Author: michael

³⁸ Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” ³⁹ He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ 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. ⁴¹ 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. ⁴² The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:38-42)

Here we see that several scribes and Pharisees asked the Lord Jesus to show them a sign. The sign mentioned here is said to be sign from heaven in parallel passage. The Lord Jesus had just performed a miracle, healing the sick and driving out demons, he healed a demon-possessed blind and mute man. These scribes and Pharisees must have known about other miracles performed by the Lord Jesus, but they did not believe that he is the Messiah and wanted the Lord Jesus to perform a sign from heaven. The Lord Jesus knew that no matter what miracles he would perform, they would not believe, so he said: “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, no sign will be given except the sign of prophet Jonah.” In the Old Testament, God asked the prophet Jonah to preach a message of repentance to Nineveh, Jonah disobeyed God, later he stayed in the belly of the big fish for three days and three nights. The Lord Jesus said: The Son of Man will also be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Here the Son of Man is Himself. He Himself would be crucified on the cross. He would be in the earth for three days and three nights and be resurrected three days later. Jonah later obeyed God and preached the message of repentance to the people of Nineveh, and they repented. The Lord Jesus said that in the future judgment, the people of Nineveh will condemn this generation. The people of this generation saw many miracles the Lord Jesus performed, but they did not repent. The Lord Jesus continued to say: In the day of judgment, the Queen of the South will rise up to condemn this generation, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. The Queen of the South here refers to the ancient Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1). She heard that God gave Solomon a lot of wisdom, and she came to Jerusalem from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. The Lord Jesus said that He is greater than Jonah and Solomon because He is the Christ，the Messiah. People should listen to him more because he has the word of eternal life.
May God bless you and your family! 🙏😊

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. ³⁶ But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”  (Matthew 12:31-37)

In the previous passage, the Lord Jesus cast out a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute and healed him, but the Pharisees said that he was demon-possessed and he cast out demons by  the prince of demons, then the Lord Jesus said: every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. The Lord Jesus continued to say that a good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad fruit. Here the tree represents man, and the fruit represents man’s words and deeds. Here the Lord Jesus said that the Pharisees were evil people who could not speak good words. The Lord Jesus continued to say: Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. To know a person, see what he says and do. By a man’s words and deeds, you know what kind of person he is. Here the Lord Jesus wants us not to say empty words, and everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.
The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. (Proverbs 17:27)
The Proverbs tells us to control our tongue, to speak words with restraint, and he who speaks words with restraint has knowledge.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊

⁹ Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, ¹⁰ and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” ¹¹ He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. ¹⁵ Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. ¹⁶ He warned them not to tell others about him. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ¹⁸ “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him,  and he will proclaim justice to the nations. ¹⁹ He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. ²⁰ A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. ²¹In his name the nations will put their hope.” (Matthew 12:9-21)

One Sabbath day, the Lord Jesus was in a synagogue, and a man asked Him if it was okay to heal on the Sabbath, intending to accuse him. The Lord Jesus said that it was okay to do good on the Sabbath. There was a man there who had a shriveled hand, and the Lord Jesus healed him. The Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus, later many people followed the Lord, and He healed all the sick among them and told them not to spread His name.
⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. (Mark 1:44-45)
The Gospel of Mark tells us that a leper who was healed by the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus told him not to tell anyone, the man went out and spread the news, this  affected the Lord’s work and prevented the Lord Jesus from entering the city openly. The Lord Jesus lived a hidden life, sometimes leaving the crowd to be alone with the Father, he did not make noises in the streets. Just as the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament prophesied. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, what does it mean? This refers to His mercy on the weak, like this man with a shriveled hand, he was a weak person, like a bruised reed, and the Lord had mercy on him and healed him.
May God bless you and your family! 🙏😊