Eyes that See the King

ENGAGE

There is a difference between looking at something and actually seeing it.

You can look straight at a person and completely misunderstand them. You can witness an event and completely miss its significance. You can have all the facts in front of you and still fail to understand what they mean.

Matthew 9 gives us one of the great ironies in the Gospel.

The people who cannot physically see are some of the first people in the story who clearly recognize who Jesus is.

And some men whose eyes work perfectly will watch Jesus perform the unmistakable works of God and still refuse to see Him.

That raises the question of this passage:

What does it actually mean to see Jesus clearly?

Matthew's answer is not merely that you know Jesus can perform miracles.

It is that you recognize the King standing in front of you and respond to Him in faith.

Bottom Line: Real sight recognizes Jesus as King and responds in faith.

TENSION

By Matthew 9, evidence concerning Jesus is everywhere.

The sick have been healed. A storm has been silenced. Demons have submitted. Sins have been forgiven. A dead girl has been raised.

The question is no longer simply:

“Can Jesus do extraordinary things?”

Matthew is pushing us toward a deeper question:

“Who is this Jesus?”

And Matthew 9:27–34 shows us that seeing the evidence does not guarantee that someone will see the truth.

Some blind men see Him.

A crowd is amazed by Him.

The Pharisees reject Him.

So walk through the scene with Matthew.

TRUTH

I. The Blind Men See Who Jesus Is

Matthew 9:27–28 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.”

“And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David.’”

Matthew begins with two men who have a very obvious problem.

They cannot see.

Yet notice what Matthew emphasizes first.

He does not begin with their blindness.

He begins with their confession.

A. They call Jesus “Son of David” — v. 27

“Son of David” is not simply a polite way of addressing Jesus.

It is royal language.

Matthew opened his Gospel by identifying Jesus as:

“Jesus Christ, the son of David...” —Matthew 1:1

God had promised that the Messiah would come through David's line.

So these men are saying more than:

“Jesus, we have heard that You are a healer.”

They are identifying Him with Israel's promised King.

Here is the irony:

Their eyes do not work, but their faith sees something many others have missed.

They cannot see Jesus physically.

But they recognize Him spiritually.

B. They appeal to His mercy — v. 27

Notice their request:

“Have mercy on us.”

They do not approach Jesus demanding what they deserve.

They appeal to His compassion.

That is the proper posture of everyone who comes to Christ.

Not:

“Lord, give me what You owe me.”

But:

“Lord, have mercy on me.”

And they keep following Him.

They are blind men following Someone they cannot see.

Someone else may have been guiding them. They may have been following His voice. They may have been following the movement of the crowd.

Matthew does not tell us.

What he does tell us is that they would not stop following Jesus.

C. Jesus examines their faith — v. 28

When Jesus enters the house, the men come to Him.

Jesus asks:

“Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

That question gets to the heart of the passage.

Jesus does not ask:

“Do you really want to see?”

Obviously they do.

He does not ask:

“Do you believe strongly enough in belief?”

He asks:

“Do you believe that I am able?”

The object of their faith matters more than the intensity of their faith.

Christian faith is not confidence in confidence.

It is confidence in Christ.

And they answer:

“Yes, Lord.”

They called Him Son of David.

Now they call Him Lord.

Big Idea

Faith sees Jesus for who He is before it sees what He will do.

That is where genuine discipleship begins.

Before the answer comes. Before the circumstance changes. Before the prayer is resolved.

Do you believe He is able?

Not merely:

“Do you believe things can get better?”

But:

“What do you believe about Jesus?”

That is the issue Matthew puts before us.

II. The King Opens Their Eyes

Matthew 9:29–31 ESV

29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be 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.

“Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith be it done to you.’ And their eyes were opened.”

The men have confessed their faith.

Now Jesus demonstrates that their faith has been placed in the right Person.

A. Jesus touches their eyes — v. 29

Jesus could simply speak.

We have already seen Him heal from a distance.

But here Matthew tells us:

“He touched their eyes.”

There is tenderness in the action.

These men have asked for mercy, and mercy has come close enough to touch them.

Then Jesus says:

“According to your faith be it done to you.”

This does not mean their faith possessed some magical power.

Their faith did not heal their eyes.

Jesus healed their eyes.

Faith was the means by which they trusted the One who had the power.

The power was not in believing.

The power was in the King they believed.

B. Their eyes are opened — v. 30

Matthew says it with remarkable simplicity:

“And their eyes were opened.”

The men who had confessed Jesus as the Son of David can now see the Son of David.

Their physical sight has caught up with what their faith had already recognized.

The promised King is standing in front of them.

C. Jesus gives them a command — v. 30

Then the tone changes.

“And Jesus sternly warned them, ‘See that no one knows about it.’”

That seems strange to us.

Why would Jesus heal them and then tell them not to spread the news?

Because Jesus will not allow other people to determine the meaning or timetable of His mission.

Popular excitement about a miracle-working “Son of David” could easily feed political and nationalistic expectations about the Messiah.

Jesus truly is the King.

But He has come to be the kind of King Scripture promised—not merely the kind of king the crowds wanted.

His path to the throne will run through the cross.

D. Their enthusiasm outruns their obedience — v. 31

“But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.”

It is easy to sympathize with them.

They had been blind.

Now they could see.

How could they remain quiet?

But Matthew still gives us an uncomfortable detail:

Jesus told them not to tell, and they told anyway.

Their excitement about Jesus was genuine.

Their obedience to Jesus was incomplete.

That matters.

