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Matthew 9:27-35 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. 28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. 29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. 30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straightly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. 31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country. 32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. 33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marveled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. 34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils. 35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Why Do We Have Disasters, Pandemics, Floods?

This is the question people ask every time something “bad” happens. Why? And if there is a God Who made all things, and loves all people, then why does He allow these bad things to happen? David Mathis of desiringGod.org wrote:

“Through suffering, God exposes our sin and calls us to soul-saving repentance (Romans 8:18–23; Luke 13:1–5). Through affliction, he drives us from the dangers of trust in self to the safety of trust in him (2 Corinthians 1:8–9). Through pain, he works in us hope and holiness and endurance (Hebrews 12:3–11; Romans 5:3–4; James 1:2–4; 1 Peter 1:6–8).

He makes us the hands of his comfort in the lives of others (2 Corinthians 1:3–4), emboldens fellow believers (Philippians 1:12–14), and embodies the gospel to unbelievers (Colossians 1:24; Acts 5:40–41). He uses distress and persecution to reposition his troops (Acts 8:1; 11:19–21), and he makes our sufferings into his instruments to wean us from the cheap thrills of the world, keep us from conceit, and woo us to the surpassing value and preciousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:9–10; Philippians 1:19–23).”

I believe it is to wake us up to our need, to make us realize we desperately need the
Love & Presence of the Lord.

The Apostle in writing to the Church at Corinth paints a picture of spiritual warfare, an on going battle between the light and the darkness. He speaks of what hides the Gospel from those who so desperately need it. As Paul went about preaching the glorious Gospel of salvation by faith in Christ he realized that another force warred against him – a force of darkness. He wrote about this force in ..

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

The world is like these blind men – it cannot see Jesus. Yet unlike these blind men, the world is comfortable in it’s blindness. It is comfortable in it’s sin. This world needs Jesus. We all need Jesus. We are not, as humanists believe, all naturally good people. No. The Bible paints another picture of humanity. The same Apostle writing to the Church at Ephesus said:

Ephesians 2:1, 4-5 And you hath {God} quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Before a person meets Christ that person is “dead in trespasses and sins”. A dead person cannot make themselves alive. Only Christ can raise the dead. The Christian is someone who has been “quickened together with Christ”. The Greek συζωοποιέω syzōopoiéō, {pronounced sood-zo-op-oy-eh’-o} means “to be made alive with or resurrected with”. Prior to Jesus Christ we all as humans are in a state of spiritual death. We are blind to the righteousness of God. But Christ touches us. This is what happens when we meet Jesus.

Only Jesus Can Give Us Eyes To See

The unsaved soul is blind to God. He or she is spiritually blind, whereas the men in our text today are physically blind. Everyone born is born into this life spiritually blind. They cannot see God. Why? Is it because God willed this? No, it is because our forefather Adam willed it.

Adam did not heed God.
Adam brought pain & death to us all.

God has an amazing love for us. But from Adam till now, we just don’t listen to God. God told Adam in the Garden of Eden:

Genesis 2:16-17 … Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Now God did not tell Adam “If you eat that which is forbidden I WILL KILL YOU!” No, not at all. God warned Adam like a loving mother warns a child. “Johnny, that stove is hot. Don’t touch it! When you touch it, you will get burned.” God didn’t kill Adam. Adam killed Adam. Not God.

Romans 5:12 … by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned

Death is in the world because of Adam, not because of God. Sickness is in the world because of Adam, not because of God. God told Adam:

Genesis 3:17-19 … Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Adam took to himself something that only belonged to God. His action brought sweat, sorrow, thorns and thistles into an otherwise perfect world. Disease and suffering comes because of mankind’s sinful nature. Blindness is upon mankind because of sin in the world.

And yet God still loved us enough to send Jesus to us. What amazing love this is! We are told in:

1 John 4:7-10 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation {satisfactory covering or atonement} for our sins.

Jesus is the love of God in action. So far the day of our passage Jesus has healed a woman with an issue of blood, and raised a young 12 year old girl from the dead. As Jesus travels we read:

Matthew 9:27 (KJV) … Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying

Two blind men follow after Jesus. The Bible says they were “crying”, the Greek κράζω krázō, (pronounced krad’-zo – sounds kind of like “crazy”, doesn’t it?) which means “to croak like a raven, to scream”.

These men were not filled with pride.
They were not caring about what others thought.
They wanted Jesus’ attention.
They weren’t worried about what others might think.

When we are more concerned about what others think than we are about what Jesus thinks, then God cannot do business with us. When we let our P-R-I-D-E rule our lives rather than crying out to Jesus,
we are not blessed.

God cannot bless the pride filled.

When Naaman the General refused to dip himself in the waters of the Jordan, he remained a leper. “I’ll look foolish, crazy to others if I dip in that muddy Jordan.” But convinced of a lowly servant girl, Naaman went down to the Jordan and dipped himself seven times as God told him to do: then and only then was he healed (2 Kings 5:14).

We MUST STOP worrying about what OTHERS THINK about us, and begin to be concerned about what
OUR GOD thinks of us.

David – a man after God’s own heart – said:

Psalm 18:6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

Psalm 61:1 Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.

These men cried out to Jesus. They were not concerned about what others thought. Life had gotten to the place where they needed Jesus – and didn’t care who heard about it! They screamed – CROAKED …

Matthew 9:27 … Thou son of David, have mercy on us.

