After this the Lord departed and went into the synagogue. There He found a man with a withered hand. This was a picture of what Israel was in the sight of God on account of their dried up condition of soul. They were unable to lay hold of the real privileges open to them in that which God had provided for them.
The Lord Jesus was always ready to show them grace and to heal them of their infirmities. But before He could do so in this instance, He is challenged by them with the question, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days?” This they ask “that they might accuse Him.”
The Lord’s simple reply ought to have humbled their pride and silenced their objections, but they were bent on maintaining their own system of things and proved themselves to be enemies of grace. “What man shall there be among you,” said the Lord, “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? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.”
Then the Lord commanded the man to stretch forth his hand, and on his doing so, it was healed immediately. The Pharisees went out and held a council as to how they might do away with Jesus.
After this the Lord withdrew, “and great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.” This was a picture of what He would do when He was put to death. But He desired that they should not make it known as His testimony to Israel as a nation was now over. Henceforth grace would flow out to the Gentiles, as the quotation from Isaiah 42:1-41Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. (Isaiah 42:1‑4) shows. But as for Israel, they were as “a bruised reed” and “smoking flax.” They would be left in that condition “till He send forth judgment unto victory. And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.”
More Testimony to Israel
But the Lord would give one more testimony of His grace to Israel. “Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him.” Here was another picture of what Israel was to be — without eyes to see Jesus as their true Messiah and without a voice to sing His praise.
The people — the poor and unlearned — ask “Is not this the Son of David?” but the Pharisees, when they heard of it said, “This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.” This showed their true state before God as being void of understanding. The Lord knew their thoughts and exposed their folly, saying, “If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself.” His kingdom could not stand.
For anyone to attribute the power of the Spirit, which was being displayed in their midst, to the power of Satan was to commit a sin which could never be forgiven. The Lord as Man might submit to humiliation, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, He declared, “shall not be forgiven ... neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
The Lord then calls them a generation of vipers, using at the close of His ministry the very term that John the Baptist had used at the beginning. Furthermore “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
Further Meditation
1. Why was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit unforgivable?
2. What other testimonies of God have been rejected?
3. For a thorough consideration of the subjects in this passage you would, no doubt, find Lectures on the Gospel of Matthew by W. Kelly to be very helpful.