The blind see and the mute speak! -- Matthew 9:27-34
The blind see and the mute speak! -- Matthew 9:27-34
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 13, 2019
Some folks go through life living each day without ever seeing what’s going on around them and others never hear the joys or sorrows of life either. I am not speaking about those who are hindered in some way from hearing or speaking but those who go through life without seeing or hearing because they are so focused on their selves, job, or family. I am so glad that Jesus was not one of these folks.
Here in Matthew’s gospel we find Jesus continuing his ministry as he leaves the Capernaum area. On his way he is faced with helping those in need in what seems like in rapid-fire succession. The people are beginning to see that Jesus might be more than a itinerate rabbi going about doing good things; he just might be the promised Messiah and we see it when the blind see and the mute speak! Let’s discover what this means for us today…
READ: Matthew 9:27-34
In the following passage we discover two blind men who saw more than those around them who had perfect sight. In this we find that…
I. There are those who can see God and those who don’t! (Vv. 27-31)
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 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. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
1. We find that “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’” Interestingly these blind men call out to Jesus but he seems not to respond right away. Perhaps Jesus wanted to see the sincerity of their faith in him as the Messiah. A lot of people want Jesus’ mercy but few are willing to do what is necessary to receive it and in fact we learn that “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?’” Salvation in a sense is free to all but it is free to those who are willing to see Jesus for who he is and who are willing to place themselves in his care by faith. This is why Jesus asks the question he does. He knew that if he had simply healed them then there would be those who would come to him only for healing and not by faith in who he was – the promised Messiah. Now, how do I know this to be true? Simply by the way they respond to Jesus’ question: “‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied.” We have created an “easy believism” kind of religiosity in our world today whereby we think that if folks are sincere enough, good enough, or just say they “love God” that this is okay for faith. However, the Bible and Jesus’ own words makes it very clear that salvation comes by faith; trusting in who Jesus is with our lives. We read that “Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you’; and their sight was restored.” After Jesus knew that they believed in who he was and were willing to admit it openly did he respond to their need, but then “Jesus warned them sternly, ‘See that no one knows about this.’” Jesus knew there would be those who would come to him only for healing and not by faith. Also he knew there were those in the crowd who wanted to use any excuse to try and catch him in a trap. “But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.” Having one’s sight restored is a glorious thing and they just could not keep the secret! Here in these few verse we discover that there are those who can see God and those who don’t!
EXAMPLE: It’s interesting but guys can be in the same room as their wives and not see what the kids are doing yet a distracted mother can respond immediately. Most moms have developed the superpower called multi-tasking. While men work best from lists, going from one task to the next. It’s not that they cannot see what is going on but they are so focused on the task at hand, whatever it is, they fail to respond sometimes to what is going on directly in front of them! We discover that the same is true for the spiritual realm: There are those who can see God and those who don’t!
Some folks are helpless not because of a physical problem but because they are enslaved spiritually. In the following passage we discover a man who could not speak because of demon-possession. In this we discover that…
II. There are those who speak that shouldn’t! (Vv. 32-34)
While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 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.” But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”
1. Many of us in our day and age have a hard time making contact with those who live next to us let alone strangers. Here we find that while Jesus was literally on the threshold of the house he had entered he is confronted and interestingly it is for something many of us in our day do not believe in; demonic behavior. The reason for our spiritual ignorance is we have been infected by what others consider as rational thought when in fact it is spiritual ignorance. While I do not believe that every problem in the world today can be blamed on satanic or demonic influence one would have to be totally spiritually blind and deaf not to understand that many of the societal problems we face are in fact the result of both. So we see that “While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus.” Those who do not have an answer for everything often forget that the simplest explanation is usually the truth. Here it was demon-possession. The result was that the man was mute, however, Jesus is the creator of all things and being God handles the situation easily: “And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke.” Not everyone who cannot speak is possessed but it is a common occurrence in the gospels. The crowd following Jesus therefore was “amazed” and they murmur that “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” Nothing like this had been seen in their day and age but now the Messiah had come to proclaim the good news! But like today there were doubters and the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.” Later Jesus would rebuke their spiritual ignorance and Luke relates that “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: ‘Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.’ (Luke 11:17-20 NIV)” There are those who speak that shouldn’t!
EXAMPLE: An interesting little fact is that while atheism and pseudo-intellectualism is on the rise in America so is the Catholic Church’s training of exorcists, those who are spiritually trained to recognize, pray over, and rebuke demonic possession. Society today often responds to their spirituality like know-it-all teenagers, thinking they know more about what real spirituality is than those who actually experienced, read about, studied, and have learned about such things. Many think that if they feel spiritual then they are spiritual. All of this to say I betcha those involved in this mute man’s life did not concern themselves with how he felt or how they felt, they just wanted help for their friend. The Pharisees were like today’s spiritualist populace. There are those who speak that shouldn’t!
