“He findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.” Matthew 12:44
After Jesus healed a man and His critics accused Him of using evil power, He told of a house swept clean but left empty. Getting rid of evil is only the beginning. He came to fill our lives with good.
A man who was blind, unable to speak and possessed by a devil was brought to Jesus, and He healed him. The people wondered, “Is not this the son of David?” But the Pharisees claimed He cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils. Jesus answered that a kingdom or house divided against itself cannot stand, that a tree is known by its fruit, and that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
When some asked for a sign, He pointed to Jonah and said a greater than Jonah was there. Then He told of an unclean spirit that leaves a man, wanders through dry places, and returns to find the house empty, swept and garnished. It brings seven worse spirits, and the man ends worse than before. When His mother and brothers came, Jesus stretched His hand toward His disciples and said that whoever does the will of His Father is His family.
Who’s who
Jesus Christ: who heals and fills the empty places
The healed man: blind and unable to speak, made whole
The Pharisees: who accused Him of using evil power
His disciples: whom He called His family
Where and when
Galilee, in a crowded house and village where Jesus was teaching and healing.
Watch for the Savior
Watch why a clean, empty house wasn’t enough, and who Jesus calls His family.
Eight stops from a healing to a full house. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
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The story, plainly
Four scenes: the healing, the empty house, the full house and His family. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
Matthew 12:22“blind, and Meaning: unable to speak.”
Matthew 12:24“Meaning: a name for Satan. the prince of the devils”
Matthew 12:29“and Meaning: plunder; carry off. his goods”
Matthew 12:36“every Meaning: careless; useless. word”
Matthew 12:39“the prophet Meaning: Jonah.”
Matthew 12:44“swept, and Meaning: tidied and decorated.”
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Look closer
Small details tell the story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from Church leaders, Church resources or outside sources. Each card says which.
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All nine. The divided house, the tree, the lamp, the scroll, the desert, the empty room, the broom, the scribble and the table. Matthew 12:22–50
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Where are you?
Cleaned up but still empty, old habits knocking, filling up, or part of His family. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
Your choice is saved only on this device.
Try it
Fill the house
An empty house is easy to move back into. Tap the good things you’ll do this week and watch the house fill up.
Every good thing you add leaves less room for evil.
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Their world, their words
A little background on the Pharisees’ charge, the Joseph Smith Translation and repentance helps the story come alive. Outside sources are labeled.
Church resource · Student manual
A name for Satan
The Pharisees called Jesus’s power Beelzebub. The manual explains: “In scripture, Beelzebub is another name for Satan.”2
Their charge made no sense.
Church resource · Student manual
Not neutral
Because of His good works, the Pharisees “could not consistently call Him evil, and they could not take a neutral position.”2
They had to choose.
Church leader · Elder Cave
The Joseph Smith Translation
The JST adds that the house is left empty “for the good spirit leaveth him unto himself.”3
The Spirit fills the house.
Church leader · Elder Cave
Fill it
“True repentance, then, is not merely eliminating the negative in our lives.”3
Something good moves in.
Word study · Greek
saroó σαρόω · “swept” (Matthew 12:44)
Bible Hub: “to sweep (with a broom).”5Outside · lexicon
A plain household word. The house had been cleaned top to bottom, but nobody had moved in.1
Word study · Greek
kosmeó κοσμέω · “garnished” (Matthew 12:44)
Bible Hub: “to put in proper order, i.e. decorate.”6Outside · lexicon
Neat and decorated, yet empty. Looking good on the outside isn’t the same as being filled with good.1
What the text does not say
Jesus doesn’t say cleaning up is bad. He says it isn’t enough on its own. He doesn’t leave us to guard an empty house by ourselves, either: He invites us to fill our lives with good and become part of His family.1
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Look to Him
He casts out evil by the power of God, and then He fills the empty places. Those who do the Father’s will become His family.
“The mind is like a stage. Except when we are asleep the curtain is always up.”
“Many who have discontinued bad habits have found that substitution is part of the answer.”
President Spencer W. Kimball, quoted by Elder Victor D. Cave3
“Daily scripture study and prayer, service, repentance, and following the promptings of the Holy Ghost can keep us safely in the spiritual waters of the Lord.”
“And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?” Matthew 12:23
Jesus
He chose a side
“He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Matthew 12:30
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Seek Him today
A question to ask in prayer
What good thing can I invite into my life to take the place of what I’m leaving behind? Matthew 12:44
Listen for one specific habit, song, scripture or service. Then start it this week.
Try it today
One way to fill the house each day. It saves on this device, one day at a time.
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This week:0 of 7 days
Seven days of filling the house with good. Come again tomorrow.
A quiet moment
“Empty, swept, and garnished.”
Read Matthew 12:43–50 slowly. Picture the clean, empty house, then the crowded room where Jesus calls His disciples family. Which house do you want to be? Matthew 12:43–50
A verse to hold
Talk about it
What did Jesus do for the man who was blind and couldn’t speak?
Why wasn’t a swept, clean house enough in Jesus’s story?
What good things can we fill our lives with?
Who did Jesus say was His family?
Open
For adults and deeper study
Go deeper
Longer readings, harder questions, and where to study next. Each one says what it is before you click.
Church leader
Elder Victor D. Cave, “The Parable of the Empty House” (2003)
The Joseph Smith Translation of this parable, and why true repentance replaces bad with good.3
The House Swept and Garnished, ready to print $3.99
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
The House Swept and Garnished is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for March 8–14, 2027 (Matthew 11–12; Luke 11).
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. The words are in Matthew 12:22–50; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
