(Matthew 12:22-30) "Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
Possessed = To the point past influence. Where the influence has lead to be overtaken. To be possessed you have to allow them to enter in. Invite them in. For a Christian it can be done trying to wear you down and they know it. Keeping the negativity and treating you like dirt (we walk all over them with the Gospel Shoes, then shake it off, not living with it) through doubt and self-defeat and giving in and giving up. Them are the number two methods, why? We need faith first. Secondly, Christ won the victory for us, satan wants you to feel alone and separated from the LORD and without the LORD, that is prime opportunity for them to come make an abode (home) with you.
Up to this point, we have Christ and the Disciples picking crops to eat, The Sabbath day healing, and Christ declaring Himself Lord of the Sabbath. He defines what it means during previous interactions with the pharisees, namely in the 9th chapter of Matthew.
(You can also directly cross reference Mark 3:20-29 for the same interaction shown here. Let's use both to get the full picture. Everyone was following Christ (as depicted there), but this is after years of being beaten down by the oppressive pharisees (overseen by the Romans). It's clear here that Christ brought them excitement and hope; so much so, in fact, that Christ's family and friends are gravely concerned about His protection.)
(Mark 3:21) "And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself."
(Okay, that being said, we have an amazing healing here. Today many of would have given up on this possessed one in the sense of trying to find answers to explain his condition. One must be careful and know what exactly what they are doing when it comes to diagnosing, especially when they are dealing with possession. This is extremely rare to be both anyhow).
Back to Matthew 12:23,
23And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
(That is an admittance of Christ being the Messiah. The anointed one, YHVH's savior.)
24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Of course they did! They can feel their power slipping as Christ continues to put them to shame--even more so here. Beelzebub = satan the prince of demons, I prefer to use the term "evil spirits", though. That is what they are. There is the Holy Spirit, and then there are evil spirits.
25And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
(This illustrates the nonsense and mindless, self-refuting lies of a pharisee/mocker (which is huge here) because if this is not the power of the LORD, then what else could it be? Christ is getting to that common sense question(s) and conclusion here).
26And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
This is the simplest of concepts here meaning satan with the evil spirits whose goal is to inhabit people and take them over. This could be likened to the Army fighting the Marines during WWII while being under attack. Yes, the pharisees are just that "dumb'.
27And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
(He's asking: 'When you and your offspring do it, are they doing it by the power of the LORD'? The pharisees don't even know, but they sure do run their mouths. The point here is that the evil spirit is gone from the person. They are saying they cast out evil spirits (the children). Therefore, the children would find them guilty for the same thing they accuse Christ of, which is par for the course in man's double standards of judging before salvation--by their own standards rather than the Lord's.)
28But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
(There is no "gray" area here. You can be sure of it, and we need to be very sure of it.)
The goods referred to here are those of the Gospel Armor. Strong man = Strong in mind. This begins with the shield of faith, the helmet (protecting the mind) of salvation. It also entails having the Gospel shoes on for walking/stomping all over the evil spirits while knowing the Lord is in control. Gird with truth = stand up. This means having no fear and not lying in the dust or sitting down where one can be bound or chained (spiritually to physically speaking, laying down defeated).
Breastplate of righteousness = stick your chest out to him just like a soldier would. Do so with confidence because doing right is what gives us confidence. Righteousness = the condition acceptable to the Lord through Christ, then doing right as Christ is proud of you doing it for Him. The Sword of the Spirit = exposes satan, evil spirits, wickedness, and cuts them to pieces. You will not win a spiritual battle lusting after the flesh either. It is and can only be won with the Holy Spirit with our own spirit in agreement.
Please check the Gospel Armor video study and the tagged Anointing and Blessing study labels, etc.
30He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."
(This is logic here with no gray areas, and that includes having no gray as in area for the grey matter for satan to be stronger, especially stronger in mind. He certainly cannot be stronger in will because he is a defeated foe. Use the power! The place you want to be at is the conclusion that it's really not your battle--it belongs to the Lord because He won it at the cross).
Also, we know we are to have peace of mind through the Gospel Armor wherever our feet take us, the Gospel shoes, and that will result in peacemakers. The work of the enemy is to scatter, but the work of Christ is to separate, and separate truth. The point it is Christ does no scatter, but does separate. The word scatter means to flee and hide, as in hide in the dark. No, we bring the light, and expose the darkness.
Complete (perfect) love for our Father through Christ casts out fear.
Amen †
Thank you guys. That helps me alot.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, very glad to hear that :)
ReplyDeleteIt is the Father thanks be to Christ' doing†