Thursday (05/22/08) Casting out the "Speech Impaired" Spirit

I. OBSERVATION

A. Passage Selected: Matthew 9:32-34

B. Progression Stated: Logical

We see the miracle with various responses. Cause/effect relationship.

C. Presentation Summarized:

1. Context

Matt 9:35 is a key verse in determining how to organize Matthew’s gospel and understanding the context. Matt 4:23 is almost identical to 9:35, so what we have here is something called inclusio. Matthew states up front, in 4:23, what Jesus is going to do, then he gives us the 10 speeches and the 10 miracles and then summarizes what Jesus has been doing in 9:35.

This is miracle number 10 in the list.

2. Content

a. Cause 9:32

Word kophas can mean mute, deaf or deaf and mute (deafness which resulted in a speech problem). Here, however, only the speech seems to be affected.

What is left out of this miracle is the man’s faith, Jesus’ method, His words, etc. What is emphasized is the response of the people and leaders. So let’s look at the responses:

b. Effect 9:33-34

(1) Response

The man spoke. We know nothing about his spiritual response.

(2) Reception

The masses marveled. This statement that the masses marveled is a fitting statement to punctuate Matthew’s list of 10 miracles. They had witnessed the greatest display of power in Israel’s history (possibly referring to all 10 miracles just explained).

(3) Rejection

The leaders reject Him. The leaders have seen the same thing, but they attribute the power to Satan. 9:34 is an important part of Matthew’s argument. It is interesting that Jesus doesn’t deal with the leaders rejection here. He will wait until 12:30.

II. INTERPRETATION

*Jesus not only has the power over Satan, but he can cure the effects of Satan’s power. He can liberate and heal.
*In spite of this, the leaders, who should have been a channel of God’s blessing to Israel, now censure it.
*The multitudes marvel, but don’t believe.

III. APPLICATIONS

*He can deal with causes and not just symptoms.
*Liberation from sin and Satan is a cause for great testimony. “Nothing like this has ever been done before.”
*Wonder doesn’t necessarily result in salvation.