Jesus was casting out the devil

JESUS WAS CASTING OUT THE DEVIL
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 9:32-33 32
While they were going out, a man who
was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to
Jesus. 33
And when the demon was driven out, the man who
had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said,
"Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Two Devils
Matthew 9:32-34
J.A. MacdonaldWe have just seentwo blind men in agreement. We are now
introduced to two devils in diversity. Here is the dumb devil. Here also is the
devil muttering blasphemy.
I. HERE IS A COMPARISONOF TWO SAD CASES.
1. The dumb demoniac.
(1) Here is a man bodily in the hands of a demon. So completely is he in the
powerof the evil spirit that his self-controlis lost. What an emblem of the
helplessnessofthose who are morally "carriedcaptive by the devil at his will"
!
(2) He is "dumb."
(a) He has no voice for prayer.
(b) He has no voice for praise.
(c) He has no voice for testimony.
(3) God had not opened his mouth. No other powerwas competent.
2. The blaspheming Pharisee.

(1) He had a voice to impeach the Holy One as a sinner.
(a) Because he did the best works on the best of days.
(b) Because he condescendedto eat with publicans and sinners.
(c) Because he did not fast in deference to rabbinical tradition.
(d) Because he proved that he has power on earth to forgive sins.
(2) In all this the devil was concealed. Forwhereindoes this voice essentially
differ from that of the Gadarene demoniacs who cried, "Whathave we to do
with thee, thou Son of God?" (Matthew 8:29). Malignity is no less devilish
because maskedas piety.
(3) The blasphemy of the Pharisee advancedto refer the miracles of Christ to
diabolicalagency.
(a) The miracles as facts could not be disputed. It is too late in the day for the
modern sceptic to dispute them.
(b) The Pharisee had no other way in which to evade their evidence but to
trace them to the worstpossible authorship.
(c) The malignity of Beelzebubis in the libel. And how much better is the
sceptic who traces the miracles of Christ to natural causes? Is not the
influence of Satanstill hidden under what are called natural disorders?
II. THE MORE SUBTLE PROVES THE SADDER.
1. The dumb devil is driven out.
(1) The demoniac is brought to Jesus. He cannot come of himself.
(2) He is brought in the arms of compassionatefaith. The devil cannotresist
the powerof faith, though exercisedby third parties. Let not the righteous
relax the effectualfervent prayer.
(3) In response to prayer the demon is expelled. Behold, the dumb has found
his voice. Saulof Tarsus in conversionfound his voice in prayer (see Acts
9:11). Praise is the companion of prayer (Psalm51:15).
2. The multitudes marvel.
(1) No wonder they should, for here were four stupendous miracles wrought
in one afternoon.
(a) The healing of the profluvious woman.
(b) The restoring of Jairus's daughter to life.
(c) The imparting of vision to two blind men.
(d) And now the expulsion of the dumb devil from the demoniac.

(e) To these he immediately added many more (ver. 35).
(2) They express their admiration in the exclamation, "it was never so seenin
Israel." And if not in Israel, where, then? Forthe Hebrews, themselves a
miraculous people, were of all peoples the most favoured by the working of
miracles amongstthem.
3. The blaspheming devil holds his own.
(1) The Pharisees nevercame to Christ. They were wilfully, therefore
hopelessly, wicked.
(2) By their wickednessthey prevented the astonishedmultitude from
accepting their Messiah.
(3) The bad influence of the Pharisees is seenin the apostasyof the Hebrew
nation to this day. - J.A.M.
Biblical Illustrator
And when the devil was castcut, the dumb spake.
Matthew 9:32, 33
The dumb made to speak
J. F. Clymer.Jesus had just touched the eyes of the blind; now a dumb man is
brought to Hint. Speechthe specialgift and privilege of man. It is the
revelation of thought; the aqueduct of the soul; the medium of
companionship. Dumbness one of the greatestblights of life. The highest
privilege of speechis found in the Divine sphere.
I. SPIRITUAL DUMBNESS IS A GREAT CALAMITY. Through four
thousand years Godwas approaching a dispensationof tongues for the highest
expressionof His life to men. From Abraham to Christ was the dispensation
of dreams. .Notto use the tongue for the propagationof Divine truth is to cut
it off from its highest usefulness. Dumbness and deafness are allied: not to
speak for Christ is not to be able to hear Christ's words to your own soul
(Romans 10:9).
II. SPIRITUAL DUMBNESS IS OCCASIONED BYDEMONIACAL
POSSESSION. WhenChrist castthe devil out the dumb spake.

1. Some complain that their intellectual culture is not sufficient to enable them
to speak to edification. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Godhath
ordained praise. The demon of intellectual pride must be castout.
2. Some say, "I have very little ability, others can do so much better." God
does not want ability so much as availability. The demon of selfishness must
be castout.
3. Others say, "I can't and I won't use my tongue in the Church's service, I
have not been used to it." The demon of wilfulness must be eastout.
III. CHRIST'S WORK AMONGST BIEXR IS TO CAST OUT DEMONS
THAT POSSESS THE HUMAN SOUL. (1 John 3:8.)
(J. F. Clymer.)
EXPOSITORY(ENGLISHBIBLE)
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(32)A dumb man possessedwith a
devil.—This narrative also is given by St. Matthew only. Referring to the Note
in the Excursus on Matthew 8:28 for the generalquestion as to “possession,”
it may be noted here that the phenomena presentedin this case were those of
catalepsy, orof insanity showing itself in obstinate and sullen silence. The
dumbness was a spiritual disease, notthe result of congenitalmalformation.
The work of healing restoredthe man to sanity rather than removed a bodily
imperfection. Comp. the analogous phenomena in Matthew 12:22, Luke 11:14.
The latter agrees so closelywith this that but for the factof St. Matthew’s
connecting our Lord’s answerto the accusationof the Pharisees withthe
secondof these miracles, we might have supposedthe two identical.
BensonCommentaryHYPERLINK "/context/matthew/9-32.htm"Matthew
9:32-34. As they went out — Namely, the men that had been blind; behold,
they brought to him a dumb man — Whose dumbness was owing to his being
possessedwith a devil. From the circumstance of this demoniac’s being dumb,
Erasmus conjectures that he was also deprived of the use of his reason. If so,
being insensible of his ownmisery, he had as little inclination as ability to
apply for a cure. He could not even make his misery known by signs, and
therefore needed to be brought to the Saviour by others. And when the devil
was castout — Namely, by the powerful word of Jesus;the dumb spake —
Readily, distinctly, rationally, and fluently. And the multitude marvelled —
Were astonishedboth at the greatnessofthe miracle and at the instantaneous
manner in which it was wrought, as also at the many other miracles which
they had just seenperformed. Saying, It was never so seenin Israel — Not

even in Israel, where so many wonders have been seen. “This reflection was
perfectly just; for no one of the prophets, that we read of in the Old
Testament, appears to have wrought so many beneficial miracles in his whole
life, as our Lord did in this one afternoon.” — Doddridge. But the Pharisees
said, He castethout devils through the prince of the devils — Not being able to
deny facts that were so notorious, in order to prevent the effect which they
saw them likely to produce on the people, (namely, to convince them that
Jesus was the Messiah,)being moved with the bitterest spite againsthim, they
impudently, and contrary to all reasonand common sense, affirmed that
instead of being the Christ, or a prophet, he was a vile magician, who castout
devils by the help of Beelzebub, their prince. A calumny this which the
Pharisees frequently uttered, but which our Lord fully confuted, as the reader
will see in the notes on Matthew 12:22-30.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary9:32-34 Ofthe two, better a dumb
devil than a blaspheming one. Christ's cures strike at the root, and remove the
effectby taking awaythe cause;they open the lips, by breaking Satan's power
in the soul. Nothing can convince those who are under the powerof pride.
They will believe anything, however false or absurd, rather than the Holy
Scriptures; thus they show the enmity of their hearts againsta holy God.
Barnes'Notes on the BibleAnd as they went out, behold, they brought unto
him - That is, the friends of the dumb man brought him. This seems to have
occurredas soonas the blind men which had been healedleft him. Possiblyit
was from what they had observedof his powerin healing them.
A dumb man possessedwith a devil - That is, the effectof the "possession," in
his case,was to deprive him of speech. Those "possessedwith devils" were
affectedin different ways (see the notes at Matthew 4:24), and there is no
improbability in supposing that if other forms of disease occurredunder
demoniacalpossessions, this form might occuralso.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary32. As they went out, behold,
they brought to him a dumb man possessedwith a devil—"demonized." The
dumbness was not natural, but was the effect of the possession.
Matthew Poole's CommentarySee Poole on"Matthew 9:33".
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAs they went out,.... The Syriac version
reads it, "when Jesus wentout"; to which agreesthe Arabic, againstall the
copies:for not he, but the men who had been blind, and now had their sight
restored, went out from the house where Jesus was;which circumstance is
mentioned, and by it the following accountis introduced, partly to show how
busy Christ was, how he was continually employed in doing good, and that as

