NOTES for Mat 12:38-45
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. |
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: |
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. |
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. |
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. |
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. |
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. |
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. |
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Both the scribes and the Pharisees ask Christ to perform a sign, and many among the people would, perhaps, have joined in such a request. It appears that the crowd not only knows in advance what such a sign should be, but also would like to dictate the conditions under which it is performed. Refusing to let the crowd see what it can imagine and is already prepared to interpret according to its own understanding, Christ gives another sign: His Resurrection. It will be rejected by many people, but it will still become a sign for the whole world, completely unexpected and impossible to fit into consciousness, yet grasped by faith. Signs by themselves may not lead to faith, but faith gives the ability to see the meaning of signs.
The words about what can happen after an unclean spirit is cast out apply not only to those who cast out demons "without proper qualification." Here we see a warning about the difficulties that arise on the paths of spiritual life, about its seriousness, and about the responsibility to preserve what has been received. For we risk handing the swept room over to seven more evil unclean spirits every time we voluntarily return to habitual sinful inclinations that had supposedly already been cast aside. It is hardly accidental that these words stand next to the warning about the inadmissibility of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Lord is merciful. But is it possible to receive mercy while turning away from its Giver?
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