The Kingdom Movement

A Literary & Pastoral Study Guide to the Gospel of Matthew

The Inspiration of Matthew,

by Caravaggio

On the King's Errand

Devotional Reflections on Matthew's Gospel

Two Reactions to Jesus:  Mt.9:32 – 34

^9:32 As they were going out, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to him. ³³ After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’ ³⁴ But the Pharisees were saying, ‘He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.’

         Wouldn’t it be nice if Jesus manifested himself in such a way so that everyone would receive him?  But even when Jesus does a miracle (or ten miracles, in Matthew 8 – 9!), there are some people who say, ‘That was an interesting coincidence.’  Even when Jesus transforms people’s lives, some will say, ‘I’m glad that person was inspired to change, but that’s all I think is going on.’  Even when Jesus speaks profound personal truth through someone, some recipients of that word will say, ‘Good guess.’  We’ve looked at the reaction of amazement in past reflections.  Let’s look at the reaction of dismissal.

At this point in the story, the Pharisees’ resistance to Jesus is deepening.  They don’t just have a healthy skepticism about the spiritual power source behind Jesus’ miracles.  If that were the case, they would investigate him more.  They would study the Hebrew Scriptures again.  They would listen more carefully to Jesus’ explanation of those Scriptures.  They would ask other questions.  And most importantly, they would hold off on fixing their opinion.  Instead, they chalk him up to being an agent of Satan, ‘the ruler of the demons.’  That is their untested assumption that they’ll cling to, despite evidence to the contrary.

Have you ever met someone who was dead set in their opinion against Jesus?  An atheist claims that there is no spiritual realm, only the material, so everything in the universe must have a scientific explanation.  That’s quite a big assumption!  So she tries to interpret Jesus within the framework she already has.  He was just a moral teacher, though off kilter.  A Muslim says that Jesus was only a prophet no matter what else he claimed, or what Christians claim.  That’s another large assumption.  Then that person, too, tries to interpret Jesus within the framework she already has.  A relativist says, ‘That’s great you have Jesus.  Religion is really personal and each person has to find what’s right for them.’  That’s another big assumption.  Those are not examples of healthy skepticism and curiosity, but an unhealthy one.  It is an entrenched resistance that has a ready-made interpretation of Jesus.  It’s not how Jesus interpreted himself.  But they hold that interpretation in order to dismiss Jesus.

         But neither they nor the Pharisees can explain away everything about Jesus.  The Pharisees limit their ready-made interpretation of Jesus to his exorcisms, attributing his power to the demonic.  Yet how do they explain Jesus’ physical healings which don’t involve demons?  They don’t.  How do they rebut his interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures?  They can’t.  Can they even answer his questions?  And how will they try to refute his resurrection? 

They don’t have explanations.  That’s the point.  Instead, they hide their laziness with bad assumptions.  I’ll discuss reasons why people reject Jesus more in depth in section three of Matthew (Mt.11:2 – 13:58).  For now, I just want to call attention to what the Pharisees are doing here in Mt.9:34. 

How do we respond to people’s rejection of Jesus?  Pray for ways to have decent conversations, mostly by asking questions.  Tune your ears to what non-Christian people say about Jesus today, and how they dismiss him.  Don’t be intimidated.  Sometimes their reasons are personal and worth hearing.  At other times, their dismissals are just shallow as the Pharisees’.

But the comforting thought from this passage, even though it highlights a rejection of Jesus, is that it is understandable that even our best ministry can be interpreted in a negative way.  We can do the most personal service to others, undertake the most profound miracles, highlight significant personal change, and throw the highest quality events.  There will still be people who say, ‘Yeah, but...’  Despite their reaction, the heavenly Father is still pleased with Jesus.  And He is pleased with us who walk with Jesus by the Spirit in his mission.