Matthew 12:22-37
New Catholic Bible
22 Whoever Is Not with Me Is against Me.[a] Then they brought to him a man who was unable to either see or speak and who was possessed by a demon. He cured him, so that the man who was mute both spoke and saw. 23 All the people were astonished, and they said, “Is this not the Son of David?”[b] 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul,[c] the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
25 He knew what they were thinking, and he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself cannot survive. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom survive? 27 If it is by Beelzebul that I cast out demons, by whom do your own children cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
29 “Or again, how can anyone break into a strong man’s house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then indeed he can ransack the house.
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore, I tell you that every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.[d]
33 A Tree and Its Fruits.[e]“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 known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can your speech be virtuous when you yourselves are evil? For the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart. 35 A good man brings forth good things from the good stored up within him, but an evil man brings forth evil things from his store of evil. 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to render an account for every careless word they utter. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 12:22 On certain days, Jesus confronts physically, so to speak, the forces of evil that keep human beings enslaved, as in the case of a possessed man rendered deaf and mute. By healing him Jesus shows that he frees people from every type of alienation and possession; he sets back the incursion of evil. How could the Pharisees suspect that Jesus belongs to this world of darkness? Moreover, they admit that their own “children,” i.e., disciples, also fight to free human beings from the powers of evil! When Jesus acts, the Spirit is at work, the kingdom of God is at hand, and everyone must take part in it. The blasphemy against the Spirit consists in ascribing to the devil the work of the Holy Spirit and is the result of becoming hardened in an attitude of refusal, which may one day be irremediable. This warning is given to the Pharisees and, through them, to every reader.
- Matthew 12:23 Son of David: see note on Mt 9:27.
- Matthew 12:24 Beelzebul: see note on Mt 10:25.
- Matthew 12:32 God desires the salvation of all human beings (1 Tim 2:4) and calls everyone to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). Christ’s Redemption is super-abundant satisfaction for all sin and reaches every person (Rom 5:12-21). Christ gave his Church the power to forgive sins through the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance. This power is unlimited; she can forgive every sin of the baptized as often as they confess with the necessary dispositions.
- Matthew 12:33 Jesus denounces hypocrites whose words are vanity and calumny. Every spoken word reflects the heart’s overflow and is known to God. Hence words are critically important (see Eph 5:3f, 12; Col 3:17; Jas 1:19; 3:1-12).
