JUNE 26, 2005
MATT 9;27
7As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
28When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
"Yes, Lord," they replied.
29Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; 30and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." 31But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE FIRST SPLIT IN THE CHURCH. THESE TWO GUYS MEET AND BEGIN TO TALK, FIRST SAYS, I WAS BLIND, SECOND GUY SAYS, SO WAS I, TELL ME HOW YOU GOT YOUR SIGHT BACK. FIRST GUY, I MET JESUS. SECOND GUY, COOL SO DID I, WHAT DID HE DO? FIRST GUY, WELL JESUS MIXES UP SOME MUD AND PUTS IT IN MY EYE, AND THEN I CAN SEE. SECOND GUY, MUD, IN YOUR EYE? FIRST GUY, YES, AND THEN I WAS HEALED. HOW ABOUT YOU? WELL, JESUS JUST TOUCHED MY EYE AND I WAS HEALED. SECOND GUY, NO MUD? FIRST GUY, NO, NO MUD. SECOND GUY, WE CANT HAVE FELLOWSHIP. TURNS AND WALKS AWAY. THAT IS THE FIRST SPLIT, MUDITES AND ANTI-MUDITES.
TODAY, WE WANT TO ONCE AGAIN TURN OUR ATTENTION TO THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. TO PUT US IN THE PROPER TIME FRAME, RECALL HE HAS CAST OUT THE DEMONS FROM THE MAN FROM THE GADARENES. UPON HIS RETURN, THE WOMAN WHO WAS SICK FOR 12 YEARS TOUCHES THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT, AND FINALLY, HE HAS RAISED JAIRUS DAUGHTER BACK TO LIFE. THIS EVENT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS THE RAISING OF THE LITTLE GIRL.
THEY ARE IN THE CITY OF CAPERNAUM, JESUS HAS JUST LEFT THE HOUSE OF JAIRUS, HE IS HARDLY OUT THE DOOR, NOW REMEMBER, THERE HAD BEEN A LARGE CROWD OF PEOPLE ALREADY THERE, SOME WERE THERE TO MOURN THE DEATH OF THE LITTLE GIRL, OTHERS WERE THERE B/C THEY HAVE FOLLOWED JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. SO THERE IS A CROWD OF PEOPLE. ALREADY, JESUS HAS HEALED THE WOMAN WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD, AND NEWS OF THAT HAS SPREAD. NOW THE LITTLE GIRL WHO WAS DEAD IS ALIVE, THERE IS A BUZZ OF EXCITEMENT GOING ON.
JESUS IS OBVIOUSLY TIRED FROM ALL THE ACTIVITY, AT THIS MOMENT HE WANTS TO FIND A PLACE AWAY FROM THE CROWD. A PLACE TO KICK HIS FEET UP AND RELAX FOR A FEW MOMENTS.
AS SOON AS HE WALKS OUT OF THE HOUSE, TWO BLIND MEN BEGIN TO CALL OUT TO HIM. MOST OF THE TIME, THE BLIND IN THAT DAY WOULD CALL OUT, FOR THE PURPOSE OF BEGGING. BUT THESE GUYS ARE NOT BEGGING, AT LEAST NOT BEGGING FOR MONEY AS WOULD NORMALLY BE THE CASE. THEY CRY OUT, HAVE MERCY ON US, MERCY ON US.
WE USED TO PLAY SOFTBALL AND WE HAD A RULE THAT IF YOU WERE BEHIND BY 10 OR MORE RUNS IN THE 5TH INNING THEY CALLED IT THE MERCY RULE. THEY HAVE A SIMILAR RULE IN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IN MICHIGAN.
THESE BLIND MEN ARE CRYING OUT, MERCY, THEY ARE NOT ASKING FOR THE GAME TO BE STOPPED. THEY ARE ASKING FOR THEIR PAIN TO STOP, FOR THEIR BLINDNESS TO COME TO AN END, FOR THEIR LIVES AS BEGGARS TO STOP. MERCY.
