Matthew 9:32-34 (NASB):
32 And as they were going out, behold, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to Him. 33 And after the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever [fn]been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”
Key Takeaways
- Jesus has complete authority over both spiritual forces and physical infirmities.
- Miracles require faith—either from the individual in need or from those around them.
- God’s power often surprises and amazes, but not everyone will respond with faith.
- Spiritual pride and skepticism can prevent people from recognizing God's work.
- We are called to bring others to Jesus, especially those who are spiritually or physically bound.
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This podcast may use AI generated content and voices. For more information, check out our disclosure page on our website, bible bytes.com/disclosures. Welcome to Bible Bytes, your virtual Sunday school. Inspiring faith 1 bite at a time. Each episode breaks down the timeless wisdom of the Bible into digestible insights, perfect for those unable to attend services in person. Whether you're seeking spiritual growth or encouragement, Bible Bites offers fresh, engaging perspectives that fit into your busy schedule. Here is your host, Randy Black.
[00:00:48] Randy Black:
In Matthew chapter 9, Jesus performs a miraculous healing by casting a demon from a man who could not speak, restoring his ability to communicate. This short but powerful passage emphasizes not only Christ's authority over spiritual forces, but also the varying reactions people have toward God's work. This miracle invites us to reflect on Christ's power over the physical and spiritual realms, how people respond to God's works, and the importance of faith. As we do each week, let's open up with a prayer. Heavenly father, we thank you for your power and mercy, which heal not only our bodies, but also our souls.
Open our hearts to understand your word today. Help us to recognize your work in our lives and respond with gratitude and with faith. Remove any doubts or harden thoughts within us so that we may embrace your truth. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
[00:02:16] Randy Black:
Matthew chapter 9 verses 32 through 34. Now as they were going out, behold, a demon possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to him. And after the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked. And the crowds were amazed and were saying, nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel. But the Pharisees were saying, he casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.
[00:02:47] Randy Black:
In this passage, a man afflicted by both a spiritual and physical condition, demonic possession and the inability to speak, is brought to Jesus. This reflects the compassion of those who cared enough to bring him to Christ. Their actions remind us that when people are spiritually or physically bound, it may require others to help them encounter Jesus. Jesus immediately acts by casting out the demon, and the man's ability to speak is restored. The healing is instantaneous, showing the absolute authority of Christ over spiritual forces. This reinforces the truth that nothing is too difficult for Jesus, whether it is spiritual bondage or physical infirmity.
The response from the crowd is awe and wonder. They recognize that something extraordinary has occurred, admitting that such miracles have not been seen before in Israel. This amazement underscores the uniqueness of Jesus' ministry, which revealed the power and compassion of God in ways previously unimaginable. In stark contrast, the Pharisees respond with hostility and skepticism. Rather than celebrating the miracle, they accuse Jesus of working through the power of Satan. This accusation highlights the hardness of their hearts as they refuse to acknowledge god's work through Christ.
Their rejection reflects a theme found throughout the gospels. Spiritual blindness can prevent people from recognizing god's truth even when it is right before them. This account encourages us to examine our own responses to God's work. Do we, like the crowd, marvel at his goodness, or do we, like the Pharisees, resist his power due to pride or doubt? This passage challenges us to have hearts that are open to seeing God's hand in our lives and to respond with faith rather than suspicion. We have 5 key takeaways from this passage of scripture. Our first is that Jesus has complete authority over both spiritual forces and physical infirmities.
In this scripture, Jesus demonstrates his unmatched power by not only healing the man's speech, but also by casting out the demon that was binding him. This shows that Christ's authority extends across both the physical and the spiritual realms, leaving no area beyond his reach. No matter how severe the condition, Jesus can bring healing and restoration. His actions invite us to trust that God is sovereign over every challenge we face, whether seen or unseen. Knowing this, we can have confidence that his power is greater than any struggle or opposition in our lives. Our second takeaway is that miracles require faith, either from the individual in need or from those around them.
