Matthew 9:32-34

³² As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. ³³ And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” ³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

Commentary

Vs. 32 “As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.”

Now as the Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples are departing from there they bring too Him a man who was both mute and demon-possessed. Clearly then the man was horribly afflicted by a demon spirit which had not only taken his speech, but also overtaken his whole person as well.

 Vs. 33-34 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” ³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

When the Lord Jesus cast out the demon the mute man spoke, which caused the multitudes that followed Jesus to greatly marvel, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” And so the people were overtaken with amazement at what the Lord Jesus had just done, however the Pharisees were utterly unmoved by the Lord’s merciful act, just as everyone who is not called by God will likewise be unmoved by whatever mighty works God does directly, or through His people; indeed they go one step further in trying to downplay, refute, or undermine what the Lord Jesus has just done and attribute Jesus’ doing so not to God’s Person and Power, but to Satan, and thus they commit the sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit that the Lord Jesus warns will never be forgiven (see Matt. 12:24-37; Mark 3:22-30; Luke 11:16-26).

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.