The Gospel of Matthew 8-9 recounts ten miracles where Jesus demonstrates his power to heal.
Interestingly, these episodes are interspersed with accounts of spiritual blindness, not just among the religious authorities, but even among Jesus’ close followers.
The following miracle, the healing of two blind men, can be interpreted on two levels. It signifies not only the physical healing of the blind men but also the spiritual sight that is needed by those in religious leadership and even by Jesus’ disciples.
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you have faith that I can do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”
Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, let it be done to you.”
And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, “See that no one knows of this.”
But they went away and spread the news about him through all of that district (Matthew 9.27-31).
Fifty years ago, I graduated with a Master’s Degree in theology. I’ve been studying the Bible nearly every day since that time.
The two blind men showed something that all of my studies may not achieve for me. Their simple faith in Jesus outshone the intellectual abilities of the religious authorities and at times my own life.
Faith does what mere knowledge cannot accomplish.
The Apostle Paul demonstrates that profound knowledge cannot replace faith. He possessed a head full of knowledge and a heart full of hate for Christians until he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).
At that moment, Paul was struck blind, similar to the men in this miracle story.
It was only after he accepted Jesus by faith that his blindness was lifted, and he was filled with such a heart of love that he could write the profound chapter on love, 1 Corinthians 13.
Where do you get faith?
Where do people get faith? Is there a sacred store where you can go and ask the attendant, “Can I have a pound of faith, please?”
The two blind men in the story offer a powerful lesson in faith. Having heard about Jesus, they approached him with their need, demonstrating a core principle: faith requires action.
We cultivate this faith by immersing ourselves in teachings about Jesus, whether through reading the Bible, listening to sermons, or both. Then, with trust and openness, we bring our struggles and needs to him.
As God responds, our faith deepens and strengthens.
Jesus’ Authority
The authority of Jesus is central to both his teaching and his ministry. The question of authority is: who is in control here?
In the final of our ten miracle stories, there are two different reactions to what takes place.
After they had gone away, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to him.
And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.”
But the Pharisees were saying, “By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons” (Matthew 9.32-34).
Jesus healed two demonized men who were terrorizing a community. Instead of the town rejoicing that the men had been healed, they asked Jesus to leave their region (Matthew 8.28-34).
In this instance, Jesus freed a man from the inability to speak. Instead of rejoicing, the religious authorities accused Jesus of performing this act in league with the devil.
The religious leaders remind us that when we filter events through preconceived ideas, we may come to an inaccurate conclusion. They felt that Jesus wasn’t doing things the right way. In addition, he was threatening their control.
As a result, they mistook a Holy Spirit-empowered event to be from the ruler of demons.
The simple faith and logic of the crowd ruled the day. They saw something they had never seen before someone who was mute, now able to speak by the power of God. They accepted what God was doing and rejoiced in his activity.
We do well to filter events in our world that may seem strange to us through the same simple faith.
Both the blind men and the crowd in this healing story tell us to look to Jesus for His authority and His power in our everyday lives.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 