Jesus exorcising a mute is the last of a series of

miracles of Jesus The miracles of Jesus are miraculous deeds attributed to Jesus in Christian and Islamic texts. The majority are faith healings, exorcisms, resurrections, and control over nature. In the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus refus ...

recorded in chapter 9 of the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...

. It appears in , immediately following the account of

Christ healing two blind men Jesus healing two blind men is a miracles of Jesus in the Gospels, miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel of Matthew (New International Commentary on the New Testament) by R. T. France (Jul 27, 2007) page 365 It follo ...

(). According to the Gospel of Matthew, just as the two blind men were healed by Jesus were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been

mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...

spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

". But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons". The charge reappears, with the addition of the name of “

Beelzebub Beelzebub ( ; he, ''Baʿal-zəḇūḇ'') or Beelzebul is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted by some Abrahamic religions as a major demon. The name ''Beelzebub'' is associated with the Can ...

” as the ruler of the devils, in .

Commentary

This episode in the life of Christ is seen as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah (35:5): “Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.”

Cornelius a Lapide Cornelius Cornelii à Lapide (''né'' Cornelis Cornelissen van den Steen; 18 December 1567 – 12 March 1637) was a Flemish Catholic priest. He was a Jesuit and exegete of scripture. Life He was born at Bocholt, in Belgian Limburg. He studi ...

notes that it appears that the demon made the man deaf and dumb, who was not naturally thus. He also comments that these passages demonstrate different ranking among demons, as also among angels (some lower, some higher). So the higher orders who fell, "who were of a grander nature; for that which was theirs naturally remained in the devils after their fall." He points out that even among rebel soldiers there are captains and generals. Because without these an army cannot be governed. As Lucifer is the prince of all the devils, so is St. Michael of all the angels (see

Revelation 12 Revelation 12 is the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, but the precise identity of the author remains a point ...

). The different dispositions of the Pharisees compared to the multitude is worth note. The crowd, with simple candor, "magnified the miracles of Christ as done by a Divine Person, even the Messiah." However the Pharisees envied Christ, and were resentful of Him, saying he used a magic art.

References

{{Miracles of Jesus, state=expanded Exorcisms of Jesus Gospel of Matthew Muteness

Commentary

See also

References