READ MATTHEW 12:22-37

The Gospel of Matthew is like us being along for a journey that Jesus is leading that leads us deeper and deeper into an understanding of God’s kingdom.

What is the kingdom like?

What are its values?

Who are its citizens?

When and where does it manifest itself?

These and many other questions are progressively answered for us through the teachings, miracles, and interactions of Jesus. This was Matthew’s objective in compiling his Gospel record, including in the verses you just read.

To set the scene, Jesus had gained such a reputation for healing people that a man is brought to him in a most desperate condition. This particular man wasn’t just possessed by a demon, but he was also unable to see or speak. In that time, it was a common belief that a person had to verbally renounce a demon for it to leave them. So, you can see the dire situation he was in because he couldn’t even speak. But this limitation didn’t pose any problem for Jesus, who completely healed him.

It’s a great story for everyone involved… except the Pharisees who saw it all unfold. These religious rulers had steadily grown more and more threatened by the spiritual power and authority of Jesus, so much so that it became their mission to criticize everything He did, even something as praiseworthy as miraculously freeing someone of demonic possession.

What was their strategy? They accused Jesus of being possessed by a demon, Himself! How does Jesus respond? By sharing an important truth: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?” (Matthew 12:25–26).

Christ confronts the accusation that He was working in the power of Satan with some common sense. This was such a basic principle that the accusers had no logical comeback against it. It really ended any debate as far as the source of Christ’s power and authority. But it didn’t just end the debate; it also opened an important understanding regarding God’s kingdom.

Jesus went on to build on this reality of a kingdom requiring singular unity (Matthew 12:30), especially when it comes to the kingdom of God. What’s God’s kingdom like? For one thing, it’s characterized by unity. There’s no division within it that would weaken or undermine it. It’s a unified whole. In fact, it’s the most united kingdom that ever was or ever will be. Why? Because its eternal King will always ensure its eternal unity.

Followers of Christ are also “kingdom people.” This means we come to value and embody the characteristics of His kingdom, including unity. Divisiveness doesn’t define God’s kingdom, nor should it define our lives.

1. What stuck out to you about this story? About Jesus’ miraculous work, and Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees?
2. What important aspect of God’s kingdom does Jesus reveal in this exchange?
3. What does it look like to walk in kingdom unity?

READ MATTHEW 12:38–41

After asking for a sign, Jesus calls out this generation, saying they’re wicked and adulterous generation. Then, He goes on to talk about Jonah and the judgment that would befall them. Why the harsh response?

There is a backstory, however. In actuality, this wasn’t a case of sincere seeking. In fact, there had been many points up until this one where Jesus openly declared His identity and performed a multitude of miraculous signs to authenticate it. The issue wasn’t a lack of evidence on Christ’s part but a lack of openness on the Pharisees’ part. They had heard and seen more than enough evidence in order to believe, yet they chose not to. There was no intention of following through on anything Jesus may have done and knowing that, He refused to jump through their hoop.

So, how does Jonah fit in to all this? Jesus wasn’t going to cater to their insincerity by performing a sign on the spot for them. Instead, He pointed them to a sign that was going to come soon… a sign that would serve as the ultimate proof of who He was and what He’s done: His resurrection! He alludes to the resurrection by comparing His three days in the grave to Jonah’s three days in the great fish.

Just as Jonah was eventually expelled from the fish’s stomach, after three days Jesus would rise out of the depths of the grave. This would eventually happen, and if it didn’t convince these people to believe in Him, nothing would! Even the pagan people of Nineveh in Jonah’s time would have responded to a sign like that. But as for these Pharisees, their state of deliberate unbelief could only be judged!

What are we to take away from all of this? Sometimes people (perhaps even us) say things like, “If only God would show me this or that . . . then I’d finally trust in Him.” In our minds, we think, “There’s just that one little blank in our faith that needs filling in. Once He does that, then I’ll finally have what I need.”

But is that what really needs to happen? Is the issue a lack of evidence on God’s part or a lack of openness on our part? While we’re looking for something yet to happen, is God pointing us to something that has already happened? What if the sign we’re waiting on is the very sign He was pointing the Pharisees to? Is the fact that Jesus rose from the grave enough for us to trust Him—not just for our eternal salvation but for every earthly struggle? If not, what is?

At some point, we all need to admit that God has already given us all we could ever need in order to believe in Him. If we don’t believe, it’s not a deficiency on His part but on ours. The sooner we come to admit this, the sooner we come to experience His sufficiency in every aspect of our lives.

4. What was really going on with the Pharisee’s request for a sign?
5. What does the sign of Jonah show us about who Jesus truly is?
6. What is the most important thing when it comes to believing in Jesus?

This Week

Are there areas of your life where you relate to the Pharisees? Spend prayer and reflection to determine how to correct these areas.

Memory Verse

“Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.’ He answered, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.”—Matthew 12:38–41 (NIV)

Prayer Guide

Lord, we are naturally given to criticize and divide when we should pursue unity. Help us to see that unity is the necessary atmosphere of Your kingdom, and the same should be true for our own lives. Make us more like You; make us more united as kingdom people! Amen.

If you have questions you aren’t sure of, please reach out to us at CalvaryFTL.org/Questions.