NOW NOTICE HOW THEY ADDRESS JESUS. THEY DON’T CALL HIM LORD, THEY DON’T CALL HIM JESUS, INSTEAD THEY CALL HIM, SON OF DAVID. THIS IS IMPORTANT, WHAT THEY ARE CALLING HIM, IS THE MESSIAH. THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED HIM AS THE PROMISED MESSIAH. HE IS THE ONE PROPHESIED ABOUT IN THE SCRIPTURES. NOW THINK ABOUT THIS, THEY ARE BLIND, THEY CANT SEE WHAT HE HAS DONE, THEY CANT EVEN SEE HIM, BUT THEY CALL HIM, THE MESSIAH, THE PROMISED ONE. HAVE MERCY ON US, SON OF DAVID.
WHEN THE WOMAN WITH ISSUE OF BLOOD TOUCHES JESUS, HE STOPS AND FORCES HER TO ADMIT WHAT SHE HAS DONE, WHEN JAIRUS MAKES HIS NEED KNOWN, JESUS READILY FOLLOWS HIM. NOW NOTICE HOW JESUS REACTS TO THE BLIND MEN. HE DOESN’T STOP FOR THEM, HE DOESN’T SPEAK TO THEM, HE KEEPS ON WALKING, HASN’T EVEN ACKNOWLEDGED THEM. IS HE BEING RUDE?
NO, HE RECOGNIZES WHAT THEY HAVE CALLED HIM, HE IS NOT READY TO PUBLICALLY IDENTIFY HIMSELF AS THE MESSIAH AT THIS POINT IN HIS MINISTRY. FURTHER, HE IS TESTING THEIR FAITH. WILL THEY CONTINUE TO FOLLOW, OR WILL THEY JUST GIVE UP? THEY ARE PERSISTENT, THEY KNOW THAT THEIR HOPE IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM, EVEN IF THEY CANT SEE HIM, THEY MUST GO ON.
HE ENTERS THE HOME OF ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS, AND THEY BARGE RIGHT IN BEHIND HIM. THEY WILL NOT BE DENIED. NOW, OUT OF THE PUBLIC EYE, AWAY FROM THE CROWD, IN THE QUIET OF THIS FRIENDLY HOME, JESUS ADDRESSES THE BLIND MEN. THEY GET HIS UNINTERRUPTED ATTENTION. THEY HAVE A NEED, HE HAS THE ANSWER.
"DO YOU BELIEVE THAT I AM ABLE TO HEAL YOU?" WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF FAITH? WHAT IS JESUS ABLE TO DO IN YOUR LIFE? HE WILL ONLY DO FOR YOU WHAT YOU BELIEVE HE CAN DO FOR YOU. AS WE BEGIN THIS ADDITION ON THE CHURCH BUILDING, WE MUST BELIEVE THAT JESUS CAN DO FOR US WHAT WE ARE UNABLE TO DO FOR OURSELVES. I BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS ASKING US THE SAME QUESTION THAT HE ASKED THE BLIND MEN, "DO YOU, MONTGOMERY UB CHURCH, BELIEVE THAT I AM ABLE?" THIS EXTENDS INTO OUR PERSONAL LIVES AS WELL, JESUS IS ASKING US, PERSONALLY, "DO YOU DALE, BELIEVE THAT I AM ABLE?"
HE ASKS THEM THIS QUESTION, DO YOU BELIEVE THAT I CAN DO FOR YOU WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO? AM I ABLE? CAN I RESTORE YOUR SIGHT? IMMEDIATELY. WITHOUT HESITATION, THEY SAY YES. AND THEN HE TOUCHES THEIR EYES AND SAYS, "ACCORDING TO YOUR FAITH, IT IS DONE FOR YOU."
THEN, HE TELLS THEM THE SAME THING HE HAS TOLD JAIRUS, DON’T TELL ANYONE WHAT I HAVE DONE.