soonas one work of mercy was over, another offered; and partly, to observe
how closelyand exactly the prophecies of the Old Testamentwere fulfilled; in
which, as it was foretold, that "the eyes of the blind" should "be opened";so
likewise, that"the tongue of the dumb" should "sing", Isaiah35:5.
Behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessedwith a devil. The word
signifies one that is deaf, as well as dumb; as does the Hebrew word often used
by the Jewishwriters for a deaf and dumb man; one, they say (g), that can
neither hear nor speak, and is unfit for sacrifice, andexcusedmany things:
and indeed these two, deafness and dumbness, always go togetherin persons,
who are deaf from their birth; for as they cannothear, they cannotlearn to
speak:but this man seems to be dumb, not by nature, but through the
possessionofSatan, who had takenaway, or restrained the use of his speech,
out of pure malice and ill will, that he might not have the benefit of
conversationwith men, nor be able to say anything to the glory of God. This
man did not come of himself to Christ, perhaps being unwilling, through the
powerand influence the devil had over him; but his friends, who were
concernedfor his welfare, and who were thoroughly persuadedof the power
of Christ to heal him, by the miracles they had seen, or heard performed by
him, brought him to him; and, no doubt, expressedtheir desire that he would
castout the devil, and cure him, which he did.
(g) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Trumot, c. 1. sect. 2. T. Bab. Chagiga, fol.
2. 2.
Geneva Study Bible{7} As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb
man possessedwith a devil.
(7) An example of that power that Christ has overthe devil.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT CommentaryHYPERLINK "/context/matthew/9-
32.htm"Matthew 9:32-33.[438]Αὐτῶν] Placedfirst for sake ofemphasis, in
contrastto the new sufferer who presents himself just as they are going out.
ἐφάνη οὕτως]ἐφάνη is impersonal, as in Thucyd. vi. 60. 2 (see Krüger in loc.),
so that the general“it” is to be regardedas matter for explanation. See by all
means Krüger, § 61. 5. 6. Nägelsbach, note on Ilias, p. 120, ed. 3. What the
matter in question speciallyis, comes out in the context; Matthew 9:33-34,
ἐκβάλλει τὰ δαιμόνια. Therefore to be takenthus: never has it, viz. the casting
out of demons, been displayed in such a manner among the Israelites.
According to Fritzsche, Jesus forms the subject; never had He shown Himself
in so illustrious a fashion (Rettig in d. Stud. u. Krit. 1838, p. 788 f.). But in that

case, how is ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ to be explained? Formerly it was usual to interpret
thus: οὕτως stands for τοῦτο or τοιοῦτότι, like the Hebrew ‫ןֵּכ‬ (1 Samuel
23:17). A grammatical inaccuracy;in all the passagesreferredto as cases in
point (Psalm 48:6; Jdg 19:30;Nehemiah 8:17), neither ‫ןֵּכ‬ nor οὕτως means
anything else than thus, as in 1 Sam., loc. cit., καὶ Σαοὺλ ὁ πατήρ μου οἶδεν
οὕτως:and Saul my father knows it thus. That false canonis also to be
shunned in Mark 2:12.
[438]Holtzmann thinks that this story likewise owes its origin merely to an
anticipation of Matthew 11:5. According to de Wette, Strauss, Keim, it is
identical with the healing mentioned in Matthew 12:22 ff. According to
various sources “markedas a duplicate” (Keim). The demoniac, ch. 12, is
blind and dumb. And see note on Matthew 12:22.
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK"/context/matthew/9-
32.htm"Matthew 9:32-34. The dumb demoniac (Luke 11:14). A slight
narrative, very meagre in comparisonwith the story of the Gerasene
demoniac, the interestcentring in the conflicting comments of spectators
which probably securedfor it a place in the Logia of Matthew.
Bengel's GnomenHYPERLINK"/matthew/9-32.htm"Matthew 9:32.
ΠροσήνεγκανΑὐτῷ, κ.τ.λ., they brought to Him, etc.)One who could scarcely
come of his own accord.
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 32-34. - The demon castout of the dumb man. The
astonishment of the multitudes and their confession. [The accusationby the
Pharisees.]The whole narrative greatlyresembles the cure of the blind and
dumb man possessedwith a devil (Matthew 12:22-24;Luke 11:14, 15), as may
be seenfrom the fact that the following words are common to both passages,
the brackets indicating a want of exactcorrespondencein the original. "They
brought to him one possessedwith a devil, dumb, and the [dumb spake]. And
the multitudes [said.]... But the Pharisees, He castethout the devils by... the
prince of the devils." One explanation is that the two narratives are taken
kern different sources, but represent the same incident; another, that as in
vers. 27-31, so also here, the narratives of two similar incidents have become
assimilated. At any rate, in the case ofver. 34 there has probably been
assimilation, and that since the writing of the Gospel. For:
(1) Ver. 34 is wanting in D, the Old Latin manuscripts a and k, Hilary and
Juvencns, and is therefore rightly bracketedby Westcottand Hort as perhaps
"a Westernnon-interpolation" (2. § 240).

(2) The verse seems to be hardly in complete accordance withthe aim of the
whole section, which ends much more suitably with the effecton the
multitudes. In Matthew 12:24 the verse forms a climax (cf. Matthew 12:2, 10,
14). But here there has been no opposition mentioned since the very beginning
of the chapter (for the disobedience of the blind men cannot be so called), so
that the monstrous accusationcomes inquite unexpectedly. Observe that this
is not a case in which subjective difficulties are in themselves a prima facie
argument for the genuineness ofa phrase, for the early copyists troubled
themselves very little about questions of the internal arrangement and the
generalaim of the sections. Verse 32. - (And, RevisedVersion) as they went
out (forth, RevisedVersion; ver. 31). They were still on the threshold (αὐτὼν
δὲ ἐξερχομένων). Behold, they brought to him. The rendering of the Revised
Version, "there was brought to him," is awkward, but avoids the implication
that the blind men brought him this fresh case. A dumb man possessedwith a
devil. In Matthew 12:22 the man was blind also.
Vincent's Word StudiesDumb (κωφὸν)
The word is also used of deafness (Matthew 11:5; Mark 7:32; Luke 7:22). It
means dull or blunted. Thus Homer applies it to the earth; the dull, senseless
earth ("Iliad," xxiv., 25). Also to a blunted dart ("Iliad," xi., 390). The
classicalwriters use it of speech, hearing, sight, and mental perception. In the
New Testament, only of hearing and speech, the meaning in eachcase being
determined by the context.
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
An Unparalleled Cure BY SPURGEON
“As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man possessed
with a devil. And when the devil was castout, the mute spoke:and the
multitudes marveled, saying, It was never seenlike this in Israel.”
Matthew 9:32, 33
As we read the chapter we noticedthe rapidity with which the cures worked
by the Savior followedeachother, how much of mercy was compressedinto a
short space of time. He has no soonerhealedthe paralytic than, straightway,

we find Him curing the woman who had an issue of blood, then raising to life
the ruler’s dead daughter and next giving sight to two blind men, then quickly
after that, healing this poor man who was deaf and dumb–and possessedwith
a devil. Matthew seems to callattention to this successionofcures–“As they
went out, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man possessedwith a devil.”
The blind men disposedof, here is a dumb demoniac ready for the great
Physician’s hands. No sooneris one actof mercy done than there is another
person needing an equal display of Grace and power–andthe Saviorat once
goes to the task and heals again, again, again and yet again!What an
inexhaustible fullness there is in Christ! He can bless and bless, and bless, and
bless and still remain as full of blessing as ever.
I think that this ought to encourage us who have heard of revivals of religion.
There is no time in which anyone is so likely to be converted as when many
others are being brought to the Lord. When the Saviorseems to rouse Himself
up to an extraordinary display of power, it is well to be present and to put in
our plea that we may share in those waves of mercy which follow so quickly,
one upon the other! Have you heard of any who have been savedof late? Have
your own friends been converted? Has the Lord been gracious to any of your
old companions? Come, then, and put your case before the Lord Jesus Christ,
feeling that you will not weary Him, that He will not need to pause till He has
gatheredfresh strength, but that He can continue to bless without cessation!
Say to Him, as we have many times sung–
“Lord, I hear of showers of blessing
You are scattering, full and free.
Showers, the thirsty land refreshing–
Let some drops fall on me.”
And you need not be so modest as to say, “Let some drops fall on me,” for
when the Lord blesses, He delights to giveshowersofblessing–showersin one
place and then showers in another. He can still actin this glorious fashion,
blessing one after another without a pause.
Then observe, dear Friends–forit lies at the very door of our subject–the
wonderful readiness ofthe Lord thus to bless men. You do not often find them
kneeling down and importuning Him to bless them. It does occur, sometimes,
when there is great faith and He means to try and prove it, but, as a rule, and
especiallyin this chapter, you cansee how ready the Lord was to bless. A
paralyzed man is dropped through the ceiling by four friends and the Savior
at once sees their faith before a word is spoken–andHe bestows both
forgiveness ofsin and healing of sickness.In another case, the child lies dead
and the father asks Christto come and He comes. He was as willing to come as

the father was that He should come. Then, next, a woman comes behind Him
and touches the hem of His garment and the virtue flows out even from the
blue fringe of the seamless robe which He wore!Then the blind men askedfor
sight and Jesus gave it to them!
But here was one who could not ask, for he was dumb. I do not suppose that
he even went the length of a desire, forhe was possessedofa devil–and that
devil masteredthe poor creature who was both deaf and dumb, for the Greek
word means that he was a mute. He could not speak and he could not hear
others speak, so the Savior, though He perceivedno faith in him, and no
prayer could come from him, yet noticed and honored the faith of those who
brought him–andswiftly and spontaneouslydid His mercy flow out to this
poor deaf and dumb demoniac!
Let us admire this readiness of Christ to bless and put our admiration to a
practicaluse. Come, dear Heart, you have not to plead with Him to make Him
merciful, for He loves you better than you love yourself! You have not to
persuade Him to be gracious–Christis no churl, holding His blessings with a
tight hand as though He would rather hoard than bestow them on the needy.
No, as freely as the sun scatters his light. As freely as the clouds dispense rain,
so does Christ bless where He sees thatthere is need of blessing!Then let us
put our friends in Christ’s way by breathing a secretsilent prayer for them.
And let us also put ourselves in Christ’s way–andmay the great Master
speedily heal us to the praise ofthe Glory of His Grace!
So I think we see very clearly in our Lord’s working these two things, rapidity
and readiness.
Then, once more, observe the greatease with which the Savior moved in every
case. Ido not know whether it strikes you, but it seems to me that Matthew, in
the text before us, intimates the remarkable ease of the Savior. I will read it to
you again. “As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man
possessedwith a devil. And when the devil was castout, the mute spoke.” The
Evangelistdoes not say that Jesus Christcastout the devil–it was done so
much as a matter of course by the Saviorthat Matthew takes it for granted
that it was done! When you have to get into the swing of such a narrative as
this and you have some five or six different cures to relate, you seemto arrive
at the feeling, “Well, they have only to come to Christ and the cure is worked
at once.”
Sometimes the Masterhealed with a word. At other times with a touch.
Occasionally, it was not His touch, but the touch of the person healed. And
here we are not told whether it was by a word, or a look, or how it was that

