An Empty House Invites Evil Spirits

The Point of the Gospel

The Sign of Jonah {Matthew and Luke}

{Luke} Jesus said to the people, “As Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will be to this generation.”

{Matthew} Some of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law demanded that Jesus show them more miraculous signs. Jesus said, “You are a wicked and an adulterous generation, and the only sign you will receive is the same as the prophet Jonah provided spending three days and nights in the belly of a gigantic fish. Just so, the Son of Man will be three days and nights in the heart of the earth.”

{Matthew and Luke} Jesus said, “The men of Nineveh will condemn this generation on the day of judgment. They repented when Jonah preached to them, and one greater than Jonah is now before you. The Queen of the South will condemn this generation as well. She traveled from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and one greater than Solomon now stands before you.”

An Empty House Invites Evil Spirits {Matthew}

Jesus said, “When an evil spirit leaves a man, it travels lifeless places in search of rest but does not find any resting place, so decides to return to the place where it came from. Finding the man swept clean and in order, the spirit goes to find seven even more wicked spirits to live there. The man winds up worse than he started. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers {Matthew and Luke}

Jesus’ mother and brothers could not get to Jesus because of the crowd he spoke to. Someone told Jesus they waited for him. He pointed to his disciples. “These are my mother and brothers. Whoever hears God’s word and puts it into practice is my brother, sister, and mother.”

Personal Thought: I find it incomprehensible that some Christians insist that Mary remained a virgin all her days, despite being married, and therefore couldn’t have provided siblings for Jesus. They say when the Bible mentions brothers, they mean disciples. Bible seems pretty clear to me on the subject.