What do I know with Isaac Carroll
What do I know with Isaac Carroll
Understanding the Spirit of the Law over the Letter
In this enlightening episode, we investigate the intersection of mercy and religious law as illustrated in the biblical texts from Matthew 12. Through the lens of Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees, we confront challenging questions regarding the Sabbath observance and the spirit behind the law. By exploring the story of David and the incident of healing on the Sabbath, we better understand how compassion should take precedence over rigid law-following.
Join us as we unpack complex ideas like blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, shedding light on the societal implications of judgment and misunderstanding within religious communities. We emphasize the significance of compassion and the intent behind actions, encouraging listeners to reflect on their personal faith journeys.
Our conversation not only dives into historical context but also connects it to present day, exploring how we can embody the principles of Christ within our everyday lives—witnessing to love, kindness, and understanding. What does it mean to truly follow Christ's teachings in a world that often prioritizes rules over people? Tune in to discover vital insights that can enrich your own faith experience and foster deeper connections with those around you.
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May God bless you and lead you always.
Welcome to the podcast. I'm Isaac Carroll and this is what Do I Know? Alright, in today's Bible study we are going to be back in Matthew, matthew 12. If you're ready, start in verse 1. At that time, jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath and his disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. Now, when the Pharisees saw this, they said to him Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. But he said to them, have you not read what David did when he became hungry, how he and his companions, how they entered the house of God and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, nor for those who were with him, but for the priest alone? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath, the priest in? Let's stop here. In verse 8.
Speaker 1:Again we get this teaching about having mercy or having compassion over sacrifice the Pharisees confronting Jesus over the disciples picking the heads of grain on the Sabbath. To them, this was reminiscent of when the children of Israel were in the desert and God gave them manna. He gave them a command that they would pick this manna six days and on the seventh they would rest. He gave them command to see if they would obey God. He was providing for them. He wanted them to see if they would obey and he gave them a punishment when they didn't. Because it was important for man to understand that they can rely on God, that they can not to treat God with contempt, but to honor God and to be faithful to God. God didn't give this law so man could condemn each other. He gave this law for us to be obedient to him and Jesus proves this about willful intent with the story of David.
Speaker 1:Now, the story of David is David had been anointed king by God Before Saul had been anointed king and God took that anointing away because Saul had disobeyed God. He had listened to the people over God and heobeyed God. He had listened to the people over God and he didn't obey God. And God had taken the anointing of kingship over from him and gave it to David. Now Saul was still king in the land, but their anointing was gone and was on David. So Saul wanted to kill David and had sent people to kill David and David was on the run.
Speaker 1:Now David was in need and he was hungry, and when he was a nob, and you can read about this in 1 Samuel 21,. David went to the priest, went to the temple and he asked the priest for food and the only thing that was there was consecrated bread, bread that would have been put before God After it had been taken away from the house and fresh bread put there was it lawful for the priest to eat, but it wasn't lawful for David or for anyone else to eat it. The priest gave it to David because he had compassion for David and his people, and Jesus was showing the Pharisees that it was never David's willful intent to break God's law. I mean, it's David, king David, who wrote psalms like Psalms 119.11. I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you Psalms 19.8. The precepts of the Lord are right. Rejoicing the heart, the commandments of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes 1.19.97. Oh, how I love your law. All day long it is my meditation. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, but they are always with me. This David, who loved God and loved his law, was the same person that Jesus is using to reference the fact that he broke God's law. There was never David's intent to break God's law when he was in need, he didn't go there so he could violate God's law by taking the bread. And that's what Jesus is showing the Pharisees here is that it's willful intent. Look at John the Baptist how he went to King Herod because he saw that King Herod had taken his brother's wife, and he told King Herod. He said look, what you are doing is not lawful for you to do, intently breaking God law. You are doing it on purpose, because you don't care about God's law. All you care about is what you want. And he was put in prison over it. If they'd understood it, they would have never condemned the innocent. All right, let's continue in verse nine.
Speaker 1:Departing from there, he went into the synagogue and a man was there whose hand was withered, and they questioned Jesus asking Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? So that they might bring charges against him. But he said to them what man is there among you who has a sheep? And if the sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not reach out his hand and lift it out. How much more valuable, then, is a person than a sheep? So then, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath? Then he said to the man Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out and it was restored to normal, like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him as to they might destroy him. But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there and many followed him and he healed them all and he warned them not to tell who it was.
Speaker 1:This happened so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled. Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul delights. I will put my spirit upon him and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bent reed he will not break off and a dimly lit burning wick he will not extinguish Until he leads justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope. Wow, verse 21,. Tell me that statement hasn't been fulfilled. A lot has changed since these words were spoken and I believe many Gentile nations have come to put their hope in Jesus. All right, continuing in verse 22.