the healing act was done. Let Christ, Himself, once meet the devil and that is
an end to Satan’s dominion! I may stand here and preachmy very soul away–
and effectnothing by the most earnestlabor. But when the Mastercomes into
the field, whatis there that canstand before Him? The devil must flee even out
of a deaf and dumb man who cannot plead for himself! He must depart when
once the Masterputs forth His Divine Power.
O Sirs, this is my hope for the salvation of the unsaved! If it depended upon
my pleading, Iwould have scanthopes! But as it depends upon Him who has
risen from the dead and who always lives at the right hand of God. As it
depends upon Him who has pledged us His Presencewherevertwo or three
are met togetherin His name and who has promised to be with His people
whereverthe Gospelis preached, then we expect to see wonders of
Graceworkedby Christ the mighty Miracle-Worker!May we see some of
them workedin our midst this very hour!
This will suffice by wayof introducing the subject and now let me callyour
careful attention to this specialcase as anencouragementto any who are
seeking mercyfrom the Lord.
1. The multitudes said, “It was never seenlike this in Israel” and the
multitudes spoke the truth, for, first, IT WAS A VERY
EXTRAORDINARYCASE. Here was a man deaf and dumb and
possessedby a devil–and probably deaf and dumb because possessedby
a devil.
The parallel of this poor man’s case, if we take the miracle and spiritualize it,
can be found in some sinners who aredumb so that they cannotexpress their
needsto do so, but they are honest when they say that they cannot even
describe themselves, or cannotso plead for themselves as to cry to Godfor
mercy. They have the convictionthat they would be hypocrites if they did.
They feel as if it would be an insult to God if they were to attempt to pray. All
this is a mistake, but yet such is their feeling. This poor man’s dumbness came
of the possessionof the devil and so does this inability to pray–it is often the
work of Satan upon the heart of sinners when they cannotspeak. If anyone
were to ask them about their soul’s affairs, they could not sayanything. They
have often, perhaps, been addressedby earnestEvangelists who have tried to
find out what was wrong with them, but they could never give an answer.
There are such spiritually dumb persons who have long come to this
Tabernacle. I often wonderthat they continue to come, yet they do, and
Brothers and Sisters have tried in all manner of ways to getat them, but they
cannot. These people seemto be shut in by impenetrable barriers of ice, so
that they cannotbe reachedby any ordinary means. They cannot reply to a

question, for they are dumb. It must be a dreadful thing to feel as if you could
not tell even the Lord about your case!
But then, perhaps, it is worse to be deaf, and this dumb man was also deafso
that he could not hear Jesus speak. Itisa greatdeprivation to be unable to tell
the Masterour trouble, but it is a greaterdeprivation not to be able to hear
that dear Voice which can wake the dead, which can heal the sick, which can
change the nature, which can speak Grace into the soul! There are some in
our midst who seemas if they could not hear. They come to the place of
worship, but they say–
“I hear, but seemto hear in vain,
Insensible as steel.
If anything is felt, ‘tis only pain
To find I cannot feel.”
I am gladwhen they getas far as that last line, but they are deaf until the
voice of God goes with the voice of the ministry. If they read the Bible, it does
not have that effect upon their conscienceandtheir heart which it does when
it is accompaniedby the mighty working of the Holy Spirit.
Then there are persons who appearto be like this demoniac, not even desiring
good. They feel as if they were underthe influence of Satan. I know a well-
educatedman in a good position in societywho might be a comfort to his wife
and family. You would like to speak to him if you could see him just now, but
I would not like you to see him at any timewhen he is drunk–then he is a curse
to his poor family and to the whole district! Oh, what a life a man leads when
once the demon of drunkenness has gained the mastery overhim! I do not
wonder that such a man is both deaf and dumb to the Gospel!
Some are in the grip of that foul and loathsome demon of licentiousness–they
seemas if they went after their lust greedily, they cannotbe kept back from it
and, of course, they cannotpray–they cannot hear the Word with any right
realization of its power. Satan has such a mastery over them that theirs is a
terrible case, like that of this deaf and dumb demoniac. I do not wonder that
the multitudes said, when Christ had cured him, “It was never seenlike this in
Israel.”
II. So, next, it was not only an extraordinary case that was brought to Christ,
but IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARYCURE that He worked, for we read
that the devil was castout and the mute spoke!
Note, first, that the devil was castout. Whenever he goes out of himself, he
always comes back again. But when he iscastout, He that threw him out keeps
him out. There are some men that reform, though they hardly know why, and

then, by-and-by, they go back to their old sin and they are worse than ever.
But wheneverChrist comes to deal with this strong-armedman, He ejects him
with a Divine Violence and never permits him to return, for the strongerMan
who drove him out keeps that house in peace. This casting out of the devil is a
very wonderful work. Maythe Lord come and perform it in our midst! May
the demon of drunkenness, or lust, or whatever it is, be flung out of the
window, never to return to the soul again!
Then, next, the dumb man spoke. That, also, was a wonderful thing. Deafand
dumb, how did he know the meaningand value of different sounds?
Ordinarily we would have to explain to such a person what was the force of
such a vowel, or of such a combination of vowels and consonants, but this man
at once spoke!Matthew does not recordwhat the man said, though he does
tell us what the multitudes said. Curiosity might leadus to want to know what
this man said than what the multitudes said, but the Lord knew that it would
be more to our edification to know what the multitudes testified concerning
the miracle! What is recordedis of much more value than what is omitted, we
may be sure of that.
I wonder, however, what the man did say. I do not know, but I can imagine
what I would have saidif I had been in his place. I would have said, “Blessed
be the Lord God who has delivered me from the powerof the devil!” I would
also have said, “O Lord Jesus, I love You! Let me follow You wherever You
go!” I would not have known what I did not wantto sayunder such
circumstances, but if there had been some greatunusual word to express
intense gratitude, I would have wanted to use that–
“Oh, for this love, let rocks and hills
Their lasting silence break,
And all harmonious human tongues
The Savior’s praises speak!”
It is always amazing to me, but I have often seenit–some foul blasphemer, or
some other greatsinner has been convertedand almostimmediately he has
spokenthe language of Canaanas sweetlyas if he had been an old saint! I
have known a womanrescuedfrom the streets, foul with vice, yet as soonas
ever she has been truly penitent at the Savior’s feet, the tears with which she
has washedthose precious feethave been as pure as ever fell from a godly
matron’s eyes!The Grace of God makes marvelous changes where it comes
into the soul, for the devil is castout and a holy tongue is put in! Saintly
speechis taught–not in 12 lessons, as I hear that some teachthe German
tongue–but in a single lessonis taught that blessedlanguage of prayer, praise
and testimony to the power and love of Christ which, I think, must have been

what this man said. “It was never seenlike this in Israel,” said the multitudes,
for they could hardly believe their own ears when this poor deaf-mute
commencedtalking at such a rate! It was wonderful and I am sure that if
some people I know are saved, the world will scarcelybelieve it!
I saw a Brother this week. I had seenhis wife some time ago and I had known
how brutally he had treated her. And when I saw him confessing Christand
weeping over his sin, I was ready to weepon his neck to think that he should
be among us loving the Savior when once his mouth was full of oaths and
cursing and the drunkard’s cup seemedto be always at his lips. The Lord does
greatwonders!If there are any more of these outrageous sinners here, may
He come and deal with you till everybody shall say of Tom, or Harry, or Jack,
or Polly, “The Lord has made such a change in that greatprofligate, it was
never so seenin Israel.” Godbe thanked for the very hope that such a miracle
of mercy may yet be worked!Thus, first, this was an extraordinary case, and
next, it was an extraordinary cure.
III. But, then, it is all accountedfor by this fact, IT WAS WROUGHT BY AN
EXTRAORDINARYPERSON!
There had been many Prophets in Israeland God had workedmiracles by
them, but now there stood in Israelthe Incarnate God Himself. He who had
now come to deal with the sick and with those possessedofdevils was “The
Mighty God.” Omnipotence was in His hands, Omniscience was in His eyes,
Infinite Love was in His heart and He had come to deal with the woes and
needs of men. Surely, Brothers and Sisters, in such a case we might expect
that there would be things done that had never before been seenin Israel!
Israelwas the land of wonders and yet here was a wonder such as Israelnever
marveled at before and, if it had never been seenin Israel, you may depend
upon it that it had never been seenanywhere else in the whole world! So, if
Christ comes and saves greatsinners and makes evenHis people wonder and
say, “It was never seenlike this among us,” then, depend upon it, it was never
so seenanywhere else!
If conversionhad to be workedby ministers, Evangelists andteachers, we
would like to pick out some very tender hearts and gentle spirits–those who
had been trained from their youth up in the ways of godliness–butas
conversionis always the work of the Lord, Himself, and the new birth is
workedby the Holy Spirit, then it does not matter what are the materials with
which the Lord has to deal! God is able of these stones to raise up children to
Abraham! He can call Saulof Tarsus from among the Pharisees and Matthew
from among the publicans–and the woman who loved much from among the
harlots! Christ could save the dying thief, yes, and the very chief of sinners

