[This Sunday we consider what Jesus means when He says both, “Whoever is not with Me is against me” (Matthew 12:30), and “The one who is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40). What follows is an edited excerpt from a sermon preached July 7, 2013 on Matthew 12:15-50, which raises similar questions. You can listen to the audio of that sermon at this link.]

Who is Jesus?

Where do you stand on that question?

Do you stand with Him – and thus see Him as the center of all human history, as the Savior of all who will come to Him, as the promised King who will return, right all wrongs, and reign forever? Do you see Him as the promised groom for His Bride, the Church – and thus as your beloved?

Or do you stand against Him? Do you see Him as a threat to what you hold dear? Do you see the Jesus of the Bible as a fake, a charlatan, whose followers have distorted the historical person?

Or perhaps on hearing those questions, you’re thinking, “Well, I’m not an extremist! I don’t see Jesus as the center of all history, but neither do I regard Him as a threat. There are aspects of Jesus I like, and other aspects I don’t like so much. But I’m neither with Him nor against Him. I’m an objective observer; I’m neutral.”

In Matthew 12:30, Jesus says explicitly: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” That is: Jesus says, “You cannot be neutral with regard to me.” Indeed He says, “You speak out of the overflow of what is inside you, out of the overflow of your heart, out of the overflow of who you are. And there are no neutral hearts. So come to Me and follow Me! But know: If you don’t come to Me, you are against me. You are my enemy. I am your rightful King, and you have joined the rebellion against me.”

Who is Jesus?

Matthew has emphasized Jesus’ authority previously. He does that again in Matthew 12:38 and following. Jesus claims to be greater than Jonah and greater than Solomon. Think about that: Here’s a young man, in his early thirties, with no wealth, no schooling, no position in society, the son of a carpenter from out in the sticks. And He claims to be greater than one of the greatest leaders in the history of His nation.

This is an audacious claim. And yet Jesus has just said in Matthew 11:28-30, “I am gentle and humble in heart.”

Is a carpenter’s son who calls Himself greater than Solomon humble?

Matthew explains this in Matthew 12:15 and following. After healing many, He commands these folks not to make Him known as the Messiah. In Matthew 12:18-21 the author then explains that Jesus telling others not to make Him known is a fulfillment of Isaiah 42:1-4. As prophesied, Jesus is not a loud, self-promoter. Yet He is God’s chosen, beloved servant; God has placed His Spirit on Him, and given Him a worldwide task as the hope of all nations. So, yes, Jesus is greater than Solomon and Jonah. But He is gentle; if you are faintly burning for Him, shining just a little light, He will not stand back and say, “Burn brighter or I’ll snuff you out!” No. He will trim that wick, enabling your light to blaze, and He will make you the light of the world.

So Jesus is the greatest of all humanity. Yet He came to serve, indeed, to die – for you.

Are You with Jesus?

Matthew gives us a parable from real life in Matthew 12:22 as an example of Jesus’ character. A blind and mute man, oppressed by demons and thus under Satan’s authority, is brought to Him. This man pictures every one of us when we are separated from Christ. Just as with us, Jesus opens his eyes and lips, ending the oppression.

This is the gentle, authoritative service Jesus always renders. He overcomes our oppressors, enabling us to fulfill the purpose of our creation: Praising God and delighting in Him.

How do people respond to this man’s healing? As we’re told in Matthew 12:23, they are amazed, and ask if Jesus could be the Son of David – that is, the Messiah.

That’s how we’re supposed to respond to Jesus: To see Him, to be amazed at His love, His service, His power and authority.

As Jesus explains in Matthew 12:35, these folks are speaking out of the overflow of their hearts. They see what Jesus does, and think: “This is what the prophets said! The blind see! The oppressed are set free! Could this man be our long-promised Messiah, the rightful King?”

Furthermore, Jesus explains in Matthew 12:46-50 that He offers more than freedom from oppression, even more than forgiveness of sin. He invites us into His intimate family: “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50).