Speaker 1:Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to Jesus and he healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and could see, and all the crowds were amazed and were saying this man cannot be the son of David, can he? But when the Pharisees heard this, they said this man cast out demons. Only Bobby Elzebub, the ruler of the demons. And knowing their thoughts, jesus said to them every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan is casting out Satan, he has become divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if, by Beelzebub, I cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges, but if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Speaker 1:Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he will plunder his house? The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I say to you every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Either assume the tree to be good as well as the fruit good, or assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruits. Bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You, offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good thing? For the mouth speaks that which fills the heart. The good person brings out of his good treasure good things, and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they will give an account on it on the day of judgment, for by the words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned. All right, let's stop here. In verse 37.
Speaker 1:The Pharisees have done something so vile that it's almost beyond belief. We have Jesus who is healing the sick, he's cleansing people with leprosy, he's raising the dead. He's doing all these wonderful things, these acts of kindness and these acts of power Casting out demons, these acts of power casting out demons. The Pharisees were so jealous of Jesus that they said they actually said it that Jesus was able to do the things that he was doing because of the prince of demons. No-transcript, I mean how? I can't even imagine, but I guess we're all evil in some way, we're all blinded by something. So we have Jesus being confronted by the Pharisees, and he asked them if I do this by the power of God, then the power of God is among you, that he has the power of God in him, the power of God, then the power of God is among you, that he has the power of God in him, that he is. Him and God are on the same team, because he's doing everything for God.
Speaker 1:It reads in 33, either assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit are bad. So the tree is known by its fruit. Jesus is proving that his works, what he's doing is a testament to God, not a testament to Satan, because Jesus is doing what is good. His very actions prove who he's for, and he says that everything that they had said against him could be forgiven. But those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit now, these things wouldn't be forgiven, not in his age nor the age to come, that nothing that is spoken against the Spirit would be forgiven.
Speaker 1:Okay, what does blasphemy mean? Blasphemy means to defame to slander, to. Let me read you what it says in the Bible. It says the term is used to describe both direct blasphemy against God and the broader concept of defamation or slander against someone. To basically, speak against God's holiness, to defame God, to say what is good is evil, and this has often scared me, and I'll tell you why, as things that we don't understand we easily mock.
Speaker 1:I have been to many churches and when I was younger I used to go to a Pentecostal church. I grew up Pentecostal and a lot of people who would come to church with me and see people speaking in tongues and flopping on the ground and doing all kinds of crazy things that sometimes used to happen in Pentecostal churches. They were demon-possessed, and that's exactly the kind of thing that Jesus is speaking about here is to call something that is a product of the Holy Spirit that what they're doing is evil. Who are we to say what's going on is of God or not of God? If someone is acting in direct conflict with God, then we could say, yes, going on is of God or not of God. If someone is acting in direct conflict with God, then we could say, yes, that is evil.
Speaker 1:But if someone is praising God and speaking in tongues and doing stuff that we don't understand, we have no right to call it anything else. We have no right to say one way or another that it's from God or not from God. We don't have that authority, never. We should always honor God. We should always be fearful and reverent to the Spirit and to God. It's not for us to say the things that we don't understand. We are just to pray to God and give Him glory Again. We can call out what is evil when we see it.
Speaker 1:When something is evil, we know them by its fruits. Jesus said this earlier. You know them by its fruit. Anything that is evil, the fruit is evil. We know something is evil when the things that they do are against God, against his word, against. These things are obvious. Jesus said that an evil person will bring out the evil things in his heart and his treasure and a good person will bring out the good things in his treasure of his heart. The things that we say, the things that we do these things show whether or not we are good or evil.
Speaker 1:I always have a little fear when I hear it or when I think back to those times and the last thing I ever want to do is to well, the last thing anybody ever wants to do is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I don't even want to contemplate what the judgment is for that. I just hold on to the God's word where it says that those who are ignorant and do what is wrong are punished little, and those who are not ignorant and do what is wrong, they will be punished much. So I'm hoping that when people say this in ignorance, that God is merciful in their punishment, and then Jesus goes on from there and says that we will be judged by every idle word that proceeds from our mouth. That's another hard one.
Speaker 1:James has much to say about the tongue that a ship, large as it is, is controlled by a small rudder the tongue. And I almost wish that I was mute to save myself from the stupidity that comes out of my mouth sometimes. So let's be mindful, let's be mindful of the tongue. I'm going to stop here. We'll pick up in 38 in the next Bible study. Until then, I love you guys. God bless, bye.