Daily Devotion for Friday 5th December 2025

St Matthew 9: 32 – 34
 
After they had gone away, a demoniac who was mute was brought to Jesus. And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, ‘Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.’ But the Pharisees said, ‘By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.’
 
Reflection
 
Chapter 9 begins with the healing of a man who is paralysed, goes on the tell of the call of Matthew, and a controversy concerning fasting. Then the focus returns to healing as Jesus restores a young girl to life, heals a woman and two men who are blind.
 
Now after the departure of the two men we get a final description of a healing in this chapter as Jesus exorcises someone who is spoken of as a demoniac and is unable to speak. The word used here for muteness is kophos is likely to imply deafness as well. Later in Matthew’s Gospel a similar story is told of the healing of a demoniac who is both blind and mute (Matthew 12:22-24).
 
If you read this story in the Revised English Bible (and the New English Bible), the whole of verse 34, which is the response of the Pharisees is left out, the editors are following manuscripts of the Gospel which omit this verse. Other scholars take a different view and favour the longer reading and so include what the Pharisees have to say.
 
Let us return to the story, in Jesus’ day a number of diseases are associated with possession, and being unable to speak was one such disease. Jesus casts out the demon, we are not told how, and the crowds are amazed, they have not seen anything like this before. There is a contrast between the crowds and the Pharisees, who see the whole thing in a bad light. This has surely been done by the ruler of the demons.
 
The contrasting reaction between the people and those who oppose Jesus is at the heart of our understanding of the story. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29), the demand to follow without turning back (Matthew 8:18-22), the calming of the storm (8:23-27) and his care for the troubled and the sick all indicate the radical nature of Jesus’ challenge, inviting faith or opposition. In Jesus the Kingdom has come.
 
Prayer
 
Gracious God,
Jesus was concerned for those who struggled,
The sick,
The poor,
And the oppressed.
He brought healing and liberation.
 
May we,
Who follow Jesus today,
Be open to the needs of those around us.
Challenging the demons of abuse, prejudice, conflict and injustice.
Amen.