SIGHT TO THE BLIND

Introduction

{Matthew 9}

There’s a running joke in our household that I’m not necessarily the most observant person in the world. I have a tendency to overlook things. So, I go to the pantry and look for something. I don’t see that something. I yell out to Trish: Do you know where this thing is? She’ll yell back it’s in the pantry. I’ll say I just looked and it’s not there. She then gets up, goes to the pantry, and hands me the thing I was looking for.

I ask where she found it. She points to where it was—right where I had looked. My theory is that there is some sort of interdimensional portal where the item disappears when I go near it, and then reappears when somebody else comes close.

Of course, we know that the real reason is that, even though I can see, I am still unable to really see what’s around me. And this is something that is true for a lot of people in the spiritual sense. In the passage that we are looking at Jesus gives sight to some blind men. What He does physically is an example and analogy to what happens to people spiritually.

What we learn today is that Jesus gives spiritual sight to those blinded to reality. I want to lead us to seek the blind spots in our own lives and ask Jesus to open our eyes to His truth.

Matthew 9:27–31 LSB

27 And as Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 And when He entered the house, the blind men came up 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, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows about this!” 31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land.

{pray}

Matthew has recorded for us several instances of Jesus performing miracles so that we understand Jesus is God the Son, the expected Messiah. In a passage unique to Matthew, there are two blind men who follow Him and they demonstrate faith in Jesus’ power and authority to cure them of their illness.

No medicine or treatment seemed to exist to help them, but they knew about the One who could. They heard the stories, and knew Jesus was their only hope. So they very persistently follow and approach. And Jesus heals them—the physically blind can once again physically see.

But this true historical event is also a vivid illustration and analogy for what Jesus can do for people spiritually. There are people who are spiritually blind who, even though they have physical sight, are not actually able to see the truth about the reality around them. And so they live in the darkness.

We know that’s true for those who do not believe in Jesus. But Christians also need to take a good look at themselves, because we have blind spots. And Jesus is our only hope to see rightly. There are three lessons that Scripture gives us about this blindness and the One who can help us see. First, we are to:

1) Know the causes of our blindness

A few weeks ago I went for my annual eye exam, and he dilated my eyes, shined a bright light in them, and looked at the inside of my eyes through his instruments. While he gave me a clean bill of health, he told me that my astigmatism and near-sightedness could be a cause of lots of different problems in the future: detached retina, torn retina, and other things. If I would have a sight problem, this would be the cause.

The Bible actually talks about several causes of to losing spiritual sight that affect unbelievers and believers in many different ways. We need to be aware of these causes so that we can take appropriate action, just like there are ways to maintain health for our physical eyes.

The first cause we need to be aware of is Satan. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that Satan has schemes that he uses against people to keep them ignorant to the truth. He has schemes he uses for those who have never believed in Jesus that keep them from accepting the gospel (which is the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ). Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 that the gospel is veiled to those perishing because the god of this age blinded the minds of unbelievers so they don’t see the light of the gospel.

The Bible tells us that humanity is born with a sinful nature that bends our nature away from God. But God so loved the world He sent His Son to pay the just punishment for sin and grant eternal life. Jesus is the light of the world that beckons our wandering souls to find light and life in Him, if we would repent and believe.

Paul tells us in Acts 26:18 that for those who repent and believe this good news, they are turned from darkness to the light, they are moved from the authority of Satan to God. But Satan doesn’t want that to happen. Satan wants people (who are made in God’s image) to remain separated from God. To accomplish that, he has to render people sightless to the gospel.

How does he do this? In the gospels Jesus gave the parable of the sower. The sower throws seed—which represents the Word of God. Some seed fell on the road and birds came and ate them. Jesus later interprets this as the evil one coming and snatching it away.

This means that even if an unbeliever hears the gospel, before it can penetrate into the heart, he takes it away so they remain blind. Satan, being the father of lies, might distort the gospel to deceive people and keep them away from its truths. He might distort the character of God to discourage people from seeking a relationship with Him. Or he might distract by enticing people with worldly pleasures.

But Satan also can partially deprive believers of sight. Peter warns in 1 Peter 5:8 that the devil is a lion seeking someone to devour. Even though believers hold to the truth of the gospel, they can be deceived and made ineffective for Kingdom work. He can lead people astray with false teachings. He can tempt believers to doubt God’s truth. He can tempt believers to compromise theologically or morally. He definitely has schemes.

But Satan isn’t the only cause of spiritual blindness. We ourselves can be our own worst enemy. Unbelievers are often the cause for their lack of sight. According to Romans 1 God revealed Himself through creation and conscience, but people willfully suppressed that truth in unrighteousness, not wanting to acknowledge Him or His moral demands.

