What is Jesus’ instruction in this verse?

Explanation:

Jesus says that whoever is not for him is against him, and whoever does not gather with him scatters. We can think of these statements as synonymous so that Jesus essentially says the same thing in two different ways. So what does Jesus mean when he says that whoever is not for him is against him? In Matthew 12:28, Jesus says that if he casts out demons by the Spirit, then the kingdom of God has come upon his listeners. We can construct Jesus’ statement as a conditional argument.

1. If Jesus casts out demons by the Spirit, the kingdom of God has come upon his listeners.

2. Jesus casts out demons by the Spirit.

3. Therefore, the kingdom of God has come upon his listeners.

Since Jesus casts out demons by the Spirit, the kingdom of God has come upon his listeners. Of course, God is the supreme creator of the universe. Thus, Jesus is saying that if the kingdom of God comes upon someone and they do not join the kingdom, they oppose the kingdom.¹² In other words, the nature of the kingdom of God is such that, there is no neutrality regarding it. It is to be embraced, and if it is not embraced it is opposed, even if implicitly.

Counterargument:

Jesus does not say anything here about the nature of the kingdom of God. In fact, he seems to have in mind a broader theme about the struggle between good and evil. For example, Matthew 12:29 indicates that in order for the strong man (the devil) to be plundered, he must first be bound. In other words, Jesus is involved in a moral struggle against a powerful enemy, the devil. It is the moral struggle that Jesus is involved in, and not the inbreaking of the kingdom of God, that Jesus emphasizes. Of course, when it comes to morals, we have to take sides because there is no middle ground. Thus, if we do not side with Jesus’ morality, we do nothing, which is to say that the devil may as well have his way. So Jesus’ point here is that if one is not for Jesus, one is not against the devil. And if one is not against the devil, one is against Jesus.¹³

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument is fine other than the fact that it cannot deal with Matthew 12:29. It is true that Jesus sets up a sort of moral dilemma. Demons inhabit people at the behest of Satan, and Jesus comes to cast them out. Although the Pharisees accuse Jesus of being on the side of the morally corrupt (demons) (Matthew 12:24), the fact is a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25–26), so if Jesus (and the sons of Israel (Matthew 12:27)) cast out demons, he must do it from the side of the morally upright by the power of the Spirit (Matthew 12:24–27). So far, the counterargument stands. There is a struggle between good and evil. Evil is cast out by good through the power of the Spirit. Still, in Matthew 12:28, after making the case that he casts out demons by the Spirit, Jesus explains what his casting out demons by the Spirit entails. For he explains that if he casts out demons by the Spirit, not only does he stand on the side of the morally upright, but the kingdom of God has come upon them. And the nature of the kingdom of God is such that, if one does not join the kingdom, one is opposed to it.¹⁴ So Jesus not only explains that he is involved in a moral battle, but that the kingdom of God has come upon his listeners.

Explanation:

Jesus uses synonymous parallelism to explain that whoever is not for him is against him, and whoever does not gather with him scatters. Since the phrases are synonymous, if we can understand one clause, it informs how to understand the other clause. In the case of Matthew 12:30b, Jesus uses the imagery of gathering and scattering. This imagery is likely drawn from shepherding (Matthew 25:32; Matthew 26:31; John 10:12; John 10:12; Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 23:2; Ezekiel 34:13; Ezekiel 34:13).¹⁵ If Jesus chose imagery related to shepherding, then the idea here is that the sheep are scattering and Jesus has come to gather them back together. If we press the analogy that Jesus has in mind animals scattering, we can see that his point is that with him, there is no neutrality. For if animals have scattered and a person takes no part in gathering them, that person is essentially scattering.¹⁶ In other words, when it comes to herds of animals, to not gather is to scatter. In the same way, there is no neutral ground when it comes to Jesus so that those who do not gather with him, scatter.

Counterargument:

There are two problems with this view. For one, it is not clear that Jesus has tending flocks in mind when he says that those who do not gather with him scatter. In fact, he might have harvesting in mind. In other words, while Jesus is harvesting the crop, those who oppose him are scattering seed. We can deduce this because in Matthew 3:12, John the Baptist explains that Jesus will come and gather his wheat into his barn.¹⁷ In other words, he will gather his children for the kingdom.

Second, the idea that a person who does not contribute to gathering is essentially scattering a flock is not obvious. For example, one can imagine a husband and wife on a farm when the flock scatters. Unfortunately, the wife is busy with the other livestock and if she were to divert her attention to help gather, then they would scatter. In such a scenario the wife does not help her husband gather the flock, and yet she is not responsible for scattering. Or think of the members of a village who are busy with their own business when they notice the farmer gathering his scattered flock. Is each person obligated to immediately leave what they do in order to help the farmer gather? I think not.

Response to counterargument:

While it is possible that Jesus has a harvester in mind, there are more passages that describe Jesus as a shepherd who gathers his flock than a farmer who gathers wheat.¹⁸ Added to this, Jesus’ remarks underscore an underlying Jewish motif that the Israelites have been scattered by the nations, and God promises to gather them.¹⁹ Micah 2:12 highlights this motif clearly where we read that God promises to gather the remnant of Israel, and that he will put them together like sheep in the fold.

The second objection is a fair one. It is more likely that Jesus uses the analogy of gathering and scattering sheep because it matches the work of his ministry. Jesus is the one sent by God to gather his scattered children. He then declares that whoever does not gather with him scatters. In other words, it is not the nature of tending flocks that entails that whoever does not gather with Jesus scatters. Rather, it is the nature of his work as one gathering the kingdom that entails that if one does not gather with Jesus, one scatters.

Possible weaknesses:

It is hard to see what the weakness of this view might be. If the kingdom of God is upon Jesus’ listeners and they fail to join Jesus, in effect they oppose him. That is because God is the supreme creator, and there is no neutrality when it comes to the kingdom of God.

Explanation:

Jesus is busy gathering Israel, and he does this through God’s Spirit. The Pharisees, on the other hand, deny that he has the Spirit by suggesting that he casts out demons by Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24). The fact that the Pharisees deny Jesus’ authority and the power of the Spirit demonstrates that the Pharisees not only fail to join Jesus but sabotage him. Thus, when Jesus says whoever is for him is against him, he is declaring that while he is busy gathering Israel, the Pharisees are busy scattering them.²⁰

Counterargument:

It is fair to understand that Jesus is directing his statement in Matthew 12:30 to the Pharisees, since it is in the midst of a series of statements that he said to them upon knowing their thoughts (Matthew 12:24). But his comments are not directed solely at the Pharisees; he makes this comment with a crowd present (Matthew 12:22–23). Thus, when Jesus addresses the Pharisees in Matthew 12:25 we can assume that a crowd is listening to his remarks.

Thus it seems more likely that Jesus is describing a general principle than the situation at hand. The fact is, one is either for Jesus or against him. It is important to see the difference between Matthew 12:30 as a description of the situation at hand and a general principle. If Matthew 12:30 is a description of the situation it is directed at the Pharisees, while if the statement is a general principle it is directed at everyone. If it is directed at everyone, then it is a rebuke to the Pharisees and a warning to the crowd.²¹

In other words, Jesus is not simply describing the situation at hand with poetic imagery, in that he is working for the kingdom and the Pharisees oppose him. Rather, Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees and warning the crowd: if you are not for me, you are against me.