22 Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. 23 The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” 

Matthew 12:22-24 (NLT)

Growing following

As a result of healing all the sick that were being brought to Him, Jesus’ followers continue to grow. While performing a heap of healings, this demon-possessed man is brought to him. This is after Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath in the synagogue. 

The physical impact on the man was an inability to speak or see. We note in Matthew 9:27 that two blind men followed Jesus on their own. But others had to lead this blind/dumb man to Jesus – maybe due to the demon possession. Was it friends, relatives, compassionate bystanders that brought him? He didn’t ask the man “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” as he did with the two blind men. Jesus just healed him. And not just the blindness, but also the speaking, by casting out the demon.

Jesus is Messiah?

In response to this amazing miracle, the crowds started to make the connection between prophecies about the Son of David, Messiah and Jesus. Only the Messiah could cast out demons and heal people. This is a volatile combination: more and more follow Him plus they recognize Him as Messiah as He heals and drives out demons.

Pharisees fear the facts

The Pharisees, for their part, fear the facts. They try to dismiss it as they did in Matthew 9:32-34 when Jesus healed a mute, demon-possessed man. Here, they also attributed His good work to Satan. This is dangerous territory for them. Their authority is being challenged, yet at the same time, they put themselves in jeopardy by attributing God’s work to Satan.

Stay tuned to the next passage where Jesus uses a bit of logic to respond to the Pharisees accusation. 

RЯeflection

• Jesus healed the man completely – by casting out the demon. Are demons still operating today? In suburban America it’s not so evident. We shouldn’t go around looking for demons, but we also shouldn’t forget they exist – just as angels do. Check this link for more.