Matthew 9:27

“As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

So the healings continue – physical blindness and spiritual demon-possession – both of which responded to the word and touch of Jesus.

The observers, amazed by it all, said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” To be sure, Jesus was not a magician or trickster but God in a human body.  Israel was plagued with false prophets and those who practiced the occult.

How can people figure out what is happening?  In one of two ways, perhaps.  Either Jesus is doing these amazing things in the power of God or he is a medium through whom Satan is working. The Pharisees made their decision.  They declared Jesus to be a servant of the devil. Many knew that Jesus was doing the works of God. So disputes broke out about this Jesus of Nazareth.

The background of this was that it was assumed that Satan does “good” sometimes to expand his kingdom. So you had to look beyond the deed to try to discern whether the power to do it is from God or Satan. I was made aware of this while living in East Africa. Satan often does a “good” thing to encourage people to depend on him for help. It does take spiritual discernment to ponder these matters.