The New Wine of Sight for the Blind
Matthew: The King and His Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 41:19
0 ratings
· 17 viewsThe New Wine of the New Covenant is sight for the blind, speech for the mute; all the while blinding those who “see” and silencing those who “speak.”
Files
Notes
Transcript
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.
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.”
[N]ew wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
What is this “new wine” like?
What will the flavor of the “new wine” be like?
The New has come.
The New wine will only be possessed by Faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus brings the New Wine of the New Covenant–mercy and power that gives sight to the blind and speech for the mute, while blinding those who “see” and silencing those who “speak.”
Jesus brings the New Wine of the New Covenant–mercy and power that gives sight to the blind and speech for the mute, while blinding those who “see” and silencing those who “speak.”
The New Wine of Sight for the Blind – Demonstration of Jesus’ Mercy.
The New Wine of Sight for the Blind – Demonstration of Jesus’ Mercy.
27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”
Jesus has already had large crowds following Him.
Matthew is telling us many ironic things.
Here are two blind men that see Jesus rightly.
They do not have physical sight, and yet they see Jesus accurately.
The blind “see” accurately, while those who see are “blind.”
The blind “see” accurately, while those who see are “blind.”
They plea for “mercy” is asking for kindness to the needy.
These men recognize their need.
They don’t have hope anywhere else.
But with humility they ask Jesus to grant kindness in their pitiable position.
What did Jairus want?
His daughter to be healed.
What did the unclean woman want?
Her sickness to be gone.
What are these men asking for?
They wanted their sight.
It’s surprising that these men think that Jesus can give them their sight.
As God reminded Moses in the Old Testament when Moses said that he did not have eloquent speech…
“Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
Yahweh is the One who gives men their sight.
Yahweh is the One who opens the eyes of the blind.
Yahweh is the One who brings light into a person’s darkness.
What does the term “Son of David” mean?
The blind men “see” that Jesus is the Son of David.
The blind men “see” that Jesus is the Son of David.
The son of David is a loaded word from the Old Testament.
You remember that during the time of the judges, before God gave Israel a king, they were lost.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
God in his mercy to the people of Israel gave Israel a king.
Even during the time of Moses, God gave laws for the way kings would function in the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 17:14-17).
Israel chose a king (Saul) like the nations.
A king that was strong, powerful, it said that he stood a head taller than every other man.
They were looking for a king that would wield power.
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
The Lord looked on the heart of man and knew what is within them.
Yahweh instructed Samuel to anoint David to be king of Israel.
King David stands as an iconic figure in the Old Testament that represents the rule and reign of Yahweh.
And one of the most iconic scenes in all the Old Testament…
David desires to build a house for Yahweh.
But Yahweh promises to David that he will build his house.
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Imagine being David and desiring to build God house and God’s answer to you is that he will build your house.
The promise that Yahweh would build David a house is so foundational to the Old Testament story that every king after David had an alluring expectation around him.
Would this be “the King”?
This Davidic king expectation permeates the Old Testament.
It also gives great anticipation in the New Testament.
Matthew has already told us plainly.
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
But now the crowds around him are coming to that realization.
And here are some blind men taking everyone to school.
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.”
Jesus takes them inside for the miracle.
Just like when He waited for the crowds to leave with the young girl.
Jesus asks them,
“Do you think the Messiah can do this?”
“Do you really believe that Messiah is able to make you see?”
But the real nub of the issues is,
“Do you believe I am this Messiah?”
Jesus is ushering in the New Wine of the New Covenant and this covenant will be apprehended by faith in Him.
Why would these men expect this?
Though these men were blind, I am sure they would often hear in Synagogue about the Messiah.
They would hear what He would be like.
They would hear of His activity in the world.
Isaiah tells us that this will actually be a marker that Messiah has indeed come.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
These blind men had heard the expectation of Messiah in Yahweh sending the Servant…
6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
Yahweh Himself promises to come and liberate His people from bondage to sin and oppression.
The eyes of the blind will again see, the lame will again walk, and the effects of the fall will begin to be reversed (Romans 8:20-23).
When we see Jesus beginning to heal in the gospels, we are seeing the culmination of this prophecy come to full bloom.
29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”
The blind men “see” with the eyes of faith.
The blind men “see” with the eyes of faith.
Jesus has essentially said,
“Since you believe, your request is granted!”
Jesus is doing something far more fundamental than merely healing the blind.
4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:
5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
The confirmation that Jesus is the Messiah does not come merely in Him declaring that He is the Messiah.
But it comes through the signs and deeds done.
Jesus Himself doesn’t defend His messiahship, rather He declares look at the works that are being done.
But fundamentally we’re seeing a divide between two types of people in the world.
There are those who are physically blind, but see with the eyes of faith.
While there are also those who think they see, but are really spiritually blind.
Jesus demonstrates that there is a blindness that is more than merely physical.
There’s a blindness that can see the Lord Jesus and yet not see Him for who He is.
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Hearing does not equate to understanding.
When a person hears but does not understand, it is actually the evil one who snatches away the Word.
The way that Satan keeps unbelievers in their current state is by blinding them to the light of the gospel.
The Christian’s journey of “blind” to seeing.
The Christian’s journey of “blind” to seeing.
This is the experience of the men on the road to Emmaus.
They were walking along and they met Jesus on the road after the resurrection.
When they saw Him they were still blind, until He spoke with them.
Until His Word hit their ears.
Jesus opens three things for them…
First, He opened to them the Scriptures rightly interpreted.
“O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Second, He opened their eyes to perceive what He was saying…
31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.
