The Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 9:27-38)

(Miracles of Jesus)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What is the meaning of restoration when connected to the ministry of Jesus?
2. What are the three things sin caused in the human race?
3. The final miracle in the third and last group of Jesus’ miracles is the healing of the blind man. What example does it set forth?
4. How do the final three miracles differ from the other miracles of Jesus?
5. Why did Jesus not heal the two blind men when they first called on Him?
6. Why were the blind men Jesus healed able to embrace Jesus as the Messiah when those who could see didn’t?
7. There was more than enough proof that Jesus was the Messiah. Why did the Pharisees still refuse to accept Him?
8. When the crowd was on the verge of accepting Jesus as the Messiah, the Pharisees came up with something to try to refute it. What was it?
9. Primarily, our study of Matthew chapter 8 and 9 revolve around three sets of miracles each set with a specific purpose. There is a miracle that precedes the set of three and one that follows them. What was the purpose of those two, and what are they called?
10. In the example of the blind men, we see the third and final illustration; what did it Illustrate?
11. Finally, Paul gives the primary reason the blind men believed. What was the reason? 

Introduction

We have come to the end of Chapter 9, which concerns Matthew’s final miracle of the last set of three miracles on restoration; these three miracles center on Jesus’ power to restore. Actually, Jesus’ entire ministry was a mission of restoration or reconciliation. In the words of Paul, we read: “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile [restore]all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven,” Colossians 1:19-20 (KJV).

Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth was to atone for sin through His death on the cross, reconciling those who believe in God and restoring them to the position where God intended them to be. We have seen the Jewish woman with the issue of blood restored to a place in the Jewish society after her healing miracle. The ruler’s daughter was raised from the dead and restored to life; this is the pattern leading to the final miracle of restoration in this group of miracles. Matthew is revealing the divine power of Jesus to carry out God’s purpose of restoration.

According to the teachings of God’s Word, there are three things sin caused in the human race: First, sin caused a separation between man and God. Second, sin sentenced man to death. Third, sin blinded man to the spiritual truth of God. These three things have been passed along from generation to generation from the time of Adam and Eve, for which Jesus Christ is the only antidote. That example is outlined in the first two miracles of the final set of three. Now we come to the third and last miracle of this final group of miracles, which is the capstone. In the cleansing of the woman with the issue of blood, we see the example of how God, through the forgiveness of sin, cleanses us and makes us acceptable to Him. The resurrection of the ruler’s dead daughter is an example of our resurrection from the curse of death.

Now we come to the final miracle in this group, the healing of the blind man. This miracle is an example of Jesus restoring our spiritual sight. As we have said before, these final three miracles differ from the other miracles of Jesus in the sense they require the person needing healing to believe or to place their faith in Jesus. Another requirement is, Jesus asked them to keep the miracle a secret. The reason for this is, Jesus was facing more threats from His enemies, as we will see when we come to chapter 12. We discussed earlier that these miracles are not in chronological order. They occurred after the events of chapter 12. 

Now, let’s consider the final miracle of Matthew’s three groups:

Matthew 9:27-31, “And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us. 28And 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. 29Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. 30And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. 31But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.”

Two blind men followed Jesus, crying out for healing as He continued toward His destination. Jesus took His time recognizing the blind men until we get to verse 28, where He entered a house. It was at this point that the blind men finally catch up with Jesus. After they confess their faith in Jesus, He heals them. We may wonder why Jesus did not respond to the blind men when they first called out to Him. The answer to that question is hard to come by since we do not know what these men had already been through, nor what the thoughts of Jesus were. It could have been that Jesus gave these men time to understand how important it was for them to reach Him while He was still near. He may never pass their way again.

Once again, some of the miracles Jesus had been performing had a specific purpose. They were called Messianic miracles because they were proof that Jesus was the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament. Jesus was not the first to perform miracles. Moses, Elijah, and Elisha had also performed miracles even to the raising of the dead. But when Jesus, the Messiah, came, He had a unique power to perform miracles that never had been performed before in the history of Israel, namely the healing of a leper. Even though the guidelines were given on how to deal with a leper once healed, it had never happened before. Also, Jesus cast the demon out of a mute in chapter 12, which also was a first.

These miracles were more than enough proof for anyone to accept Jesus for who He was. So, why did the scribes and Pharisees still refuse to believe? Apparently, it was because Jesus threatened their entire way of life, including their means of livelihood. After the healing of the mute in chapter 12, the crowd reacted by wondering if Jesus was the son of David, which is a term used for Messiah.

