As
they went out, behold, a mute man who was demon possessed was brought to him. When the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. The multitudes marveled, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!” But the Pharisees said, “By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons.”
Matthew 9:32-34
Matthew 9 [29.] Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” Their eyes were opened. Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread abroad his fame in all that land.
Matthew 9 [32.] As they went out, behold, a mute man who was demon possessed was brought to him. When the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. The multitudes marveled, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
Matthew 9 [34.] But the Pharisees said, “By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons.”
Matthew 9 [35.] Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest.”
Meaning:
The two blind men who had received their sight were going out to spread the news (Matthew 9:27-31). As they left, another man was brought to Jesus. This is the last of the mighty works Matthew gathers in chapters 8 and 9. It ends the series with two opposite reactions: the crowds are amazed, and the Pharisees accuse Jesus of working with the devil. A similar healing and the same accusation come again later (Matthew 12:22-24; Luke 11:14-15).
- “a mute man who was demon possessed”
The man could not speak, and Matthew tells us the cause was a demon. The Gospels do not treat every illness as demonic; they distinguish ordinary sickness from possession. In this case the evil spirit had silenced the man. He could not even ask for help, so others brought him. Once again people’s care for someone in need brought him to Jesus.
- “When the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke.”
Matthew does not describe how Jesus drove out the demon. The focus is on the result: the man who had been silent spoke. Isaiah had foretold the joy of the time of salvation: “Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing” (Isaiah 35:6). Jesus had just opened blind eyes; now he loosened a silent tongue. The signs of the age to come were appearing in Israel.
- “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
The crowds recognised that something new was happening. Israel had seen the miracles of Moses, Elijah and Elisha, yet they felt that Jesus surpassed them all. Earlier, when the paralyzed man walked, the people had said, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:12). Amazement, however, is not yet faith. Many who marveled at Jesus did not follow him.
- “By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons.”
The Pharisees could not deny that the man was healed, so they attacked the source of Jesus’ power. They claimed that he worked by the power of Satan, the prince of the demons. The scribes from Jerusalem made the same charge, saying, “He has Beelzebul” (Mark 3:22). It was a deliberate rejection of what God was doing. Jesus would later answer it: a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, and “if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28). He also warned his disciples that they would be called by the same name (Matthew 10:25).
The Significance of Matthew 9:32-34
- The same work, two responses
The same miracle led some to wonder and others to hostility. Evidence alone does not change a hardened heart. The question is not whether Jesus has done enough, but whether we are willing to receive him.
- Giving a voice to the silent
Jesus set free a man who could not speak for himself. His followers are called to care for those without a voice, bringing them to the one who can heal and restore them.
- Beware of explaining God away
The Pharisees found a way to dismiss what God was plainly doing. People still find reasons to explain away the work of Jesus. Humility and honesty are needed to see God at work and to give him the glory.
Cross-References:
Isaiah 35:6: "and the tongue of the mute will sing;" The promise of the time of salvation.
Matthew 12:24: "This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons." The accusation repeated.
Mark 3:22: "By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons." The charge of the scribes from Jerusalem.
Luke 11:14: "When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marveled." Luke’s similar account.
Conclusion: A mute man possessed by a demon was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was cast out he spoke. The crowds marveled that nothing like this had ever been seen in Israel, but the Pharisees claimed that Jesus cast out demons by the prince of the demons. The same mighty work brought wonder to some and hardened rejection from others. Jesus fulfils the promise that the tongue of the mute will sing, and he calls us to receive him with humble faith.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible