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15 Jesus came to know this and withdrew from there. Many people followed him, and he healed them all. 16 He warned them not to tell people what he had done for them. 17 This happened to fulfill what had been said through the Prophet Isaiah when he wrote:
18 Behold my son, whom I choose, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him, and he will announce judgment to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or shout, nor will anyone hear his voice in the street.
20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not put out, Until he brings judgment to victory, 21 and the nations hope in his name.
22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and deaf was brought to him. He healed him so that he could speak and see. 23 All the crowd was amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 When the Pharisees this, they said, “This man cannot cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons.” 25 Knowing what they thought, he said to them, “Every kingdom that is divided against itself will be laid waste, and no city or household divided against itself will stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom endure? 27 And if I cast out demons in the name of Beelzebul, in whose name do your own members cast them out? For this reason, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
Comments
Once again, Jesus heals people and asks them to remain silent about what he has done, a repeat of the Messianic Secret pattern (cf. 9.27-31). This time, Mt quotes Is 42.1-4 to link Jesus’ desired low profile to the meekness of Isaiah’s Suffering Servant.
When Jesus again heals a demon-possessed man, the Pharisees accuse him of being in league with the Devil and thus able to command demons (cf. 9.34). (Beelzebul, meaning Lord of the Flies, is an alternate Hebrew name for Satan.) Jesus rebuts this by pointing out that 1) a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, and 2) the Pharisees themselves perform exorcisms, so their accusation is hypocritical. If real exorcisms are possible at all, Jesus argues, it is because God’s Spirit is active in the world, and therefore the Kingdom of God is breaking into the world.