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Tim Maas
Conditions to which we today would assign a medical cause were often attributed in biblical times to the work of evil spirits or demons. (In a sense, I would say that this could still be said to be the case even today, since in a perfect world -- such as will exist for the redeemed in eternity, when Satan and his agents will have ceased to be active -- the conditions of this fallen world and present age will no longer prevail, and no infirmities of body or mind will occur.) Aside from the account cited in the question, in which the description of the boy's condition appears to resemble epileptic seizures that rendered him dumb (that is, unable to speak coherently), the gospels record multiple other instances of Jesus healing people suffering from behavioral afflictions that caused them to be regarded as possessed, and restoring them to normal health and behavior. These would include Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 1:32-34, and Luke 4:31-37.
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