MATTHEW 9: 27-34 [THE MESSIAH REVEALED SERIES]
THE HEALING OF THREE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED PERSONS
[Isaiah 35:5-26]
Following the account of the miracle within a miracle where Jesus takes time to heal a woman while on His way to raise a dead child, are Jesus' healing of three physically challenged persons. Jesus' power over sin, sickness, and demons would prove Him Messiah to some, to others His empowering would prove Him intolerable (CIT). The contrast between Jesus' authority and that of the Pharisees is so obvious that Jesus must be restrained lest the people proclaim Him Messiah.
Isaiah 35:5-26 prophesies of a time when God will open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf as signs of the coming redemption of the Messiah. Matthew's placing these two miracles together in quick succession says in effect that the day of Messianic deliverance has arrived.
I. THE BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, 27-31.
II. THE MUTE’S TONGUE SET FREE, 32-33.
III. THE PHARISEES’ STRANGE REASONING, 34.
There was no respite for the Lord since His power over diseases was now generally known. Upon leaving the ruler of the synagogue’s house two blind men beginning following Him in verse 27. "As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David"
As Jesus is walking away from the synagogue ruler's house, two blind men latch on to Him and continually yell out, 'have mercy on us.' Their insistent cry for mercy (elee) implies some prior sin kept them from being healed. Their request was for compassion, [not justice]. No grumbling against fate, no demanding of a just alleviation of an unmerited punishment; only for mercy do they beg. No matter what our circumstances, it is compassion that we all seek from God. [Whatever our wants and burdens are, all we need is the supply and support found in the mercy of our Lord Jesus. In Christ is enough for all.]
They cry out loudly addressing Jesus as the "Son of David." This is the first time the title is used in Matthew. It proclaims Jesus to be the long awaited descendant of David [heir to David's throne, Isa. 9:7]. There can be no doubt that the blind men were confessing Jesus as the Messiah [22:42, 15:22], the anointed One of God. One of the indicators of the Messiah is that He would give sight to the blind (Isa. 29:18, 35:5, 42:7) for God rules over blindness and sight (Ex 4:11; Prov 20:12; 2 Kings 6:18–20).
The testimony declared by the blind men bears clear witness that His works proved who He is, at least to those who are not blind. None are so blind though as those who will not see.
Blindness is a picture of spiritual ignorance and unbelief (Isa. 6:10; Mt. 15:14; Rom.11:25). The sinner must be born again before he can see the things of God (John 3:3). And the believer must be careful to grow spiritually or he will damage his spiritual vision (2 Peter 1:5-9).
Apparently, Jesus paid no attention to the repeated cries of the blind men, but walked on off. He would try their faith, so as to teach us to pray, and not to faint, though the answer does not come at once. In verse 28 these blind men follow Jesus right into the house. "When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, 'Yes, Lord.'
These blind men were persistent. They went right into the house where Jesus was staying. They knew Jesus could heal them, and they would let nothing stop them from finding Him. That's real faith in action. If you believe Jesus is the answer to your every need, don't let anything or anyone stop you from following Him or from reaching out to Him.
Jesus questions the faith of these two men, even though they had sought Him out and followed Him, pleading for mercy. The focus of His question is "do you believe that I am able to do this?" They responded that they believe Jesus had the power to heal them.
In response to their faith, Jesus took two actions. Both are encountered in verse 29. "Then He touched their eyes, saying, 'It shall be done to you according to your faith."
The declaration of the blind men's faith led directly to Jesus' touching and healing them. Jesus had not responded to the blind men's pleas and obvious serious need. He waited to see if they had faith which they illustrated by (1) their persistent following of Jesus, (2) their humility to His seeming rejection, and (3) their public profession of faith in Him. Not every one who says he wants help wants to commit themselves to the seeking of available help. They want help to seek them out and respond to them on their terms. God expects us to humbly respond to Him on His terms.
Jesus may have waited and questioned these men to emphasize and increase their faith. Does your persistence in attempting to get closer to Jesus prove that you believe He can help? It is those who continue to ask, seek and knock that will receive God's response to their faith in Jesus' compassionate power to heal their life. When you think that God is too slow in answering your prayer, humbly continue to follow Him and seek His help. He may be testing you as He did these blind men.
First, Jesus touched their eyes. Second, Jesus declared that their faith would determine the outcome of His touch. Literally "according to your faith, let it be to you." At times Jesus worked privately with a person as He just did with Jarius' daughter, and at other times publicly. The point made, to those observing this miracle, is that faith in Jesus (not the desire for a miracle) is a prerequisite for His responding to their needs. To bring about faith in Himself and to increase this faith is the overreaching reason for Jesus' miracles.
Verse 30 records the result. "And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: "See that no one knows about this!"
The existence of faith in Jesus results in their eyes being opened, immediately. We do not know the cause of their blindness (more common back then because of infection from poor sanitary conditions) or how long they had been blind, but you can imagine the excitement of being able to see after having been blind. Thus Jesus emotionally gives them a stern warning not to tell anyone. Jesus had an intense desire to avoid acclaim as a healer which would impede and even endanger His true mission. He healed people in compassion and as proof of His claim to be Messiah who would bring spiritual healing to a sick world, not to gain popular support.
In verse 31 is the disobedience of the healed. "But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land."