had an open gate of mercy because God, Himself, had assumedhuman flesh
and had come down to save the guilty. “The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the only begottenof the
Father, full of Grace and truth.”
I seemto myself to stutter and stammer overthese glorious Truths of God!
Oh, that my soulcould speak without being hindered by my lips and that I
could fully tell how greata Saviorthis is, to whom nothing is difficult, much
less impossible! You greatestsinner, you blackestsinner, you most hardened
sinner, the Lord Jesus is able to save you now! Believe it and believe Him and,
according to your faith, so shall it be to you! Yes, it shall be so to you this very
night before you leave this House of Prayer!
I have now only to speak for just a few minutes to someone who may be
saying, “If I were to be saved, Sir, it would be the most extraordinary thing
that ever happened! If I were to become washedin the blood of Christ and
made a child of God, it would be the greatestnoveltythat ever was known! I
do not think it could be because it was never so seenin Israel.”
Now listen to me. You say it was never so seenin Israel–how do you know
that? It is highly probable that you aremaking a greatmistake and that there
have been some savedwho were quite as bad as you are, perhaps some who, in
certain respects, were worsethan you. What a splendid book might be made
out of the records of the conversionof greatsinners!The wildest romance is
dull comparedwith the true history and mystery of the salvationof sinners!
Whateveryou may be, there is someone like you gone to Heaven. Though you
are blackerthan any other in the circle of your companions, yet there have
been some who were blackerthan you are who, nevertheless, have been
washedwhiter than snow and have been eternally saved. Do not persuade
yourself into the conviction that it was never so seenin Israel, for greatthings
have been seenin Israel, of which you know nothing.
But suppose that you speak the truth and are correct? Then, if it was never so
seenin Israel, that is no reasonwhy itshould not be so seenjust now. Because
a thing has not happened, shall it never happen? The Israelites stoodbefore
the RedSea and they might have said that a nation had never marched
through the sea. Well, then, it was time that theyshould do so!And when God
divided the waters, they went through the sea on foot and there did they
rejoice in the might of Jehovah. Is not the Scripture full of the surprises of
Grace–andhas Godchanged? No, dear Friend, if this wonder has not
happened yet, it is time that it should happen–and if it never has been so seen
in Israel, I hope the hour has come when it shall be so seenin our midst! This
which the multitudes said Israelhad never seen, Israeldid see, for the dumb

man was delivered from the powerof the devil and was enabledto speak the
Savior’s praise! And you, greatsinner as you are, may become an instance of
the surprise powerof Divine Grace. It is time that it should be so!
Now let me ask you a question which may, perhaps, put an end to your belief
that in your case this marvel cannot happen. Are you beyond the limit of
Divine Power? CanGod’s Grace come, like the waves of the sea, right up to
yourfeet and then shall some cruel voice say, “Up to this point shall you come,
but no further”? Do you really believe that you are above the high-water
mark of Divine Mercy? Will you just ponder this question over and think
what a strange kind of man you must be? Neitherthe wandering Jew, nor any
other fictitious characterin the world of romance is so strange a creature as
you–a man outside the limit of almighty love, one who has sinned beyond the
boundary of Infinite Mercy–a sinnerwhom Christ’s blood cannot wash!
When you get to Hell, what a parade they will make of you! “Here is a man
whom Christ could not save!He was willing to be washed, but Christ’s blood
could not cleanse him!” I fancy I hear you say, “Do not talk so, Sir–it is almost
blasphemy.” Why do you think so, then, if I may not say it? Why do you have
the impudence to think that, after all, you are going to be masterover Christ
and that for once He will have to draw back and say, “This man has beaten
Me. I cannot touch him. I cannotin any way soften, renew, or convert him”?
You do not believe it–I am sure you do not! Get, then, out of this horrible
falsehoodof despairwhich is now upon you. If it was never so seenin Israel,
believe that it may be so seen–andthis very hour trust yourself with Christ
and live!
Again, suppose it never was so seenin Israel. Suppose that you are the hardest
sinner to save. Suppose that you are the most unlikely person to be forgiven.
Suppose that your sins have well-nearreachedthe limit of forgiving love.
Well, now, here is a fine opportunity for Christ to show what He can do–there
is all the more room for the Glory of God'sGrace to be seen. Let me quote a
text–“Where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound.” Now here is an
opportunity for the splendor of Divine Love to be seenin chasing awaythe
midnight darkness of your sin and despair! Where are you, dear Sir, where
are you? I am right glad to think that I am speaking to such a person, for, by-
and-by, when you sit among the angels and sing to the praise of Free Grace
and dying love, surely there will be no voice sweeterthan yours!
I used to think that I should sing among the Saints above as loudly as any, for
I owe so much to the Grace of God! And I once said so in a sermon, long ago,
quoting those lines–

“Then loudestof the crowd I’ll sing,
While Heaven’s resounding mansions ring
With shouts of SovereignGrace!”
I thought that I was the greatestdebtorto Divine Grace and would sing the
loudest to its praise. But when I came down out of the pulpit there was a
venerable woman who said to me, “You made a blunder in your sermon this
evening.” I said, “I daresayI made a dozen, goodSoul, but what was that
particular one?” “Why, you said that you would sing the loudest because you
owedmost to Divine Grace. You are but a lad, you do not owe half as much to
Grace as I do at 80years ofage!I owe more to Grace than you and I will not
let you sing the loudest.” I found that there was a generalconspiracyamong
the friends, that night, to put me in the background. And that is where I
meant to be and wishedto be–that is where those who sing the loudestlong to
be–to take the lowestplace and praise most the Grace of God in so doing!
Brother, if you are the biggestsinner out of Hell, there will be the more music
in Heaven when they get you there and, at this moment, if you believe in
Jesus, angels shallre-string their harps and new hallelujahs shall sound
through the streets ofHeaven when they see such a sinner as you washedand
made white in the blood of the Lamb! “It was never so seenin Israel,” well
then, let it be so seennow to the praise of God’s glorious Grace!“Ah,” says
one, “I do not think Ishall ever be saved, for the very devil is in me.” Yes, but
the devil’s Masterhas come to turn him out. Only believe in JesusandHe will
casthim out of you. “But he will not go out.” Neveryou mind what the devil
says about that matter! His Mastercanmake him go out. The Omnipotent
Jehovahknows of no power which is capable of standing againstHim–
“When He makes bare His arm,
When He His people’s cause defends
Who, who shall stop His hand?”
Almighty Grace cancastSatan out and keephim out, too. “Oh, but Sir, I do
not feelas if I could pray. Oh, that I could pray!” But you have prayed–that
was a prayer that you uttered. “I cannotpray, Sir, I wish I could.” You
haveprayed, already, that very wish is a prayer. “Sir, I cannotpray. I scarcely
dare look up to Heaven.” Thatconfessionthatyou dare not look up has in it
the very essence ofprayer! “But I cannot pray.” Well then, groan. “But I can
scarcelygroan.”Then, desire. “But I canhardly getto a desire.” Thenbe
wretchedbecause you cannot desire!I do not exhort youto actlike that–I only
want to lead you awayfrom your feelings or lack of feelings. If you wish to be
saved, look to Jesus Christ right now, whatever you feelor do not feel!
Whether you can groan, or pray, or do anything else, orcannot do anything

else, look to Jesus!The only hope of a poor sinner is in Christ Jesus and Him
crucified. As I have said already, He is the devil’s Masterand He, alone, can
be your Savior. Castyourself at His feet and He will not let you go!Lie before
Him just as you are, in all the horror of your condition, and say, “Lord, look
on me, for I look alone to You.” Look, look, look to Jesus!Look and live!–
“There is life for a look at the Crucified One!
There is life at this moment for you.”
BRUCE HURT MD
Matthew 9:33 After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were
amazed, and were saying, "Nothing like this has everbeen seenin Israel."
NET Matthew 9:33 After the demon was cast out, the man who had been mute spoke.
The crowds were amazed and said, "Never has anything like this been seen in Israel!"
GNT Matthew 9:33 καὶ ἐκβληθέντος τοῦ δαιμονίου ἐλάλησεν ὁ κωφός. καὶ ἐθαύμασαν οἱ
ὄχλοι λέγοντες, Οὐδέποτε ἐφάνη οὕτως ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ.
NLT Matthew 9:33 So Jesus cast out the demon, and then the man began to speak. The
crowds were amazed. "Nothing like this has ever happened in Israel!" they exclaimed.
KJV Matthew 9:33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes
marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
ESV Matthew 9:33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the
crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel."
NIV Matthew 9:33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute
spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."
ASV Matthew 9:33 And when the demon was cast out, the dumb man spake: and the
multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
CSB Matthew 9:33 When the demon had been driven out, the man spoke. And the
crowds were amazed, saying, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!"
NKJ Matthew 9:33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the
multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"
NRS Matthew 9:33 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."
YLT Matthew 9:33 and the demon having been cast out, the dumb spake, and the
multitude did wonder, saying that 'It was never so seen in Israel:'
• the mute man spoke - Mt 15:30,31 Ex 4:11,12 Isa 35:6 Mk 7:32-37 Lu 11:14
• Nothing like this - 2Ki 5:8 Ps 76:1 Jer 32:20 Lu 7:9

