Lovers of God

Jesus heals a man who was unable to speak

Mt 9:32-38 32 As they were going out, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to Him. 33 After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." 34 But the Pharisees were saying, "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." 35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. 36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

Here again, Jesus casts out a demon. The demon caused the man to be mute.

A mute man is a symbol of someone who has nothing to contribute to a spiritual conversation, and therefore cannot speak anything to benefit others spiritually. Some are effectively mute because their life doesn’t back their words. It’s just like having a demon possessing you and rendering you ineffective for God.

If you are father to children, or husband to your wife, you cannot afford to be spiritually mute. If you are a leader or prophet in a church, you cannot afford to be spiritually mute. Others rely on you for spiritual guidance and if you have nothing of spiritual value to say to them then just like the mute who needed healing. Seek God for such healing.

Jesus healed every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. This healing accompanied His proclamation of the gospel – the good news that God has a solution for all your spiritual diseases and sicknesses.

As in His times, even today, people all over, and even in Christian churches, are distressed and dispirited, like sheep without a shepherd. God has great compassion for such people. He doesn’t despise them, but He wants them to get their problems fixed. God calls on us to help these people, in as much as they are willing to receive our help. In our times, we are His hands and feet.

The crowds were amazed when they saw what Jesus was doing. The Pharisees – just like the Pharisees of today – accused Him (just like they accuse the true prophets and teachers of God in our day) of being an agent of Satan.

At another such occasion, Jesus told them that such accusation was an unforgivable sin (Lk 11:14-20). Be careful about calling a spiritual person a liar. If a prophet speaks the words of God by the Holy Spirit, and you call him a liar then you are blaspheming against the Holy Spirit (i.e. you are saying that the Holy Spirit is an evil spirit) and committing an unforgivable sin! Similarly, if someone is doing the works of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, and you accuse such a person of being demon possessed or operating by the power of the devil, you have committed an unforgivable sin!