Matthew 9, Part 3

Last week - Fasting, to do or not to do - that was the question

Jarius’ daughter - dead brought back to life

Woman with blood disorder

Two Blind Men

Matthew 9:27–31 ESV

27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 When he entered 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.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

And… indicating these issues were ongoing. One, after another, after another. Not only does the woman of blood issues come up and touch His garment, not two blind men are following Him asking for mercy. They wouldn’t cease in their crying out to Jesus. They were begging Him to restore their sight. “have mercy on us”. How many today have heard of Jesus and what He can do in their lives? How many today cry out to Him for mercy? Or have we grown cold, disconcerted, and uncaring? You see, you don’t have to simply be physically blind.

The men were blind. They could not see what Jesus was doing. They could only hear. The lost are blind. They cannot see; they cannot understand. The lost can only hear also.

Romans 10:17 ESV

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Not only did they hear, but they believed. They personally cried out for mercy, accepting and confessing that Jesus was the Messiah.

Jesus questioned the two blind men: “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” Jesus stands ready to help—always. There is never a time when He is not ready to help, but there is a prerequisite to His helping. There is one qualification: “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

Many balk at the question of faith: “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Some do not believe at all. Some doubt Jesus has the power to help. Some ignore and could care less. Some follow after Jesus asking for mercy, but never commit their lives in Faith to Christ.

Some call Jesus Lord, but they lack the one essential: doing what they profess. They have never turned over their lives to the One they say they trust. A person has not trusted Christ unless he has entrusted his life to Jesus.

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Jesus touched the two men. Note the tender touch of Jesus. These men could see nothing; they had a special need so Jesus met their need in a special way.

Jesus exerted His power: He healed them, but it was based on their faith. What a blessed thought! Jesus receives our faith, accepts it, and does what we believe.

Jesus’ instruction to these men was a charge that is often needed. It is especially needed by believers who experience the miraculous touch of Jesus’ power. The charge was, “see that no man know it”; be humble. Christ wanted these men to set a dynamic example in humility. Therefore, Jesus charged them to keep quiet. He knew the inner recesses of their hearts and minds just as He knows all men. Apparently, they had a heart that would tend toward boasting in their miracle and in the change wrought in their lives.

There was danger in being so blessed by Jesus. Pride and self-importance could easily set in. They could think of themselves more highly than they ought to think.

There is a fine line between honoring Jesus and honoring oneself in a testimony. The heart makes the difference and only God knows the heart. But He does know.

A Man Unable to Speak

Matthew 9:32–34 ESV

32 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

Notice these others had been in need physically and were healed by their faith. Here we see another example of different needs. A man who was mute - unable to speak - but it was not by only a physical issue, but a spiritual issue to. He was oppressed - by definition he was being held hostage, treated unfairly, prevented from having liberties and freedoms because of a demon. An evil spirit was holding him hostage, both spiritually and physically. But note what scripture says, he did not come to Jesus on his own, he was brought to Him.

Many have to be brought if they are ever to come. They are too weak in spirit, mind, or body to come on their own. They will not come unless they are brought. We must go after the needy in order to bring them. Many would come if we would simply visit and go after them, and if we would make friends and nurture them along the way. Some are possessed by the wrong spirit, not by God’s Spirit. Spiritually, they are dumb in their knowledge of Christ. They have no awareness, no consciousness, no understanding whatsoever of the delivering power that is in Christ. The fact that there is a Savior is totally foreign to them. Some are gripped by the deepest form of evil, demon possession. They desperately need to be brought to Christ.

Note how much power Jesus has. He can touch the life of a person because of the faith of another. Intercessory prayer and faith are God’s way for many to be reached. He can break the greatest of bondages—even the grip and power of Satan when Satan totally possesses the life of a person.

But even in a miraculous even such as the casting out of the demon and returning speech to this man’s lips, there were those who were speaking out against Jesus. “He casts out demons by the prince of demons”. Again, the Pharisees, those educated egg heads who should have known, refused to acknowledge.

Even the people reacted positively to Jesus’ power - they were amazed! They witnessed what they called the wonderful work of God, wonder after wonder. But note: not all believed. Despite the amazing work of God, only a few truly trusted Him. The religionists hated Christ. They were hostile toward Him, vehemently so. They were guilty of the unpardonable sin - unbelief.

