This latest healing is found in Matt 12:22-23. It’s number 10 in the list of the recorded healing in the Gospels. We have no idea where this healing falls in the scope of all the healings Jesus performed when he walked the earth. A few times in the Gospels it was only recorded that He healed many. The very last verse in the Gospel of John states “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” So, we’ll just give it the 10 spot on the Gospel Healing count down, or would it be the count up???
As far as titling this one we’ll call it the Demon Dude. The NIV gave the group of scriptures this is found in the title of “Jesus and Beelzebub.” That’s because in Matt 12:24-37 Jesus and the Pharisees got into a verbal spat. Jesus won that one. Come to think of it, Jesus won all of the verbal spats. That’s another subject series; let’s get on with this healing series.
First the scripts that recorded the redemption:
Matt 12:22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
There is a little controversy here. It appears Luke recorded the same story. It’s found in Luke 11:14-16. The problem is that if this was the same story that Luke recorded then it would throw the chronological list all off track – or so says one of the theologians I refer to a lot. Since Matt had a knack for not following the chronological order then Luke may just have this one in the right place. If that is the case then this healing is #21 instead of #10 on the list; but the difference between Matt’s and Luke’s record is that Matt stated this guy was demon possessed, blind, & mute whereas Luke 11:14 only states that Jesus casted out a dumb demon, I mean a demon that caused dumbness, wait, wait, I mean a demon that caused a dude not to speak. . .there we go. Since Luke was always very detailed in his records, I am going with the fact that Matt’s record and Luke’s record where 2 completely different healings. So onward with Matt’s recorded.
At first glance it appears that this guy was demon-possessed and because of that possession he was blind and mute. But could Jesus have done a triple play on this guy? Could this guy have had a need of three separate healings instead of just the casting out of the demon? We know from the Gospels that demons do cause physical problems such as muteness (Luke 11:14) but now that I look at Matt’s account, it may be that this guy had three separate things going on. I looked up the Greek word used here for demon possession, it’s daimonizomai by the way, and it seems to be a violent possession that is distinguished from other kinds of sickness. I think this guy had a trifecta going on here. He had 3 separate problems. What a bummer for him. Well, it was a bummer till he met Jesus. The one knock against my whole argument for this guy having three things wrong with him would be what the end of Matt 12:22 says. It states “Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.” It only list 2 things. But whether the demon caused the vision and speech problem or this guy had three separate things going on here Jesus, the great healer, took care of it all. And of course He would. That is what He came here to do. He came here to earth to set the captive free. Isaiah 53 prophesied that Jesus would be “pierced for our transgressions…crushed for our iniquities….and by his wounds we are healed.” That healing was not for just one sickness but all manner of sickness, disease, depression, oppression, and possession.
In Matt 12:22 there are 4 words that stand out above any theological debate. Those 4 words are “and Jesus healed him.” Going through the different translations they all record about the same three or four words. The AMP states “and He cured him.” King James says “and He healed him.” The Message phrases it this way “Jesus healed him.” The Darby puts it this way “and he healed him.” I don’t think I’ve ever used the Darby translation--thank you Bible Gateway! What this tells me is that it doesn’t matter if we have one or multiple issues of sickness, Jesus has taken care of them all. This guy had some serious problems in his life but Jesus restored him. Since God is no respecter of persons, if we allow Him to, He will restore us too.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
