Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute - Matthew 9:27-34
Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When 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.29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”
Reflection: Even though the blind men couldn't physically see Jesus, in another sense they saw who He was as they called out, "Have mercy on us, Son Of David." Obviously they were making messianic reference to Jesus, and as part of the prophetic prediction in the Old Testament, the Messiah would be merciful. And even though they couldn't see Jesus, they believed in him and trusted in His ability to heal them. They saw that Jesus could heal them, which at that moment was perhaps the better form of vision. Then Jesus adds in a word play when he says "See to it no one knows about this." Most likely is was to prevent to acceleration of people knowing that Jesus was the Messiah, and how the cry of the crowds would turn from adulation to "Crucify him!"
Then on his way Jesus provides another supernatural miracle of healing to the man who was demon possessed and could not even ask for mercy. Once the demon had been commanded to leave the man could speak, and I'm sure he had a lot to say about the man from Galilee. While the crowd was amazed at these two miracles, the Pharisees sneered and concluded, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons." Jesus will more to say about this opinion and how self contradicting it is, but for now we can only interpret this as their own jealousy and pride. It is often easy to make demons scapegoats for our own sins. I.e. "The devil made me do it!"
So what can we learn from this teaching about Jesus? First, faith is always the non-negotiable when praying for healing. This is not to assume when a prayer for healing doesn't get answered that a person isn't exhibiting enough faith. This can be a harmful and destructive assumption. But we can assume that whenever we pray we should believe all things are possible through Christ who strengthens us and can do more than we ask or imagine. Secondly, sometimes we don't know what to pray for or don't have the words to pray. The bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit not only helps us to pray, but even intercedes for us in groans that are beyond mere words.
What do you need to pray about today? Go to your Heavenly Father, who loves you, in Jesus' name with your request. He hears the prayer offered in faith, and will answer it according to His will being done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When 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.29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”
Reflection: Even though the blind men couldn't physically see Jesus, in another sense they saw who He was as they called out, "Have mercy on us, Son Of David." Obviously they were making messianic reference to Jesus, and as part of the prophetic prediction in the Old Testament, the Messiah would be merciful. And even though they couldn't see Jesus, they believed in him and trusted in His ability to heal them. They saw that Jesus could heal them, which at that moment was perhaps the better form of vision. Then Jesus adds in a word play when he says "See to it no one knows about this." Most likely is was to prevent to acceleration of people knowing that Jesus was the Messiah, and how the cry of the crowds would turn from adulation to "Crucify him!"
Then on his way Jesus provides another supernatural miracle of healing to the man who was demon possessed and could not even ask for mercy. Once the demon had been commanded to leave the man could speak, and I'm sure he had a lot to say about the man from Galilee. While the crowd was amazed at these two miracles, the Pharisees sneered and concluded, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons." Jesus will more to say about this opinion and how self contradicting it is, but for now we can only interpret this as their own jealousy and pride. It is often easy to make demons scapegoats for our own sins. I.e. "The devil made me do it!"
So what can we learn from this teaching about Jesus? First, faith is always the non-negotiable when praying for healing. This is not to assume when a prayer for healing doesn't get answered that a person isn't exhibiting enough faith. This can be a harmful and destructive assumption. But we can assume that whenever we pray we should believe all things are possible through Christ who strengthens us and can do more than we ask or imagine. Secondly, sometimes we don't know what to pray for or don't have the words to pray. The bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit not only helps us to pray, but even intercedes for us in groans that are beyond mere words.
What do you need to pray about today? Go to your Heavenly Father, who loves you, in Jesus' name with your request. He hears the prayer offered in faith, and will answer it according to His will being done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
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