NOTE MATTHEW 9:18-38 ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
WITH ONLY A FEW NOTES - TO BE FINISHED LATER
After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were
saying, "Nothing like this has everbeen seenin Israel.
Spurgeon - Our Lord does not deal with the symptoms, but with the source of the disorder, even
with the evil spirit. “The devil was cast out”; and it is mentioned as if that were a matter of
course when Jesus came on the scene. The devil had silenced the man, and so, when the evil one
was gone, “the dumb spake.” How we should like to know what he said! Whatever he said it
matters not; the wonder was that he could say anything. The people confessed that this was a
wonder quite unprecedented; and in this they only said the truth: “It was never so seen in Israel.”
Jesus is great at surprises: he has novelties of gracious power. The people were quick to express
their admiration; yet we see very little trace of their believing in our Lord’s mission. It is a small
thing to marvel, but a great thing to believe. O Lord, give the people around us to see such
revivals and conversions, as they have never known before!
Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees were saying, "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the
demons."
NET Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, "By the ruler of demons he casts out demons."
GNT Matthew 9:34 οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι ἔλεγον, Ἐν τῷ ἄρχοντι τῶν δαιμονίων ἐκβάλλει τὰ
δαιμόνια.
NLT Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, "He can cast out demons because he is
empowered by the prince of demons."
KJV Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the
devils.
ESV Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of
demons."
NIV Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives
out demons."
ASV Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, By the prince of the demons casteth he out
demons.
CSB Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, "He drives out demons by the ruler of the
demons!"
NKJ Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the
demons."
NRS Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, "By the ruler of the demons he casts out the
demons."
YLT Matthew 9:34 but the Pharisees said, 'By the ruler of the demons he doth cast out
the demons.'
• Mt 12:23,24 Mk 3:22 Lu 11:15 Joh 3:20
NOTE MATTHEW 9:18-38 ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
WITH ONLY A FEW NOTES - TO BE FINISHED LATER

But the Pharisees were saying, "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."
Spurgeon - Of course, they had some bitter sentence ready. Nothing was too bad for them to say
of Jesus. They were hard pressed when they took to this statement, which our Lord in another
place so easily answered. They hinted that such power over demons must have come to him
through an unholy compact with “the prince of the devils.” Surely this was going very near to the
unpardonable sin.
"No 'Neutrality' About Jesus!"
Matthew 9:32-34
Theme: How we interpret the facts about Jesus reveals the condition of our heart.
(Delivered Sunday, November 5, 2005 at Bethany Bible Church. All Scripture quotes, unless
otherwise indicated, are from the New King James Version.)
Let me begin with a simple affirmation: No one can be "neutral" about Jesus Christ. Jesus - as
He is presented to us in the Bible - forces everyone who encounters Him to make a decision
about Him. He put it very simply when He declared, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and
he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad" (Matthew 12:30).
The things that Jesus did - and the things that He claimed about Himself as He did them - are of
such a nature that they force us to choose what we will do with Him. We must either worship
Him, or we will have to reject Him out of hand. We must either bow to Him, or we will have to
oppose Him. We must either be for Him, or we will be set against Him.
Every one of us in this room today MUST choose what they personally will do with Jesus. But
whatever we may choose, none of us can choose to be "neutral" about Him.
When it comes to Jesus, "neutrality" is simply not an option.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now, that's not to say that many people don't try to be "neutral" about Jesus. Many folks often
boast in a "moderate view" toward Him. But when they do so, they are either unaware of the
claims He made about Himself, or they are choosing to ignore those claims. They may be able to
act "sentimental" about Jesus, but they can't be "sincere" - not, at least, if they truly know what
He says about Himself.
In his classic book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis expressed the impossibility of a "neutral view"
of Jesus. He said,
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say
about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His
claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man
and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either
be a lunatic - on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be
the devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of

God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit
at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.
But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human
teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.1
Perhaps you've heard that quote before. If you were to ask me, I'd say that those words are
among the most profound words that C.S. Lewis ever wrote. They express perfectly why no one
can be neutral about Jesus - given the things He said about Himself!
We have been studying the Gospel of Matthew. Just think with me of some of the things that
Jesus said about Himself - as they are found in Matthew's Gospel alone! For example, in
Matthew 7 - in the Sermon on The Mount - Jesus made one of the most outstanding claims about
Himself than anyone could ever make. He said;
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does
the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your
name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness!'" (Matthew 7:21-23).
Many people claim to love the Sermon on The Mount. Even unbelieving people - people who
say that Jesus is a great teacher and nothing more - claim to love it. But do you realize the
astonishing things Jesus claims about Himself in these words? He is claiming (1) that the God
who sits upon the throne of heaven is uniquely His Father, (2) that He Himself will be referred to
as "Lord" on the great day of Judgment, (3) that people before the judgment of God will be
making their appeal to Him, and (4) that He will be the One who will decide who may come into
heaven!
Now think of it! Either what He is saying is true, or it isn't! There's no way to make what He said
only "moderately" true. And if what He said about Himself isn't true, then whatever else He may
be, He is certainly not a great teacher! He is either a madman of the most pathetic type
imaginable - someone who, under no circumstances, ought ever be held up as an example, or
quoted from, or even listened to; or else He is a demonic liar who has perpetrated the most
destructive lie ever told - a lie that, over the last two-thousand years, has given countless millions
of poor, suffering, dying people a tragically false hope of eternity! How can any thinking person
be "neutral" about such a thing as that?
Or think of this. Jesus once said,
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find
it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will
a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26).
Look at what He claims about Himself! He claims that "finding life" or "losing life" hinges upon
taking up our cross - that is, the instrument of our own death to "self" - and following Him! He
even claims that following Him is worth more than gaining the whole world; and that choosing
not to so follow Him, and choosing to cling to one's own life instead, would eventually lead to
the loss of one's own soul.
Now you tell me; can these honestly be considered the words of a "great moral teacher" and
nothing more? Certainly not! . . . not if they're untrue! Just think of the countless martyrs and

missionaries who have taken Him at His word, and have gladly laid down their lives for His
cause! Just think of those who still do so today! If what He said about Himself was not true, then
there is nothing noble about what any of these followers of His have done, or of the sacrifices
they have made in His name! They will have either laid down their lives for the babblings of a
lunatic, or will have helped to advance the monstrous lies of the most notorious deceiver who
ever walked the earth!
And as if that were not enough, look at what He goes on to say!
"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will
reward each according to his works" (Matthew 16:27).
Here, He claims to be the Son of Man - a name by which He identifies Himself to be the Head of
the human race; a name that speaks of nothing less than His divine right to rule and judge all of
humanity. By calling Himself the Son of Man, He makes Himself your Judge and mine! Can any
of us be neutral about such a claim?
And as He use this name, Jesus goes on to claim that He will one day come (1) in the glory of the
Father in heaven, (2) be accompanied by the angels of heaven when He comes, and (3) then
reward every human being according to his or her works. Again, these words are either divine
words of sober truth, or they are expressions of insanity, or worse - they are diabolical lies from
the evil one! No one can be merely "neutral" toward the One who spoke them.
When you think about it, one of the most remarkable affirmations Jesus made about Himself was
through what someone else said concerning Him. He asked His disciples, "Who do men say that
I, the Son of Man, am?" And they recited some of the various things people said about Him. But
when He asked what they - His own disciples - believed about Him, Peter said, "You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God."
Now, if a statement of that significance wasn't true, a "great teacher" would have been very quick
to correct His students! But Jesus never claimed to be merely a "great teacher". Listen to how
Jesus responded to this remarkable evaluation from His own disciples:
"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My
Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church,
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on
earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:17-19).
Now, such words as that can only be responded to with three responses: either deep pity, or with
horror and revulsion, or with reverent submission. But no one can respond to them with
indifference and an attitude of neutrality - unless they are simply not thinking, or unless they
believe that words mean nothing!
Matthew records other shocking claims from Jesus. He encouraged His disciples and said,
". . . Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or
lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29).
He told them of things that were yet to occur, and said,
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away" (24:35).
He stood resolute when He was arrested in the Garden, and said to those who tried to rescue
Him,

". . . Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than
twelve legions of angels?" (26:53).
He stood before Pilate and dared to say,
". . . I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power,
and coming on the clouds of heaven" (26:64).
Who can possibly remain "neutral" about Jesus, when they think seriously about such remarkable
statements as those He made about Himself?
Certainly, no one can be neutral about Jesus when it's claimed that He was seen alive from the
dead! And what's more, no one can remain neutral to what it's reported that He claimed about
Himself after His resurrection! Matthew claims that He stood before His astonished disciples -
some who Matthew tells us even "doubted" what they were seeing - and said,
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).
Now, if these are the words of someone who didn't rise from the dead - if they are, in fact, words
of either a sick mind or a sinister monster - then they are dangerous words. We should work to
rid the earth of them, and see to it that people will never again hear them or be deceived by them.
But then, if they are in actual fact the words of the risen Savior of mankind, then they constitute
the greatest commission ever given - a command that every one of us should be eager to give his
or her entire life to keeping!
But here's the point of it all: Whatever one chooses to do with Jesus, it is impossible - absolutely
impossible - to be "neutral" about Him!
* * * * * * * * * *
All of this leads us to this morning's very short passage. In it, we're dealing with more than just
the things that Jesus said about Himself. We're also dealing with the things that were DONE by
Him - things that He did that confirmed the claims He made about Himself! And it was the
things that Jesus did that forced the people around Him to make a decision about Him.
Matthew tells us;
As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. And when the
demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled saying, "It was never seen like
this in Israel!" But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons (Matthew
9:32-34).
In this passage, it was said that "It was never seen like this in Israel!". Jesus' actions were
unprecedented - for even so great a land of "miracles" as Israel. His actions identified Him as
more than just a mere "man"; and removed the "neutrality" option even further.
And what's more, we see that, in this passage, a decision was made about Him! The Pharisees
who saw what He did could in no way deny the miracle they saw. He actually cast out a demon,
and healed the man of his muteness before their very eyes. A decision about Jesus was
impossible to avoid. He was either a pathetic madman, a deceitful devil, or the true Son of God.
And since no mere crazy-man could do the Jesus did, and since the only options left before them

