09.01.04 Mt. 12:33-37; Mk. 3:20-21 Words Reflect The Heart

09.01.04 WORDS REFLECT THE HEART

Bill Heinrich  -  Jan 05, 2016  -  Comments Off on 09.01.04 WORDS REFLECT THE HEART

09.01.04 Mt. 12:33-37; Mk. 3:20-21

 

WORDS REFLECT THE HEART   

Mt. 33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. 35 A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Mk. 20 Then He went home, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. 21 When His family heard this, they set out to restrain Him, because they said, “He’s out of His mind.”

 

The condition of a person’s heart can be recognized by the words he speaks. That was clearly evident in this case and Jesus recognized it. The accusation of blasphemy arose by the Pharisees, and it consists of the following:

  1. To insult or degrade God.
  1. To willfully deny God and/or the gospel when the Holy Spirit has clearly revealed its truth to someone.
  1. To attribute the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan or his demons. 

These three points were the accusations against Jesus.  While the religious leaders were passing judgment on Jesus, in reality, judgment was passing on to them.[1] The term can also mean reviling and evil-speaking in general (Mk. 7:22),[2] but in the context of this passage it refers only to Deity.

“Every careless word they speak.”  Jesus was speaking of the careless words spoken against God (and the Holy Spirit) as well as degrading words pointed to other people. The Hebrew word lashshaw means to uselessness or to no good purpose.[3]  This does not include common humor, unless that humor is intended to injure someone.  To speak in this manner about another person is one matter, but to direct such comments toward God is a grave error although both are serious. In the Middle Eastern culture as well as the Bible, there is a huge emphasis on affirming the character of others, so degrading someone as in a character assassination, is a major issue of concern before God.

“He’s out of His mind.” Simply said, the blood relatives – His half-brothers and half-sisters – thought He was crazy; suffering from a mental illness of some kind.

 

[1]. Archer, “Crimes and Punishment.” 1:1032.

 

[2]. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament. 1:203.

 

[3]. Archer, “Crimes and Punishment.” 1:1032; Lang, Know the Words of Jesus. 150.

 



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