Bible Strands
Matthew 12:23
The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The crowds pose this question to themselves immediately after Jesus heals a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. This occurs at the moment of transition between the crowd's amazement and the Pharisees' accusation.
The words — The Greek verb ἐξίσταντο (existanto) literally means "were amazed" or "were astounded," capturing the crowd's reaction to the healing. The interrogative particle μὴτι (mēti) frames the question as one expecting a negative answer, yielding the literal sense "Could this possibly be...?"
The thread — The title "Son of David" surfaces when blind men beg for mercy in Matthew 9:27, when Jesus questions the Pharisees about the Messiah's lineage in Matthew 22:42, and when a Samaritan woman wonders if Jesus is the Christ in John 4:29.
Why it lands — The text records a crowd linking a miraculous act to a specific messianic title, requiring the reader to determine whether the observed power validates that title or merely provokes wonder.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
Cross-references
- Matthew 9:27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
- Matthew 22:42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” “David’s,” they answered.
- John 4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
- Matthew 9:33 And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
- Matthew 15:30 Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them.
- Matthew 21:9 The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”
- John 7:40 On hearing these words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.”
- Matthew 15:22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”