Spiritual Sight - Matthew 9:27-31
Unrecognized Authority: Matt 8-10 • Sermon • Submitted
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· 1,158 viewsRecognition of Jesus comes by faith and not by sight, and it is by faith that we are saved.
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Transcript
If you have your Bibles, turn to Matthew 9:27. And as you do so I have two announcements to make.
There will be no YouthGroup next week in light of Thanksgiving…
So if you come to next week and find that the doors are locked, and there is no one here… you’ll remember that there is no Youth Group.
The second announcement is from our elders, so please watch the following video.
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.
Let’s pray
Intro
Intro
Family origins tell a lot about a person:
Family origins shape our identities
often times in influences what we do with with our lives
whether we go into teaching
or medicine
or even sometimes by causing us to avoid certain careers
Our family origins even influence what we believe
about the world
about what is most important in life
and even what we believe about God
In fact, our family origins even are evident in our names…
my last name is Trosper
and that name tells who my dad is
and who his dad was
and even who my great great grandpa was…
It goes often without saying, but our family origins are important to us…
But even more than that… family origins were very important to the Jews during the life of Jesus. With this in mind let us jump into the text
27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”
This title “Son of David” is an important one…
I talked a bit about my family name earlier… let me return to this idea again for a moment..
My dad’s name is Ron…
so that makes me the son of Ron
Very similar to this, Jesus is being called the Son of David… but consider something for a moment…
But who is Jesus’ father?
this answer questions is a bit more difficult to answer…
On one hand, God is his Father…
But Jesus also has an earthly parents…
we know of course that he was born to Mary and she tends to get much of the spotlight during Christmas…
But don’t forget the name of Jesus’ earthly father as well
55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
or again in John 6
42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
So Jesus, right here is called the son of Joseph, because Joseph was his father…
With this in mind, consider then what is happening in tonight’s text:
27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”
Why are they calling Jesus the Son of David, when in fact, Joseph was Jesus’ father? Well let me explain… Son of David… is a title of very great importance to the Jews. For David, was the great king of Israel in the OT that every other king was compared to…
David was the king who had a heart after God
He was a just, good, and godly king
And God made a promise to David, that his throne would endure forever…
But there was a problem for Israel, for Israel no longer had a king from the line of David. Instead Israel were ruled by Rome. But it didn’t stop the Jews from anticipating the return of the king that would be born in the line of David…
It’s for this reason that Matthew opens his gospel with these words:
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
What we should recognize is this: the people’s hopes of the anointed one, the Messiah, the Christ… was all wrapped up in this title:
Son of David...
This is made most clear to us in Matt 22
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.”
So consider what is happening in this story:
You have two blind men… who cannot see…
and yet their blindness does not stop them from a few things
one following Jesus, a task that would have been difficult for these blind men at best…
and two, this does not prevent them from crying out to Jesus for mercy
and third, and most important, their physical blindness does not hinder them from recognizing Jesus’ identity as the Son of David… that is, their blindness does not stop them from recognizing Jesus as the Christ or the Messiah.
1. Having physical sight is not the same as having spiritual sight.
1. Having physical sight is not the same as having spiritual sight.
In this text, we are ment to see something quite ironic. That is this… the blind men who cannot see physically, have a kind of spiritual sight that enables them to recognize Jesus. And the irony of this is increased by all those who have had physical sight who throughout our series have not recognized Jesus as the Christ.
This has been a repeated theme throughout our time in Matt 8-9
The least likely people are the ones who actually recognize Jesus!
Remember, there are three sets of three miracles, making a total of nine miracles
and the second miracle in each set repeats this surprising theme… that those who we would not expect to recognize Jesus do in fact recognize Jesus more than the others…
First we have the faith of the Roman centurion in 8:5-13… it was this Gentile recognized Jesus authority more than all the rest of Israel
After the centurion demonstrated his faith in Jesus’ ability to heal his servant Jesus Marveled…
10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.
This is surprising faith was recognized in the first set of miracles
In the second set of miracles, the unlikely group to recognized Jesus was the demons who identify Jesus as the Son of God only after the disciples were left confused in the boat as to the identity of Jesus.
recall the demons confession:
29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
And then here in todays text we are surprised to hear the clearest confession from any person as to who Jesus is, but note, it is the blind who recognize Jesus’ identity.
This is is such a wonderful demonstration of what faith is…
Faith is a kind of seeing not not through our eyes… Rather, faith is seeing through our ears that hear of Jesus without actually seeing him
So recognize this:
1. Having physical sight is not the same as having spiritual sight.
1. Having physical sight is not the same as having spiritual sight.
Further, I want us to notice what it is that produces such a desperate confession from these two men? Look again at tonight’s text:
27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”
Why is it that they cry out to Jesus?! It is because they need mercy…
This should remind us of what Jesus has been teaching us in the last discourse on discipleship.
Remember after eating with sinners and tax collectors, Jesus tells the Pharisees, and us as readers the purpose for which he came.
12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Notice that word mercy… and that is what the blind men are crying out for… So this begs us to ask ourselves yet again:
So are you well? Are you healthy do you think you have sight… … do you find yourself without the need for mercy from the great physician…because if you do listen to the words of Jesus
39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
Then take this warning with great seriousness…
if you don’t see your need for Jesus’ mercy… then you are blinder than these two blind men.
For Jesus did not come for the righteous… He did not come for those do not recognize their sin, and do not recognize their need for mercy…
Rather, Jesus came for those who are helpless…
Yes with disease… but even more than that, he came for those who are infected with sin.
Having physical sight is not the same as having spiritual sight.
and though each of us in here has our physical sight, may we recognize like these blind men that we too are in the same state as they are… that is, we are in need of mercy from the Son of David, that is Jesus Christ.
