We have seen that Matthew is a book concerned with the doctrine of the kingdom. In his Gospel Matthew does not give us a record of history; he takes the facts of history and puts them together to reveal the doctrine of the kingdom. Thus far, we have seen that Christ was born, was anointed, was tested, began His ministry, drew a crowd, decreed the heavenly constitution, and continued His ministry. His ministry produced the environment that enabled Him to reveal Himself in many aspects. Furthermore, His ministry caused Him to be fully rejected by that evil generation. We have also seen that the Lord called the laboring and burdened ones to come to Him for rest. He showed them that the way to rest is to break the regulations of religion and to care for the Head and for the members of the Body. It is through all this that the kingdom of the heavens is established on earth among men. We all need to be impressed with such a clear view.
Now we must see that in order for the kingdom of the heavens to be established, there is the need of a spiritual battle, of spiritual fighting. This fighting is implied in 12:22-37. In the establishment of the kingdom a fight is raging on. Although we have covered many things, we have not yet seen that the establishment of the kingdom requires spiritual fighting. As Christ, the heavenly King, was establishing the heavenly kingdom among men on earth, He was fighting. People, however, did not see this warfare. They saw what He did outwardly, but they did not realize what was taking place inwardly. Thus, Matthew selected another historical fact to point out the fighting that was going on as the King was establishing the heavenly kingdom.
At the time of 12:22-37 the Lord’s ministry was no longer so public. Instead of carrying out His ministry publicly, He did so in a rather cautious, calm way. Nevertheless, what the Lord did in verse 22 in healing a man possessed by a demon was a fact of history and could not be concealed.
Verse 22 says, “Then there was brought to Him one possessed by a demon, blind and dumb; and He healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw.” A blind and dumb man signifies one who has no sight to see God and spiritual things; thus he is unable to praise God and speak for God. This is the real condition of all fallen people. Such a man was brought to the King, the King cast out the demon, and the man was able to see and to speak. He uttered what he saw. This undoubtedly was a miracle and a sign. In the Old Testament there is no record of a blind man miraculously receiving his sight. For a blind man to receive his sight is a great sign.
Verse 23 says, “And all the crowds were amazed and said, Is this not the Son of David?” The miracle performed in healing the blind and dumb person amazed the crowds, and they said, “Is this not the Son of David?” This was the recognizing of Christ as their Messiah, their King.