Give It Up! Say No to Pharisaical Following

They brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and Jesus cured him. (Matthew 12:22)  

For the third time in Matthew 12, we meet person or group of people with a physical problem. For Jesus, each situation was a time to compassionately help someone in need; for the Pharisees, it was another opportunity to use someone’s plight to try and undermine Jesus’ authority.  Jesus, however, again proves his authority, this time over the devil, by casting out a demon which made this person mute and blind. Obviously, it was crucial for the person healed; the eyewitnesses respond in befuddled amazement. But the Pharisees do not even consider the man; they were just looking for some kind of explanation which would give them an upper hand over Jesus the healer. So they blasphemously try and get the crowd to believe that Jesus “casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”                                                       

Prayer – Jesus, to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given, give us courage and compassion in your name today to help those afflicted by the devil.