The man in this scripture could not bring himself to Jesus. It was the faith and the effort of others that brought him to the healing. This highlights the importance of intercession and community and experiencing god's miracles. Sometimes, we need others to stand in the gap for us through prayer or action, just as we are called to do the same for others. Faith and God's power can create opportunities for his intervention in seemingly impossible situations. Even when people cannot express their faith themselves, God honors the faith of those who bring others into his presence.
Our third takeaway is that god's power often surprises and amazes, but not everyone will respond with faith. The crowd marveled at this miracle, recognizing that such power had never been seen before in Israel. However, the Pharisees dismissed it, showing that even witnessing a miracle does not guarantee faith. People respond to god's work differently. Some with amazement, others with skepticism. This serves as a reminder that we should not be discouraged when others reject what god is doing in our lives or the lives of others. Faith requires an open heart, while unbelief often stems from pride or fear of losing control.
Our 4th takeaway is that spiritual pride and skepticism can prevent people from recognizing god's work. The Pharisees' rejection of Jesus' miracle exposes how pride can blind people to the truth. Rather than celebrating the healing, they try to discredit Jesus, showing how preconceived notions and prideful hearts can distort reality. This teaches us that skepticism rooted in pride can cause us to miss out on God's blessings and interventions. We need to approach God with humility, always open to seeing him work in ways we might not expect.
Spiritual pride creates barriers, while humility opens the door to God's transformative power. And our last takeaway is that we are called to bring others to Jesus, especially those who are spiritually or physically bound. Just as the man's companions brought him to Jesus, we are called to help others encounter Christ, especially those trapped by circumstances beyond their control. Some people may not have the strength or the knowledge to seek Jesus on their own, and our role is to guide them toward him. This act of bringing others to Jesus is an expression of love and faith, reflecting God's heart for the lost and the broken.
Whether through prayer, encouragement, or action, we can be instruments of God's healing in others' lives. Our willingness to bring others to Christ creates opportunities for them to experience his life changing power. The healed man in the scripture reminds us of the importance of spiritual freedom. Many people today struggle with forms of bondage, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, that hinder their ability to fully engage with life or God. Just as the man needed others to bring him to Jesus, we too are called to help others experience the freedom that only Christ can offer.
Who in our lives might be waiting for an invitation to encounter Jesus? The scripture also confronts us with the reality that not everyone responds positively to god's work. The crowd's amazement contrasts sharply with the Pharisee's rejection. This teaches us that faith and openness to god are essential. We must guard our hearts against pride and cynicism, which can prevent us from seeing and celebrating the miracles god performs around us. Moreover, this healing, this miracle highlights the significance of communication. This man's inability to speak was both a physical and spiritual limitation.
When Jesus restores his speech, it symbolizes the restoration of relationships with God, with others, and with his own identity. It reminds us that Christ not only sets us free, but also equips us to share our testimonies. The Pharisee's accusation that Jesus worked through Satan warns us of the dangers of misunderstanding or misattributing God's power. It's easy to fall into skepticism when we do not understand how God is working. This passage of scripture encourages us to ask for discernment and humility. Trusting in God's ways are higher than ours. Finally, the simplicity and the swiftness of Jesus' healing point us toward his ultimate mission, to free people from every form of bondage.
When we encounter difficulties in life, we can find hope in knowing that Christ is always able to heal, deliver, and restore. Let's close out our study of the scripture with a prayer. Lord Jesus, we thank you for the healing and freedom that only you can bring. Give us faith to trust in your power, even when we do not understand your ways. Help us to recognize your hand at work in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Keep us from pride and from skepticism, and give us hearts that are open to your truth. Strengthen us to bring others to you so that they too may experience your love and freedom.
In your holy name, we pray. Amen.
[00:13:06] Unknown:
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[00:13:22] Randy Black:
This podcast operates under the value for value model. We hope that through the work we do each week in researching and preparing and writing and recording, that you would receive value, and that in turn, you could then provide value back to us, and a lot of you do, in one of the three forms. That first form is time. Time is as simple as listening to the show, and there are several of you that do each and every week based on the stats I can look at and see. You could also take the time to share the podcast with someone else, giving up your time to tell them about it. You can share in the form of talent, so if you want to offer up a, a piece of cover art to use for one of the episodes, or provide a scripture to look at and potentially create content with, or even write a lesson on some scripture, or even go as far as offering to record with us and be a part of the show. That is a great offer of talent that you can do.
