The Weekend Word
Matthew 9:27-38
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”
- Jesus moves on – onward in his mission
- Odd, blind men following – but perhaps not at all – people with infirmities, with shortcomings – those who know by experience that they cannot help themselves are the ones who follow in faith.
- Those who are strong and still think they can pull themselves up by their own boot straps – well they have a problem admitting they need help.
- Son of David- They know who they are addressing – who he is and what is to be fulfilled – 2 Sam 7 (see end note to this lesson)
- The prayer of the blind men should be our prayer – “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”
28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”
- Do you believe? See John 11:21-27
- 21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
- 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
- 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
- 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
- 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”
- Again, just his touch
- No works associated – just “according to your faith”
30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.”
- I am sure this is one of those immediately things.
- Why did Jesus continually tell them not to say anything?
- Only after the resurrection then say of me; “I am the risen crucified savior” – not just I am the latest local healer.
31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
- It seems like many times the first ‘post’ salvation act is disobedience J
- But our salvation story, whether you remember it or not, should be so powerful, that you cannot keep it in – even under divine command.
Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak
32 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him.
- Everywhere Jesus goes he is confronted with the wages of sin
- Romans 6:22-23 – “22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- I wonder if he felt like General Custer surrounded at Little Big Horn – surrounded by demonic forces – and all of the demons thinking they are going to get him.
- Or how about this – the army or police training camps where they go house to house and the bad guy pops up?
- This is what is happening to Jesus – satan is throwing all these people with sin dripping off them to confront Jesus and Jesus just touches them – heals them and forgives their sin.
33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”
- Right straight from Isaiah – right straight from what Jesus told John’s disciples – the blind see and the mute speak.
- Something new is happening.
34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
- The crowds are impressed – the leaders not so much.
- The leaders do not deny the miracles / healings – but how?
- Yes – we know Jesus is doing all these things – but he has the devil on his side.
This ends the 10 deeds – the sign of the perfect messiah
The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few
35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.
- The Jesus same old – same old.
- The work of Jesus and continual – even to this day.
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
- The recognition that we are lost, harassed by the devil and can’t help ourselves.
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
- When Jesus calls, who is he calling? Us
- Chapter 10 will be the fulfillment of this call – the calling of the disciples.
It always fascinates me that, except for once or twice, Jesus’ opponents are never recorded as disbelieving the fact of his healings, but typically their objection is regarding the source of his power and/or dishonoring the Sabbath when performing the healing.
I’m always left wondering if there’s something that is not coming through either in the translation or as a matter of historical context.
Jean – I think it is one of two things and I lean almost entirely on #2.
1.) They thought he was just another ‘miracle’ worker – shaman of sorts who perhaps had the backing of the devil.
2.) The just didn’t want to believe – it wasn’t a mind issue of they could not figure out what just happened – they just refused it as it would be too tough on their religious system or they knew the consequences would lead to having to bend the knee (and not as we see today during the national anthem 😉 )
Remember, all along Jesus is forgiving sin through these healings – making claims to making even creation right.