And finally their minds to comprehend what He has been saying…
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
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.
What does it mean to be a Christian?
It actually sounds surprisingly like what these blind men experienced,
“I once was blind, but now I see!”
“I once was in the dark, but the light of Christ has shone upon me!”
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Jesus warns these men from spreading news of Him because it deters Him from His mission.
His mission is foremost.
News of Him only has potential of distracting Him from the mission.
The New Wine of Speech for the Mute – Demonstration of Jesus’ Power.
The New Wine of Speech for the Mute – Demonstration of Jesus’ Power.
32 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him.
This man was mute because he was oppressed by a demon.
Speech as an Overflow of the Heart
One of the clearest signs that the Lord has done a work and a person’s life is seen through their speech.
A person’s speech reflects what’s within them.
When they open their mouth, their heart is revealed.
This man was in snared in the stranglehold of the evil one.
That is until Jesus liberated this man.
As we see in other places, the strong man had dominion over this man’s lips, but Jesus brought liberation.
29 Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.
The strong man is clearly a reference to Satan.
The prince of this world has a house filled with vessels bound in captivity.
But here Jesus here is “binding the strong” so that then “He may plunder His house!”
Jesus is breaking down the door of the strong man’s house.
I want us to see three kinds of speech in these two accounts of healing…
The first…
The grateful speech of the redeemed.
The grateful speech of the redeemed.
33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke.
The grateful speech of the redeemed.
The grateful speech of the redeemed.
This mute man now speaks of the excellences of the Lord Jesus.
These mute men had their tongues loose and they rejoiced!
They were filled with joy and exuberance, and they overflowed from it!
Yet don’t miss the fact that they disobeyed our Lord in the process.
You may wonder “But Daniel, don’t you see that it’s good that they spread Jesus‘s message around town?”
I wonder what would’ve happened if you would’ve told those two men…
“What you’re doing right now in speaking to others about this is actually harming the one who healed you.”
“You’re hurting the one who brought you healing!”
This is why Christians are never to participate in things that the end justifies the means.
These men were filled with good intentions.
They are rejoicing because of the redemption they had received.
But despite their best intentions, they inevitably pushed the Lord Jesus to the outskirts of society.
Because the way they spoke of him to others.
By disobeying what Jesus said they made his reproach worse than it already was.
This kind of like thinking is what produces with Christian circles things like what has been described as “missionary dating.”
It goes something like this…
This other person is an unbeliever.
But I really like them, so I’ll date them in order for them to come to Jesus.
This is a type of the ends justifies the means approach.
Underhanded means in outreach—presenting things falsely so that they would come to church.
2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
Do you know what’s amazing though?
Even through these men’s disobedience, they didn’t hinder God’s purpose.
Despite these two men’s disobedience, the Lord’s purposes were advanced.
We’re not in a time like these mute men.
We’re in a time that we’re called to declare the praises of the One who has liberated us.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
The second…
The amazed speech of the crowds.
The amazed speech of the crowds.
And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”
The amazed speech of the crowds.
The amazed speech of the crowds.
Notice that these crowds recognize that something amazing is before them.
Though these crowds are amazed at the effects of the Lord Jesus.
They have no interest in making him the Lord of their lives.
It’s very possible for you to be a fan of Jesus and not to make him Lord of your life.
These crowds were fine in standing in amazement at the girl being healed, the blind men receiving sight, and the mute having their tongues opened.
But with all of their amazement, they were still filled with disinterest.
“That’s so amazing, for you.”
“I’m so happy to hear what the Lord has done in your life, but I’m well enough on my own.”
Don’t miss this, standing in amazement of Jesus is not the same thing as receiving sight for ourselves.
The last kind of speech…
The demonic speech of the religious leaders.
The demonic speech of the religious leaders.
34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
The demonic speech of the religious leaders.
The demonic speech of the religious leaders.
The Scribes and Pharisees spoke about many things concerning the law, but they did not possess power.
The power that we see Jesus use in his earthly ministry is a foretaste of what is coming.
The demonized are “mute”, while those who speak do so demonically.
The demonized are “mute”, while those who speak do so demonically.
But the scribes and the Pharisees they also speak what is within them.
Jesus speaks in another place about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit isn’t mistakenly uttering the Holy Spirit’s name.
It is fundamentally about accusing the work of God to be the work of Satan.
28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Let me give you a tangible example, picture with me a ministry that does things in a very sloppy manner.
We wouldn’t say these people aren’t Christians.
Maybe they are feeding the poor or clothing the naked, it might be worth saying that they’re confused on many fronts.
Think about how far gone a person must be to see the blind given site and to call that the work of the devil.
Think about how far gone a person needs to be to see the mute begin to speak and call that the work of the evil one.
He is the embodiment of the message that he is bringing which, as Paul says is the power of God.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
A person may say, “we don’t see these supernatural things happening! So it must be that the church is dead!”
I think a person saying this ought to be very careful.
They ought to be very careful because they ought to remember what it means to see the power of God.
The power of God in the gospel is seen in the giving of sight to the spiritually blind.
It’s seen by the opening of mouths to praise his name.
Whereas people were once enslaved and bound in their sin.
A believer that has been liberated from their sin to speak with freedom of the redemption that they have received is a great wonder and glory.
Jesus brings the New Wine of the New Covenant–mercy and power that gives sight to the blind and speech for the mute, while blinding those who “see” and silencing those who “speak.”
Jesus brings the New Wine of the New Covenant–mercy and power that gives sight to the blind and speech for the mute, while blinding those who “see” and silencing those who “speak.”