Harvest is Plentiful, but Where are the Laborers?

Matthew 9:35–38 ESV

35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

The mission of Jesus Christ was to minister. He went everywhere, in all the cities and villages. Notice He did not sit inside a church waiting on others to come to Him, He went out. To the countryside, in the synagogues, on mountains, by the seashore, in boats, by graveyards, in homes. There was not one place Jesus would not go to minister.

How much more we should go everywhere! How much more we should not neglect mansion or slum. He made use of what was available, the existing establishment, although they violently opposed Him. He went where there was a ready audience when He had the opportunity.

There are places where some believers will not go: the small town, the obscure village, the mill-town, the country, the foreign country, the north, east, west or south, the lower class, the upper class. But not so with Christ; He went everywhere.

Jesus’ work: teaching, preaching, and healing. Jesus had a threefold work that should serve as the primary guide for believers.

He preached. He proclaimed the good news of the King, God Himself. He brought the glorious message of salvation and redemption to man.

He taught. He rooted and grounded all who would receive the message. Hearing and receiving the good news were not enough. People needed to be taught

He healed. He met the physical, mental, and emotional needs of those who hurt and suffered.

What is preached needs to be taught and lived. Talking and preaching are not enough. What God has to say He wants taught so that men may know how to live. Every believer is to proclaim, teach, and heal. Jesus never intended for the minister to do the job alone. He has commissioned every believer, and He expects every believer to be about the business of reaching and helping people. Men need to hear the message, but they also need to be taught the details of the message and how to apply it to their lives. The only conceivable way men can know how to live day by day is to be taught the details of the message.

Preaching only will feed just the major points of God’s message to people. Preaching only will leave a person with a huge gap in his spiritual life. He will not know how to apply the will of God in his life day by day. Teaching is needed as well as preaching.

Teaching only leads to four errors. It only leads a person into a discussion of God’s Word and its details. It misses out on the proclamation of the overview and great subjects of the Bible. It shortchanges a person in the experience of worshipping around the proclamation of the King’s message. It shortchanges a person in the experience of the Holy Spirit’s working through preaching. It minimizes God’s chosen method to save men. It often leads a person to feel he grows into becoming a Christian because he learns the details of God’s Word. Preaching (that is, proclamation) is needed as well as teaching (that is, discussion).

Healing only leads to an emphasis upon the needs of the flesh and a de-emphasis on the needs of the Spirit. It can lead to a minimizing of salvation, to stressing healing over salvation. Preaching and teaching are needed as well as healing.

Jesus came to express and demonstrate the love and compassion of God as an example for all of us. Jesus “saw the multitudes.” He saw those following Him—those in the villages, in the cities, in the countryside, in the synagogues, on the mountains, by the seashore, by the graveyards, in boats, and in homes—and He “was moved with compassion.” Jesus was moved over the physical needs of men: their hunger, pain, and suffering. He was moved over the spiritual needs of men: their being lost and dead to God; their emptiness and loneliness and bewilderment; their having no purpose, meaning, or significance in life. He saw them all, and He observed and studied them. No one escaped the eye or the heart of Jesus, and as He looked, He saw. He saw people in need - weighed down by a life that seemed hopeless. Religion weighed them down with demands and burdens. Sin weighed them down - they were still dead in sins even though they were “religious”. The crowds were sheep wandering without a shepherd because they had been deceived by their leaders, teachers, and priests. They needed to find God.

That is where we see the vision casting of Jesus presented: The harvest was plentiful.

BUT - the laborers were few. Do we have that same issue today?

How do we get more laborers?

The vision of a great need for prayer. Laborers are needed, but they must be the laborers of God, for the harvest is God’s. It is totally inadequate to humanly select the laborers, lay human plans, and send laborers forth in human strength. Such human action will not get the job done. God’s call and God’s appointment are needed. Christ is saying, “Pray that God will raise up enough laborers to reach your generation, the generation for which you are immediately responsible.”

Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2004). The Gospel according to Matthew: Chapters 1:1–16:12 (Vol. 1, p. 228). Leadership Ministries Worldwide.