The Miracles of Jesus Part 29: Jesus Heals a Blind, Mute Demoniac
Matthew 12:22-37, Luke 11:14-26 - Jesus heals a demoniac, allowing him to speak and see, then warns the Pharisees about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
“Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
“Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12:22-37 NASB1995
“And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”
“When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”
Luke 11:14-26 NASB1995
This next miracle is interesting, in that the miracle itself (in Matthew 12 and Luke 11) is merely a preamble to one of the more consequential teachings that Jesus gives to the Pharisees, particularly in Matthew. The miracle jumps back a bit in time in Matthew, as the last miracle from that Gospel (the temple tax in the mouth of the fish) ended chapter 17. However, the same event and similar words are in Luke 11, right after Jesus tells His disciples how to pray (the last miracle described in Luke was in Chapter 9), so my miracle reference list follows the chronology of Luke in this case.
A man is brought to Jesus who is blind and mute, according to Matthew, and possessed of a demon. In Luke, only a state of muteness is described. Jesus heals his afflictions and casts out the demon. The man speaks and sees and the crowds are amazed, asking if He could be the Son of David. But the Pharisees, hearing about this miracle, are doubling down on their hatred of Jesus and sealing their eternal fate. They accuse Him of being Beelzebul (or Beelzebub), the ruler of the demons. Here’s a little blurb about this creature from Gotquestions.org:
Beelzebub is the Greek form of the name Baal-zebub, a pagan Philistine god worshiped in the ancient Philistine city of Ekron during the Old Testament times. It is a term signifying “the lord of flies” (2 Kings 1:2). Archaeological excavations at ancient Philistine sites have uncovered golden images of flies. After the time of the Philistines, the Jews changed the name to “Beelzeboul,” as used in the Greek New Testament, meaning “lord of dung.” This name referenced the god of the fly that was worshiped to obtain deliverance from the injuries of that insect. Some biblical scholars believe Beelzebub was also known as the “god of filth,” which later became a name of bitter scorn in the mouth of the Pharisees. As a result, Beelzebub was a particularly contemptible deity, and his name was used by the Jews as an epithet for Satan.
Jesus answers the Pharisees first by talking about a kingdom or house divided. How can Satan cast out demons? Satan is fully evil and the casting out of a demon is an act of good and his kingdom would not stand if he worked against himself. The Pharisees were known to have the ability to exorcise some demons, so Jesus asks them how they cast them out and under what authority. If Jesus casts them out by the kingdom of God, then the kingdom is there with them.
Jesus is performing these signs with the power of the Holy Spirit and now the “unforgivable sin” is broached as a warning to His enemies. If the religious leaders are not for Him, then they are against Him, and they who do not gather with Him are scattered. He then says the following (from Matthew 12:31-32):
“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
So what does blasphemy mean? Blasphemy, according to the Blue Letter Bible, comes from the Greek word blasphemia; the definitions are as follows:
slander, detraction, speech injurious, to another's good name
impious and reproachful speech injurious to divine majesty
The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit comes from the accusation that Jesus is doing the work of the evil one and not recognizing His Divine authority. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is one of those things that keep believers up at night worrying about, because what if they commit this blasphemy in a dream or accidentally curse the Holy Spirit in a moment of anger or frustration in a bad situation? It’s like the fear that I had many, many years ago after the “The Exorcist” came out that I would be possessed by a demon.
Rest easy, believer! This sin is really the defiant and long-term irreverence against the things of God. As noted in commentary by David Guzik in Enduring Word, here are some relevant points about this sin:
Blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven: Jesus solemnly warned the religious leaders against rejecting Him. Their rejection of Jesus – especially considered what they had seen of Jesus and His work – showed that they were completely rejecting the Holy Spirit’s ministry. That ministry is to testify to Jesus, hence the warning of committing the unforgivable sin.
The Holy Spirit’s main ministry is to testify of Jesus (He will testify of Me, John 15:26). When that testimony of Jesus is fully and finally rejected, one has truly blasphemed the Holy Spirit and essentially called Him a liar in respect to His testimony about Jesus. The religious leaders were close to this.
To reject Jesus from a distance or with little information is bad; to reject the testimony of the Holy Spirit about Jesus is fatal.
It will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come: The eternal consequences of this sin force us to regard it seriously. Therefore, how can one know if they have in fact blasphemed the Holy Spirit? The fact that one desires Jesus at all shows that they are not guilty of this sin. Yet continued rejection of Jesus makes us more hardened against Him and puts us on the path of a full and final rejection of Him.
Some people – as a joke or a dare – intentionally say words they suppose commit the sin of blasphemy against the Spirit. They think it a light thing to joke with eternity. Yet true blasphemy against the Spirit is more than a formula of words; it is a settled disposition of life that rejects the testimony of the Holy Spirit regarding Jesus. Even if someone has intentionally said such things, they can still repent and prevent a settled rejection of Jesus.