Conclusion:
There are those who can see God and those who don’t! There are those who speak that shouldn’t!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2019 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 13, 2019
Some folks go through life living each day without ever seeing what’s going on around them and others never hear the joys or sorrows of life either. I am not speaking about those who are hindered in some way from hearing or speaking but those who go through life without seeing or hearing because they are so focused on their selves, job, or family. I am so glad that Jesus was not one of these folks.
Here in Matthew’s gospel we find Jesus continuing his ministry as he leaves the Capernaum area. On his way he is faced with helping those in need in what seems like in rapid-fire succession. The people are beginning to see that Jesus might be more than a itinerate rabbi going about doing good things; he just might be the promised Messiah and we see it when the blind see and the mute speak! Let’s discover what this means for us today…
READ: Matthew 9:27-34
In the following passage we discover two blind men who saw more than those around them who had perfect sight. In this we find that…
I. There are those who can see God and those who don’t! (Vv. 27-31)
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 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. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
1. We find that “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’” Interestingly these blind men call out to Jesus but he seems not to respond right away. Perhaps Jesus wanted to see the sincerity of their faith in him as the Messiah. A lot of people want Jesus’ mercy but few are willing to do what is necessary to receive it and in fact we learn that “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?’” Salvation in a sense is free to all but it is free to those who are willing to see Jesus for who he is and who are willing to place themselves in his care by faith. This is why Jesus asks the question he does. He knew that if he had simply healed them then there would be those who would come to him only for healing and not by faith in who he was – the promised Messiah. Now, how do I know this to be true? Simply by the way they respond to Jesus’ question: “‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied.” We have created an “easy believism” kind of religiosity in our world today whereby we think that if folks are sincere enough, good enough, or just say they “love God” that this is okay for faith. However, the Bible and Jesus’ own words makes it very clear that salvation comes by faith; trusting in who Jesus is with our lives. We read that “Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you’; and their sight was restored.” After Jesus knew that they believed in who he was and were willing to admit it openly did he respond to their need, but then “Jesus warned them sternly, ‘See that no one knows about this.’” Jesus knew there would be those who would come to him only for healing and not by faith. Also he knew there were those in the crowd who wanted to use any excuse to try and catch him in a trap. “But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.” Having one’s sight restored is a glorious thing and they just could not keep the secret! Here in these few verse we discover that there are those who can see God and those who don’t!
EXAMPLE: It’s interesting but guys can be in the same room as their wives and not see what the kids are doing yet a distracted mother can respond immediately. Most moms have developed the superpower called multi-tasking. While men work best from lists, going from one task to the next. It’s not that they cannot see what is going on but they are so focused on the task at hand, whatever it is, they fail to respond sometimes to what is going on directly in front of them! We discover that the same is true for the spiritual realm: There are those who can see God and those who don’t!
Some folks are helpless not because of a physical problem but because they are enslaved spiritually. In the following passage we discover a man who could not speak because of demon-possession. In this we discover that…
II. There are those who speak that shouldn’t! (Vv. 32-34)
While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 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.” But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”
1. Many of us in our day and age have a hard time making contact with those who live next to us let alone strangers. Here we find that while Jesus was literally on the threshold of the house he had entered he is confronted and interestingly it is for something many of us in our day do not believe in; demonic behavior. The reason for our spiritual ignorance is we have been infected by what others consider as rational thought when in fact it is spiritual ignorance. While I do not believe that every problem in the world today can be blamed on satanic or demonic influence one would have to be totally spiritually blind and deaf not to understand that many of the societal problems we face are in fact the result of both. So we see that “While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus.” Those who do not have an answer for everything often forget that the simplest explanation is usually the truth. Here it was demon-possession. The result was that the man was mute, however, Jesus is the creator of all things and being God handles the situation easily: “And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke.” Not everyone who cannot speak is possessed but it is a common occurrence in the gospels. The crowd following Jesus therefore was “amazed” and they murmur that “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” Nothing like this had been seen in their day and age but now the Messiah had come to proclaim the good news! But like today there were doubters and the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.” Later Jesus would rebuke their spiritual ignorance and Luke relates that “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: ‘Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.’ (Luke 11:17-20 NIV)” There are those who speak that shouldn’t!
EXAMPLE: An interesting little fact is that while atheism and pseudo-intellectualism is on the rise in America so is the Catholic Church’s training of exorcists, those who are spiritually trained to recognize, pray over, and rebuke demonic possession. Society today often responds to their spirituality like know-it-all teenagers, thinking they know more about what real spirituality is than those who actually experienced, read about, studied, and have learned about such things. Many think that if they feel spiritual then they are spiritual. All of this to say I betcha those involved in this mute man’s life did not concern themselves with how he felt or how they felt, they just wanted help for their friend. The Pharisees were like today’s spiritualist populace. There are those who speak that shouldn’t!
Conclusion:
There are those who can see God and those who don’t! There are those who speak that shouldn’t!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2019 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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