, the prophet. Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the stomach of the sea monster, so likewise shall the Son of Man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart if the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up in judgment against this generation and will condemn it, for they turned from their sins when Jonah preached to them, and see! A greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South (Sheba) also will rise up in judgment against this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and see! A greater than Solomon is here. When an evil spirit has left a man, it wonders about in dry places seeking rest, but not finding it. Then it says to itself, ‘I will return to the house from which I came; and when it comes back, it finds that there is no one there, but that it has been swept clean and put in order. Out it goes again, then, returns with 7 other evil spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. Thus, the last condition of that man is worse than the first. Just so will this wicked generation fare also.”

While He was still addressing the crowds, His mother and his brothers came up, but stood outside the throng, wanting to speak to Him. Then someone said to Him, ‘Your mother and brothers are here outside, and want to talk to You.’ But Yeshua answered the man who spoke to him, “Who is My mother? And who are My brothers?” And pointing to His disciples, He said, “These are My mother and brothers! For whosoever does the Will of Elohim in Heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”