In verses 23 through 26 we have the healing of the synagogue ruler’s daughter. The daughter here and Peter’s mother-in-law in 8:14-15, both representing the Jews at the end of this age, were healed in a house by the Lord’s coming and direct touch. This indicates that at the end of this age all the remnant of the Jews will be saved in the house of Israel by the Lord’s coming and His direct touch (Rom. 11:25-26; Zech. 12:10).
When Jesus came into the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a tumult, He said, “Depart, for the girl has not died, but sleeps. And they ridiculed Him” (vv. 23-24). In His ministry, the Lord never cared for any crowd. Verse 25 says, “But when the crowd was put out, He entered and took hold of her hand, and the girl was raised up.” By this we see that the Lord Jesus intended to raise the Jews, but that they did not have the faith. This gave an excellent chance to the Gentiles to contact the Lord to receive salvation. After the fullness of the salvation of the Gentiles, the Lord Jesus will reach the house of Israel, and all the dead Jews will be healed.
Immediately after the raising of the ruler’s daughter, two blind men and a dumb man are brought to the Lord (vv. 27-33).
In verses 27 through 31 we have the healing of the two blind men. As the Lord Jesus passed by, “Two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, Have mercy on us, Son of David.” Blindness signifies lack of sight in seeing God and the things related to Him (2 Cor. 4:4; Rev. 3:18). These two blind men called the Lord the Son of David. In the millennial kingdom, which will be the restored tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16), the Messianic kingdom, the Jews will recognize Christ as the Son of David, and their blindness will be healed. This is typified by the two blind men recognizing Christ in this way. The two blind men were healed in the house by the Lord’s direct touch (v. 29), as were both the daughter of the ruler (v. 25) and Peter’s mother-in-law (8:14-15). The opening of the blind men’s eyes signifies the recovery of inward sight to see God and spiritual things (Acts 9:17-18; 26:18; Eph. 1:18; Rev. 3:18).
In verses 32 and 33 we see the healing of the demon-possessed dumb man. Dumbness by demon possession signifies the inability to speak for God (Isa. 56:10) and praise God (Isa. 35:6) due to the worship of dumb idols (1 Cor. 12:2). The speaking of a dumb man signifies the recovery of the speaking and praising ability by being filled with the Lord in the spirit (Eph. 5:18-19).
The healing of the blind and the dumb signifies the restoration to the people on earth during the millennium. Thus, these healings are a shadow of the millennium. In the millennium all the blind will see, and the mouths of the dumb will be opened. Isaiah 35:5 and 6 say, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.” The blind will see God’s glory, and the dumb will speak of God’s glory. They will praise Him continually. The millennium therefore will be a time of restoration, a time of revival. Whenever there is a revival among Christians today, the blind eyes are opened, and the dumb mouths are opened. Before such a revival, so many Christians are blind, unable to see God or the things of God, and dumb, unable to speak a word for God. If those in the denominations today are asked to give a prayer, many are unable to do so and they will reply, “This is not my job, my profession. Ask the pastor to pray.” This indicates that they are possessed by a dumb demon. First Corinthians 12 reveals that we are not serving dumb idols. Thus, we must be speaking, bubbling. Our eyes are opened to see the things of God, and our mouths are opened to praise Him and to testify of Him. We all must be this kind of person. This healing is a shadow, a miniature, of the coming millennium.
Verse 34 says, “But the Pharisees said, He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” The ruler of the demons is the Devil, who is called Beelzebub (12:24). This blaspheming word by the Pharisees is a stronger continuation of the rejection of the heavenly King by the leaders of Judaism.