The blind men, however, were not able to contain themselves. Full of joy over the healing which they had experienced, they were most active in relating their glad news about Jesus everywhere in that entire country, far beyond Capernaum. Hopefully this good news contained their belief that Jesus is the Messiah. This news though would not be well received by the religious leaders of the day.
Jesus did not want His spectacular works to result in mob scenes that would eclipse His authoritative words, not to mention incite the Jewish religious leaders and the Romans to view Him as a political challenger or enemy.
II. THE MUTE’S EARS & TONGUE SET FREE (32-33).
Jesus was having a busy day as He now faces the evil forces of the spirit world. The purpose for recording the account together with the blind receiving sight is substantiation of Isaiah's Messianic prophecy. Isaiah states that "the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped" (Isa. 35:5).
In verse 32 a demon-possessed man was brought to Jesus. "As they were going out, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to Him."
Jesus and the others had just left the house where the two blind men had been healed when they were met by a group who brought to Him a mute. The Greek can mean either deaf or unable to speak or both. Here the emphasis is on the man's inability to speak. His condition was the result of demon possession. While there is a difference between sickness and demonic work (Mt. 10:8), demons can cause physical afflictions.
The term demon-possession describes a condition in which a distinct and evil personality or spirit, foreign to the person possessed, has taken control of an individual. This evil personality or demon is able to speak through the mouth of the possessed individual, and to answer when addressed (Mark 5:7-10; Luke 4:41; Acts 16:18, 19:13-15).
Demons are the agents of Satan. Jesus came to earth in order to crush the power of Satan. He came to bind “the strong man” (Mt. 12:29; Luke 11:21, 22; Rev. 20:1-3) by means of His victory over him in the desert of temptation, by means of demon-expulsions, and especially the cross (Col. 2:15). This “binding of the devil” points forward to the latter's ultimate and complete defeat in connection with Christ's second coming (Rev. 20:10; Rom. 16:20).
The amazement of the crowds to that day's series of miracles [the woman, the daughter of Jairus, the two blind men, and now the mute man] is related in verse 33. "After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."
After Jesus casts out the demon, the mute man spoke. The people were amazed or astonished. The amazement should be attributed to the fact that this mute and his condition were well known and the possibility of his ever speaking again were considered non-existent. So the words and works of Jesus again brought awe to the people (Mt. 7:28f, 9:8, 26; 15:31).
The wonder of the crowds found its expression in the saying"The like has never been seen in Israel." It was unheard of that a man should have such unlimited power. Never before, had God's power to deliver been so fully demonstrated. [David is the only recorded Old Testament figure God used in exorcism (1 Sam 16:23).] The Messianic revelation was gradually entering into the consciousness of the people. So the multitudes were amazed at Jesus' unique power, but in the seeing of the power-hungry Pharisees Jesus could do nothing right.
III. THE PHARISEES STRANGE REASONING, 34.
Verse 34 gives the reaction of the religious leaders to Jesus' good works. "But the Pharisees were saying, 'He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons'"
You can always find a reason to disbelieve the works of God. The contrast in how the healing is perceived by the different people is Matthew's major point in this passage. The religious leaders' reaction is quite different from that of the crowds.
The Pharisees did not attempt to deny the reality of the mighty work. They did something even worse. They ascribed Jesus' power to perform His good works to the enabling of Satan. They blasphemed Jesus calling Him an associate of [Beelzebub, probably meaning god of dung-manure, the prince of demons, Satan himself. [Christ purposely ignored the remark in this case, though He might easily have put them to silence (Mt 12:24-28).]
Let this verse be a reminder that it does not matter the proofs offered you cannot convince the proud in heart. Though the unregenerated saw the authority and truth of Jesus proven, their darkened heart chose not to believe. It is still the same today.
In CLOSING
Thus ends a remarkable series of miracles which Matthew has grouped (chapters 8 and 9), as representations of our Lord's wonderful works. While the Pharisees questioned, debated, and dissected Jesus, people were being healed and lives changed right in front of them. Their skepticism was based not on insufficient evidence but on jealousy of Jesus' leadership.
In chapter 9, the Pharisees accused Jesus of four different sins: blasphemy, befriending outcasts, impurity, and serving Satan. [Matthew shows how Jesus was maligned by those who should have received Him most gladly.] Why did the Pharisees do this? (1) Jesus bypassed their religious authority. (2) He weakened their control over the people. (3) He challenged their cherished traditions. (4) He exposed their insincere motives.
The Pharisees were always majoring on the minors and thus missed the proper conclusion. Don't major on minors and miss what Jesus is doing right before your eyes.
[People ask, "Why aren't blind eyes opened, AIDS victims healed, and the paralyzed walking today? It happened then. Why can't it happen now?"
God still heals, but not in the same way. At this point, Jesus was giving the Jews the opportunity to acknowledge Him as their Messiah. Had they received Him, they could have moved right into the kingdom, but they rejected Him when they nailed Him to the Cross. Consequently, although we do see miracles today, they’re not the same as the ones He performed physically when He walked the earth. The miracles we read about in the Gospels are “sneak previews of coming attractions” when He will rule and reign, when all will be right, when everyone will be healed. [Courson, Jon: Jon Courson's Application Commentary. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson, 2003, S. 68.]
