Matthew 12:22–29
22Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26“If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27“If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29“Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
Focused Thinking:
It is so easy to read this and not grasp the magnitude of what just happened. Can you imagine what would happen tomorrow at church if a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was healed?
This wasn’t a small demonstration of God’s power; this man’s spirit was healed, his eyes were healed and ability to speak was healed.
How did the crowd respond?
They were AMAZED.
What question were they asking about Jesus?
“This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”
- Was Jesus the Messiah?
- Could Jesus be the Promised One?
- Could this Man be the One?
They knew that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David.
Isa 9:6–7; 11:1; Jer 23:5–6
Guess who is there to respond to their question?
The Pharisees
“But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
Whatever?
It is so common for people to get jealous of people and to try to discredit the one who is having more success than them.
The Pharisees are unbelievable in their opposition to Jesus. It is amazing how hard they worked to deny the identity of Jesus.
Why in the world would a demon-possessed man cast out demons from someone else? How is that a logical response?
I can understand them trying to say that He was just a prophet, but to say that He casts out demons only Beelzebul was a crazy and ridiculous response. I’m sure that’s what the crowd was thinking. I’m sure they saw a demon-possessed man be healed of demon-possession and thought for sure that it was the work of the devil, not.
Personal Application:
It is unbelievable how hard people work to deny the truth and reality of God.
It amazes me what people will believe instead of believing God.
There are some people who aren’t open to believing. They decided against believing for emotional reasons or for control reasons.
They’ve either been hurt or refused to be healed or don’t want to lose control.
I see this all the time; people rarely reject Christ because they disagree with His truths or don’t believe His truths.
Interactive Prayer:
Father, I pray that You will heal people’s hurts. This world is so full of pain. Equip us a church to be people who are spiritual doctors. Father, make us a people who love being spiritual doctors. Forgive us when we only want to see healthy patients. Father, forgive us for not wanting to deal with the inconvenience of sick people. Father, help us to be a people who see it to be our mission to go to the unhealthy, the healthy don’t need a doctor.
Father, wake us up as a church. Make us a people who put down our idols and love You and You alone. Make us a people who focus our eyes on you and not on the world. Make us a people who live for You with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. Make us a people who live for mission. Make us a people who live for service. Give us your vision and help us to love You and to love others.
Father, bring true godly sorrow into our lives that leads us to a repentance without regret. Father, show us how far we’ve fallen from the norm. Father, help us to see and understand that we can’t remain the same. Father, show how awful “here” is as compared to “there.” Father, show us Your glory and create a longing in our hearts to love You and to love people. Father, give us a singular focus in life. Father, help me to focus on loving You and loving others.
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