Two Blind Men Series

“Two Blind Men”

Matthew 9:27-33

Matthew selects ten miracles in chapters 8-9 during the ministry of Jesus, which gives evidence that Jesus is the King of the promised Kingdom of Heaven; He alone is the one who has power over disease, demons, death, all of the elements and all of the earth. Nine of the miracles deal with human dilemmas of all sorts, and the other one showed Jesus’ power over nature in the stilling of the wind and sea. Matthew gives a preview of what the Kingdom of God will look like in its fullness and that Jesus is the one who will reign in God’s Eternal Kingdom. He alone will fulfill all of Isaiah’s prophecies in God’s Heavenly Kingdom: There will be no sin, no sickness, and no death or disorder of any kind in His Kingdom is fulfilled.

Two Blind Men

We looked at the healing of the woman with the issue of blood and also Jairus’ daughter, and now the same day, we pick up in Matthew 9: 27-31: “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" 28 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." 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "It shall be done to you according to your faith." 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: "See that no one knows about this!" 31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land.”

The Physical and Sinful Condition of Men

Blindness was a common handicap in Jesus’ time. The arid, dusty climate caused eye damage, but eye disease contracted at birth from untreated venereal disease, caused permanent blindness within three days. That is why people would ask the question: “Is he blind because of his parent’s sin?” It could very well be that a person was blind, not because of THEIR sin but because of the sins of their parents.

Of course, all sickness is the result of sin, but first of all, from being born IN sin and into a sinful world. Being spiritually dead and spiritually blind was and is the broken and hopeless condition of unsaved men and women in this world, who are still locked into their sin and misery. It wasn’t uncommon to see a couple of blind people hanging onto each other in order to help each other, especially since they were so often despised by the general population, having judged them and their blindness. “Misery likes company”, as the old saying goes, but Jesus also hinted to the Pharisee’s sinful condition as the “blind leading the blind…you both fall in the ditch together.”

The Penitent Prayer of a humble heart “Crying out”

The Penitent prayer of a humble heart “crying out” of men is heard in verse 27: “Have mercy on us, Son of David!" The hurting, the unfit, the outcasts, the discouraged, the sorrowing, the lonely, the sinful, the guilty are the ones who seek and follow Jesus. You never find those who think they are self-sufficient. You never find the people who think they have the answers, the resources and the cures. The broken-hearted are the ones who find Jesus, not the self-sufficient and prideful ones. It is only the desperate people who come to Jesus for help and healing.

The word for “crying out” has a multitude of possibilities, but it most often resembles a screaming, pleading, begging cry. It was the sound that demons made. It was the cry of a woman in child birth in Revelation 12:2. It was the emotional scream of the disciples when they saw Jesus walking on the water through the stormy sea: “It is a ghost!” It was frightened Peter as he began to sink: “Save me!” The crowds were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David,” on Palm Sunday!” It was the sound of the same crowds yelling: “Crucify Him!” It was the cry of Jesus as He yielded up His spirit.

Their cry of “Son of David” tells us that they knew at least some of the truth about Jesus: They knew that Jesus was the promised one of God. “Son of David” was the Old Testament title that was given to the Promised Messiah. 2 Samuel 7:12 had stated the promise to David: "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” Every Jew knew that eventually there would come a Son of David who would fulfill this promise, and it certainly wasn’t in King Solomon.