A demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to Him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.” Matthew 9:32-34 ESV1
Read Matthew 9:32-34, 12:22-32 & 43-45; Mark 3:22-30; Luke 11:14-26
Never in my life have I held a dinner party or engaged in festivities at someone else’s home that was as interrupted as the banquet Matthew held in Jesus’ honor. Jesus had been taken from the party to raise a girl from the dead. On His way to do that, He healed a woman from a bleeding condition. On His way back to Matthew’s party, He was approached by two blind men who asked for healing; to get their miracle, they followed Him right into Matthew’s home. “As [the two blind men] were going away [from Matthew’s home], behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to Him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, ‘Never was anything like this seen in Israel.’ But the Pharisees said, ‘He casts out demons by the prince of demons’” (Matthew 9:32-34). Matthew, Jesus, the disciples, tax collectors, sinners, a distraught father, two blind men, the demon-oppressed man, those who accompanied the sick and needy, the Pharisees and scribes, and an amazed crowd all appeared to be at Matthew’s home during the course of this party. I wonder, did Matthew or Jesus ever get a chance to eat? Was this what Matthew expected when he “made [Jesus] a great feast in his house” (Luke 5:29)? But then again, Matthew wasn’t called to be a party host, and Jesus didn’t come to Earth to get good meals.
But before we get into all of that, let’s set the scene. The miracle mentioned above concerning the demon-oppressed man, which is only recorded by Matthew, is so similar to a miracle which happened shortly afterward, that if Matthew didn’t include both of them, one would think they were the same event. The first demon-oppressed mute man (Matthew 9:32-34) was healed at Matthew’s home the day of the banquet, the second demon-oppressed man, who Matthew distinguished as both mute and blind (Matthew 12:22-24), was apparently healed elsewhere in Capernaum at the time when Jesus’ family became concerned about Him and just before He started teaching in Parables. (See Matthew 12:46-13:3, Mark 3:31-4:2). In the first account, Jesus seems to have ignored the Pharisees. The Pharisees must have held onto what they thought was a clever and solid accusation because when a similar situation arose, they took the opportunity to criticize Jesus again. But in the second account, He engaged them with truth. The second miracle and the subsequent accusation and conversation are recorded in both Matthew (12:22-45) and Luke (11:14-36). The conversation without the miracle is recorded in Mark (3:22-30). Since these two separate events have so many similarities, and since the application is the same from both of them, I will consider them together.
“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 [(a reference to the Messiah)]?’ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ‘It is only by Beelzebul [(another name for the devil)], the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons’” (Matthew 12:22-24) “[For] the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and ‘by the prince of demons he casts out the demons’” (Mark 3:22). “Knowing their thoughts, He said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you’” (Matthew 12:25-28). “‘When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters’” (Luke 11:21-23). “’Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man [(a title Jesus gave Himself)] will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come’” (Matthew 12:31-32), “‘but is guilty of an eternal sin’” (Mark 3:29b).
“‘When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest but finds none. Then it says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also, will it be with this evil generation’” (Matthew 12:43-45).
Once again, the Pharisees found themselves chastened. Through the use of logic, Jesus proved He was not casting out demons by the power of Satan. If He were in cahoots with Satan and casting out demons, He would be hurting the kingdom He was supposed to be prospering. Evidently, the Pharisees forgot their sons (or followers) also cast out demons. Jesus turned the tables on Pharisees by concluding if He were exorcising demons by the power of Satan, so must they. Obviously, He nor anyone else was freeing people from Satan’s control by the power of Satan. All exorcisms are done through the power of God. The Spirit of God, the Stronger Man, is able to overcome the strong man, Satan.
But Jesus didn’t stop there. Jesus gave a strict warning about the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. “‘Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And 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’” (Matthew 12:31-32), “‘but is guilty of an eternal sin’” (Mark 3:29b).
“The term blasphemy may be generally defined as ‘defiant irreverence.’ The term can be applied to such sins as cursing God or willfully degrading things relating to God. Blasphemy is also attributing some evil to God or denying Him some good that we should attribute to Him. This particular case of blasphemy, however, is called ‘the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit’ in Matthew 12:31. The Pharisees, having witnessed irrefutable proof that Jesus was working miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit, claimed instead that the Lord was possessed by a demon (Matthew 12:24). Notice in Mark 3:30 Jesus is very specific about what the Pharisees did to commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: ‘He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an impure spirit.’”
“Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has to do with accusing Jesus Christ of being demon-possessed instead of Spirit-filled. This particular type of blasphemy cannot be duplicated today. The Pharisees were in a unique moment in history: they had the Law and the Prophets, they had the Holy Spirit stirring their hearts, they had the Son of God Himself standing right in front of them, and they saw with their own eyes the miracles He did. Never before in the history of the world (and never since) had so much divine light been granted to men; if anyone should have recognized Jesus for who He was, it was the Pharisees. Yet they chose defiance. They purposely attributed the work of the Spirit to the devil, even though they knew the truth and had the proof. Jesus declared their willful blindness to be unpardonable. Their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was their final rejection of God’s grace. They had set their course, and God was going to let them sail into perdition unhindered.”
“Jesus told the crowd that the Pharisees’ blasphemy against the Holy Spirit ‘will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come’ (Matthew 12:32). This is another way of saying that their sin would never be forgiven, ever. Not now, not in eternity. As Mark 3:29 puts it, ‘They are guilty of an eternal sin.’” …
“The unpardonable sin today is the state of continued unbelief. The Spirit currently convicts the unsaved world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). To resist that conviction and willfully remain unrepentant is to ‘blaspheme’ the Spirit. There is no pardon, either in this age or in the age to come, for a person who rejects the Spirit’s promptings to trust in Jesus Christ and then dies in unbelief. The love of God is evident: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16). And the choice is clear: ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him’ (John 3:36).”2
Jesus came not to be entertained but to die for all the sins of all the people for all time. The only unforgivable sin, then, is rejecting God’s gift of forgiveness. If one, like the Pharisees, refuses to receive Jesus, there is no hope for him/her now or into eternity. That person will receive eternal punishment in a place designed for Satan and his demons, for they also spurned God.
Jesus calls humans not to entertain Him but to join Him in His work. There are only two teams. “
“‘Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters’” (Luke 11:23). Either one is on God’s team or Satan’s team. There is no in-between team. One doesn’t get to be on his/her own team. “You are slaves to the one whom you obey, either sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness … [when] you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life” (Romans 6:16 & 22). One is either in the Kingdom of God or under Satan’s dominion. One is either helping the Kingdom of God or hindering it.
The primary reason Jesus healed people and freed them from demons, while He was here on Earth, was so that they would no longer be too burdened or too distracted to hear the call of the Holy Spirit onto salvation. The primary reason God still intervenes in the circumstances of human life is to bring people into a relationship with Him. And the primary reason He saves humans and leaves them on Earth is “to appoint [them] as … servant[s] and witness[es] to the things in which [they] have seen [and to send them] to open [other’s] eyes, [and] turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in [Christ Jesus]’” (Acts 26:16b-18).
Everyone whose eyes have been opened has a responsibility. He/she must, through belief, allow the Holy Spirit to fill the space left void by Satan in his/her lives. If one does not, he/she will be in worse shape than if the truth had never been revealed to him/her. “‘When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest but finds none. Then it says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also, will it be with this evil generation’” (Matthew 12:43-45).
Have you heard the call of the Holy Spirit? Have your eyes been opened? How have you responded? Take time now to pray and evaluate where you stand with God.
1 Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.
2https://www.gotquestions.org/blasphemy-Holy-Spirit.html