This miracle occurred after the final miracle of the third set of miracles in chapter 9. It was a Messianic miracle. The three sets of miracles were preceded by a Messianic miracle and concluded with one. These were for the purpose of proving Jesus was the Messiah:

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

We still need to conclude our study of the blind men, but we need additional information to better understand their situation. So, here in chapter 9, we see Jesus casting out the demon from a mute as He did in Matthew chapter 12. This is the second time this miracle has taken place. The healing of the blind men came after the event in chapter 12 chronologically as we mentioned before. Actually, this miracle came after the three sets of three miracles. As I said above, Jesus prefaced the three sets of miracles and concluded them with a Messianic miracle. These were the healing of the leper at the beginning of His Galilean ministry and again in this present Messianic miracle, the healing of the demon-possessed mute, which came afterward. This miracle also went after the healing of the mute in chapter 12 chronologically. These miracles enclosed the sets of threes.

After the consecutive healing of the demon-filled mutes, the crowd realized that something extraordinary was happening before their very eyes. After the response, in v.33, the crowd exclaims that nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel. There was one unavoidable conclusion: Jesus was the Messiah; this was what had been foretold in the Old Testament, and this was even what the rabbis taught would happen. Now that the crowd was on the verge of accepting Jesus as the Messiah, the Pharisees had to come up with something to refute it. So, they claim in verse 34 that Jesus performed the miracles by the power of the devil.

So, here is what we know: After Jesus performed this miracle, the crowd realized that it was unique and had never been done before in Israel. The first time He performed it, they asked, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” What the crowd is saying is, Jesus is the Messiah. Now here is the connection with the blind men: The blind men had no doubt been present in at least one of the occasions when Jesus healed the mute. They could not see the miracle, but they heard the mute speak for the first time, and they heard the response of the crowd proclaiming that this must be the Messiah. They listened to the words, “the son of David,” and they immediately connected it to the Messiah. That is why they cry out “thy Son of David, Son of David” to get the attention of Jesus. Why had these blind men been able to embrace Jesus as the Messiah when those who could see didn’t? If you recall the Biblical definition of faith, it is the conviction of things not seen. So, in this case, their blindness was to their advantage. We can either express our faith by our knowledge of Jesus through the written word or by definition, “Faith is an assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” In other words, even though we cannot see it, we accept it as being true because of the things we have seen. Seeing in Scripture goes beyond physical sight. It includes the knowledge we gain through the study of the Bible.

The blind men had to evaluate what they had heard by faith because they could not see. That is the kind of faith Jesus required for their healing as well as their salvation. Today, faith means accepting what the Bible declares as the truth concerning the Messiah. That is salvation faith. Concerning the blind men, we know their faith because when they enter the home with Jesus, He asks them the question: “do you believe I can do this?” He’s asking, “Do you believe what the Word of God says concerning the Messiah?” They said yes, they did. “Jesus touches their eyes, saying it shall be done according to your faith.” Why do you suppose they believed? Jesus did not ask if they believed He was the Messiah or if God could heal them. They believed Him because of what they had heard, which convinced them that He was indeed the Messiah. They had mixed messages coming from the Pharisees and the crowd. They choose to believe the prophecy that was taught by the rabbis concerning the coming Messiah, which Jesus fulfilled by the miracles He performed. Perhaps they had heard the rabbis read from Isaiah: “The meek also shall increase [their] joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel,” Isaiah 29:19 (KJV); “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert,” Isaiah 35:5-6 (KJV). In the example of the blind men, we see the third and final illustration, which is Jesus’ ministry to restore from the devastating effects of sin.

Today, there are blind people worldwide who refuse to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. We read in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (KJV), “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 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.”

Finally, Paul gives the primary reason the blind men believed: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God,” Corinthians 2:12 (KJV). The Holy Spirit gave the blind men the invitation to come to Jesus. Today people either reject that invitation, or they gladly accept it as did the two blind men.

If you have delayed receiving the invitation to come to Jesus, it is my prayer that you will do so today. You can learn what the Bible requires by CLICKING here. Maybe you are already a believer, but you don’t know much about the Bible. If so, you are at the right place. Here we teach the Bible in terms that you can understand and believe. Please share this website with others. I invite you to get aboard and travel with the others of us who are traveling to that celestial city God has prepared for those who trust in His Son, Jesus.

We now come to the last verses in Mathew chapter 9, which leads us into Matthew chapter 10 where Jesus continues His healing ministry:

Matthew 9:35-38 (KJV), “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. 36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38Pray ye therefore the LORD of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

Notice that Jesus is now centering His ministry on preaching the gospel and healing all sickness and disease. Before this, Jesus was primarily performing miracles, but now He is preaching the gospel of the kingdom in the synagogues and probably where ever crowds gathered. Jesus made an effort first to prove He was the Messiah before He delved into preaching the gospel. Now that is the main feature of His ministry, along with healing, which also included miracles. As we move into chapter 10, we see that Jesus will also empower the disciples and commission them to go forth preaching the gospel and healing the sick.