27When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” 28And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.” 31But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.
Matthew 9:27-31 relates the story of Jesus’ healing of two blind men.
9:27
When Jesus departed from there,
Jesus left the house of the ruler of the synagogue.
two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
The ascription “Son of David” is an assertion of Jesus as King of Israel. These two blind men recognized Jesus as the Messiah. Their call for Jesus to “have mercy” on them was not an appeal for pity but a request for healing.
9:28
And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
The two outcast blind men asserted their belief that Jesus was able to heal them.
9:29
Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”
Jesus healed the blind men according to their faith, not in proportion to their faith. This cure was granted because of their faith.
9:30
And their eyes were opened.
Their healing was instantaneous.
And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.”
Jesus did not want to foment the populace to prematurely enthrone Him as King, so he warned the blind men not to tell people about their healing. Premature movement in this regard would have riled the Roman government.
9:31
But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.
The two blind men disregarded Jesus’ stern warning. They could not help but to tell their story.
PRINCIPLE:
Faith is the means of connection with God.
APPLICATION:
God does not require us to experience or observe a miracle to have fellowship with Him; He simply expects us to believe His Word. Faith is the means that accepts God’s offer or promise. It is through faith that we appropriate or apply truth to experience.
The healing of the blind men was a proof of Christ’s Messiahship:
1“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn…” Is 61:1-2
Jesus gave them a STERN warning not to tell anyone… but they did not listen and they went a-spreading the news! Does the bible say anything about how Jesus reacted to this disobedience? Thank you.
Raoul, the next study (9:32f) indicates that they brought someone to Jesus and Jesus seemed to receive what they did.