Bible Materials

JESUS HEALS TWO BLIND MEN AND A MUTE

by   10/15/2010   Matthew 9:27~34

Message


In Matthew chapter 8 and 9, we have seen a part of Jesus’ beautiful earthly messianic ministry. Most of his healing work was collected in these two chapters: the healings of a man with leprosy, a centurion’s servant in terrible suffering, Peter’s mother-in-law, many sick people, two demon-possessed men, a paralytic, a woman with bleeding, and even a dead girl. Each healing was beautiful and specific, revealing who Jesus was. In today’s passage Jesus heals two blind men and a mute. In the Old Testament, anticipating the days of the Messiah, prophet Isaiah, “But your dead will live; their bodies will rise” (Isa 26:19) and “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened…Then will…the mute tongue shout for joy” (Isa 35:5,6). As these chapters are coming to a close, Matthew seems to emphasize that Jesus is the Messiah, promised to come into this world and the lives of the people. The Messiah Jesus wants us to put our faith in him and live in this world with that faith. Let’s see how Jesus healed the two blind men and a mute and accept his word. First, Jesus heals the two blind men (27-31). Look at verse 27. “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’” When we study Mathew’s gospel, it seems that Matthew liked the number “two” very much (8:28, 10:29; 17:24; 18:16,19; 20:30). Indeed “two” is a beautiful word. Ecclesiastes 4:9,10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up…” If two people influence each other in a bad way, it is a terrible thing. But if they influence each other in a good way, the two become a strong vessel. That’s why Jesus said, in Matthew 18:19, “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” This was what the two blind men were doing. They agreed about following Jesus and asking for his mercy, and they called out together, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” Maybe it was a duet-calling in unison. So far in Matthew’s gospel study, demons called Jesus the Son of God (4:3,6; 8:29). Jesus called himself the Son of Man (8:20; 9:6). This is the first time Jesus was called the Son of David. At that time there was a general belief that the Messiah would come in the line of David. Matthew began his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus introducing Jesus as the son of David, the son of Abraham (1:1). Here two blind men followed Jesus, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” Although they could not see, they followed Jesus using their sense of hearing. They knew that they needed mercy as blind men, and the Son of David was the very one who could show them mercy. So they called out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” They were calling out together to the right one. But their calling out was completely ignored. There was no response at all from Jesus. We know that blind people are very sensitive to how others treat them and can easily be humiliated, saying, “You also despise me.” These two blind men must have swallowed up numerous humiliations. They could swallow up all human humiliations but not that of Jesus, the Son of David. It was really a disheartening and discouraging situation. They could have given up the following. Or the two could disagree with each other. But what did they do? Look at verse 28. “When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him…” The blind men followed Jesus to the end, even to a private house. They were unceasing in following Jesus. Nothing would stop them from following Jesus. At their persistence, Jesus finally spoke to them. He asked, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” The word “this” shows that Jesus did not ignore their calling out, “Have mercy on me, Son of David!” He heard it and now said, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” But why such a question? Why did he not just open their eyes in his mercy? Let’s think about this question together. Firstly, Jesus wanted them to be assured that he is indeed able to do this, what they asked for. Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I am able to do this?” Sometimes when we are in a certain condition for a long time, it is not easy to believe that actual change will happen, even though we have believed and prayed for it. One excellent example is this. There was a man of prayer, Zechariah. His prayer spirit was admirable. He prayed with one prayer topic throughout his life. His prayer topic was that a son given to him. God was so moved by his prayer that God sent his angel to deliver the good news, “Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son…” (Lk 1:13). The news was too good to hear. At the very time he should have thanked God, saying, “Amen,” he said, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” (Lk 1:18). To our surprise, he could not believe it. Then his faith had to be tested and trained in faith for 9 months. This story explains the weakness of human beings very well. These two blind men must have been in their blind condition for a long time, many years. Of course their desire was to be healed of their blindness. Their holy desire to be healed was precious and their faith to come to Jesus to the end was strong. Yet, for them this was still a spiritual battle. Jesus wanted to help them in this spiritual battle of faith so that they might be sure of their faith and Jesus’ ability and indeed receive his mercy. