Miracle #15. Restored sight & speech of man.

1. The Fifteenth Miracle of Messiah
2. Opening-up questions and clues
3. The Messiah knew the Prushim were plotting to kill Him
4. Isaiah the Prophet’s Test of the Four Messianic Miracles
5. Messiah’s Three Arguments
6. A very somber warning
7. Blasphemy of the Spirit of the Holy One

The Fifteenth Miracle of Messiah:

Mattai 12:22-32

{Classical & Mishnaic Hebrew}

אָז הוּבָא אֵלָיו אִישׁ עִוֵּר וְאִלֵּם אֲשֶׁר אֲחָזוֹ שֵׁד וַיִּרְפָּאֵהוּ וַיְדַבֵּר הָאִלֵּם וְגַם רָאָה׃ וַיִּתְמְהוּ כָּל־הֲמוֹן הָעָם וַיֹּאמְרוּ הֲכִי זֶה בֶן־דָּוִד׃ וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ הַפְּרוּשִׁים וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵין זֶה מְגָרֵשׁ אֶת־הַשֵׁדִים כִּי אִם־עַל־יְדֵי בַעַל זְבוּל שַׂר הַשֵׁדִים׃ וְיֵשׁוּעַ יָדַע אֶת־מַחְשְׁבוֹתָם וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם כָּל־מַמְלָכָה הַנֶּחֱלָקָה עַל־עַצְמָהּ תֵּחָרֵב וְכָל־עִיר וָבַיִת הַנֶּחֱלָקִים עַל־עַצְמָם לֹא יִכּוֹנוּ׃ וְהַשָּׂטָן אִם־יְגָרֵשׁ אֶת־הַשָּׂטָן נֶחֱלָק עַל־עַצְמוֹ וְאֵיכָכָה תִכּוֹן מַמְלַכְתּוֹ׃ וְאִם־אֲנִי מְגָרֵשׁ אֶת־הַשֵׁדִים בְּבַעַל־זְבוּל בְּנֵיכֶם בְּמִי יְגַרֲשׁוּ אֹתָם עַל־כֵּן הֵמָּה יִהְיוּ שֹׁפְטֵיכֶם׃ וְאִם בְּרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים אֲנִי מְגָרֵשׁ אֶת־הַשֵׁדִים הִנֵּה הִגִּיעָה אֲלֵיכֶם מַלְכוּת הָאֱלֹהִים׃ אוֹ אֵיךְ יוּכַל אִישׁ לָבוֹא לְבֵית הַגִּבּוֹר וְלִגְזֹל אֶת־כֵּלָיו אִם־לֹא יֶאֱסֹר בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה אֶת־הַגִּבּוֹר וְאַחַר יִשְׁסֶה אֶת־בֵּיתוֹ׃ כָּל אֲשֶׁר אֵינֶנּוּ אִתִּי הוּא לְנֶגְדִּי וַאֲשֶׁר אֵינֶנּוּ מְכַנֵּס אִתִּי הוּא מְפַזֵּר׃ עַל־כֵּן אֲנִי אֹמֵר לָכֶם כָּל־חֵטְא וְגִדּוּף יִסָּלַח לָאָדָם אַךְ־גִּדּוּף הָרוּחַ לֹא יִסָּלַח לָאָדָם׃ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר דְּבַר חֶרְפָּה בְּבֶן־הָאָדָם יִסָּלַח לוֹ וְהַמְחָרֵף אֶת־רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ לֹא יִסָּלַח לוֹ לֹא־בָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְלֹא־לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא׃

