Matthew 12:22 says, Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.  Another person in need was brought to Jesus.  Not only could this person not see or hear, but he was possessed by a devil.  I believe that it would be safe to say that this person was pretty much helpless and hopeless.  That is really the way everyone comes to Jesus.  We are helpless and hopeless by our own abilities, and we are following the leadership of the Devil.  In this state, we need to come to Jesus and put our hope and trust in Him.  Jesus alone can heal us of our spiritual blindness and allow us to hear the truth of God.  When He does, the Devil will no longer have any power over us, unless we stop following the will of God.  Verse twenty-three states, And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?  The people were amazed, and they asked was Jesus not the son of David.  This was a reference to the awaited Messiah.  The people were curious, but Matthew Henry says they didn't wait around for the answer.  People may be curious about Jesus today, but until they come to the knowledge that He is indeed the only One Who can bring salvation, they will not be saved.  We must be able to declare without a doubt that Jesus is indeed the awaited Messiah, the Savior of all people who will accept Him.  Verse twenty-four says, But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of devils.  Once more,, the Pharisees, the most religious of the Jews, attempted to discredit Jesus.  We can be the most devout person in eyes of the world, but unless we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, we are just as lost as the Pharisees were.  The Pharisees accused Jesus of working under the power of Beelzebub, or the devil.  It is a sad commentary that some of the most devout of those who were supposedly God's people not only failed to recognize the Messiah, but also tried to attribute His miracles to the power of Devil.  There are still people today, when they see a miracle, attempt to give the credit to anyone but God.  We, as followers of Christ, must never be guilty of doing that.  Verse twenty-five says, And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:  We could interpret this as Jesus reading the minds of the Pharisees, or as Jesus knowing how they tended to think.  Jesus answered their accusation by saying a house divided against itself shall not stand, meaning that if He were casting out devils in the name of, or by the power of, the devil, the He was working against Himself.  I believe there is another warning for us, and that is that as followers of Christ we should never do anything that is against His will.  Verse twenty-six says, And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?  This is what was just discussed.  If Satan works against Satan, he cannot stand.  Verse twenty-seven asks, And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.  Jesus asked if He were being successful in casting out devils by the power of Beelzebub then by whose power were the Jews casting them out.  The Pharisees would have to be the judge.  They could not single out Jesus as being empowered by the devil and say that others doing the same thing were empowered by God.  We must be careful to never attempt to discredit what other Christians are doing for God.  Verse twenty-eight says, But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.  Jesus said that if He was acting under the power of God, then the kingdom of God was come upon them.  Jesus was basically saying that if He were acting under the power, or authority, of God, then He was the awaited Messiah, and we each have to make the decision of whether He is or not.

Matthew 12:9 says, And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:  Jesus went to the synagogue, the place of worship for the Jews, after His confrontation with the Pharisees.  He was not hiding or running from them.  If we have those who would destroy our witnessing for Christ today, we can not run and hide, but we must simply continue about God's business.  Verse ten states, And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.  The "they" mentioned here were the Pharisees.  They brought a man with a withered hand to Jesus and asked if it were lawful to heal him on the sabbath.  They did this, not out of concern for the man, but to be able to accuse Jesus of violating God's law concerning the sabbath.  In verse eleven Jesus asks, And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?  Jesus did not immediately answer their question, but asked them one instead.  Jesus asked if someone had a sheep fall into a pit on the sabbath, would they rescue it.  This would violate the law of the sabbath as the Pharisees interpreted it.  We can never allow the letter of the law of God as given in the Old Testament to overrule our actions done by faith in Christ, because Christ fulfilled the law.  This does not mean that we are to ignore God's law, but that we are to put the salvation of people above the letter of the law, especially those man made additions to the law.  Jesus said that He did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it as a way to salvation.  Verse twelve asks, How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.  Jesus asked if they would save a sheep on the sabbath, then of how much greater a value was this man who needed healing.  I believe that Jesus was saying that people are more important than religious rules, and He was definitely saying people are more important than animals.  Verse thirteen says, Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.  Having asked the Pharisees what they thought, Jesus did not wait for their answer before doing the right thing and healing the man.  We may ask others what they think about certain religious practices, but we can never allow the practice or their opinion to stop us from doing what we know God would have us do.  Verse thirteen declares, Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.  When they questioned Jesus about His actions, He made the Pharisees look bad simply by asking them about scripture.  