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” can also be applied to us. “This” can be our physical or spiritual sickness, what we want to get at this time, a prayer topic or life-goal. It is the very thing that is hard for us to see obtained or accomplished for some reasons. Each of us has “this.” But our Lord Jesus wants us to believe that he is able to do “this.” Secondly, Jesus wanted them to know that it is “I” Jesus who is able to do this. Jesus did not ask them, “Do you believe that this can be done?” No. He asked, “Do you believe I am able to do this?” Jesus wanted to make it clear them who the subject of showing mercy and healing them was. It would be “I” Jesus. When we clearly know the subject of doing things or the object of our believing, it helps our faith. There is a song which goes, “He is able to do more than able.” It is also very important to know who did “this” after receiving “this.” As sinful human beings, it is so easy to forget it. There are many people who do not recognize that it is God who answered their prayers after receiving what they had prayed for. After getting what they wanted, people’s minds are easily changed, forgetting who did that. Some think it just happened by accident. On one occasion Jesus said to ten lepers, “Go, show yourselves to the priest,” And as they went, they were all cleansed. The miraculous healing was done on the way. At that very moment all forgot Jesus who actually healed them, except one. Only the one who was a foreigner came back and thanked Jesus (Lk 17:11-19). This made Jesus very sad and troubled. God once said of the Israelites, “I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me” (Hos 13:5,6). There is a story about a tiger that was drowning. A man saved the tiger from drowning. Then the tiger ate him up. One man came to Canada through his marriage. But right after getting the permanent visa, he divorced his wife and moved to another city. Those who remember the very one from whom they received help are beautiful people. Jesus wanted the blind men to be such people, who after receiving his healing, remember “I” the very subject of showing the mercy to them. Thirdly, Jesus wanted to plant a seed of life-long faith in them. Jesus asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They would receive his mercy of healing through their faith. But faith should not be like a disposable utensilto receive his healing or salvation Through their faith the blind men were to receive his mercy and they were to live with that faith throughout their lives. With that faith they were to receive his grace time and again. Jesus wanted their faith to become life-long faith. There are many Christians who have forsaken their faith after receiving God’s grace of salvation or experiencing a kind of miracle in their lives. But Christian life is to be lived by faith, from first to last (Ro 1:17). It is a life-long race of faith. For this Jesus wanted to plant a seed of such faith in their hearts, asking them a private question in a private place. Crowd faith could not be reliable. Planting a seed of faith was through his personal word so that the seed could germinate in them throughout their lives. Asking the question was a kind of testing and solidifying their faith. To Jesus, planting a seed of faith in the hearts of people was most significant in any situation. When a seed of faith is planted in a person, that person can spiritually survive in any circumstances and do things by faith until God’s purpose is fulfilled. When Jesus asked, “Do you believe I am able to do this?” they replied, “Yes, Lord.” That was great. Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. We can understand their joy and enthusiasm. But as a result Jesus would confront stronger opposition. They had to go a long way to learn obedient faith. Second, Jesus heals a mute (32-34). Look at verse 32. “While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus.” Demon-possession can be shown in various ways. In the case of the two demoniacs in the area of the Gadarenes, it was shown through violent behavior that threatened people. In this passage, demon-possession produced muteness in a man. The mute man in demon-possession was brought to Jesus. When the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The man became free to speak. Speaking is a wonderful blessing of God endowed upon mankind. Our God is the God who speaks. When he spoke, things came into being. He also speaks to his people. And he made man speak. Speaking is a means of communication. Jesus made the mute man speak and communicate, setting him free from demon-possession. At this the crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been in Israel.” The crowd whose hearts were untwisted spoke truthfully. But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.” The Pharisees’ hearts were so twisted that they spoke crookedly, twisting the truth. They were free to speak but their hearts were possessed by demons. On another occasion Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, “…how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt 12:34). As you know, freedom of speech is one of the four freedoms stated by Franklin Roosevelt. But freedom of speech should be preceded by freedom from demon-possession. So it is a meaningful description that “When the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke.” It is noticeable that this last healing among this collection of Jesus’ miraculous healings included exorcism. It shows that Jesus’ healing is fundamental. His healing is to bring people from the kingdom of demons, the kingdom of bondage and lie and darkness, to the kingdom of God, the kingdom of freedom and truth and light. Thank God for Jesus’ healing of two blind men and a mute. His healing is to bring the people of this world into his kingdom. Thank God for the words Jesus spoke, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” May we believe his ability to do this, and remember him, and live a life of faith in his kingdom and for his kingdom, speaking the word of truth and faith.



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