were to either bow down to Jesus as God in human flesh or to revile Him as an instrument of the
devil, they chose the latter.
These Pharisees would not be with Him; so they must - by necessity - be against Him. They
chose to blaspheme Jesus, and to interpret Jesus in this way: "He casts out demons by the ruler of
the demons." In short, they actually dared to say that Jesus was more "demon-possessed" than
the man He healed.
* * * * * * * * * *
As we go on in our study of Matthew's Gospel, we'll see that Jesus will deal with those
accusations very effectively (Matthew 12:24-37). But for now, the "big lesson" of this passage
has to do with that great choice we all must make about Jesus. There is no difference between
those Pharisees then, and us today. Just like them, everyone here today is confronted with the
same choice: What will you do with Jesus? How will you choose to respond to Him?
If you have a sense of the greatness of your need - if you realize that you are a desperate sinner
in need of a Savior, and that Jesus proves Himself to be that Savior - then you will run to Him
and receive Him as the Savior that He proves Himself to be!
But if you are so committed to sinful habits and practices that you will not allow yourself to
change them - if you are too proud and self-righteous to admit your sin or recognize your need
for a Savior - if you have so constructed your view of the world that it will not admit the truth of
anything other than what you choose to believe - then you will eventually come to hate this Jesus
and slander Him as those Pharisees did.
You can sum it up this way: What you do with Jesus, and how you respond to the claims the
Bible makes about Him, reveals the true condition of your heart.
* * * * * * * * * *
Look at the details of this story once again with me. We're told that this happened "As they went
out". That is, it happened as Jesus and His disciples left from the house they were in - the very
house in which Jesus had just healed two blind men who had come to Him (Matthew 9:27-31).
Think, then, of this story in the context of all that had proceeded it. Not only had Jesus just
healed two blind men, but - in the sight of eyewitnesses - He had also healed a leper of his
leprosy (8:1-4), had healed a centurion's servant with just a word (8:5-13), had raised Peter's
mother-in-law from her bed of sickness of a high fever (8:14-15), and spent an evening healing
all who came to Him of sick or demon possessed (8:16-17). He had even immediately healed a
sick woman when she merely touched the hem of His garment (9:20-22), and had even raised a
young girl from the dead (9:23-26). In other words, He didn't merely speak about His authority;
but He actually demonstrated that He had power over all kinds of sickness, over demonic spirits,
over the weather, and even over death itself!
And did you know that, in all of this, He was fulfilling God's prophetic word concerning the
Messiah? Jesus once quoted from Isaiah 61:1-2 - words that spoke concerning the Messiah - and
said:
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the
poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery

of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of
the LORD" (Luke 4:18-19).
And then, looking upon all who heard Him, He dared to say, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in
your hearing" (v. 21). His actions had proven Him to be the Messiah promised by the prophetic
scriptures.
No doubt, many who watched the things He had been doing thought of Isaiah 35:4-6; where it
says,
"Say to those who are fearful-hearted, 'Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with
vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you. Then, the eyes of the blind
shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped . . ."
And there Jesus was - healing the eyes of the blind, and unstopping the ears of the deaf!
Perhaps you remember that John the Baptist had gone through a time of doubting. He was in
prison; and sent some of his disciples to Jesus to ask if He truly was the Messiah. And Jesus
assured him by sending them back; saying,
"Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers
are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised and the poor have the gospel preached to
them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" (Matthew 11:4-6).
Now, given all that had proceeded the events of this morning's passage, it should have been clear
who Jesus was - especially to the Pharisees, who were so learned in the prophetic scriptures. And
yet, when someone brought a man to Jesus who couldn't speak because of a demon that was
afflicting Him - and when Jesus cast the demon out, and the man began to speak - the Pharisees
refused to respond with reverence and worship.
They could not argue with what they saw. There was no trick involved. Jesus had clearly cast out
the demon and healed the man before their very eyes. But in the hardness of their hearts, they
simply would not accept it. They said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons" (that is,
by Satan).
Their response to what they clearly saw about Jesus revealed the true condition of their hearts.
On another occasion, Jesus told His disciples about such people and said;
". . . Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them
the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says;
'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them'" (Matthew 13:13-15).
Truly then, what we choose to do with Jesus, and how we choose to respond to the claims the
Bible makes about Him, reveals the true condition of our hearts.

* * * * * * * * * *
What should we do, then. with this Jesus who makes such remarkable claims about Himself - and
then proves those claims by His actions? Let me close by sharing with you the response of
another Pharisee - one, however, who had a far different heart than the others. He saw the works
of Jesus, and came to a completely different conclusion than they did. His response shows us
what to do.
The apostle John tells us,
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus
by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one
can do these signs that You do unless God is with him" (John 3:1-2).
This very astute man Nicodemus saw the works of Jesus, and believed Him to be the Teacher
come from God. And in response, Jesus told him what He truly needed.
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God" (v. 3).
Jesus went on to explain to Nicodemus that to be "born again" means to be given new birth from
God in a spiritual sense. And He told him that the experience of becoming "born again" is
granted to those who place their faith in Jesus as He truly is. It's then that we read the words of
one of the most famous passages in all the Bible:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17).
* * * * * * * * * *
So then, every one of us MUST choose what we will do with Jesus. There are only three options:
We will either reject Him as a madman, or we will oppose Him as a diabolical liar, or we will
bow to Him as Lord and receive Him as our Savior. But which ever option we choose, none of us
can remain neutral about Him.
What will you do with Jesus?
1C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1960); pp. 40-41.
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THE COMPASSIONATE JESUS

Dr. W. A. Criswell
Matthew 9:32-38
5-29-66 7:30 p.m.
You who share the service on radio turn with us in your Bible to Matthew chapter 9, the ninth
chapter of the First Gospel, Matthew. We shall begin reading at verse 32 and read to the end of
the chapter. You are sharing the services of the First Baptist Church in Dallas. This is the pastor
bringing the evening message entitled The Compassionate Jesus, the sympathizing Jesus.
Those words are exactly the same. “Sympathy” is a Greek word; “compassion” is a Latin word.
They are made exactly alike. They are compounded of two words meaning the same thing, the
sympathizing Jesus, the compassionate Jesus. And this is the context, Matthew 9:32, and all of us
reading out loud together:
And as they went out, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man possessed with a devil.
And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marveled, saying, It was
never so seen in Israel.
But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted,
and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few;
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.
[Matthew 9:32-38]
For all of the wondrous, compassionate works of our Savior, He was more maligned, and
calumniated, and despised than any other teacher who ever taught. The cynicism of those who
hated Him was almost beyond endurance, for, after He had wrought this marvelous miracle of
healing and restoration, “and the multitudes marveled, saying, It was never, never so seen in
Israel” [Matthew 9:33], those cynical Pharisees said, “this guy casts out demons by the prince of
demons [Matthew 9:34]. He Himself is in league with Satan, and the power He has is satanic and
comes from the bottomless pit.” This they said of the sympathizing Savior. That was their
reaction to the marvelous works that He did. Had he been so criticized, Pythagoras would have
closed his school. Socrates would have dismissed his pupils. Marcus Aurelius would have gone
home from critics so unspeakably bad and vile.
But what does the Scripture say of the Savior? When they said such things about Him, does it
read, “And Jesus, when He heard what His enemies said and what His critics avowed, and Jesus,
discouraged, left off His preaching and ceased His healing and His ministries of mercy”? “And
Jesus, sitting under a juniper tree, asked that His life might be taken from the earth in the face of
so tragic a criticism”? Does it say that? No. For the next verse, after it is avowed of what the
Pharisees said of the Lord [Matthew 9:34], the next verse says, “And Jesus went about all the
cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and
healing every sickness and disease among the people” [Matthew 9:35]. Whatever others might
say, and whatever vile and blasphemous word by which they would castigate His ministries and
mercies of love, He paid no attention, just kept on preaching the gospel of the kingdom, kept on

