Sharper Iron From Kfuo Radio

Rev. Adam Koontz, assistant professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Matthew 12:22-37. The opposition to Jesus takes a darker turn. After Jesus heals a demon-possessed man, the Pharisees claim that Jesus is in league with Satan. Jesus responds by addressing the silliness of their claim. If Satan has hired Jesus to cast out demons, then Satan is trying to destroy himself. The truth is the opposite. Satan is not engaged in a civil war, but is united in his attack against Jesus. This, however, is a fight that is not Satan’s to win. Jesus is the stronger man who binds Satan in order to take back from him those Satan is holding captive under sin and death. This means that there is no neutral ground; a person is either with Jesus or against Him. To speak of Jesus’ saving work as demonic is to sin against the Holy Spirit, rejecting the salvation that He would freely give to you in Jesus Christ. The Pharisees speak this way because th