Sermon Tone Analysis

Vs. 22-23

We pick up here with a possessed man being brought to Jesus who is plagued by a demon inside causing him to be blind and mute.

Now, I want you to imagine this poor man’s condition for just a moment.

He couldn’t speak therefore he couldn’t ask for help.

And he couldn’t see so he was dependent on those around him for almost everything.

He couldn’t tell people his problems.

He couldn’t tell anyone his pain, his anguish, his feelings.

This poor man was literally imprisoned by the demon possessing him.

Can you imagine being trapped in darkness with no way to escape?

No way to tell people what you’re going through?

No way to scream for help?

You can hear.

You can glean what’s going on around you.

You can take it all in but you can never let anything trapped inside you out!

That was the condition of this poor man before us today when he was brought to Jesus!

Maybe you’re sitting here this morning and you feel trapped!

Maybe you feel the same way this poor man felt.

Alone, as if no one can see you, no one hears you, no one cares!

Well guess what, someone sees you, someone knows what you’re going through, someone can hear the pleas from within and that someone is the same one who healed this poor fellow here…His name is Jesus!

They bring this poor demon possessed man to Jesus and the Bible says Jesus healed him, Amen!

I love how it says… “insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw!”

What a miracle!

Jesus didn’t just heal this man partially but He healed him completely, Amen!

It would have been a miracle if Jesus had of just healed one of the man’s ailments but Jesus healed him completely!

This man who sat in darkness had now saw a great light!

This man who was imprisoned within had now been set free!

The deaf could now hear and the once blind man could now see!

That a miracle had taken place there was no denying!

The people, the Bible says, were amazed!

And they began to say, “Is not this the Son of David?”

Is it a statement or a question?

I think that’s the same issue the people who witnessed were having.

They wanted to believe that indeed He was the prophesied Messiah but they make the statement with uncertainty and indecisiveness because they were on the fence about this man named Jesus!

Indeed a miracle had taken place.

That was evident.

And indeed it was a miracle the likes they had never seen before.

But could this man named Jesus really be the Messiah?

They wanted Him to be but they were having trouble believing!

William Braclay — In this instance, Jesus cured a man who was deaf and dumb and whose infirmity was attributed to demon-possession.

The people were amazed.

They began to wonder if this Jesus could be the Son of David, so long promised and so long expected, the great Saviour and liberator.

Their doubt was due to the fact that Jesus was so unlike the picture of the Son of David in which they had been brought up to believe.

Here was no glorious prince with pomp and circumstance; here was no rattle of swords nor army with banners; here was no fiery cross calling them to war; here was a simple carpenter from Galilee, in whose words was wisdom gentle and serene, in whose eyes was compassion, and in whose hands was mysterious power.

But before the excitement could settle, before the belief could take root and begin to sprout, those same pious prowling Pharisees we read about last week, were there to sow seeds of doubt!

Vs. 24

The Pharisees immediately jump on the opportunity to discredit the miracle that had just taken place!

They say, “this man is casting out demons in the power of Beelzebub!”

The name Beelzebub originated from the Hebrew language and spoke of a god of the Philistines referred to as “Lord of the flies.”

In the New Testament, it is thought that the reference was often used in reference to the prince of Satan’s demons or a reference to Satan himself.

Chuck Swindoll — What a desperate attempt to avoid the obvious!

But what else could they say?

To maintain their anti-Jesus stance, the Pharisees had to resort to attributing the work of God Almighty to the devil.

Such blasphemy was unconscionable … and unpardonable.

They attributed the power through which Jesus performed these miracles to the devil himself and as we will see here in a second, Jesus didn’t care what they said about Him but the power through which Jesus was able to accomplish these things, the power of the Holy Spirit, which was evident, is who they were really blaspheming and that took it step to far and as we are going to see here, Jesus puts them in their place because of it.

Vs. 25-26

Now we don’t know if they were whispering this under their breath or if they were kind of in the outer realms of the crowd telling those immediately around them but the way I take this here is that they didn’t say it out loud so that Jesus too could hear it.

It says that, “Jesus knew their thoughts!”

I take that to mean Jesus didn’t hear them audibly but He heard their thoughts.

I mean when begins to speak specifically against them here in moment, you would think that would be sign enough for these pious men but no, nothing ever seems to be enough for them as we will see here in a few minutes.

But there’s something Jesus says here that I don’t want you to miss and that’s the fact that there is a kingdom of this world and Satan is the ruler of this kingdom.

John Phillips — Note that the Lord Jesus recognized the fact that there was an organized kingdom of evil in the unseen world, that it was directed with malice toward the human race, that it was ruled by a malevolent and personal prince, and that Satan’s kingdom was united and not torn into warring factions.

We don’t think about this many times but we must be aware that there is a world system going on all around us and the leader of this kingdom is Satan and his goal with this kingdom is to break down everything that God instituted!

But Jesus here begins to tear down their thought process and says...

“But you’re saying that I cast out demons in the power of Satan!

Really?”

“Sit and think about what you are saying right now!”

“Satan’s endgame is death and destruction and yet day after day, week after week, month after month, I cast out his demons, I heal those who are possessed, the lame walk, the dumb talk, the blind see and the deaf hear!

Those who are dead rise again and those who are hungry are filled!”

“I came to give life and give it more abundantly, yet Satan brings death and destruction and you want to say the miracles I do, I do through the power of Satan?”

“Are you listening to yourself right now?”

“That makes no sense at all!”

"f what you are claiming is true, then that would mean that the kingdom of Satan was at war with itself and if that be the case then the kingdom of Satan shall not stand!”

And then He continues on down in Verses 27-28.

Vs. 27-28

And if I cast out devils, by what you say in the name of Beelzebub, then by what name do your exorcists cast them out?

This is where He had them on the ropes!

The exorcisms that the Pharisees performed paled in comparison to the exorcisms performed by Christ and therefore, if they said in the name of God then one could only reason that since Christ’s casting out of demons was greater than theirs, it was because the Spirit of God upon Him was greater than the power with which they dispelled demons!

The Pharisees had positioned themselves in a predicament here!

They were between a rock and a hard place as the old saying goes!

What could they say?

The answer is nothing!

Once again, they found themselves silenced by the Savior!

And if that weren’t enough evidence, Jesus goes on further with His explanation in Verses 29-32.

Vs. 29-32

Chuck Swindoll — He was able to step into the “strong man’s house” (this demon-infested domain) and “carry off his property” (those possessed by demons).

To do this, the strong man himself had to have been bound first.

For the strong man (Satan) to plunder his own domain is implausible.

And for some demon lesser than Satan to plunder Satan’s domain is impossible.

Only God has the power to plunder the kingdom of Satan and free his enslaved victims.

Blasphemy — Means a contemptuous, irreverent, deliberate and insolent utterance of defamation and slander

Vs. 33-35

Jesus goes on to prove His stance further with an illustration about fruit born on a tree.

If the tree is good the fruit will be good but if the tree is bad the fruit will be bad.

He said, “look at the fruit I’ve born!

What have I done but good since I’ve been here!

The fruit is evidence itself of who I am.

I don’t need your approval.

All anyone has to do is simply look around and see!”

“Go ask the blind man what he thinks.

Go ask the deaf man what he thinks.