{Modern Hebrew}

אָז הוּבָא אֵלָיו אִישׁ אֲחוּז שֵׁד וְהוּא עִוֵּר וְאִלֵּם. יֵשׁוּעַ רִפֵּא אוֹתוֹ וְהָאִלֵּם דִּבֵּר וְגַם רָאָה. הִשְׁתּוֹמְמוּ כָּל הֲמוֹנֵי הָעָם וְאָמְרוּ: הַאִם לֹא זֶה בֶּן־דָּוִד? כְּשֶׁשָּׁמְעוּ זֹאת הַפְּרוּשִׁים אָמְרוּ: זֶה אֵינֶנּוּ מְגָרֵשׁ אֶת הַשֵּׁדִים אֶלָּא בְּעֶזְרַת בַּעַל־זְבוּל שַׂר הַשֵּׁדִים. הוֹאִיל וְיָדַע אֶת מַחְשְׁבוֹתֵיהֶם אָמַר לָהֶם: כָּל מַמְלָכָה הַמְפֻלֶּגֶת בְּתוֹךְ עַצְמָהּ סוֹפָהּ שֶׁהִיא נֶחֱרֶבֶת, וְכָל עִיר אוֹ בַּיִת הַמְפֻלָּגִים בְּתוֹךְ עַצְמָם לֹא יַחֲזִיקוּ מַעֲמָד. אִם הַשָֹטָן מְגָרֵשׁ אֶת הַשָֹטָן, כִּי אָז הִתְפַּלֵּג בְּתוֹךְ עַצְמוֹ וְאֵיךְ תַּעֲמֹד מַמְלַכְתּוֹ? וְאִם אֲנִי מְגָרֵשׁ אֶת הַשֵּׁדִים בְּעֶזְרַת בַּעַל־זְבוּל, בְּעֶזְרַת מִי מְגָרְשִׁים אוֹתָם בְּנֵיכֶם? לָכֵן הֵם יִהְיוּ שׁוֹפְטֵיכֶם. אַךְ אִם עַל־יְדֵי רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים אֲנִי מְגָרֵשׁ אֶת הַשֵּׁדִים, כִּי אָז הִגִּיעָה אֲלֵיכֶם מַלְכוּת הָאֱלֹהִים. אוֹ אֵיךְ יוּכַל אִישׁ לְהִכָּנֵס לְבֵיתוֹ שֶׁל גִּבּוֹר וְלִטֹּל אֶת כֵּלָיו אִם לֹא יִכְפֹּת תְּחִלָּה אֶת הַגִּבּוֹר? רַק אַחֲרֵי כֵן יָבֹז אֶת בֵּיתוֹ. מִי שֶׁאֵינֶנוּ אִתִּי נֶגְדִּי הוּא, וּמִי שֶׁאֵינֶנּוּ אוֹסֵף אִתִּי – מְפַזֵּר. עַל כֵּן אֲנִי אוֹמֵר לָכֶם, כָּל חֵטְא וְגִדּוּף יִסָּלַח לִבְנֵי אָדָם, אַךְ גִּדּוּף כְּלַפֵּי הָרוּחַ לֹא יִסָּלַח. כָּל הַמְדַבֵּר דָבָר נֶגֶד בֶּן־הָאָדָם יִסָּלַח לוֹ, אֲבָל כָּל הַמְדַבֵּר נֶגֶד רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ לֹא יִסָּלַח לוֹ לֹא בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְלֹא בָּעוֹלָם הַבָּא. פ

אז הובא אליו איש אחוז שד והוא עור ואלם. ישוע רפא אותו והאלם דבר וגם ראה. השתוממו כל המוני העם ואמרו: האם לא זה בן-דוד? כששמעו זאת הפרושים אמרו: זה איננו מגרש את השדים אלא בעזרת בעל-זבול שר השדים. הואיל וידע את מחשבותיהם אמר להם: כל ממלכה המפלגת בתוך עצמה סופה שהיא נחרבת, וכל עיר או בית המפלגים בתוך עצמם לא יחזיקו מעמד. אם השטן מגרש את השטן, כי אז התפלג בתוך עצמו ואיך תעמד ממלכתו? ואם אני מגרש את השדים בעזרת בעל-זבול, בעזרת מי מגרשים אותם בניכם? לכן הם יהיו שופטיכם. אך אם על-ידי רוח אלהים אני מגרש את השדים, כי אז הגיעה אליכם מלכות האלהים. או איך יוכל איש להכנס לביתו של גבור ולטל את כליו אם לא יכפת תחלה את הגבור? רק אחרי כן יבז את ביתו. מי שאיננו אתי נגדי הוא, ומי שאיננו אוסף אתי – מפזר. על כן אני אומר לכם, כל חטא וגדוף יסלח לבני אדם, אך גדוף כלפי הרוח לא יסלח. כל המדבר דבר נגד בן-האדם יסלח לו, אבל כל המדבר נגד רוח הקדש לא יסלח לו לא בעולם הזה ולא בעולם הבא. פ

