Dr Tom Hover
August 10, 2025
Matthew 12:33-45
JESUS SPEAKS TO THE RELIGIOUS BUT LOST CROWD
JESUS SPEAKS TO THE RELIGIOUS BUT LOST CROWD
Text: Matthew 12:33-45
Introduction: Jesus Confronts “Certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees”: Jewish Leaders Who Were Very Religious but Very Lost!
I. JESUS INFORMS THE RELIGIOUS BUT LOST CROWD Matthew 12:33-37 They Were Oblivious to the Obvious - So Jesus Corrects and Exposes This Crowd in The Mirror of The Word of God!
A. Jesus Exposes Their Fruit Matthew 12:33
This principle was expressed clearly in the Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 7:16-21 There it was used to expose false prophets. Here it is used to expose the evil of the religious leaders.
B. Jesus Exposes Their Heart Matthew 12:34-35
C.) Jesus Exposes Their Judgment Matthew 12:36-37
II. JESUS INDICTS THE RELIGIOUS BUT LOST CROWD
Jesus Condemns the Signs Seekers! I Corinthians 1:22-24
A. Sign Seekers Are Represented by The Jews
Remember: I Corinthians 1:22-24 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: The Jews Requested / Demanded Signs Matthew 12:38-39
1. Notice The Character of The Request. “We would see a sign from thee” (Matthew 12:38). The word translated “sign” is also translated “miracle” in the KJV. Sign Seekers and Miracle
2. Notice The Cause for The Request. “We would see a sign from thee” (Matthew 12:38). Remember Last week when I read: John12:37 But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him: Also: John 12:39 “Therefore they could not believe” The request was simply a veiled criticism of Christ for not giving them enough evidence.
3. Notice The Crowd in The Request. “Certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees we would see a sign from thee an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign” (Matthew 12:38, 39).
B. Sign Seekers Are Rejected by Jesus Matthew 12:39-40
1. There Is Limiting in The Rejection. “There shall no sign be given to it [the evil and adulterous generation], but the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matthew 12:39).
2. There Is Learning from The Rejection. “No sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so, shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:39, 40).
C. Sign Seekers Are Rebuke by The by Jesus
1. Jesus’ Rebuke Brought Judgment Matthew 12:41a
2. Jesus’ Rebuke Brought Justice Matthew 12:41-42
III. JESUS INSTRUCTS THE RELIGIOUS BUT LOST CROWD Matthew 12:43-45
JESUS WARNS ABOUT THE CONDUCT OF EVIL SPIRITS IN THE RELIGIOUS BUT LOST CROWD! Evil Spirts Can Only Oppress a Child of God! But a Lost Person Can Be Possessed by Evil Spirits!!
A. The Evil Spirit’ Removal Matthew 12:43, Luke 4:13
B. The Evil Spirit’ Roving Matthew 12:43
C. The Evil Spirit’ Returning Matthew 12:44
An Empty Mind Is the Devil’s Workshop? “Empty” is the problem. If a person has filled his heart with the Holy Spirit, the evil spirit will not be able to return.
D. The Evil Spirit’ Recruiting Matthew 12:45
Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more
Conclusion: JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY!
You can take Confucius out of Confucianism and still have Confucianism. You can take Buddha out of Buddhism and still have Buddhism. You can take Mohammed out of Islam and still have Islam. But you cannot take Jesus out of Christianity and still have Christianity. That’s like taking the blue out of the sky. That’s like taking numbers out of mathematics. That’s like taking water out of the ocean and still claiming to have an ocean. Give your heart to Jesus. Trust in the Lord Jesus. He will forgive every sin and He will cleanse you.
Acts 4:12, Isaiah 1:18, I Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 3:20