opening blind eyes, and unstopping deaf ears, and healing all manner of disease, bringing the
good news of the kingdom to the people [Matthew 11:5].
Ah, what a marvelous way to be! Do you ever get discouraged? And if somebody says
something about you, don’t you have the feeling, “I think I ought to quit”? Not our Lord.
However anyone might say, or criticize, or describe the work we seek to do in belittling terms,
just keeping on as unto God, like our blessed Savior. Now there’s a reason for it, and the next
verse avows it: for when the Lord saw the multitudes in those cities, in those villages, people
everywhere, “When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them” [Matthew
9:36]. Jesus, moved with compassion, is His enduring name [Mark 6:34, 8:2]. The response of
the Lord, when He saw great throngs and great masses of humanity, was one of pity and
sympathy; He would weep looking over a great city [Luke 19:41].
We are so different from that. And as I visit in a great metropolis and listen to the people
describe its magnitude—and the reason I think of it so poignantly now is because I have just
been in a tremendous city, one that covers more area than any other city in the world. And I
listen to the citizens of that metropolis as they describe its length and its breadth and all of the
marvelous things that comprise its glory and grandeur—and we’re that way about anything
multitudinous and tremendous and big. We’re that way about multitudinous matter, a mountain.
You wouldn’t give a dime for a shovelful of it. You wouldn’t walk fifty yards to see two tons of
it. If you had some of it in your backyard, you’d hire somebody to haul it away; rubbish, dirt and
rocks, stuff. But let it pile itself up foot by foot, and yard by yard, and mile by mile, until finally
it cools itself in the snows of even the summertime, and it breathes the rarified air, why, bless
your heart, we will take summer vacations just to look upon it. We’ll build chateaus just to see it.
We’ll form excursion trains to make a trip. We will write of it in our magazines and in our papers
and in our descriptions of all of the things to see where we live, because of its piled-up height
and its grand and marvelous multitudinous size, its impressive greatness.
And we’re that way about a city. This tremendous city: look at its great boulevards, and its bright
lights, and all of the attractiveness, and all of the things of interest in it. Look at this great
population numbering millions! What might and what power! Why, I suppose about the last
thing we would ever do would be to look on a vast panorama of a city before us and feel
thoughts and responses of sympathy and compassion, and yet that is exactly what Jesus did.
Coming to the brow of Olivet, looking over the city of Jerusalem, He burst into tears [Luke
19:41-43]. And as He looked over the vast concourse of people, Jesus was moved with
compassion, for on the inside of that city—any city, our city, wherever there is a concourse of
people, how many tears? How many broken hearts? How many souls in agony? How many
bowed down in unspeakable grief? Jesus and the city.
I sat with a circle of our little family in the slumber room where my mother lay so still and silent.
And as I sat there, I listened to the sobbing of a family across the little hallway, who also sat in a
slumber room where a loved member of their family circle lay so still and silent in death. And as
I sat there, I listened to the sobs and the tears of the family across the hall. And when the driver
came to pick us up in the limousine, I said to him, “How many services do you have in Forest
Lawn today?”
And he reached in his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper, and he said, “Here, pastor, look at
it for yourself.” I counted the services. That one day in that one Forest Lawn cemetery they
numbered twenty-nine, twenty-nine in that one day.

And I asked the driver of the limousine, I said, “Is this unusual, twenty-nine?”
He said, “No, there are some times that I can remember when we have had as high as fifty-
three.” Fifty-three!
When you read the ninetieth Psalm, the psalm of Moses, the man of God, how infinitely sad is
that psalm [Psalm 90:1-17]. And the reason is plain: for forty years Moses saw every day more
than three hundred funeral possessions! As the Lord looked upon the great multitudes, “He was
moved with compassion on them” [Matthew 9:36]. And how it is for us so easily done in the
church, inside these precious walls and in these services! As I felt this morning, this is a holiday
weekend, and when I came to the 8:15 o’clock service this morning I was overwhelmed. I could
not believe my eyes! This auditorium, to that last top seat, at 8:15 o’clock was filled this
morning. And the audience that came at 10:15 was hardly less honoring to God in its attendance,
and in its praise, and in its service. And standing here in this congregation and feeling the prayers
of so great a multitude, I am sometimes tempted to think, why, the kingdom of God has come,
this old and battered and weary world is renewing itself. It’s a new heaven, it’s a new earth, it is
time for us to stand and sing the triumphant anthem!
But, ah, outside those walls and in the great concourse of the multitudes in this city, how many
tears, and how much of heartache, and what agony of soul would you find among our people.
And that’s why we should never shut ourselves up in four walls and say this is the kingdom of
heaven. We should never enclose ourselves in gardens of praise and beauty and thank God just
for the verdant lawn around, and the beautiful trees and shrubs that surround, and all of the
beauty that God has given and bestowed upon us, for outside that enclosure and beyond that
garden gate, there is ugliness, and there is sin, and there are all kinds of dark and seamy things
that plow up the human soul. We’re not to forget to thank God for everything of beauty, nor to
return to Him our gratitude for every heavenly blessing, but our horizon should be as great as the
enfolding arms of God, and we should see not a roof but a sky, and not a garden plot but the
whole earth.
The Lord was like that: “And when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on
them” [Matthew 9:36]. The Lord saw not only the sheep but the wolf, not only the saved but the
lost, not only these that were in the kingdom, but the Lord saw those who were vexed in soul,
afflicted by ten thousand demons whose black bat-like wings obscured the very life of the sun.
And Jesus, when He saw the multitudes, was “moved with compassion on them, because they
fainted and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd [Matthew 9:36]. Then saith He
unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few” [Matthew 9:36-37].
Now an English teacher would not like that. They’d call that a mixed metaphor, for the Lord
looked upon them and said they are as sheep not having a shepherd, and it’s like a harvest that is
plenteous and ripe, but the laborers are few. An English teacher would not like that, mixing those
metaphors of a sheepfold and a harvest field. But there is a grammar of the heart and there is a
language of the soul just as there is a grammar of precise and concise English. And this is the
grammar of the soul.
Our humanity and our people are like a sheepfold, and they are like a great harvest field. And
they criy for shepherds, and for laborers, and for harvesters, and for teachers, and for pastors; the
compassionate and sympathizing Jesus. And in this ministry that God hath entrusted to us in this
dear church, in the heart of this great city, oh, how I have come to see the meaning of our Lord

when He says, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the
Lord of the harvest, that He will thrust forth laborers into His harvest” [Matthew 9:37-38].
I am often asked by pastors of other churches, in smaller congregations, I’m often asked, “Don’t
you have so much you don’t know what to do with it? Don’t you have so much money that you
don’t know how to spend it? And don’t you have so many teachers that there’s no place for them
to teach? And don’t you have so many leaders that there’s no place for anybody to lead? And
don’t you have so many workers that you have no place to assign them? Isn’t that true in your
church?”
And I reply, “I suppose there is no experience that has ever come to me with such infinite
surprise in my life as my introduction in the pastorate of a large church, for it seems to me that
when I was pastor of my smaller churches in these days past, I had far more money with which
to do with and I had far more people and leaders with which to work with than I have in the
great, enormous First Baptist Church in Dallas.” I don’t have any money for anything in this
church! Not anything. And if there’s anything I want done in this church, I must beg on bended
knee from some affluent, compassionate soul who might be moved to help me, because the
budget is overspent all the time and there’s nothing left for anything that we might desire. That’s
this church.
And when appeal is made for workers, I am amazed at it! In the more than twenty years that I
have made appeal for our missions, to this day we have been unable to find anybody, practically
anybody, who will work in the missions of our church. It is a non-existent ministry on the part of
our people. The missions are out there tonight, and they’re over there tonight, and they’re out
yonder tonight, but our people are not working in them, nor can any amount of prayer and
supplication and appeal ever reward us with somebody to help in our missions.
And that same thing runs throughout the gamut of the whole church. I had one of my finest
leaders say to me, “Pastor, there is no limit to the number of young people that we could have
down here on Sunday night in Training Union if our people were dedicated to sponsoring them,
and leading them, and opening their homes to them, and guiding them in their work.” You could
multiply Unions in this church by the dozens and illimitably if you had people who would devote
their lives to those young people. We do not have them. There are not leaders, husbands and
wives, couples, who will give themselves to that ministry.
And the same thing is true throughout the church. I will hear some of my divisional leaders say,
“Pastor, I need seventeen workers right now in my division,” seventeen. And I’ve taken the list
of the church and the membership roll, and the Sunday school roll, and our adult classes, and
I’ve called everyone that I know to call. I’ve called by the hundreds, and I have maybe one or
maybe two. Oh, what God could do with us! What God could do with us if we were available,
and yielded, and surrendered, and usable. And the Lord, looking with compassion on the people,
said, “They are like sheep not having a shepherd. They are like a harvest field, white unto the
harvest, and the laborers are few” [Matthew 9:36-37].
In my own experience, it is not because people are hard and adamant. It’s because there is not
tremendous dedication on our part. “Pray ye,” He says, “the Lord of the harvest, that He will
send forth laborers into His harvest” [Matthew 9:38].
There is one thing above all other things that has impressed me foremost and above all in my
study of the Holy Spirit, in which series of morning sermons we have been for these months and
shall continue through the summertime. That one impression is this; that God has a place, and an