Jesus, in John 3:19-20, tells us that the natural man chooses to love darkness rather than light—they prefer to sin and avoid moral accountability rather than be illuminated by the gospel. And the Bible says in Hebrews 3:7-8 that people reject and ignore God’s call, leading to hardened hearts. All of this is self-imposed.

But believers can also be the cause of their own darkness. Through the neglect of God’s Word, they miss out on what is a lamp to their feet and a light to their path. They deprive themselves of the guiding light that gives spiritual understanding. Believers also cause their own blindness through willful sin and disobedience, which puts up a barrier between them and God. Believers can also become so entangled with the values, desires, and pursuits of earth. John warned in 1 John 2:15 that if anyone loves the world like that the love of the Father isn’t in them.

But there’s a final cause which might take away people’s sight to spiritual truths, and that is God Himself. God said through Isaiah:

Isaiah 6:9–10 LSB

9 He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not know.’ 10 “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”

After repeatedly and willfully defying God and His Word, God will confirm the hardness of heart that someone constantly displayed. Consider what it says in Exodus, how God hardened the heart of Pharaoh—confirming the hard heart that was already there. Jesus Himself said that He spoke in parables to hide the truth from people whose hearts were hardened toward God.

While God won’t blind the believer, believers might suffer the consequences of their choices or receive discipline from what they do when walking in the dark rather than the light.

There are several possible causes for spiritual blindness, but they might affect different people in different ways. So, the second lesson is to:

2) Identify the areas of our blindness

A passage in the Bible that leaves you bewildered is Samson and Delilah. Samson was physically strong, but morally weak. In his lust he let himself be duped by this Philistine woman who turned out to be a spy. Delilah kept asking Samson what someone has to do to make him weak and vulnerable. Samson kept lying, but Delilah kept asking.

You’d think that after the second or third time he’d have caught on. But he kept going along with it until she wore him out and he gave the truthful answer, which led to his downfall. And we wonder how in the world someone could be so dumb? It wasn’t a lack of intelligence, it was the fact that he was blind. Women and lust were Samson’s weak spots, but he just didn’t see it.

Humans, being sinful and living in a fallen world, are deeply flawed and prone to various weaknesses—meaning, everyone has different blind spots. Every human is vulnerable to these weak points—including you and me. If we’re going to shed light in these areas, we need to identify what they might be. What are some areas of spiritual darkness that people suffer from?

Unbelievers are oblivious to the truth of God’s existence. Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God. Romans 1 tells us that creation makes God’s power and nature evident. Romans 2 tells us that the human conscience is God’s law written in the heart. The reality of God is all around us and inside of us, and yet unbelievers can’t see it and so they live out the biblical axiom that the fool says in his heart that there is no God.

Why do they choose to be in the dark? Part of it is the spirit of rebellion, that they don’t want to be held accountable to anybody, much less Almighty God. Part of it is that they enjoy their sin too much and don’t want to give it up. Some of it is the idols in their life that they would rather worship than the True God. And then there is Satan who will influence them, preventing them from coming to an understanding of who God is.

Another area of blindness for the unbeliever is the need for salvation and the way of salvation. It is human nature to try to think the best about yourself. If you admit that you need salvation, then you admit that you have a problem, and nobody wants to admit that they have a personal flaw or defect. There are a lot of people who deny even the concept of sin.

But even for those who might admit that there is such a thing as sin, they don’t see their personal sin as too bad. They don’t see God as holy and just, and they don’t see their lawlessness as breaking God’s commands. They minimize the greatness of God and their own inherent wickedness. Therefore, they don’t see that they need saving from anything.

And the gospel message of faith alone in Christ alone is obscured to the unbeliever. In 1 Corinthians 1 Paul says that the unbeliever looks at the message that Jesus Christ died on the cross for sinners and rose again as a completely foolish idea. They also don’t see why Jesus is the only way, truth, and life, and no one comes to the Father without Him. They say that it seems too exclusive. In their mind, if there is a god of some sort, he wouldn’t allow there to be all these religions and they all be wrong—so all roads must lead to god. And so they remain in the darkness.

But unbelievers aren’t the only ones with blind spots—we believers have them as well. One of the biggest areas is recognizing the seriousness of our own sin. We are good at criticizing other believers for what we think are their faults, while giving ourselves a pass. We are good at comparing ourselves to others, and as long as we’re doing better than someone else, we think we can just sit comfortably the way we are. That guy is doing that stuff, and I’m not, so I’m good. Of course, Jesus in Matthew 7 asked why you were paying attention to the sliver in somebody else’s eye when you have that huge log coming out of your own.