“Many sincere people have been grievously troubled with apprehensions that they had committed the unpardonable sin; but let it be observed that no man who believes the Divine mission of Jesus Christ, ever can commit this sin: therefore let no man’s heart fail because of it, from henceforth and for ever, Amen.” (Adam Clarke)
As readers know, Steve and I rejected belief for many years, essentially “settling into” a rejection of the testimony from the Holy Spirit about Jesus. We mocked Him, joked about the Bible, and swaggered around spouting our secular stupidity to others. When we came back to belief, that was one of the very first things we repented about and I still, to this day, ask for forgiveness again quite regularly when confessing sins. I shudder to think that during those lost years, we could have died in an accident (with all the traveling we were doing). But God has always had a plan for His sheep!
Jesus goes on in the Gospel of Matthew to call the Pharisees a brood of vipers, saying they are doing the work of the evil one against the Son of God. The account in this passage ends with this cautionary statement (Matthew 12:36-37):
“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Look around you in this world. Millions of careless words and outright blasphemies are uttered every day by people on social media in comments and in posts. The enemy has many friends and acolytes with the casual hatefulness and anger that rages in their hearts. It makes your heart skip a beat to know that you may run into that rage when giving testimony about Jesus. Those words of hope are wasted when done in a casual way and to arrogant and embittered strangers on social media who refuse to listen (I should know - I refused to listen, too, but we came back to belief before the age of Facebook and Twitter, fortunately). Harvesting souls is a serious business that should put aside those barriers of our Information Age and seek to find the lost through talking and listening and paying attention to people IN PERSON whenever possible. This is the most important job you can have as a believer! Help people to get away from that “settled rejection” through good testimonies.
So what did we learn from this miracle?
Jesus heals a blind, mute demoniac: In a miracle used as a segue into a serious teaching from Jesus, He once again demonstrates His power over demons and physical ailments. The scoffing Pharisees are warned about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (settled rejection of Jesus and His revelation by the Spirit in an unbeliever’s life). Our words will be counted, for justification or condemnation.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I repent of my words and my actions that rejected You at times in my life. Please forgive me and guide my words and actions now to bring others to you in the Great Harvest. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.
Gotquestions.org is an on-line resource for Biblical terms from Got Questions Ministries.
The Blue Letter Bible is an on-resource for researching Bible terms and definitions, along with commentaries and other cross-references.
The Miracle List:
Water to wine: Jesus can overcome time, He creates beauty and abundance, and He shares in our joy.
Healing of the official’s son: Jesus can overcome space (distance), He does not need to see the person He heals, He has infinite power, but He also wants us to believe without signs and wonders.
Casting out of the evil spirit in the synagogue: The authority of Jesus is recognized by the demons and He triumphs over evil and silences it.
Healing of Peter’s Mother-in-Law: Jesus does not need crowds to demonstrate His power and He has compassion about the needs of one person, even if those needs seem smaller and only worthy of a couple of verses of scripture.
Healing and casting out demons of many in Capernaum (at Peter’s house): Jesus has compassion on all who come to Him and has no conditions that He places on giving them His mercy. He can heal instantly with a light touch and again demonstrates authority over demons and silences them.
Miraculous catch of fish on the Sea of Galilee: Jesus demonstrates His powers over His creation, He once again brings abundance, and He teaches humble fishermen that their task of bringing souls to Him is the most important thing they can do. They must follow Him.
Cleansing of the Leper: Jesus is willing to heal us, is compassionate towards those who suffer and can instantly cure a dreadful and feared disease. We must have faith when circumstances seem hopeless.
Healing of the Centurion’s Servant: Jesus came so that anyone who believes on His name is saved, Jew or Gentile. One of the most humble and devout persons that He encounters during His ministry is a Roman Centurion who cares and loves a servant who is sick or paralyzed. Jesus has instant authority over this illness, again eliminating space (distance) as a barrier to healing; He also marvels at this man’s faith.
Healing of the paralytic passed through the roof: Jesus demonstrates His ultimate authority as the Son of God to forgive sins and to heal a condition that seems irreversible. He can sense and read the hearts and thoughts of others. He turns a major disruption into a lesson on forgiveness. The friends of the paralytic show tremendous faith in how they solve this problem.
Healing of the withered hand on the Sabbath: Jesus can instantaneously heal a chronic condition, restoring a hand to full function. The man he heals exhibits great faith in His ability to heal and obeys Him. Jesus also challenges the assumptions and rules that have taken the place of faith and wisdom in the hearts of the Pharisees and Scribes. His anger is righteous; their rage is murderous.
Raising of the widow’s son from death: Jesus is filled with compassion for the suffering and grief of others. He has power over death and can restore us to joy and hope in the face of a hopeless situation. His endless grace and the power of His word are sufficient. We are to spring into action, serving Him and bringing His hope to the hopeless.
Taming the storm on the Sea: Jesus has the unlimited power to tame nature and He calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee instantly. His disciples, after seeing one miracle after another before this, are struck with memory loss when this crisis hits and forget that He is the Creator of the Universe and creation will obey Him. Jesus is there in the storms of life for those who believe on His name.
