Sermons

How to Fix a Hardened Heart: Matthew 12:22-50 – 10/13/24 (Week 36)

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Sermon Series: We are currently going through a sermon series in the Gospel of Matthew. Today, we’re talking about a passage where Jesus encounters some of the religious leaders. 

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw.23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons 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 upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And 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.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers[a] stood outside, asking to speak to him.[b] 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Last week we talked about how some of the religious leaders opposed Jesus. This week, we’ll once again see the hardened hearts of the religious leaders against Jesus. By taking a look at how Jesus responds to them, we can also learn how to deal with our own hardened hearts. 

How to fix a hardened heart:

 

  1. Think through your identity in Christ

Matt. 12:22-32, 2 Cor. 5:16-17, Eph. 2:10, 1 Pet. 2:9, Gal. 2:20, John 1:12, 1 Cor. 6:19-20

  1. Be mindful of your fruit

Matt. 12:33-37, 7:15-20, John 15:1-27, Col. 1:10, Gal. 5:22-23

  1. Don’t ask for signs

Matt. 12:38-42, 16:1-4, Heb. 11:1, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, Col. 3:16, 1 Thess. 5:16-18

  1. Be determined to never walk away from Jesus

Matt. 12:43-45, 1 Cor. 9:27, 1 Tim. 4:1, Heb. 3:12-19, Rom. 11:19-22

  1. Make sure to include other believers in your life

Matt. 12:46-50, 18:20, Gal. 6:10, 1 Thess. 5:11, Heb. 3:13, 10:24-25, 1 Cor. 15:33

Reflecting on God’s Word

Getting Started

  • Take some time to read over Matthew 12:22-50 and pray. 
  • Have you ever read or heard about this before? What stood out to you as we were talking about it? 
  • What surprised you as we talked about it?
  • Think through how your heart has been towards God during this season of your life. On a scale from 1-10, how soft or hard has your heart been towards God? What has caused that? 
  • As you think through how your heart is towards God during this season of your life, think through a season of your life where your heart was very soft towards God. What caused that? Now think through a season of your life where your heart was hardened towards God. What caused that? 
  • As you think through your answers from above, is there anything in your life that you need to get rid of in order to keep your heart from becoming hardened? Is there anything that you could do to help you to have a soft heart towards God? 

Diving In 

  1. Read Matthew 12:22-33 again. Jesus makes it clear that you’re either for Him or against Him. When we remember that we are for God, and that that is the largest determining factor of our identity, it helps us to live for Him, and for our heart to stay soft towards Him. How can you better remember that your identity is first and foremost found in Christ, and how would that help your heart from becoming hardened towards God?
  1. Read Matthew 12:33-37. Jesus makes it clear to the religious leaders that they will be judged by their fruit. Think through the fruit that you bear. Is it good fruit? How can you bear more and better fruit? How would being mindful of your fruit help your heart to stay soft towards God? 
  1. Read Matthew 12:38-42. It may be surprising if you’ve never heard Jesus’ teaching on this before, but we’re not supposed to ask God for signs. Rather, we are to delve into having faith, and determining what we are to do from God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit’s leading in our life. By trusting in signs, our faith can easily become superstitious. How can you be less superstitious in your faith, and lean more heavily into your relationship with the Lord, and be better led by Him? How would doing that help your heart from becoming hardened towards God? 
  1. Read Matthew 12:43-45. Here, Jesus makes it clear that turning away from Him is detrimental. How can you be better determined to always follow Jesus? How would doing that help your heart to stay soft towards God? 
  1. Read Matthew 12:46-50. Jesus makes it clear that He wants to be in close relationship with other believers, and so should we. How would prioritizing relationships with other believers help you to keep your heart soft towards God?

Applying the Scripture

What are your biggest takeaways from this passage of God’s Word? 

  • What practical step(s) do you need to implement in your life to apply what God has taught you in this passage of Scripture? 
  • How would applying this affect your life and your relationship with the Lord? 
  • Who can you ask to keep you accountable to applying this to your life?

Small Group Guide:

Open with prayer.

Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?

If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.

Prayer Time:

Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.

Staying Missional:

Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:

Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?

What’s next?

Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?