The men called Jesus “the Son of David”. What is the significance of this title? In the Old Testament God promised King David that he would have a “Son” that would have a Divinely Established Kingdom. God told David:

2 Samuel 7:13-14, He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. … 16 ,,, thy throne shall be established for ever.

The Son of David was the Promised Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord.

• In Matthew 1:1 Jesus is proclaimed “the Son of David”.
• As Jesus did miracle after miracle the people declared, “Is not this the Son of David?” (Matthew 12:23).
• On Palm Sunday, the last time Jesus would enter Jerusalem prior to His crucifixion, the multitudes would cry out “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9).

The blind men stumbled after Jesus by faith, calling upon the Son of David, the Messiah, to bestow “mercy on us“.

Have you ever noticed that Jesus continued walking? This is not Jesus being heartless, but Jesus will deal with these men away from the crowd.

These men have no eyes to see, but they can hear where the Master is going. These men were tuned in to the Voice of Jesus. Their suffering opened their ears to Jesus. Our Lord said:

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Matthew 9:28 And when {Jesus} was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

Jesus has but one question to ask them:

“Do YOU believe I am able to do this?”

Saving faith is a very personal thing. It is not what others think, but what YOU think. Do YOU believe Jesus is able to do this? God opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble (James 4:6). Is Jesus “Lord” to you?

Matthew 9:29-31 Then touched {Jesus} their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. 30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straightly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. 31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

Jesus did not ask these men if they were “worthy”. He just asked them “Do YOU believe I can do this?” None of us are worthy of Jesus – and yet He loves us so much that He wants to bless us. Consider what the Scripture says:

Romans 3:10 There is none righteous, no, not one:

1 Samuel 2:2 There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

I am amazed at the love of God. We are so dissimilar to God, so far away from Who He is … and yet He loves us still. If we but come to Him He would touch us. Jesus said “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32).

Jesus heals these men with but a touch.

Matthew 9:30 (KJV) … And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straightly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.

Our Lord is able! He heals these men, but then tells them “tell no one about this”. Why? Adam Clark in his commentary states that if Christ had been fully manifested as Messiah at this time the people would have tried to proclaim Him king. In John 6:15 they tried to make Jesus King by force, which caused Him to retreat into the mountains. There will come a day when Jesus will rule and reign on this earth. The time is not now.

Jesus Can Heal The Demon Possessed,
But Not The Self Righteous

Matthew 9:32-34 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. 33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marveled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. 34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

WHEN JESUS WORKS:
The DUMB SPEAK,
The MULTITUDES MARVEL, and
The SELF RIGHTEOUS MURMUR!

A “dumb” or “mute” man was brought to Jesus. His ability to speak was taken away not just by sin, but a servant of Satan. Jesus with ease cast the devil out of the man, and the man spoke, while the crowd stood amazed. “It was never so seen in Israel”. But the Pharisees indicted Jesus. They said:

{Jesus} casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

Why would they say this? Because the Pharisees were self righteous. Jesus can cast devils out of people. In fact we are told right after Jesus cast the devil out of this poor man that:

Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Jesus healed EVERY sickness and EVERY disease among the people. There were no exceptions. Every person who humbled themselves and came to Jesus in faith were blessed. There is nothing that Jesus cannot heal …

except self righteousness. Self righteousness does not save a person, but distances them from the Savior. God prophesied through Isaiah that there would come a day when He would reach out to the Gentiles because His Israel kept rejecting Him. God said:

Isaiah 65:1-5 I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. 2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; 3 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; 4 Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; 5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

God loved Israel. He sent His Only Begotten Son to Israel first. What does the scripture say?

John 1:10-12 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 {Jesus} came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

When Jesus sat down to eat with tax collectors and sinners, the Pharisees asked Him “Why are You doing this?” Jesus told them:

Mark 2:17 … They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (also Luke 5:32)

Those who think they are “righteous” will not come to Jesus. But those who are suffering and sin sick, whose eyes are opened by God, will seek Jesus. The Pharisee had perfected church going. They had perfected outward righteousness. They didn’t feel that they needed Jesus. But they could not disprove Jesus’ works. It was evident that Jesus healed people.

When you cannot disprove someone’s works, attack their character. This is what the Pharisees did.

Matthew 9:34 … the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

It is typical of the devil and his agents to attack the light. If they cannot disprove the works of Jesus and His people, the evil ones will discredit
the character of the Light.

This is the first time the Pharisees accuse Jesus of being in collusion with Satan, but it is not the only time. If you’ll turn over just a few chapters to:

Matthew 12:22-24 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

It was self righteousness and pride that caused the Pharisees to say this. But it was not true. Jesus told them:

Matthew 12:25-32 … Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

It is the Holy Spirit Who saves us. When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior the Spirit of God comes to us and changes us, making us born again. Self righteousness cuts a soul off from salvation. Self righteousness will not come to Jesus to be saved. And that is just a crying shame!

Thank God, though, there are many more “sinners” than there are “Pharisees”. Jesus told His disciples, and we who believe in Him are His disciples:

Matthew 9:37-38 … The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.

As a Church we do not need more members on the Church roll. We need more God sent Laborers. There are many sinners all around us. Let us bring them to Jesus. Bring Him the blind, the deaf, the spiritually dead. Take them to Jesus. Jesus is able to heal, to save, to bless. There is nothing my Jesus cannot do. In the aftermath of this Coronavirus Pandemic let us commit to take those we know to the amazing Love of God, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen and Amen. May God bless His people, and increase the harvest for His glory.