Casting out of the Mute and Blind Spirit

The Miracle:

This is a quick miracle with great repercussions about Satan, the Kingdom, the sin against the Holy Spirit and the mothers of Jesus, described in three gospels, Mat.12:22-32, Mk.3:22-30, Lk.11:14-26... Luke adds the six Woes.

The quick astonishing Miracle:

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?" (Mat.12).

Again and again Jesus cast out demons and people gets healed, here the mute and blind man now can talk and see. The epileptic had no more convulsions, the woman with the spine bent by Satan for 18 years is healed... Nobody wants to talk now a days about demons, including modern medicine and theology, but I believe if we read with a little faith the gospels, both modern medicine and theology can improve.

Beelzebub... the Kingdom:

Blasphemy of the Pharisees:

24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons." (Mat.12).

===The Kingdom has come=== 

28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Yes, you don't have to wait to the Second Coming of Jesus for the Kingdom to come, it is here already, "upon you"... "within you" says Luke 17:21.

In the Kingdom of God, Jesus is both the King and the Kingdom... if you have Jesus within you, you have the Kingdom, and you are in His Kingdom, in His Church:

I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Gal.2:20).

If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit (J.15:5)

Every Christian can and should do like Jesus, cast out demons and heal the sick,

We have now with us and within us someone greater than Jonah and Solomon (Mat.12:41-42) 

The Six Woes

The Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit:

31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Mat.12)

The 7 Sins against the Spirit, are against a person, not a force:

1 The blasphemy against the Spirit: He can be blasphemed, in Mt.12:24-32, Lk.12:10, Mk.3:29: The unforgivable sin, the sin against the love of God, attributing his deeds to Satan, the obstinate unrepentant who can't believe, not even think in the glorious infinite mercy of God, much bigger that all your sins, like the ocean compared with a drop of water, the idiotic sin of Judas!.

2 He can be lied: Read the story of Ananias in Ac.5:3-4.

3 He can be insulted: "how much severer punishment do you think he will deserve… he who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Heb.10:29).

4 Grieve or provoke the holy Spirit: "Do not sadden the Holy Spirit of God what you were marked with (Eph.4:30, Is.63:10).

5 Quench the Spirit: "Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise the prophet's warnings" (1Thes.5:19).

6 Resist the Spirit: Ac.7:51, Rev.22:17.

7 No faith in the Holy Spirit, Jn.3:6, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7-15.

You and I "mothers" of Jesus!:

Thus says in Mk.3:35 and Mt.12:50: "Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." I already new that Jesus is my brother... but I never even had a thought that I am his "mother"... Jesus himself says it... and, really, you and I are "mothers of Jesus", because the essence of Christianity is to have Jesus in us (Gal.2:20), and to give Him to others when we evangelize... it is the essence of motherhood.

Mat 12:22-50

Jesus and Beelzebub

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?"

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."

25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.

30 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

33 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.

34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

The Sign of Jonah

38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."

39 He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than

Jonah is here.

42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.

43 "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.

44 Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.

45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.

47Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."

48 He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"

49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.

50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

Luke 11:37-54

Luke adds the Six Woes in this miracle:

37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.

38 But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised.

39 Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?

41 But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

42 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

43 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

44 "Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it."

45 One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also."

46 Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

47 "Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them.

48 So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.

49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.'

50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,

51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

52 "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."

53 When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions,

54 waiting to catch him in something he might say.