And the final is through treasure, and that would, obviously, by treasure, we mean something that is tangible financial. You can do that by listening in a modern podcast app where you're able to stream satoshis, or, send a boost to the show, which is an amount of satoshis, or a boost to gram that is amount of satoshis with a comment, a message, something attached there to to to encourage us to keep doing what we're doing. You can also visit our website where we have a link there that you can, donate financially, donate your treasure to the show, to support us through on the show, through PayPal.
To learn more about the value for value model and how it is that we apply it to this show, you can head over to our website and read up on it. You can do that at bible dash bytes, bytes.com/theletterv, the number 4, and the letter v. So bible dash bytes.com/v4v. We would hope that you would reach out to us as well from the website and share prayer request with us or send them in a boost to gram, to show us support and also share the prayer request. We hope that we can lift up those prayers, in this community, so that we can raise them up to God and we can get some type of healing or answer or response from God that fits with his will. Just a quick praise report, a gentleman that we had recently requested prayer for here on the show, Jimmy Clayton.
Jimmy had a scan done, looking at the cancer that was in his body, and it looks that there are zero signs of the cancer being active now at this point. And I text with Jimmy back and forth the other day, and he was so appreciative of the prayers that he's been receiving and was just so proud to say that God had taken care of it, and I love that. Jimmy is such a positive man anyway, but hearing him or reading him say that made it that much better for me. Prayer request this week, of course, I'm gonna continue to request that people pray for my dad. Several weeks now, we've talked about it. He has been diagnosed with cancer, and they're getting ready to start tests, and then do a procedure, and then start his treatment.
We're looking at that over the next month month or 2. We're hoping that once the treatment starts, the doctors have been pretty confident that they can treat it within 6 to 9 weeks of starting treatment, so we'll see how that goes. I still wanna request that anyone listening prays for me. I'm still having health issues. I just had one the other day where, I have an issue with fluid retention and stuff in my leg, and, occasionally, I'll just spike a fever, and my leg will get really red and inflamed, not really swollen because it's all it's always large from that. But, that happened the other day, and I had a pretty serious issue with it where I had to leave work early and come home, and and I slept for, gosh, 14 hours, I think, total altogether.
And then, you know, afterwards, we're having the fever and apparently shivering because I don't remember it very well. I, spent the day, Friday, home from work, just trying to recover and and get my energy and stuff back. So if you can, please please remember me. Still remember those people in the areas affected by the storm, Saline and Milton, that they can continue to recover and and and rebuild and bring their lives back, to a sense of normalcy. So, with that said, let's go ahead and close out this section of our show, and the show with a prayer.
Heavenly father, we again thank you for this chance to come together and learn from the Bible, your word. We come together and we lift up these requests, continue to touch and heal my father and and stir his heart that he can return to you. Remember me, Lord. I have these health issues and we're working to address them. I know that you are the one who can you can heal them and and make me better. And thank you, Lord, for the healing you've put on Jimmy. It was great to get that message from him and hear that the cancer appears to be gone and he praised you for that.
Remember any unspoken request our audience has so that you may touch them in the way that you deemed to be best. We know that you hold the answers to all of our prayers, and we trust you and trust in your wisdom to meet those requests with the answer you provide. Also, Lord, it's in your name that we work and strive to share you with the world each week here on the podcast, and that the world might accept your son, Jesus, as their savior, and spend eternity in heaven with you, and me, and him, and all of us that are saved. In Jesus' name, we pray.
Amen. Our next episode is gonna look at Jesus healing and invalid in the town of Bethesda. You can find that in John chapter 5 verses 1 through 15.
[00:20:02] Unknown:
Thank you for joining us for Bible Bites, your virtual Sunday school. Please head over to our website atbibledashbytes.com to learn how to follow, support, or share the show with others. Be sure to listen in next week for more of Bible Bites, inspiring faith one bite at a
[00:20:26] Randy Black:
time.
[00:20:33] Unknown:
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