6/8/11 Matthew 12:31-35 The Spirit and the Commandments

³¹ And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. ³³ “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

(Jesus Heals deaf-mute Jerome Nadal 1593)

Thoughts: Jesus here speaks interchangeably between the Spirit and the Law.  Jesus had an uncanny ability to concentrate not on the letter of the law but on the spirit beneath it.  He calls us to do the same.  Sins can be forgiven- any kind.  But what cannot be forgiven is turning away from God- thinking God is evil when He is good.  Jesus had healed a deaf-mute-demon-possessed man.  It was a great thing- an amazing good.  Yet the Pharisees, because they did not want to believe in Him, said Jesus was from the devil.  Out of our spirit within us comes the fruit without.  Sinning is one thing, but purposefully calling God evil is a horrible evil.  To call the Maker of all things evil (as so many do so lightly today) shows lack of respect or awe of the Almighty.  It shows not just rebellion against God, but a hatred of Him and His ways.

Prayer:  May my heart be one with your heart.  Give me grace and discernment to be able to tell right from wrong, good from evil.