So note: Jesus is not asking you simply to accept some propositions. He’s not only asking you to acknowledge His authority, His humility, and His forgiveness. He is saying, “Come to your loving Savior! Be a part of My family! As a part of that family, rejoice from the bottom of your heart in our Father. Speak out of the overflow of that heart – your mute lips have been opened! Exalt your loving Father in every way – and thus do His will. Come into the family – and then act like a beloved family member.”

Are you with Jesus? Do you not just acknowledge His power but love His person? Do you not just believe biblical doctrine but rejoice in the Father’s love?

Or Are You Against Jesus?

The Pharisees in this passage picture the opponents of Jesus. They see what He does, and they reject Him out of hand. Jesus spends much of this passage warning against that attitude – an attitude that explains away all evidence of Who He is, an attitude that will never believe, regardless of what God does, an attitude that is the overflow of what Jesus calls the evil treasure in a person’s heart.

We see this first in Matthew 12:24, when the Pharisees respond to the healing of the demon-oppressed man by claiming that Jesus casts out demons by the prince of demons.

In Matthew 12:25 and following, Jesus responds, saying that claim is obviously false. If Satan’s kingdom is divided like that, it is no threat at all; that kingdom will collapse. Rather than working with Satan, Jesus says He is binding Him (Matthew 12:29). That should be obvious to anyone with eyes to see.

Jesus takes a different tack in Matthew 12:27. There were a number of Jewish exorcists casting out demons in Jesus’ day, and the Pharisees don’t claim that they do so by the power of the prince of demons. So with the same evidence, in one case the Pharisees acknowledge the power of God at work, while in the other they deny it. This shows that the problem is in their hearts rather than in the evidence; they will not see and believe.

Jesus highlights this is Matthew 12:28, saying in effect: “This Kingdom has been prophesied for centuries. Here it is! It has come upon you in My person! Quit disbelieving! Acknowledge what is before your eyes! The promises are fulfilled!”

But the Pharisees keep their eyes closed. They see plenty of evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work, but they reject Jesus and claim He is doing Satan’s work. This is blasphemy against the Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32); that sin cannot be forgiven, because if you willingly and persistently close your eyes to the evidence of the Spirit’s work, you never will repent.

The author brings this out further in Matthew 12:38 and following. The scribes and Pharisees ask for a sign – that is, for evidence that Jesus really is who He claims to be. But they have just seen a sign – the healing of the man – and they rejected that sign. Obviously no sign will do any good to those who will reject every sign.

Jesus is not their performing animal: He will not produce miracles at their command. But in Matthew 12:39-40 He says they will indeed receive another sign: He will be in the grave three days, and then rise from the dead. And how do the Jewish leaders respond when they that happens? They reject it. They claim the disciples stole the body, though they well know that is not the case (Matthew 28:11-15).

So, are you with Jesus? Or against Him? This entire passage warns us: You cannot be neutral towards Him. And don’t be satisfied with taking a few steps in His direction – coming to church, reading the Bible, cleaning up a few parts of your life. You must be all in for Him. You must be His intimate family. If not, You are against Him – you are His enemy.

For Jesus not just an interesting teacher. He is not just a person with great insight; He is not just a good person whose example we should follow. He claims that He is greater than Solomon or Jonah; He claims that when He is present, the Kingdom of God has come.

Do you think you need more evidence? Be careful that you are not simply looking for excuses not to believe – that your rejection is not just displaying the overflow of a rebellious heart. But if you are genuinely looking, you will find Him – a “faintly burning wick” he will not snuff out. So pray, “I believe, Lord – help my unbelief! I submit to you; open my blind eyes, open my mute mouth!”

God created mankind to be part of His family. And Jesus says: “I am your rightful King, whether you acknowledge Me or not. And I can be your beloved husband, the source of your great delight. So come to Me, whatever your burden – and I will give you rest!”