What Jesus Did

As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. Someone told Jesus, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you."
Jesus asked, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Then he pointed to his disciples and said, "Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!"


—Matthew 12:46-50 NLT

Key Thought​

Wow! This is one...

 

[Jesus continued his response to the Jewish leaders who asked for a sign:] "When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, 'I will return to the person I came from.' So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil...

 

[Jesus continued his response to the Jewish leaders who asked for a sign:] "The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here — but you refuse to repent. The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here —...

 

One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, "Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority."
But Jesus replied, "Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights."


—Matthew...

 

[Jesus continued:] "And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you."

—Matthew 12:36-37 NLT

Key Thought​

"Oh no! Not this judgment stuff again." Yep! To a culture which wants no consequences, only blessings, this is a hard concept. But when we look at all the horrible things that occur in our world, all the horribly guilty who go free, then we know there has to be a settling...

 

[Jesus continued his reply to the Pharisees:] "A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart."

—Matthew 12:33-35 NLT

Key Thought​

...

 

[Jesus continued:] "So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven — except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come."

—Matthew 12:31-32 NLT

Key Thought​

As the opposition to Jesus' ministry has risen with every one of his compassionate deeds, his opponents repeatedly reveal...

 

[Jesus continued:] "Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me."

—Matthew 12:30 NLT

Key Thought​

So often as human beings, we want to do what I call "play in the gray." Rather than seeing issues as black or white, right or wrong, good or evil, we often say, "Well, it's not all that cut and dried. It's not really a black or white issue; it's really more a gray issue." Jesus does not allow us to "play in the gray"...

 

[Jesus continued his reply to the Pharisees who said his power came from Satan:] "And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger — someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house."...

 

But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, "No wonder [Jesus] can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons."
Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, "Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive."


—Matthew 12:24-26 NLT

Key Thought​

Incredibly, we can assign good deeds to bad...