Because recognizing Jesus as King means more than celebrating what Jesus has done.

A king is obeyed.

Big Idea

Faith trusts the power of Jesus and submits to the word of Jesus.

We can become so excited about what Jesus can do for us that we forget He has authority over us.

Jesus is not merely a miracle worker to admire.

He is the King to obey.

III. The King Does What No One Else Can Do

Matthew 9:32–33 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.”

“As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him.”

Matthew immediately gives us another case.

But notice the difference.

The blind men could cry out for themselves:

“Have mercy on us!”

This man cannot even do that.

He cannot speak.

He is brought to Jesus by others.

A. The man's helplessness is complete — v. 32

Matthew identifies the source of his condition as demonic oppression.

We should not conclude that every physical disability is caused by demonic activity.

Matthew does not say that.

In this particular man's case, however, Matthew explicitly connects his inability to speak with the demon.

And this means we are now seeing another dimension of Jesus' authority.

Blindness cannot stop Him.

Demons cannot stop Him.

Even a man who cannot ask Jesus for help is not beyond Jesus' power.

B. Jesus casts out the demon — v. 33

Matthew wastes no words:

“And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke.”

No ritual.

No battle.

No struggle between equal powers.

The demon is expelled.

The man speaks.

That is authority.

Matthew has been demonstrating this throughout chapters 8–9.

Jesus has authority over disease.

Authority over nature.

Authority over demons.

Authority to forgive sins.

Authority over death.

And now Matthew again shows us:

There is no realm in which Jesus is merely one power among many.

The King has authority.

C. The crowds recognize that something extraordinary has happened — v. 33

“And the crowds marveled, saying, ‘Never was anything like this seen in Israel.’”

They are astonished.

And rightly so.

They have never seen anything like this.

But notice what they say.

They recognize that the works are extraordinary.

The blind men recognized that the Person is the Son of David.

There is a difference between being amazed by Jesus and believing in Jesus.

Amazement is not discipleship.

You can be impressed by Jesus without surrendering to Jesus.

Big Idea

Jesus possesses authority over what we are powerless to overcome.

Some people come to Jesus crying out like the blind men.

Others are carried to Him because they hardly know how to ask.

But neither human weakness nor spiritual opposition exceeds the authority of Christ.

The question is whether we merely marvel at His power—or bow before the King who possesses it.

IV. The Men Who Can See Refuse to See

Matthew 9:34 ESV

34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

And then Matthew gives us one final response.

“But the Pharisees said, ‘He casts out demons by the prince of demons.’”

That word “but” changes the whole scene.

The blind men say:

“Son of David.”

The crowds say:

“Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”

But the Pharisees say:

“He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

A. They do not deny what Jesus has done

That is significant.

They have an explanation for the miracle precisely because the miracle demands an explanation.

Something undeniable has happened.

The man who could not speak is speaking.

So rather than deny the evidence, they reinterpret it.

If they acknowledge that Jesus' power comes from God, they will have to deal with Jesus' claim upon their lives.

So they choose another explanation.

B. Their problem is deeper than lack of evidence

Sometimes we imagine that unbelief would disappear if God simply gave people enough evidence.

Matthew shows us something more complicated.

These men have evidence standing in front of them.

And still they refuse to see.

Why?

Because evidence can confront the mind while the heart remains resistant.

The Pharisees see exactly what everyone else sees.

But they reach the opposite conclusion.

The physically blind men recognized the King.

The religious leaders with functioning eyes call the work of the King demonic.

That is the great irony of the passage.

The blind men can see.

The seeing men are blind.

C. Every revelation of Jesus demands a response

Matthew does not allow us to remain neutral.

When Jesus reveals His authority, people respond.

The blind men trust Him.

The crowds marvel at Him.

The Pharisees oppose Him.

And the same question reaches us:

What do you see when you look at Jesus?

A religious teacher?

A miracle worker?

Someone useful when life gets difficult?

Someone interesting enough to admire?

Or do you see the Son of David—the promised King with authority over your life?

Big Idea

Spiritual blindness can look directly at Jesus and still refuse the King.

The greatest blindness in this passage does not belong to the men whose eyes do not work.

It belongs to the men whose hearts will not bow.

CLOSING

Matthew began this story with blind men following Jesus.

By the end of the story, their eyes are open.

But the passage leaves us staring at another kind of blindness.

The blind men could not see Jesus, yet they called Him:

“Son of David.”

The Pharisees could see everything Jesus did and said:

“It is by the prince of demons.”

One group had blind eyes but seeing hearts.

The other had seeing eyes but blind hearts.

So perhaps the question of this passage is not:

“Can you see?”

The question is:

“What do you see when you look at Jesus?”

Do you see the King?

Because—

Real sight recognizes Jesus as King and responds in faith.

And if Jesus is King, then our response cannot stop with admiration.

Kings are trusted.

Kings are obeyed.

Kings receive allegiance.

The blind men cried:

“Have mercy on us.”

That remains the cry of every sinner who comes to Jesus.

We do not come because we have earned something from Him.

We come needing mercy.

And the good news is that the King who opened blind eyes has made mercy available to sinners through His death and resurrection.

So if you have been resisting Him, repent.

If you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, confess Him.

If you have never been baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, submit to Him in baptism.

And if you are already His disciple but there is an area of your life where you have admired the King without obeying the King, bring that before Him today.

Do not settle for knowing the stories about Jesus.

Do not settle for being impressed by Jesus.

Do not merely look at Jesus.

See the King.

And when you see the King—

trust Him, obey Him, and follow Him.