We can be certain that the scripture, the Bible, will never lead us to do anything wrong in the eyes of God.  The Pharisees, instead of celebrating the healing of the man went out to conspire against Jesus.  There are people all over the world today who not only reject Jesus, but conspire against Him.  Verse fifteen states, But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;  Jesus knew what the Pharisees were up to, and He left, with large multitudes following Him.  As Jesus was going, we are told that He healed them all.  Though a physical healing is good, Jesus gives us something much greater, a spiritual healing, if we only put our faith in Him and follow Him.  Verse sixteen states, And charged them that they should not make him known:  As I have stated before, Jesus did not want the multitudes coming to Him for just a physical healing, and also God's timing for Jesus to be truly revealed as the Messiah was not yet come.  We must always work on God's schedule, and accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives must always come first.  Verse seventeen says, That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,  Then verse eighteen continues, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.  This was the fulfillment of a prophecy by Isaiah about the Messiah.  He would be a servant chosen by God Who had the spirit of God on Him and He would show judgment to the Gentiles.  Verse nineteen states, He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.  People would not be crying out in the streets that the Messiah had come, nor would Jesus Himself shouting that He was the promised Messiah.  We cannot bring people to a saving knowledge of Christ, no matter how loudly we proclaim Him, until they hear His small, quiet voice calling them and respond.  Verse twenty says, A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.  Matthew Henry says this refers to new believers, who are still weak.  God will protect them as they grow in faith.  Verse twenty-one declares, And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.  Jesus came first to the Jews, God's chosen people, but He came also for the Gentiles.  It was always God's plan to reach the whole world with His call to salvation.  The Jews were chosen for this purpose, but failed.  Through Jesus Christ, we as His followers have salvation, but we also have the responsibility to reach the world with the gospel.  We can indeed trust in the name of Jesus.

Matthew 12:1 says, At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.  At this time, the disciples were with Jesus.  They were passing by a corn field, and they were hungry, so they began to pluck some of the corn.  I guess we could asks why they would pluck someone else's corn, but I believe that it was acceptable to gather a little in that time if a person was hungry.  Now they couldn't gather the whole crop, but just enough to satisfy their hunger.  As God's people, we have a responsibility to feed the hungry and not to worry about the cost.  It really all belongs to God anyway.  Verse two states, But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.  Since the Pharisees saw them and did not question their right to pluck the corn, but instead questioned their doing so on the Sabbath, we can assume that the plucking was alright.  The Pharisees were again concerned about following the letter of the law, that had been greatly added to, instead of the spirit of the law.  In verse three Jesus asks, But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;  Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus basically asked them if they were familiar with the scripture.  If someone begins to condemn us for our spiritual actions today, they need to make sure that their condemnation is based on what God's word really teaches.  We cannot base our view of the actions of other Christians on tradition or personal views, but must evaluate all, whether we see the action as good or bad, on the teachings of God through the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus asked the Pharisees if they remembered what David did.  Verse four declares, How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?  David ate the shewbread in the house of God, as did those who were with him.  Under the religious law, they were not entitled to do so, since they were not priests.  We must remember that our status with God is based on our relationship with Him through faith and not by being made righteous by our own actions.  Verse five says, Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?  Again, Jesus asked the Pharisees if they had read the law.  In the law, or scripture, the priests work on the sabbath day and are blameless.  Though Jesus did not say it at this time, He is our great High Priest, and we as His followers are a priesthood of believers, so whatever was lawful to a priest is lawful to us.  Even beyond that, we are not judged by the law of God, but by our relationship to Christ.  Verse six declares, But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.  Here, Jesus makes an indirect reference to His being greater than the temple.  We do not need to worry about what people do until they have a relationship with Christ, the One Who is greater than the temple and the law.  Verse seven states, But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.  Jesus told the Pharisees, and tells us today, that mercy is more important than sacrifice.  Jesus said the Pharisees did not understand this.  We today must understand that salvation is based on faith in Christ, and not on anything we may sacrifice to God, nor on how well we keep the law.  Faith in the mercy of God in sending Jesus to die for our sins is the only way to salvation.  Verse eight further declares, For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.  Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, so anything that we as His followers do for Him on the sabbath, or Sunday in our case, is lawful.