Then a man was brought to him (the Messiah) who was blind and mute, whom a demon had gripped, and he healed him, and the mute could both speak and see. The entire crowd of people was amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” The Prushim heard this and said, “He does not drive away demons except through Ba’al Zevul, the prince of demons.” But Yeshua (the Salvation of Adonai) knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will not stand firm. If the Satan drives out the Satan, he is divided against himself. How then would his kingdom remain firm? If I drive out demons by Ba’al Zevul, by whom do your sons drive them out? Therefore, they will be your judges! But if by the Spirit of God I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you! Or how can a man enter the house of a mighty man to steal his goods if he does not first bind the mighty man? Afterward, he can come up against his house. Everyone who is not for me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I say to you, every sin or offensive word will be forgiven a person, but revilement (blasphemy) of the Spirit will not be forgiven a person. Whoever speaks an insult against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever insults (blasphemes) the Spirit of the Holy One will not be forgiven—neither in this age nor in the age to come.”

Opening-up questions and clues:

The following opening-up questions and clues are provided as an introduction to this study on the 15^th Miracle of Messiah:

1.  Look at the symbolism of the above miracle narrative: At what location does the miracle occur?

2.  Read Isaiah 34:5-6. What are the four miracles that only the Messiah can do? In the fourteen miracles we have studied thus far, which one of the four miracles of Isaiah 34:5-6 has the Messiah already performed? What are the two miracles of the four that the Messiah performed in today’s miracle? According to the four-fold test of Isaiah: after today’s miracle what remaining (fourth) miracle is it that Rabbi Yeshua must still perform?

3.  Even after today’s miracle the Prushim religious leaders continued to attribute the power of the miracles of the Messiah to Satan. He gave three arguments to answer and discredit this claim. What are these three arguments?

4.  What was the very somber warning the Messiah gave to the crowd regarding the claim of the religious leaders that he was performing miracles by the power of Satan? What sins did the Messiah say would be forgiven? What sin did he say would never be forgiven?

5.  Why is it that this unforgivable sin can not be committed today? Under what future circumstances will this unforgivable sin once again be possible? Before giving your answer read, the”Messiah in Yom Kippur,” Chapter 18.

The Messiah knew the Prushim were plotting to kill Him:

The Messiah knew that the Prushim had been plotting to kill him. They objected to just about every miracle and work that the Messiah ever did. They especially rejected Messiah’s claim that he was the “Master of the Sabbath.” How can a mere man claim to be so closely associated to Adonai our God? How did this man do so many miracles? Was Rabbi Yeshua the Messiah?’ If he was the Messiah it was wrong to oppose him. However, what if he was not the Messiah and he performed miracles by the power of Satan? It is obvious that the plural pronoun “they” in today’s text refers to the religious leaders. Why did ‘they’ bring a demon-possessed man to the Messiah that was both blind and mute? Answer: They were testing him:

This was a test. It was the four-fold messianic test of Isaiah 34:5-6.

The religious leaders were hoping to discredit Rabbi Yeshua’s claim that he was the Messiah of Israel. If he failed to perform any one of the *four required miracles listed in Isaiah 34:5-6, then that would prove that Rabbi Yeshua was not the Messiah.

*He must: make the blind see; the deaf hear; the lame walk; and the mute to speak.

Isaiah the Prophet’s Test of the Four Messianic Miracles:

The prophets separated miracles into two categories: ones that anyone might do; and miracles that only the Messiah could do.

In the He brew Scriptures the prophets separated miracles into two categories. First, there were those miracles (sourced in good or evil) that anyone might be able to perform. Second, there were those miracles that only the Messiah of Israel could perform. An example of the latter is found in Isaiah 35:4b-6:

גְּמוּל אֱלֹהִים הוּא יָבֹוא וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶֽם׃ אָז תִּפָּקַחְנָה עֵינֵי עִוְרִים וְאָזְנֵי חֵרְשִׁים תִּפָּתַֽחְנָה׃ אָז יְדַלֵּג כָּֽאַיָּל פִּסֵּחַ וְתָרֹן לְשֹׁון אִלֵּם כִּֽי־נִבְקְעוּ בַמִּדְבָּר מַיִם וּנְחָלִים בָּעֲרָבָֽה׃

The benefit of the Almighty will come,
And He will save you:
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
Then the lame will leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.
For waters will break forth in the wilderness
And streams in the Arabah.

When the Messiah came: he supernaturally made the blind to see; the deaf to hear; the lame to walk; and the mute to speak.

