32As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” 34But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.
Now we come to the third miracle in this chapter—the healing of a mute, demon-possessed man.
9:32
As they went out,
Jesus and the two blind men left the house. Jesus was about to perform a public miracle in the presence of “multitudes.”
behold,
“Behold” introduces a new, astounding miracle into the narrative.
they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.
This man was not mute by natural means but by demon possession.
9:33
And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.
Jesus healed the demon-possessed man immediately. All three miracles in this chapter were immediate.
And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”
The multitudes recognized that Israel now beheld extraordinary miracles. The accumulation of miracles in this chapter staggered them. The crowd deemed that the miracles of the Old Testament did not compare to the miracles of Jesus. This was recognition of His Messiahship: the King had come.
9:34
But the Pharisees said,
The reaction by the multitudes to Jesus’ miracles caused a negative come-back by the Pharisees.
“He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
The Pharisees could not deny the miracles of Jesus, so they attributed His miracles to Satan. They opposed Jesus in the most extreme way.
The unpardonable sin (12:24-32) attributes the ministry of Christ by the Holy Spirit to the work of Satan. When this happened in chapter 12, Jesus turned away from offering the kingdom to Israel. It was the turning point of His ministry.
PRINCIPLE:
It is impossible to be neutral about Jesus.
APPLICATION:
It is impossible to be neutral about Jesus. The crowds viewed Jesus in one way and the Pharisees viewed Him in another. The miracles caused them to move into open blasphemy. Where do you stand regarding Jesus? Is He almighty God, the Messiah, the Savior of your soul?