Or we rationalize our sin. We might think that God won’t mind if we indulge a little bit because life is stressful. Or maybe we play the blame game: I wouldn’t be doing this if this other person wasn’t doing that. Or maybe we sin out of ignorance because we don’t read our Bible; or maybe we do read our Bible, but we willfully ignore something because we don’t want to deal with it.

So, we have these habitual sins, these negative attitudes, these ungodly motivations, and we do nothing about it because we’ve rendered ourselves sightless to the seriousness of our sin. Instead of confessing and repenting, we blissfully go our merry way so we can live the way we want without any uncomfortable interruptions. James said in James 1 that this is like looking in a mirror and then walking away forgetting what you just saw.

And if you read your Bible with open eyes, it will awaken you to many other areas. And it will also awaken you to our last lesson, which is to:

3) Seek the cure for our blindness

In our passage the two men followed Jesus crying out HAVE MERCY ON US, SON OF DAVID. That name SON OF DAVID is a Messianic title. They had heard about what Jesus was doing, and they had the insight to recognize the work of the Messiah. This is the ironic part. Two blind men who never saw what Jesus did could clearly see who He actually was. And the religious leaders of the day, who saw the miracles Jesus performed, who heard His teachings, were oblivious to the fact of who He was.

So, this is the beginning of finding the cure—seeking Jesus and accepting Jesus for who He is. Jesus is fully God, fully man, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus is the light of the world through whom alone we are able to see anything and to see things rightly. Jesus gives us our spiritual sight by which we see ourselves and the world as they really are.

And when we don’t like what we see, we go to Jesus for salvation, for transformation, for comfort. And you come to Him believing that He can do this for you. The blind men followed Him into the house. Jesus asked if they believed that He could cure them. They said they did. So, Jesus gave them their sight, saying it is done according to their faith—not the amount of their faith but the object of their faith.

So, what can we do to have Jesus cure us of our spiritual blindness like these two men were cured of their physical malady?

If you are an unbeliever, humble yourself and confess that you have a spiritual need. The blind men knew they couldn’t see and that they needed help outside of themselves, so sought the only one who had the cure. You must acknowledge you’ve been living in the spiritual darkness of sin and Jesus can take you out of that darkness and bring you into His marvelous light.

You must believe that Jesus is the only one who can give you spiritual sight. Jesus asked them if they believed, and they did. You must believe that Jesus Christ is truly God and through Him alone comes forgiveness of sins and spiritual understanding. And when you believe, Jesus touches you giving you a new life, and you now see things as they truly are.

But for the believer, even though you see, you still have blind spots. First, seek Christ to open your eyes to those spots and ask Him that He would help you see things clearly. Pray the prayer of David:

Psalm 139:23–24 LSB

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

This means that you are open to self-examination that is guided by the Holy Spirit and the Word. And then that means that you turn to Jesus in prayer and the Word. Allow God’s Word to guide your prayers, and ask Jesus to conform you to what it is that you have read. And whatever the Holy Spirit might illumine for you in the Word, trust and obey. As the song says, there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, and there’s no other way to actually see. Seek Jesus to cure your spiritual myopia in whatever areas they might be.

Conclusion

There's a moment in every eye exam when the doctor drops the corrective lens into place and asks, "Better — or worse?" And suddenly, what was blurry becomes sharp. Letters you were guessing at snap into focus. You didn't realize how much you were missing until you could finally see it.

That is what Jesus does.

The two blind men in this passage didn't argue with Jesus about their condition. They didn't insist their vision was fine. They followed Him — crying out, persistent, desperate — until He stopped and touched their eyes. And then they saw.

And here is what we now see: Jesus is not just a good teacher who tells you what's wrong with your vision. He is the God who actually restores it.

So what do you do with that?

If you've never placed your faith in Jesus Christ, let me ask what is it you can't see? Something is keeping you in the dark. Pride, pleasure, the enemy's lies, your own hard heart — something is obscuring the truth that God loves you, that your sin is real, and that Jesus paid it. Don't leave here today the same way you walked in. Ask God right now to open your eyes. Humble yourself the way those two men did and come to Jesus.

And if you are a believer — you know what it feels like to have your eyes opened the first time. But ask yourself today: where are the blind spots that have crept back in? What sin have you rationalized? What truth have you been avoiding? What is the Holy Spirit convicting you of right now, in this moment?

Pray the prayer of David: Search me, O God. Know my heart. Show me what I can't see — and lead me in the everlasting way...