Jesus is going about performing miracles, healing the blind, lame, deaf, and lepers, raising people from the dead, and preaching the gospel to the poor. The only people that seem to have a problem with this are the religious rulers of the day. As Jesus heals a man who was blind, couldn’t speak, and was demon-possessed, these religious people accuse Jesus of getting His power from Satan (Matthew 12:24).
As Jesus addresses this accusation, He points out the obvious. He does not get His power from Satan. Why would Satan cast his demons out? This would undermine Satan’s kingdom (Matthew 12:25–29). With that, Jesus moves on to expose the hearts of these Pharisees.
Have you ever wondered what is in someone’s heart? Likely, we all have. Jesus helps us with this; notice what He says to the Pharisees. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34, ESV) In other words, we can’t see the heart, but we can hear it talk and get a good sense of what is in it. The second thing Jesus points out is a good heart produces good fruit, and a bad heart produces bad fruit. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. (Matthew 12:35, NLT)
The things we say, and the fruit in our lives are dead giveaways of what is in our hearts. True and consistent kindness comes from a kind heart. Gracious words come from a gracious heart. Faithful obedience to God comes from a heart that loves God. What would it reveal if someone could listen to us and watch our lives? It would reveal our hearts.
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Matthew 11; 12:22-50.