“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