assignment, and a calling, and a ministry for every member of the body of Christ, all of us [1
Corinthians 12:8-10]. All of us. And every one of us is vitally needed in the household of faith,
in the congregation of the Lord, in the membership of the church.
There is a Holy Spirit gift for you, for us, for each, for all, and when we offer to God and yield
ourselves to God, oh, how the Lord is glorified, and how God can bless us and use us! You, the
humblest member in the body of Christ, there is a gift vital to the body of Jesus, there is a gift the
Lord has bestowed upon you, and it takes us all to make God’s household glorious [1
Corinthians 12:8-10].
I so well remember when I was away in a revival meeting; I so well remember a tragic falling,
accident, of an American Airlines plane coming into the runway at Dallas Love Field. I read of it
in those tragic black headlines, in the newspaper in the city where I was holding the revival
meeting. I felt the hurt and the poignancy of that accident that had taken place in our city of
Dallas and at Love Field. Practically every member of the crew and practically every one of the
passengers died in that flaming tragedy of the American Airline at Love Field.
And when I came to Dallas, the CAB was holding a board of inquiry in our city, and the day that
I arrived; on the front page of the Dallas News was a picture of the captain. I remember his
name; his name was Claude, Captain Claude of the American Airliner. He was testifying before
this government agency regarding the terrible accident, and that picture on the front of the paper
showed the captain who had survived, with his face buried in his hands, weeping profusely over
the tragic loss of those scores of lives in that great airliner.
And a few days after that, there was published why it was that airplane fell, and the CAB official
report was this that that pilot, Captain Claude, bringing in his plane, had one engine out. And he
was guiding the plane in with the other three engines. And on that non-stop flight from
Washington, D.C. to Dallas, as he approached Love Field, he had everything arranged and
balanced for the three engines to carry the loss of the fourth. But as he came into the field, he
needed to correct the pattern just a little, and he called on the power of the other three engines to
guide into the perfect pattern, landing at Love Field. But unknown to the pilot, unknown to the
captain, another member of the crew had cut off one of the other engines and had feathered the
propeller. And when the captain called on that little bit of extra power to guide into the perfect
pattern the landing at Love Field, unknown to him the other engine didn’t respond, and he
couldn’t guide and he hit one of those buildings on the ground. And the plane swerved so
tragically, caught fire, and practically all of his passengers were lost.
When I read that official report from the CAB, I thought of God’s people and God’s church. We
all are needed, every engine, every propeller, every working part, every vital piece in the
mechanism. And those little old pieces that we think and may say are of the least significance
may be the answer of life and death to the ongoing of the ministry of the kingdom of God. We all
must be at our best, our finest. “Lord, what I can do I will do, by the grace of God.”
I do believe the Holy Scriptures, that the Lord hath fitted the body of Christ together. Each one
of us has a part, and it is vital to the functioning of the body of our Lord. “The harvest is
plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send
forth laborers into His harvest” [Matthew 9:37-38]. You are needed, and God calls for you.
Our time is far spent. While we sing our hymn of appeal tonight, as the Spirit of Jesus will make
appeal to your heart, come, come. “Pastor, tonight, publicly and before men and angels, I want to
give my heart to the Lord Jesus. I want to dedicate my life to Him, and here I come.” “Pastor,

tonight we’re putting our lives in the circle of this dear church to work for God, to pray with you
in this ministry of Jesus.” A family you to come; a couple to come; one somebody you, maybe
the Holy Spirit will whisper to somebody tonight. If you have been led of God to do a work in
the church, and you turned it down and refused, but tonight you give yourself to do what God
called you to do, would you come? We’ll have a prayer together. You can either stay or you can
go back to your seat. I cannot make the appeal. The Spirit must do it. God must do it. But as we
sing this song, if there is some wooing of the Holy Spirit of God in your heart, answer with your
life. “Here I am, Lord, and here I come. I accept Jesus as Savior” [Romans 10:9-10], or “I put my
life in the church,” or “I answer a call of God to work for Him.” As the Spirit shall lead in the
way, come now. In a moment when we stand, when you stand, stand up deciding for Christ,
“Here I am, and here I come.” Do it now, make it tonight, while we stand and while we sing.
THE HEART TO CARE
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Matthew 9:32-38
6-19-66 7:30 p.m.
You are sharing the services of the First Baptist Church in Dallas. This is the pastor bringing the
evening message entitled The Heart to Care; the sympathizing Jesus; the compassionate Jesus.
Turn with us in your Bible to Matthew chapter 9; the ninth chapter of the First Gospel, Matthew.
We shall begin reading at verse 32, and read to the end of the chapter:
And as they went out, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man possessed with a devil.
And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marveled, saying, It was
never so seen in Israel.
But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted,
and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few;
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.
[Matthew 9:32-38]
The decline of the Roman Empire was one of the phenomenal turns of human history. It was the
last and the greatest empire in the world. In the vision of Daniel, he saw a great image of a man.
• And the head was of gold, a picture of the golden empire of Nebuchadnezzar [Daniel
2:32, 38], the Babylonian Empire [Daniel 2:32, 39].
• The breast and the arms were of silver, the Medo-Persian Empire.

• The thighs were of brass, a picture of the Greek Empire, the Hellenistic Empire of
Alexander the Great [Daniel 2:32, 39].
• And the two legs were of iron, a picture of the strongest and the greatest and the last of
the world empires, that of Rome [Daniel 2:33, 40].
And as Rome progressed in law, in order, in conquest, it also grew in wealth, and in riches, and
in affluence, and in the accumulation of all of those things by which a nation glories in its power
and in its strength. And as the republic changed into an empire, and the Caesars and their
successors began to add to the glory and the grandeur of Rome, the people became more
effeminate and effete in their lives.
They were fed and taken care of by the largess of the succession and series of emperors.
Consequently, living in a teeming city, and with nothing to do except to receive alms from the
reigning monarch, they had to be satiated with some kind of entertainment. And as the emperors
vied with one another in entertaining that vast teeming populous, it became more bloody, and
more gory, and more and more full of anguish and terror.
One of those emperors built the Circus Maximus. It held two hundred thousand people. And the
chariot races––I don’t think in all Hollywood there has ever been anything like Ben Hur and its
chariot race. It was a bloody spectacle, as you well know, in that Circus Maximus, crowded with
two hundred thousand people, those racing chariots ground one another to death and dragged the
charioteers to a bloody pulp. And those two hundred thousand spectators watched it, and cheered
it, and gloried in the gory destruction and murder of the drivers of the horses.
But that was not enough! And finally in 80 AD, they constructed in the heart of the Roman
Forum the Roman Coliseum; a great circular arcade, with its tier upon tier upon tier, seating fifty
thousand people. And at first the Roman populous seemed to be happy with the fighting of wild
beasts. And these who searched, hunting parties, scoured the entire world to bring Namibian
lions and Bengal tigers and bulls from Bashan. From the ends of the earth they brought vile and
vicious animals to fight one another there in the Coliseum. But that was not enough!
Finally, the blood thirsty masses demanded the blood of human gladiators. And there on the
sands of the Coliseum, with those tiered Romans, up, and up, and up, shouting for the blood of
the contestants, there would be a gladiator in armor with his shield and with his short sword. And
his opponent would be a naked man with a trident, you’d call it a three-pronged pitchfork, and
with a net in his hand.
And with his net he tried to ensnare his opponent with the shield and the short sword, and with
his long trident he would seek to destroy his life. And those two would fight one another until
both or either were slain. Then that was not enough and they poured in gladiators to fight one
another to the death. And day by day by day, the Roman populous increasingly lived upon blood,
and violence, and murder!
[Walter] Pater has written in one of his famous books on Marius, the Epicurean. He quotes from
that Epicurean philosopher this sentence. As the philosopher came from one of those glory and
bloody spectacles there in the Coliseum, the Epicurean philosopher said,
Whoever could create the heart to make the beholding of such a spectacle as that impossible, the
future will belong to that force that could create that heart. Wherever in this earth there could be
born that spirit and that compassion that would make it impossible to look upon such blood and

such gore, the future—said the philosopher—will belong to the force that could create that heart
and that compassion.
The day came when it was against law to crucify a felon, the Roman means of execution. And
the day came when that Coliseum was closed down and no longer did gladiators fight one
another to the death. Where’d that come from? The compassion, the love, the sympathy that
made it impossible for men to look upon such violence and such bloodshed; it came from this
simple sentence. “And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching and preaching
and healing. And when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, for
they were as sheep having no shepherd” [Matthew 9:35-36].
That’s one of the miraculous phenomenal developments of history; that out of the simple and
humble ministries of that despised Galilean came the subservient of the whole Roman Empire
and its love for blood and violence. The heart to care, the compassion of the sympathizing Jesus;
when I think of Him, I think of Him in those terms. My mental image of Jesus is that, preaching
the gospel at Capernaum [Mark 1:21-22].
“No,” when they say, “You must stay here.”
“I must preach the gospel to other cities and to other villages” [Mark 1:37-38]. And when the
mothers brought little babies to Him that He might hold them in his arms and bless them, the
disciples rebuked the mothers, “The Master has not time for such.” And the Lord answers
“Leave them alone. Suffer the little children to come unto Me; forbid them not: of such is the
kingdom of heaven” [Mark 10:13-14].
Or when the five thousand on the other side of the sea, in a desert place, were hungry, the
disciples said, “Send them away. Send them away.” And the Lord said, “No, lest they faint by
the way [Mark 8:3]; feed them, feed them” [Luke 9:10-14]. When blind Bartimeus cried out,
“Lord, Son of David, hear, have mercy on me,” all of his friends said, “Hush, hush!” But the
Book says he cried out all the louder, “Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” And the Lord
stopped and said, “Bring him. Bring him,” and He opened his blind eyes [Mark 10:46-52].
And when the soldiers crucified Him on the cross, and He was dying, He did, among other
things, two that were precious. One: He saw His mother, standing by the cross, and said to John
the beloved disciple, “Son, behold thy mother, and from that day, John took her to his own
home” [John 19:25-27]. And the other of compassion: one of those malefactors turned and said,
“Lord, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom, remember me, remember me”; and the Lord
replied, “Verily, truly, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise” [Luke 23:42-
43]. And when the Lord entered into glory, He entered not alone but arm in arm with a convert, a
felon saved. That’s Jesus.
And did these who knew Him, and saw Him, and heard Him, did they respond? Oh, how they
did, how they did! The stories read, “And He was so thronged on every side that this poor
woman who was sick said, If I can but touch the hem of His garment, I will be saved” [Matthew
9:20-21]. So thronged was He on every side that these four who bore the palsied man had to
come on top of the house and break up the roof to let him down at the feet of Jesus [Mark 2:1-5].
Even His enemies, when Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus and wept, even His enemies said,
“Behold, how He loved him!” [John 11:35-36]. The response of the people was almost
illimitable and indescribable.
And that is not true alone, just with the Savior. The heart to care, the spirit of sympathy, of
interest, brings a like response from anybody; an infidel, a blasphemer, an atheist. It is almost

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