By all scriptural accounts no blind person had ever been made to see, or deaf person made to hear, or lame person made to walk, or mute made to speak. Amazingly, the dead had already been raised to life. We are reminded of the case of Elisha raising a dead child to life (2 Kings 4:18-37). Just as amazing Rabbi Yeshua had performed the same miracle as Elisha in raising the widow of Naim’s son from the dead.

As fantastic a miracle as raising the dead to life is the Prushim (the Messiah’s fellow rabbis) were not all that impressed by it. This was so because the miracle of raising the dead back to life had already occurred in the past. It appears that these highly suspicious and disbelieving religious leaders felt that the miracle of raising the dead might have been faked. They wanted to see further proof. They wanted to see Rabbi Yeshua perform four of the miracles that Isaiah had set down as miracles that only the Messiah could do. So the Prushim brought a mute and blind man to the Messiah:

Could Rabbi Yeshua make the blind and mute man see and speak?

In spite of the signs, wonders, and miracles that Rabbi Yeshua had performed thus far he had yet to perform all four of the required miracles of Isaiah. Therefore, at least for now the Prushim felt free to declare their disbelief that Rabbi Yeshua was the Messiah. The religious leaders were hopeful that Rabbi Yeshua would fail this test. Instead:

The Messiah passed the test! The blind could see; and the mute could hear!

After the Messiah healed the blind and mute man the people were amazed, they began asking themselves was this the Messiah. Literally they asked, could this be the Messiah, Son of David?. Immediately, in spit of the miracle, the Prushim began to claim that Rabbi Yeshua’s power to do exorcisms and heal people was sourced in Ba’al Zevul (Beelzebub)— the prince of demons!

Messiah’s Three Arguments:

Knowing what extreme evil the religious leaders were thinking, the Messiah did something that he rarely did: he defended his authority. He gave three arguments to answer and discredit the Prushim’s claim that he was performing exorcisms and miracles by the power of the prince of demons:

Argument #1.  If Rabbi Yeshua was casting out a demon by the power of Satan, “Why was Satan working against himself?” Why would the evil one allow Yeshua to cast out a demon and free a man that was already under his control?

Argument #2.  If exorcisms were being accomplished by the power of Satan, “Under what authority were all the other exorcisms being performed?” In other words, if the Prushim believed that others (they personally approved of) were casting out demons by the power of HaShem, how did they arrive at the belief that only Yeshua was different? How was any exorcism not a demonstration of the Divine power of HaShem?

Argument #3.  If he drove out demons, “Was he not proving that he was greater than Satan?” If he was able to go into the “strong man’s house,” the realm of the demonic world, and come away as a victor with the spoils of war, “How was this not an institution of the kingdom of God here on earth?”

A very somber warning:

Having presented his case for the establishment of the Kingdom of God here on earth, the Messiah then challenged the people to make a clear decision. The people must either be for him or against him. Then the Messiah Yeshua delivered both a word of personal forgiveness and a very somber prophetic warning to his fellow Yehudim (Jews):

Any Yehudi (Jew) who spoke a word against Yeshua (the Son of Man) would be forgiven.

However, if the nation followed the Prushim religious leaders in attributing the power of the Holy Spirit to Satan, there would be irreversible adverse consequences. For such an exercise of attitude and speech would be an act of “blasphemy against the Spirit of the Holy One.” In other words, if the leaders and the people declared to themselves and to the unbelieving pagan Gentile world that the Messiah Yeshua was empowered by Satan, that generation of the people of Israel would commit a sin so severe that those persons would never find forgiveness from HaShem!

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit:

Blasphemy of the Spirit of the Holy One will never be forgiven!

As for the sin of the blasphemy of the Spirit of the Holy One that our Messiah warned us (Israel) about so long ago: we believe this specific sin can not happen today. This is so because to commit this particular sin of blasphemy one would actually have to be in the physical presence of the Messiah and say to him—and the Presence of the Spirit of the Holy One who Indwells him—“the spirit within you is the spirit of the evil one” (ha satan).

In the above case, which only could have occurred in the first century (CE): the insult to the Messiah, the man Yeshua, was forgiven; however, the insult to the Spirit of the Holy One, directly calling the One (‘ה) who indwells His Messiah—the spirit of satan—will never be forgiven!

NEXT, CALMING THE STORMY SEA…

Messiah in Yom HaBikkurim Chapter 87 >>