Among those who Jesus healed was a blind, mute demoniac from whom Jesus exorcised demons. While Jesus’ power astonished many people, the Pharisees needed to manufacture an explanation that would justify themselves while explaining away the clear miracle. Interestingly they do not deny the genuineness of Jesus’ miracle but instead attribute His power to the devil. They do this so that He would be branded a sorcerer worthy of death. Jesus’ defended His activity using an analogy from civil warfare and the fact that He was not the only exorcist in the area. Contrary to the Pharisees accusation of demonic inspiration, Jesus offers a brief parable to illustrate that before He could cast out a demon, He must actually first bind Satan.
In the end it is not Jesus who is blaspheming by doing Satan’s work, but it is the Pharisees who blaspheme God’s work. Their abject rejection and condemnation of Jesus’ clearly demonstrated power (which is a work of the Holy Spirit) is a sin which Jesus describes as “unforgiveable.”
After some additional discourse, Matthew returns to consider the incident that started the section, the exorcism of verse 22. In verses 43-45 Jesus concludes the discourse wanting the man who was liberated and everyone else present to know that to be delivered from demons was not enough if the devil’s ownership is not replaced with Christ’s ownership. Moral reformation apart from Christ will always be inadequate. Unless repentance is genuinely unto life, the freedom that one experiences from a bondage is temporary and inadequate. In the end Christ is either Lord of all, or Lord of nothing.
