[22] Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute. He cured the mute person so that he could speak and see. [23] All the crowd was astounded, and said, "Could this perhaps be the Son of David?" [24] But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man drives out demons only by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons." [25] But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided against itself will stand. [26] And if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand? [27] And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. [28] But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. [29] How can anyone enter a strong man's house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
(CCC 439) Many Jews and even certain Gentiles who shared their hope recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the messianic "Son of David", promised by God to Israel (Cf Mt 2:2; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9.15). Jesus accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve because it was understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense, as essentially political (Cf. Jn 4:25-26; 6:15; 11:27; Mt 22:41-46; Lk 24:21). (CCC 550) The coming of God's kingdom means the defeat of Satan's: "If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Mt 12:26, 28). Jesus' exorcisms free some individuals from the domination of demons. They anticipate Jesus' great victory over "the ruler of this world" (Jn 12:31; cf. Lk 8:26-39). The kingdom of God will be definitively established through Christ's cross: "God reigned from the wood" (LH, Lent, Holy Week, Evening Prayer, Hymn Vexilla Regis: “Regnavit a ligno Deus”).
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