Let’s continue in our text:
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.”
Note the way Jesus tests these blind men’s faith…
At their initial cry for help, Jesus appears to not give them any attention…
and upon entering into a house, Jesus ask the men if they actually believe that he can do what they are asking for…
And only after these delays we here Jesus response to their request
“according to your faith be it done to you”
Here we should recognize yet another great theme that we have seen time and time again in this series:
2. Jesus meets the needs of those who have faith in him.
2. Jesus meets the needs of those who have faith in him.
In fact, nearly every person that has been healed, or has recieved the love and care of Jesus thus far in this series demonstrated their faith in Jesus
Be it the leper, the centurion, or the ruler and the woman with the issue of blood from last week… We have seen God caring for those who have faith in him
But to be clear, having faith doesn’t mean we get what we want
Paul the apostle himself prayed deliverance from what he calls a thorn in his flesh…
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Even though Paul asked with faith for Jesus to make him well… Jesus responded to Paul by telling him that he will not remove this thorn in his flesh, because the grace God has given Paul was enough
But notice all the same, God met the need of Paul with the grace that was needed for him in that hour.
The reality is this… our greatest need is salvation from our sin, and the penalty of our sin, namely death… And the way, and the only way we obtain that salvation, is by grace, through faith…
And according to our faith, Jesus saves us!
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
But let’s clarify what kind of faith is a saving faith…
What does Jesus mean when he said to the blind men… “according to your faith be it done to you”
Is it a great and exceeding faith that saves?
Well even the disciples themselves when being tossed by the storm were delivered by Jesus… though their faith was small. But their little faith certainly does not mean that they did not have faith. For they still had enough faith to go to Jesus for their salvation in their hour of need.
Is it simply a sincere faith that is a saving faith that is a saving faith?
Well did the prophets of Baal have sincerity in their faith in their god?
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
So if it is not great faith, or sincere faith that is a saving faith, then what is…
Saving faith in a faith that finds Jesus as its object…
This is what I mean when I say...
2. Jesus meets the needs of those who have faith in him.
2. Jesus meets the needs of those who have faith in him.
For it is not faith for the sake of faith that saves…
Many young kids have faith in Santa Clause and trust that he will travel around the world to give toys to kids who have been good this year… and yet such faith is not a saving faith, for that faith does not find Jesus as it’s object.
In fact, every one of us who confidently places our weight into our chairs has faith that the chair will hold us firmly without giving way… but such faith is not a saving faith. For such faith does not find Jesus as its object.
So place your faith in Jesus… Call on him like these poor blind men
11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
and
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Jesus meets the needs of those who have faith in him.
And what do we mean by “calling out to Jesus”
Surely, he is not walking on the earth like he did when these blind men cried out to him… So how is it that we are to cry out in faith to him…
We do so, by praying.
James says it so well:
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
So let us place our faith on Jesus… and let us not stop there, but let us cry out to Jesus in faith, knowing that he hears our prayers, and he has the power and authority answer our prayers through many mighty works… Just as he does for these blind men:
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.
This is nothing less than a strange way to end this story…
First of all, it is strange to most to hear Jesus telling them to keep this healing a secret
and second, it is made only stranger by the mens disobedience to Jesus command…
But note, this again… this is yet another repeated theme that we should be quite familiar with… And while it might seem strange on account of seeing it here isolated from the context of all that we have seen so far, putting this text in the context of what we have seen this far should help us understand what is happening
Recall earlier in Matt 8 when Jesus left the crowds by crossing the sea…
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
This is strange that Jesus came to the world to save people… only to leave people...
Do you remember why Jesus did this?
When I preached through this, I showed you how Jesus is not about drawing crowds through by healing them, rather he is about making disciples by announcing the kingdom of God that he is bringing about.
But what is this message about the kingdom about?
Well he shows us a bit more about this message he returns to his hometown and the same crowd return to him expecting healing yet again…
Recall Matt 9:1-2
1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
Do you remember how strange it was to learn about how these men brought the paralytic for healing, but instead of healing him first, Jesus forgave him… Back when we studied this passage we talked about how Jesus not simply to make us well on the outside, but to deal with our greatest problem, that being our sin that separates us from God.
With these in mind, why do you suppose Jesus is telling these blind men in tonights text to not share this news of their healing with others…
It is for the same reason that he left the crowds in the first place when they drew near to him after finding out that he was able to heal them…
It is for the same reason that he didn’t simply heal the paralytic without first addressing the greater need of his sin…
Here in this final set of miracles, both last week and again this week, we see Jesus is doing miracles in the privacy of homes where there are no crowds to witness them…
Recall last week:
23 And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.
The crowds are put outside away from the miracle… and yet all the same, Jesus fame is spreading through all the district…
and again…
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.
notice this is being done in the privacy of a home again…
and the results are still the same… Jesus fame went throughout all the district…
and as Jesus fame grows yet again here as it did by the end of the first set of healings… so does the growing opposition to Jesus mission… To announce the kingdom, and to save sinners…
And so we are to see this:
3. Jesus will not be sidetracked from saving sinners.
3. Jesus will not be sidetracked from saving sinners.
Why is this important to recognize?
Well as we look at all the mighty works of Jesus… we might be tempted to come to him with such shortsightedness that we too come to him for all our external needs while forgetting that our greatest need will always be for grace and mercy…
So let us not merely come to Jesus as the means of getting what we want…
but may we come to him first and foremost with the desire to receive that which he came to give for all who believe in him. That being the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life. For this is why Jesus came into the world
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
There is nothing, and no one that can keep Jesus from saving sinners…
so let us rejoice, for in Christ, through the gospel, we have the greatest gift one could ever think to ask for… namely eternal life. Let’s pray.