Matthew 9:8

‘But when the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.'

Matthew is not interested in the reaction of the Scribes. His concern was for the glory of God. The Scribes, put to flight rationally, ceased to matter to him (he does not seek to show them up in a bad light at every turn). What mattered was that the crowds recognised what had happened. They were filled with awe and they glorified God because He gave such power ‘to men'. They still saw Jesus as just a man among men, even if a prophet. The inference is that while they were honest enough to admit the truth of what they had seen (unlike some others who could be mentioned) they had not appreciated the fuller truths which were coming home to the disciples that Jesus was more than just another man.

But the reader is expected to see further than that. He is expected to see that by providing both forgiveness and healing ‘on earth' Jesus was demonstrating that the Kingly Rule of Heaven was present  on earth  as it had always been in Heaven (Psalms 22:28; Psalms 103:19; Psalms 93:1; Psalms 97:1; Psalms 99:1; Psalms 110:1). The Son of Man was ruling on earth as He would one day in Heaven.