{"id":606,"date":"2015-03-20T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2015-03-20T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?p=606"},"modified":"2015-02-26T05:08:07","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T05:08:07","slug":"matthew-927-34-jesus-heals-the-blind-and-mute-cultural-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/03\/matthew-927-34-jesus-heals-the-blind-and-mute-cultural-commentary.html","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 9:27-34; Jesus Heals the Blind and Mute (Cultural Commentary)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who is the \u201cprince of demons\u201d referenced in Matthew 9:34? Jesus\u2019 enemies were pretty familiar with that guy\u2014so much so that they felt confident accusing Christ of being his evil pawn. So who were they talking about?<\/p>\n

The \u201cprince of demons\u201d was a title for a high-ranking, fallen angel derisively named \u201cBeelzebul\u201d by the ancient Jews. He appears in the Jewish pseudepigraphical work the Testament of Solomon<\/em>, where he is overpowered and imprisoned by King Solomon.<\/p>\n

The name itself originates from the insulting Hebrew term, \u201cBaalzebub,\u201d which referred to the false god, Baal, and means alternately \u201cLord of the flies\u201d and \u201cLord of the dung heap,\u201d Some have assumed Beelzebul to be another name for Satan, which could be the case, but that assumption is inconclusive; the name could also refer to a lesser demon in the service of Satan but who wields some measure of authority over the demonic realm.<\/p>\n

In any case, this \u201cprince of demons\u201d is a vile, contemptible being, a force intent on wreaking evil\u2014and the Pharisees of Jesus\u2019 day knew that. Given that knowledge, it\u2019s unlikely that their accusation of Jesus was a serious one. Beelzebul would never free people from demonic possession and captivity; it simply isn\u2019t that being\u2019s nature, nor is it consistent with the goals of the supernatural enemies of God. (Jesus made clear that obvious thinking in Matthew 12:25-29.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s much more likely the Pharisee\u2019s accusation was simply a desperate smear attempt by people who hated Christ. Convincing people that Jesus was associated with the infamous \u201cprince of demons\u201d would have been both a contemptuous personal insult (calling Jesus lower than a big pile of feces) and an attempt to discredit his reputation as a holy man and prophet.<\/p>\n

The tragic irony was that, in calling Jesus a slave to Beelzebul, the Pharisees discredited themselves instead of Christ\u2014and entrenched themselves as allies of the so-called \u201cprince of demons\u201d that they claimed to despise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[BKB, 249; ZP1, 505-506]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2126\u2126\u2126<\/p>\n

About: For Bible Study Nerds\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

About: Mike Nappa<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2014 to present by\u00a0Nappaland Communications Inc<\/a>. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who is the \u201cprince of demons\u201d referenced in Matthew 9:34? Jesus\u2019 enemies were pretty familiar with that guy\u2014so much so that they felt confident accusing Christ of being his evil pawn. So who were they talking about? The \u201cprince of demons\u201d was a title for a high-ranking, fallen angel derisively named \u201cBeelzebul\u201d by the ancient…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":571,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2],"tags":[266,16,77],"class_list":["post-606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culturalcommentary","category-matthew","tag-beelzebul","tag-jesus","tag-miracles"],"yoast_head":"\nMatthew 9:27-34; Jesus Heals the Blind and Mute (Cultural Commentary) - For Bible Study Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/03\/matthew-927-34-jesus-heals-the-blind-and-mute-cultural-commentary.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matthew 9:27-34; Jesus Heals the Blind and Mute (Cultural Commentary) - For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Who is the \u201cprince of demons\u201d referenced in Matthew 9:34? Jesus\u2019 enemies were pretty familiar with that guy\u2014so much so that they felt confident accusing Christ of being his evil pawn. So who were they talking about? 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Jesus\u2019 enemies were pretty familiar with that guy\u2014so much so that they felt confident accusing Christ of being his evil pawn. So who were they talking about? 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