Matthew 11:25 says, At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.  Jesus pauses to pray.  I believe that whenever we face a difficult situation, especially one that might cause us anger, then we need to stop and pray.  I know some people would say that Jesus wasn't angry, but that He felt righteous indignation.  Whatever we call it, I believe that Jesus was upset at the attitude of those who were supposed to be God's people.  I believe that we can likewise be upset with those who call themselves followers of Christ when they act in such a way as to discredit Him.  If we are, then we need first to pause and pray.  Jesus thanked the heavenly Father for making the way to salvation easy to understand.  Those who are wise and prudent in their own understanding miss the truth of the gospel.  We must come as babies, trusting fully by Christ in faith without attempting to come to Him by our own reasoning or understanding.  Verse twenty-six says, Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.  Jesus said that He accepted the will of the heavenly Father, just as we must.  We must seek what seems good in the sight of God.  Verse twenty-seven says, All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.  Jesus said no one truly knew the Son, Jesus, but the heavenly Father, God, and that the opposite was also true, with the exception of those that Jesus revealed the heavenly Father to.  I cannot fully understand the Trinity, but I can understand that the only way to know the heavenly Father is through the acceptance of Jesus Christ, the Son.  There is no other way to know God.  We can only begin to understand God and become a part of His family by putting our faith in the salvation provided by Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty-eight states, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  I believe that without God in our lives, we are always going to be weak and heavy laden spiritually.  We may seem to have it all in the eyes of the world, but until we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will be spiritually weakened and heavy laden by sin.  Jesus invites us to come to Him.  Verse twenty-nine declares, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. We are called to take on the yoke of Jesus.  We are to be guided by Him and to work for Him.  Jesus tells us that He is meek and lowly in heart, and we should be likewise.  Jesus did not go around pointing out His superiority to others, though He well could have, but went into the world as simply a carpenter's Son in the eyes of the world.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we will find rest from the burdens of sin.  Then, verse thirty adds, For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  This is true because once we accept Jesus, then the Holy Spirit is always with us to guide and strengthen us.  We just need to always pray for God's guidance, and then accept it when it comes.

Matthew 11:16 says, But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,  Jesus asked who He could compare that generation to.  He may be asking that same question about us today.  Jesus said that they were like children sitting in markets calling to others.  Verse seventeen states, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.  Jesus was speaking about the testimony of John and of Jesus Himself that He was the long awaited Messiah, but that the people did not listen, or believe, them.  The were called to repentance as Jesus mourned their spiritual state.  Like children, they were only interested in what made them happy.  We today need to realize that we should be happy because Jesus has brought us the gift of salvation, and not be looking simply for material blessings from God.  Verse eighteen states, For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.  Since John the Baptist had a different diet and way of dress, many accused him of being demon possessed.  Even though he was remaining true to his calling, many of God's chosen people rejected John the Baptist because of the way he lived.  We cannot afford to judge other Christians by our own standards.  As long as they are true to God's calling for their lives, we should celebrate with them instead of judging them.  Then verse nineteen declares, The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.  Jesus said they accused John the Baptist of being demon possessed because of his strict diet, but then they accused Jesus of being demon possessed because He ate what He wanted, and did so with publicans and sinners.  We are given the freedom to eat what we like without being spiritually defiled, and we not only can but should do so with the lost of the world so that we might reach them with the gospel.  Verse twenty declares, Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:  Jesus began to speak against those cities that He had done mighty works in but where they still had not repented, some of which are named in the next few verses.  There is the same condemnation for all those who hear and do not accept Christ, from the time He came until the time He returns.  Verse twenty-one says, Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  Jesus said that if the same mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon that they would have repented.  Tyre and Sidon were known as very bad cities, but Jesus said they would have repented had the gospel been preached there, whereas Chorazin and Bethsaida did not.  Verse twenty-two states, But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.  I believe that the meaning here is that those who hear the gospel openly proclaimed and reject it will be held more accountable than those who do not.  I believe that this does not mean that some will not be held accountable, but that some have heard and rejected the gospel more often.  Verse twenty-three says,  And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  Then verse twenty-four states, But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.  Jesus said that it would be more tolerable in Sodom, which was destroyed for it wickedness, than in cities that were supposed to be cities of God's people, but rejected the Messiah.  The more we hear and reject the gospel, the more accountable we become.

