Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 9:32-35

"And as they went forth, behold, there was brought to him a dumb man possessed with a demon. And when the demon was cast out, the dumb man spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. But the Pharisees said, By the prince of the demons casteth he out demons. And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness." — Matthew 9:32-35 (ASV)

Remigius of Auxerre: Observe the beautiful order of His miracles: after giving sight to the blind, He restored speech to the mute and healed the one possessed by a demon. By this, He shows Himself to be the Lord of power and the author of heavenly medicine. For it was said by Isaiah, “Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, and the tongue of the dumb loosed” (Isaiah 35:6).

And so, it is said, “When they were gone forth, they brought unto him a man dumb, and possessed with a demon.”

St. Jerome: The Greek word used here more frequently means “deaf” in common speech, but it is Scripture’s custom to use it interchangeably.

St. John Chrysostom: This was not a mere natural defect but was from the malice of the demon. Therefore, he needed to be brought by others, for he could not ask for anything, living without a voice, and with the demon chaining his spirit along with his tongue. Therefore, Christ does not require faith from him but immediately healed his disorder, as it follows, “And when the demon was cast out, the dumb spoke.”

St. Hilary of Poitiers: The natural order of things is preserved here: the demon is cast out first, and then the functions of the body resume.

“And the multitude marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.”

St. John Chrysostom: They set Him above all others because He not only healed, but did so with such ease and quickness, curing diseases that were both infinite in number and incurable in nature. This grieved the Pharisees most of all—that the people set Him before everyone else, not only those then living but all who had ever lived. For this reason, it follows, “But the Pharisees said, He casts out demons through the Prince of demons.”

Remigius of Auxerre: Thus the Scribes and Pharisees denied the Lord's miracles when they could, and those they could not deny, they explained away with an evil interpretation, according to the verse: “In the multitude of your excellency your enemies shall lie to you” (Psalm 66:3).

St. John Chrysostom: What could be more foolish than their statement? For it cannot be argued that one demon would cast out another, since they are accustomed to cooperate in one another's deeds and not to be in conflict among themselves. But Christ not only cast out demons; He also healed lepers, raised the dead, forgave sins, preached the kingdom of God, and brought people to the Father—which a demon neither could nor would do.

Rabanus Maurus: Figuratively, just as the two blind men represented both nations, Jews and Gentiles, so the mute man afflicted with a demon represents the whole human race.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Or, the man who was mute, deaf, and demon-possessed signifies the Gentile world, which needs healing in every respect. For, sunk in every kind of evil, they are afflicted with a disease in every part of their being.

Remigius of Auxerre: For the Gentiles were mute, unable to open their mouths to confess the true faith and praise the Creator, or because in worshiping mute idols they were made like them. They were afflicted with a demon because, by dying in unbelief, they were made subject to the power of the Devil.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: But through the knowledge of God, the frenzy of superstition is chased away, and sight, hearing, and the word of salvation are brought to them.

St. Jerome: Just as the blind receive light, so the tongue of the mute is loosed, so that he may confess Him whom he previously denied. The wonder of the multitude represents the confession of the nations. The scoffing of the Pharisees represents the unbelief of the Jews, which continues to this day.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: The wonder of the multitude is followed by the confession, “It was never so seen in Israel,” because the one for whom there was no help under the Law is saved by the power of the Word.

Remigius of Auxerre: Those who brought the mute man to be healed by the Lord signify the Apostles and preachers, who brought the Gentile people to be saved before the face of divine mercy.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This account of the two blind men and the mute, demon-possessed man is found only in Matthew. The two blind men of whom the other Gospels speak are not the same as these, even though a similar miracle was performed for them. Therefore, even if Matthew had not also recorded their cure, we could have seen that this present narrative describes a different event.

We ought to remember this diligently: many of our Lord's actions are very much alike but are proven to be different events because they are related at different times by the same Evangelist. Consequently, when we find cases where one event is recorded by one Evangelist and a similar one by another, with some difference between their accounts that we cannot reconcile, we should assume that they are similar but not identical events.¹

1. De Cons. Evan. ii, 29