You may remember reading about Jesus delivering the demon-possessed man who could not speak and once he was made whole, he could talk and the people marveled. If you missed that study, you can read it here. Today we will read Matthew and Luke's accounts of Jesus healing another man demon-possessed and unable to speak but also blind. As with all of these miracles of Jesus, we will find that the healing was not the only thing taking place, but also Jesus was building up a large witness against the religious leaders of that time who chose to not believe in Him. Let's look at the text together.
Matthew 12:22-24 Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Luke 11:14-16 And He was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting Him, sought of Him a sign from heaven.
Someone who cared a lot about this man tormented of the demons that took ownership of his body, leaving him unable to speak or see, took him to Jesus to be healed. Someone must have known the power Jesus had over unclean spirits. We know from studying these miracles that Jesus has been getting more famous as He heals in ways no one had ever seen or heard of before. Jesus was doing the work of His Father and of course we see the religious leaders stalking Jesus yet again. They are not concerned about asking God to give them wisdom concerning Jesus and the miracles He performed, but they rather want to lord over Him. They are not pleased that He is not under their thumb. They are jealous and angry because people are looking to Him for healing and not running to them.
The world will persecute us because we bear the name of Jesus. The world is controlled by the devil and he hates Jesus. So we will be targeted as well, but we are to consider ourselves blessed if they persecute us because it means they see Jesus at work in us and through us. It is a good thing to be counted worthy of persecution. It confirms we are on the right path. Let's see what Jesus's response is to the doubters and accusers.
Matthew 12:25-29 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
Luke 11:17-22 But He, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the Kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his good are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
Jesus makes perfect sense here. He tells the crowd including the Pharisees and scribes, that if He was casting out the devil with the power of a devil, then He would be fighting against Himself. He then asks them what power and authority they are using to cast out devils. And I love the statement He makes, "If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come to you." Meaning, if Jesus is casting out the devil by God's authority and power then they need to support Him and stop hindering Him or else they are fighting against God.
Jesus always explains how this is spiritual and not natural forces at work. Jesus is conquering the devil through the power of God but since that is too much for them to understand, He gives them an example anyone should understand. If you have a home and you choose to protect it, but someone bigger and stronger comes in, disables you from stopping them, they will rob you of all that you have. This is what is happening in the spirit realm. A demon is coming to these weaker vessels (humanity) and when given the opportunity the unclean spirit will dwell in that person and take over their life. It brings sickness, diseases, pain, and suffering. Jesus is stronger than the devil. Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:18 "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." The devil has to obey Jesus. He is not smarter, stronger, or able to overtake Jesus. So when Jesus commands the unclean spirits to leave, they must obey because they are defeated.
Matthew 12:30-37 He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Luke 11:23 He that is not with Me is against Me: and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth.
Jesus is drawing the line in the sand. The Pharisees need to make a choice. They can keep going against Him, or they can stand united with Him and conquer the forces of darkness. They must choose. Jesus makes it very clear that it is one way or the other. They cannot have it both ways. Jesus says if they are not gathering people together with Him, then they are scattering the people. In other words, Jesus is trying to unify the Body of Christ and these religious leaders are bringing division. They are jealous and angry because Jesus is doing righteous and good things.
Jesus tells those listening to Him, and He is telling us today, that we can know if someone is good or evil based on their actions. We can look at a tree and know it is an apple tree, an orange tree, or a cherry tree based on the kind of fruit hanging on the branches. We do not have to wonder what kind of tree it is. We can label it what it is based on the fruit it produces. We have the same ability to see what people are like based on the fruit in their life. Is it good fruit or bad fruit? Do they help others, serve in their community, honor God with their lifestyle and not just words? They have good fruit if they do these things. Do they help themselves, serve their own needs before looking out for others, honor themselves with lavish lifestyles and activities that only make them better, more prosperous, more popular? That is bad fruit. If they have pride and arrogance those are not fruits of the Spirit. We must watch and label people according to the fruit in their life.
Jesus also addresses the unpardonable sin. They can attack Jesus but when they say the Spirit of God at work in Him and through Him is an unclean spirit, they will never be forgiven of that: not in this lifetime nor eternity to come. It is unforgiveable. The Spirit of the Most High God is Holy and pure and blameless. It is blasphemy to speak such things and it is dangerous!
Matthew 12:38-42 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered saying, Master, we would see a sign from Thee. But He answered, and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall not sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
These men are incredible! They literally just watched Jesus deliver this man of at least one demon and the man can speak and see again and yet they ask Jesus to give them a sign. What are they even doing? Jesus tells those unbelieving leaders of their day that the only sign they will get from Him is the sign of Jonah. He was in the belly of that great fish three days and three nights and Jesus was speaking of how He would be buried three days and three nights. He even says that the people of Nineveh that Jonah preached to repented and changed from their wicked ways. They will rise up in judgment against those religious leaders because the Son of God is walking the earth with them and showing them the way to God and they are so blind and deaf they can neither see nor hear what He is saying. The queen of the south traveled a great distance to hear the wisdom of Solomon that she had been told about. She wanted to see it for herself. You can read that in 1 Kings 10:1-13. She will rise up and condemn this generation of people because she would have loved to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear the wise words that came from His mouth. They have the opportunity and they reject Him.
Matthew 12:43-45 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
Luke 11:24-26 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
Again Jesus shows us there is no middle ground. You are either with Jesus or you are with Satan and there is no neutral territory. When Jesus delivered the man in this story, for example, he is made clean. This man can choose to go back to the lifestyle he lived prior to this miracle, or he can choose to follow Christ. He cannot say that he will abandon his old way of life and also not follow Jesus. Choosing to reject Jesus is to accept Satan and that is as clear as it gets. When the man's vessel is not filled with the Spirit of God, the unclean spirit will examine the man and find a vacancy and Jesus tells us that he doesn't just move in, he also picks seven other unclean spirits that are worse than it is and the end of that man is a lot worse than it was in the beginning. Jesus says this is also the case for this wicked generation that has the chance to serve Jesus now and chooses not to.
Friends, it all comes down to choices and consequences. We can choose life and walk with Jesus enjoying the rewards of the labor. We have the freedom to choose good things. We also can choose death and eternal separation from Jesus for all eternity. We can serve ourselves, do what feels good, whatever it is that makes us happy, and live with reckless abandon, throwing caution to the wind, and enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, but in the end, we find death and destruction is our reward.
I hope that you choose Jesus. I hope that you choose life. I hope that you choose to walk the straight and narrow path before you. The road to hell is a wide path and many choose that way, falling for the illusion that it is more fun and enjoyable to laugh and party your way through life, never considering anyone else, or how much Jesus sacrificed to give you pardon. You can take hold of that liberty and walk in newness of life, or you can choose to dance your way into the unquenchable fiery flames of hell. Jesus leaves that choice to us. Choose well.
I hope that something you have read on the blog today has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!
~Bridgett Owens
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