A dumb man speaks

A man was brought to Jesus who could not talk, yet who was recognizably demon-possessed. After Jesus cast out the demon, the man spoke. Everyone around was amazed at this, saying that nothing like this had happened before. But the Pharisees took exception to the wonder, saying that Jesus was simply casting out demons by the ruler of the demons.

Jesus had cast demons out of people before; the point that seemed to be significant was that the dumb man spoke. This man, who did not speak, also could not communicate in other ways; the evil spirit within him overshadowed any form of sign language. Those who had known this man must have assumed that there was no reason within this human form. They must have assumed the dumb man was an idiot.

Yet when Jesus had cast out the demon, this man spoke. The person, who had appeared to be without any intelligence, could converse with them. For those who had known this pathetic man, a whole man suddenly appeared where they thought there was nothing but a shell. This was something great to all those who watched.

Except the Pharisees could not see the significance of what had happened. A whole man had appeared where only a shell had been before, but the Pharisees did not value common people. This was not significant to them. Their only concern was to maintain a "talking point". They needed to look like they understood what was going on. They knew nothing of demons, or the government of demons; but they confidently stated that Jesus was working with the devil. They found a "talking point" when they knew they did not know what was happening.

What the disciples saw was Jesus casting out a demon through His authority, and in so doing, releasing the whole man from bondage. A man was inside the shell, imprisoned by evil.

Authority can free men from what looks like stupidity.