Casting demons into a herd of pigs: Jesus has the ultimate authority over evil and demons must have His permission to even enter into animals that immediately die. Demon possession is a real thing, but is likely rare and would not occur in a believer who is under the power of the Holy Spirit. We should not get so comfortable with evil surrounding us that we are fearful of holiness and good. Jesus wants us to tell others about His power and healing and to be without superstitions.
Healing of a woman with a bleeding disorder: Jesus knows when His healing powers are used and, with great love and compassion, tells this daughter of the Kingdom that her faith has made her well. Casual contact with Jesus doesn’t save us. We are saved by coming to Him with everything (sins, sufferings, distractions, hopes, and belief). Jesus cleanses and revives us!
Jesus raises the daughter of Jairus from the dead: Jesus, the Son of God, has power over life and death. His power is infinite - healing can come from a touch of His garment or a touch from His hands. His compassion is infinite. His words can bring a person back to life and He knows for those who believe that death is just sleep. Just as in His time, our age is filled with mockers and scorners and we must pray for those lost souls.
Jesus heals two blind men: Faith and persistence leads to miracles. Jesus extends mercy and compassion to those who are suffering and recognize Him as the Messiah, by healing two blind men who follow Him.
A mute demoniac is healed and speaks: Jesus has ultimate authority over evil and easily casts out a demon, allowing a man to finally speak. The Pharisees are not impressed and accuse Him of being a demon. As He continues His ministry and healings, He laments the lack of harvesters.
A man is healed by Jesus by the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath: Jesus homes in on a man among the many who has hopelessly waited for healing in the pool for 38 years. He asks him if he wants healing, then tells him to stand, take up his pallet, and walk. We are all waiting for something, but we should stop waiting and be actively seeking Him in our everyday lives through our worship and prayers. Human-made rules and rituals can separate us from our Creator, who is working to sustain us and His creation.
The feeding of the 5000+: Jesus is compassionate and involves his believers in provided abundance. Nothing is too meager or small for the Lord to use in a big way. The disciples continue to look for worldly answers to solve problems and He points them, once again, to His supernatural abilities. People are physically hungry and God’s resources should not be wasted. The Word is also needed to feed the masses spiritually.
Jesus walks on water: Jesus again demonstrates mastery over creation by walking on deep waters. His disciples don’t initially recognize Him, but when they do, Peter wants to join Him (Matthew account). Peter walks in faith a short distance, then is distracted by a worldly fear (the wind). Jesus grabs him to help home and asks him why he has so little faith and is full of doubts. The disciples declare Him the son of God.
Healing the many in Genneserat: Jesus has absolute power over Nature and over sickness. He heals many, often just from their touch of His garments. The crowds recognize Him but do not know Him.
Jesus heals the demon-possessed daughter of a Gentile: Jesus travels to a Gentile region and the only recorded act there is His response to the deep faith of a Gentile woman, who even turns aside His gentle remonstrations. She is the only person who is told directly that her faith is strong. The healing is once again a remote and instant casting out of the demon in the woman’s daughter.
Jesus heals a deaf and (mostly) dumb man: Jesus uses His supernatural healing powers in many different ways. He has compassion on this man and sighs heavenward when seeing the suffering in front of Him and uses unique healing techniques. He instantly heals this man’s hearing and speech, leaving many astounded.
The feeding of the 4,000+: Jesus can provide sustenance to those who are hungry for His word. He again miraculously creates adequate real food for thousands who are listening to Him, while also having to deal with the blindness and deafness of His disciples, who cannot put the big picture together and think outside their narrow worldly boxes of “reality”.
Jesus restores the sight of a blind man near Bethsaida: Jesus uses natural and supernatural methods to restore the sight of a blind man, giving His disciples a lesson in overcoming spiritual blindness.
Jesus heals a man blind from birth: Once again, Jesus demonstrates His mastery over His creation and can cure a congenital defect, a blindness that has been there since this man’s birth. The man’s story enrages the Pharisees, but he grows in faith and courage from not knowing Jesus to worshipping Him (and probably becoming a member of the larger entourage).
Jesus heals a boy with an unclean spirit: Jesus returns with Peter, James and John from the Transfiguration and is greeted almost immediately with a worldly issue: A boy has a vicious unclean spirit that throws him into regular convulsions and keeps him from speaking and his father is asking for help. The disciples have been unable to cast out the unclean spirit. Jesus sighs at their unbelief. The father believes but also asks for help for his unbelief. The powerful demon is cast out and the boy is now spared. This type of demon requires effective prayer and the faith of a mustard seed, which the disciples still lack.
Miracle of the temple tax in the mouth of a fish: Jesus uses His creation to provide a temple tax for Himself and for Peter, hoping to avoid controversy for this minor issue with the religious leaders. Using secular sources like Wikipedia for stories of the miracles of Jesus should be avoided or used with caution, because of their tendency to cast doubt on the Word of God.
Jesus heals a blind, mute demoniac: In a miracle used as a segue into a serious teaching from Jesus, He once again demonstrates His power over demons and physical ailments. The scoffing Pharisees are warned about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (settled rejection of Jesus and His revelation by the Spirit in an unbeliever’s life). Our words will be counted, for justification or condemnation.