Healing and Blasphemy

75 – Healing and Blasphemy; Matthew 9:27-34 

Matthew 9:27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”  

“Yes, Lord,” they replied. 

29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. 

32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 

34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.” 

Commentary 

This miracle is reported only in the book of Matthew. Many people have suggested that Mark was the first to write a gospel account and that Matthew and Luke modeled their accounts after his, since there is so much material that is consistently reported across all three books. Indeed, because of their similarities, these three books are called the synoptic gospels. “One of the stable findings of synoptic criticism has been the priority of Mark. It is a striking fact, that whereas the order of Mark and Matthew may agree against Luke and the order of Mark and Luke may agree against Matthew, the order of Matthew and Luke never agree against Mark. In other words, Mark is the stable factor. Most probably, Mark was the source common to the other two, which they generally followed, but sometimes altered” (The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol 2, pg. 788). The fact that there are differences in the books, however, gives credence to each account as a separate testament to the life of Jesus. Therefore, the fact that no other book corroborates this miracle is evidence that Matthew was able to use his own experience to add to the events that Mark had recorded.  

This event may have had particular significance to Matthew because it possibly happened in his home. Verse 28 says Jesus went indoors, and other translations say He went into a house. Scholars believe this would have been Matthew’s house because of the previous reference to Matthew’s house in verse 10 and the corresponding accounts in Mark and Luke, of Jesus calling Matthew (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1193). 

The first miracle to occur in the home is the healing of the blind men. Just like the last passage we studied, Jesus tells the men their faith has saved them. When the men call Jesus “Son of David,” they are indicating that they believe Him to be the Messiah. There are also numerous scriptures referenced in the reference section below, where other people referred to Jesus as Son of David throughout the Gospel accounts. I am always interested by the people who show such enormous faith to believe that Jesus can heal them and then immediately disobey Him when He tells them to keep the thing a secret. However, “their disobedience does not need to be viewed as a serious violation, but rather, as an overt exuberance from the effect of the miracle itself” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1193). It may also be that these people were immature in their faith, and although they had great confidence in Jesus, they had not mastered the self-discipline it would take to follow His instructions and teachings. As we have discussed before, Jesus likely told people to keep their healing secret because the unrelenting crowds that chased Jesus for healing were an impediment to His teaching ministry, and the spread of His fame made Him a target for the Pharisees (which, although it was bound to lead to His death, was not something Jesus would have wanted to end His ministry prematurely). 

We see both these effects in the latter section of the passage. If the first part of the passage makes it seem as though two isolated men followed Jesus inside, the description of second miracle seems to make it clear that Jesus was actually being followed by a whole crowd of people. Once the blind men left, a demon-possessed man was led in, and after he was healed, the Pharisees watched the crowd marveling at Jesus and attempted to discredit Him. 

Regarding this demon possession, I talked more at length in a previous study about what types of disorders may have been confused with demon possession during Jesus’s lifetime, and I am tempted to think that, when we do not read that Jesus spoke directly with the demon, it is possible that He simply healed a person of a physical or mental disorder. However, it is unclear what made the author assume that the issue was a demon. Perhaps Jesus did address the demon, and Matthew just didn’t say so specifically because that method had become a matter of course for Jesus when casting out demons. Additionally, muteness was typically a symptom of deafness, so if the man could hear and only suffered from an inability to speak, the probability increases that the issue was spiritual, rather than physical. 

In either case, the crowd was clearly awed by the man’s immediate recovery, and their remarks reveal their reverence for Jesus as one uniquely appointed by God. This was problematic for the Pharisees, who relied on the people’s undivided allegiance and obedience in order to maintain their authority. They felt they needed to discredit Jesus, so they could maintain their position. Although Matthew does not record Jesus’s response to the Pharisees in this instance, we know that Jesus regularly castigated them for their pettiness and fuzzy logic. Matthew 12:25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 

Find the next post here https://onthepath.online/2023/03/21/final-visit-to-nazareth/

Scripture References 

Matthew 9:27 

Matthew 1:1 This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: 

Matthew 12:23 The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?” 

Matthew 15:22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.” 

Matthew 20:29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. 

Matthew 20:30 And there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” 

Matthew 20:31 The crowd admonished them to be silent, but they cried out all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” 

Matthew 21:9 The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” 

Matthew 21:15 But the chief priests and scribes were indignant when they saw the wonders He performed and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” 

Matthew 22:42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” “David’s,” they answered. 

Mark 10:47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

Mark 10:48 Many people admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

Mark 12:35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, He asked, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 

Luke 18:38 So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

Luke 18:39 Those who led the way admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” 

Luke 20:41 Then Jesus declared, “How can it be said that the Christ is the Son of David? 

Matthew 9:28 

Matthew 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 

Acts 14:9 This man was listening to the words of Paul, who looked intently at him and saw that he had faith to be healed. 

Matthew 9:29 

Matthew 8:13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! As you have believed, so will it be done for you.” And his servant was healed at that very hour. 

Matthew 9:22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was cured from that very hour. 

Matthew 9:30 

Psalm 146:8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous. 

Matthew 8:4 Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.” 

Matthew 12:16 warning them not to make Him known. 

Mark 1:43 Jesus promptly sent him away with a stern warning: 

Mark 3:12 But He ordered them sternly not to make Him known. 

Matthew 9:31 

Matthew 4:24 News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed–and He healed them. 

Matthew 9:26 And the news about this spread throughout that region. 

Matthew 14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus 

Matthew 28:15 So the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And this account has been circulated among the Jews to this very day. 

Mark 1:28 And the news about Jesus spread quickly through the whole region of Galilee. 

Mark 1:45 But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news. Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter. 

Luke 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about Him spread throughout the surrounding region. 

Luke 4:37 And the news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding region. 

Luke 5:15 But the news about Jesus spread all the more, and great crowds came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 

Luke 7:17 And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding region. 

Matthew 9:32 

Isaiah 35:6 Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. 

Matthew 4:24 News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed–and He healed them. 

Matthew 12:22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed the man so that he could speak and see. 

Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, does this man drive out demons.” 

Luke 11:14 One day Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. And when the demon was gone, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed, 

Matthew 9:33 

Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 

Mark 2:12 And immediately the man got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of them all. As a result, they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” 

Matthew 9:34 

Matthew 10:25 It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! 

Matthew 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 

Matthew 12:22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed the man so that he could speak and see. 

Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, does this man drive out demons.” 

Matthew 12:27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 

Mark 3:22 And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.” 

Luke 11:15 but some of them said, “It is by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, that He drives out demons.” 

John 7:20 “You have a demon,” the crowd replied. “Who is trying to kill You?” 

Commentary 

Matthew 9:10 Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. 

Mark 2:15 And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. 

Luke 5:29 And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.