¶ The Blind and Mute Demoniac
The Blind and Mute Demoniac is the man Jesus healed so that the mute spoke and the blind saw
—
and the Pharisees said it was Beelzebul.
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to Him,
and He healed him,
so that the man spoke and saw.
Can this be the Son of David?
It is only by Beelzebul,
the prince of demons,
that this man casts out demons.
Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste.
If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons,
then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
A mute man in Matthew 9 had already raised the same slander.
This sign forces a verdict:
David’s Son, or the devil’s pact.
They bring a man shut in two directions—no sight, no speech—and both doors open. The crowd reaches for the royal title. The leaders reach for a slander that will follow Jesus to the cross. He does not treat the charge as a joke. A house divided cannot stand. If Satan casts out Satan, his kingdom is finished. By whom do your sons cast them out? But if I cast them out by the Spirit of God—Luke says the finger of God—then the kingdom is not near as a rumor. It has come upon you. The strong man’s house is being robbed because a stronger has bound him. Then the warning that still should make a teacher whisper: speak against the Son of Man and you may be forgiven; speak against the Holy Spirit and you will not. They are watching a work of the Spirit and calling it hell. Isaiah had said the Servant would not quarrel in the street, and Matthew lays that word over this scene: Gentiles will hope in His name. A man who could not see or talk is the exhibit. The argument is not about his eyes. It is about whose power opened them.
- Spoke and saw is Isaiah on a mat: the mute sing, the blind see.
- Son of David is the crowd’s better guess than the scholars’.
- Beelzebul is what you say when you will not say Messiah.
- A divided Satan is Jesus’ reductio. They have not thought the slander through.
- Finger of God / Spirit of God means the kingdom is present tense.
- Strong man bound is why Legion left and why this man talks.
- Blasphemy of the Spirit is calling the Spirit’s work the devil’s while you know better.
¶ Key Aspects of the Blind and Mute Demoniac
- Brought – Blind and mute; demon-oppressed.
- Healed – He spoke and saw.
- The Question – Can this be the Son of David?
- The Slander – By Beelzebul.
- House Divided – Satan against Satan cannot stand.
- Kingdom Come – Spirit of God; finger of God.
- The Line – Against the Spirit there is no forgiveness.
- Matthew 12:22-28 – “Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, ‘Can this be the Son of David?’ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ‘It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.’ Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste… If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?… But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.’”
- Matthew 12:29-32 – How can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?… “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
- Luke 11:14-20 – He was casting out a demon that was mute… “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
- Matthew 9:32-34 – A demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to Him… “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
- Isaiah 35:5-6 – Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened… and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
- Isaiah 42:1-4 – Behold My Servant… the coastlands wait for His law. Matthew quotes this next in chapter 12.
- Exodus 8:19 – The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”
- Mark 3:22-30 – He has an unclean spirit—said after they accused Him of having Beelzebul.
- Matthew 12:36-37 – On the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word.
He healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. Can this be the Son of David?
It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.
If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
How can someone plunder the strong man’s house unless he first binds the strong man?
Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
The eyes of the blind shall be opened; the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy.
Do not explain the mercy by blaming hell. The kingdom has come upon you. The strong man is bound. A man speaks and sees. Say Son of David. Do not call the Spirit’s finger a demon’s trick. Words like that do not wash off.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.