Matthew 11:7 says, And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?  The disciples of John the Baptist went back to give their report to him.  He was still in prison.  We might have expected Jesus to have freed John the Baptist from prison, but He did not.  Sometimes, we may be left in dangerous situations as we witness for Christ, but if we are, we simply need to remember that this life is but temporary and salvation through Christ is forever.  Not all sickness is healed nor are all those who are imprisoned for their faith in Christ set free in this world, but they are all healed and set free in the everlasting world to come.  Verse eight asks, But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.  Jesus asked those who had gone out into the wilderness what they expected to see when they saw John the Baptist.  If they were expecting to see someone who wavered in his beliefs, they would be disappointed.  John the Baptist was steadfast in his message, and did not waver even when imprisoned.  We must be just as steadfast today.  Jesus also asked if they thought John the Baptist would be clothed in soft or fine cloth.  Jesus further stated that soft or fine cloth was for the king's house.  We are not called to follow Christ for the fine things in life, but instead are called to take up our cross daily.  Verse nine asks, But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.  Jesus asks again why they went out to see John the Baptist.  Did they go out to see a prophet of God?  Some people may come to hear a preacher today simply because they are curious about him, but if that preacher is true to his calling he will simply point them to Jesus.  Verse ten states, For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  John the Baptist was the messenger that would point people to Jesus, as had been foretold in the scripture.  If we are followers of Christ today, we are the messengers who are to point people to Jesus also, though it is after He fulfilled His purpose.  We, like John the Baptist, can only point people to Jesus.  Verse eleven says, Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  Jesus said that even though there had been no greater mortal man than John the Baptist that anyone who was even the least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than John the Baptist was.  I believe this means spiritually greater than he was by his physical nature.   Verse twelve declares, And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.  After John the Baptist started preaching repentance and preparation for the coming Messiah, the kingdom of heaven, or of God, began to suffer violence, and it has continued since.  Verse thirteen states,  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  The prophets before John the Baptist could only prophesy under the law, but after him they would prophesy under the grace of God.  Verse fourteen says, And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.  The people of Israel were looking for Elias, or Elijah, to come again to proclaim the arrival of the Messiah, and Jesus said that John the Baptist was spiritually the one they were looking for, if they only would believe, or understand, that fact.  John the Baptist was in no way a reincarnation of Elijah, but was like Elijah spiritually.  Verse fifteen states, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.  If we would know what God wants us to do and what He is doing in the world today, we simply need to listen to Him.

Matthew 11:1 says, And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.  I believe that we often think of the disciples as simply following along behind Jesus in every step that He took, but having just commissioned the disciples to go and preach, teach, heal and work miracles, Jesus departed from them.  Now, this could refer to the time after Jesus' death on the cross, or to disciples other than the twelve, but it seems to refer to this particular time and to the twelve.  Matthew Henry says that Jesus may have departed because the disciples would have been reluctant to leave Him.  We today, since we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, do not have that problem, but we must still go out into the world to share the gospel.  Sometimes, it might seem easier to just sit alone communing with God, but just like the disciples, we have a commission to go and spread the gospel.  Even if they were temporarily physically separated from Jesus, He was still with them in spirit.  Verse two says, Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,  John the Baptist was in prison, but he heard of the works of Jesus and sent two of his disciples to check on what Jesus was doing.  When we hear of someone doing something great in the name of Jesus today, we might do well to make sure that they are truly doing so based on God's word and empowered by the Holy Spirit.  Verse three says, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?  This is the ultimate question that everyone has to answer himself or herself today.  Is Jesus the Messiah, the promised Savior of mankind?  The only way to salvation is to answer yes.  The only way to salvation is to answer the question of Who Jesus is.  Verse four says, Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:  Like the disciples of John the Baptist, we need to tell those seeking Him what Jesus is doing in the world today through the work of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of those who follow Jesus.  Verse five states, The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  We may not know of personal examples of some of these miracles, but we do hear of them and must give God the credit for them.  We should all know the reality of the last thing, and that is that the poor have the gospel preached to them.  The more that we live by faith, the more miraculous things we will see, but we should always proclaim the gospel to the world.  Verse six says, And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offened by me.  I believe that this means that we should always give Christ the credit for the good things that happen in life, instead of almost apologizing for believing that He is at work.  We can never be ashamed of following Christ.