Matthew 12: The Lord and His Family (4)
Pray Psalm 35.9, 10.
And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
All my bones shall say,
“LORD, who is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”
Sing Psalm 35.9, 10.
Creation: The Spacious Firmament on High
Thus shall our souls rejoice in You and hold Your salvation ever true.
Our bones as one aloud shall cry, “LORD, who is like You, enthroned on high,
Who cares for those too frail and meek to save themselves when they are weak?
Who rescues His afflicted ones when foes their warfare have begun?”
Read Matthew 12.1-30; meditate on verses 22-30.
How does Jesus “plunder”?
Prepare.
1. How did Jesus silence the religious leaders on this occasion?
2. Who’s plundering whom here, and what does that signify?
Meditate.
Jesus continues tossing out demons, healing those who are burdened with the effects of sin, and amazing the multitudes (vv. 22, 23). Imagine how that must have irked Satan. He though, having been bound by the Lord in the early days of Jesus’ ministry (Matt. 4.1-11), could do nothing to stop Him.
But he kept trying. Here he enlisted the Pharisees against Jesus, by suggesting a scurrilous but stupid rumor: The only reason Jesus can cast out demons is because He is the devil himself—or at least, in his employ (v. 24). They had tried that same lame notion once already (Matt. 9.34); now they personalized it even more.
Jesus showed the utter stupidity of that explanation for His power in two ways (vv. 25-27). First, He demonstrated the folly of thinking that Beelzebub would attack his own house. Who does that? Next, He pointed to the Jewish exorcists, and asked whether they, too, might be in Satan’s employ? Were the Pharisees willing to label their own colleagues with that taint? And if not, then why did they do so to Jesus?
Now Jesus gives the real explanation of His spiritual power (vv. 28-30): He has bound the strong man—Satan—and He is about the business of plundering his house. Satan’s “house” and “goods” had been enjoying a several thousand year run by the time Jesus came around. Now He was taking it all back—souls, people, cultures, societies, and the very creation itself. As Abraham Kuyper put it, “There’s not a single square inch of all creation over which Jesus as Lord does not say, ‘Mine!’” Jesus’ ability to cast out demons signals that the Kingdom of God has come in the power of the Spirit, just as it has come to each of us.
And those who are “with” Jesus, Who is God with us, are joining the plunder as well (v. 30). We do not fear being plundered by the strong man, who wants to take away our freedom, joy, peace, and power to love. Rather, in the Name and power of Jesus, we are taking back everything in our lives—from the depths of our souls to the full extent of our Personal Mission Fields—and making it all obey Jesus (2 Cor. 10.3-5). “Shout on! Pray on! We are gaining ground! Glory, hallelujah!”
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Job—the quintessential sufferer of Satan’s dastardly deeds—stated plainly, amidst his travail:
“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and [shout on]
He shall stand at last on the earth; and
after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that
in my flesh I shall see God, [pray on]
Whom I shall see for myself, and [gaining ground]
my eyes shall behold, and not another. [glory, hallelujah]
How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19.25-27)
God healed, by His power, the destruction of the enemy.
“I AM the First and I AM the Last;
besides Me there is no God” (Is. 44.6).
“I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,
Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1.8).
This is God, Who plunders the enemy’s encampment, in people’s bodies and spirits.
He is our Strong Man Who conquers all evil, Who overcomes the world (Jn.16.33).
And this One declares to you and to me:
“He who is not with Me is against Me, and
he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad” (Matt. 12.30).
The verb scatter (here, intransitive) has both personal and corporate implications.
It is something that can happen within oneself; but also something that can be done to someone else.
In both instances, it has negative connotations; thus Jesus warned against it.
Scatter: to cause to separate and go in different directions;
to distribute loosely, to strew;
to be strewn over or across.
Come to Me, gather with Me, be for Me—not aloof, not scattered, not against.
The King is in His Kingdom, ruling Sovereignly and eternally.
Let us, like Job, know that our Redeemer lives—and serve Him faithfully and obediently—
for the Kingdom of God has come upon us” (Matt. 12.28).
“For Yours in the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever” (Matt. 6.13)
I know that my Redeemer lives—glory, hallelujah!
What comfort this sweet sentence gives—glory, hallelujah!
He lives, He lives, Who once was dead—glory, hallelujah!
He lives my everlasting Head—glory, hallelujah!
He lives to crush the fiends of hell—glory, hallelujah!
He lives and doth within me dwell—glory, hallelujah!
He lives, all glory to His Name! —glory, hallelujah!
He lives, my Jesus, still the same—glory, hallelujah!
Shout on, pray on, we’re gaining ground—glory, hallelujah!
The dead’s alive and the lost is found—glory, hallelujah!
(Samuel Medley, 1775)
Reflect.
1. As a Christian, what do we have to shout about?
2. As those who are “for” Jesus, seeing what He is doing, what does this mean for us?
3. How would you explain the idea of “plundering” the devil’s holdings?
There are two great interests in the world; and when unclean spirits are cast out by the Holy Spirit, in the conversion of sinners to a life of faith and obedience, the kingdom of God is come unto us. All who do not aid or rejoice in such a change are against Christ. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Matthew 12.21-30
Pray Psalm 35.1-8.
Pray that the Lord will clear the path for you today, send His angels to guard you, and be with you as you plunder the devil’s house in your life and Personal Mission Field.
Sing Psalm 35.1-8.
Creation: The Spacious Firmament on High
Contend, O LORD, with those who strive with me; my shield, my strength and buckler be!
Engage with spear and axe to fight and rescue me with all Your might!
My soul with Your salvation soothe, and vanquish all who oppose Your truth.
Let those ashamed and humbled be who would destroy and humble me.
Let all my foes be blown like chaff, and let Your angel take my behalf.
No cause have they to hide their snare or for my fall a pit prepare.
Upon them let destruction fall; disperse, destroy them one and all!
And let the net which they have made be for their doom and judgment laid.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column begins to examine the hope for the church, especially struggling churches. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
