Part 34 | Three Responses to Jesus

Matthew 9:27–34 ESV

And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 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.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” But they went away and spread his fame through all that district. As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 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.” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

Introduction

Growing up, I was always amazed at my grandfather—who was particularly gifted in the art of stained glass.

That particular art form requires—not just creativity—but patience and a knack for tedious work.

I remember my grandfather’s work table, where he would have laid out all of these different colors and sizes of glass—all of which were beautiful in and of themselves.

But then—after he cut the pieces of glass and put them all together—there was nothing like taking a step back and seeing the beautiful, cohesive piece of art, with the sun shining through it—bringing out all of these different colors and hues.

Matthew—Chapters 8 and 9—are much like a piece of stained glass. Matthew has put together ten specific Jesus miracles—each of which are beautiful stories taken separately.

Today, we are studying the last two of these ten stories—and we get the privilege of “stepping back”—as it were—and seeing this cohesive and glorious picture of who Jesus is.

What are the pieces of glass that we’ve seen thus far:

In Matthew 5-7, we saw a summary of Jesus’ teaching and that He taught with an authority—that the people of Israel had never experienced.

In Matthew 8 and 9, we have seen that:

Jesus has power over sickness

Jesus has authority of the natural realm

Jesus has the power over the supernatural realm

That Jesus has authority authority to forgive sins

That Jesus’ has the power to transform even the most sinful people.

That Jesus has power over death.

And today, we are reminded that Jesus can give site to the blind and that he can free people from the dark powers of evil that bind them.

So, when we take a step back, what is the art piece that Matthew wants us to see?

He has grouped these stories together to show his Jewish audience—and us—that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. That He is the fulfillment of the OT promises about a Messiah who would come to redeem His people, and to bring God’s Kingdom to the earth.

What a glorious picture it is!

The depiction of Jesus—this masterpiece— that Matthew given us, demands a response.

At the close of this section of miracles, we find three different responses to who Jesus is and what He has done:

The response of the two blind men

The response of the crowd

The response of the religious leaders

And my question for each of us is, “how have we each responded to Jesus?”.

I. The Response of the Two Blind Men

After Jesus left Jairus’ house in Capernaum, he went on his way, and two blind men approached them.

Historians tell us that Blindness was one of the grimmest ailments in the ancient world; it was considered only a bit less serious than being dead.

They have no doubt heard about Jesus’ compassion and His power, and the great miracles He has been doing, and their goal is to get to Jesus.

Matthew 9:27 ESV

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

A) They Responded to Jesus with the Right Attitude

We live in a day and age, when many people feel entitled.

They think society owes them something; and, they feel God owes them something.

Not so with these men; they approach Jesus in desperation, yet in humility, and appeal to Jesus for mercy.

Even more remarkable than their request is the way in which they address Jesus!

B) They Responded with the Right Knowledge

Matthew 9:27 (ESV)

...“Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

This is the first time that Matthew records anyone referring to Jesus as “Son of David.”

Son of David, what does that mean?

The title comes from a promise that God made with King David in the book of 2 Samuel chapter 7.

God promised David that through His lineage, would come a great King… a deliver who would redeem God’s people establish His Kingdom on the earth… and of his Kingdom, there would be no end.

This figure became known as “the Messiah” amongst the Jewish people.

So, this title “Son of David” is used for the promised, Messianic King.

Matthew 1:1 (ESV)

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew makes the claim to his readers—right from the start—that Jesus is the “Son of David,” that He is the Christ who has come to bring God’s Kingdom.

But as the narrative has developed, no-one— up to this point—has called Jesus by this title.

Who are the first ones to refer to Jesus by His Messianic Title?

It is two blind men!

Do you see the irony? It is the blind men who first see Jesus for who he really is.

C) They Responded in Faith

Matthew 9:28–31 ESV

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.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Jesus asked them, “do you believe that I am able to do this?” And the men responded affirmatively.

You may say, well of course they did: they have heard of all Jesus’ miracles, why would He be able to open blind eyes?

Throughout the Bible, God uses many people to perform miracles, but no one—besides Jesus—heals the blind.

But the Scriptures promised that part of the Messiah’s ministry would be the healing of the Blind.

Isaiah 42:6–7 (Speaking about the coming Messiah)

“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, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

The blind men have called Jesus by His messianic title (Son of David); by Jesus asking, “do you believe that I am able to do this?” he is reaffirming that they truly believe that He is Israel’s Messiah.

Ultimately, the blind men respond to Jesus in faith.

II. The Response of the Crowd

As the blind men went away, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to Jesus. And Jesus cast out the demon and the man was able to speak.

Matthew doesn’t give us the man’s response, but he does give us the response of the crowd:

Matthew 9:33 ESV

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.”

The Crowds responded to Jesus in amazement!

The crowds often responded to Jesus in amazement.

Matthew 7:28 ESV

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,

The crowds were full of Jewish people who would have grown up in synagogue hearing the OT Scriptures

They would have heard about the Prophets and all of the miracles of the OT.

These crowds have sat under the teaching of the religious leaders and scholars of the Jewish people.

But, when they witnessed Jesus’ teachings and miracles, they were blown away; His ministry was beyond anything they had ever seen. They new that God was doing something new.

Without any social media, TV , or billboards, the crowds found Jesus.

The crowds responded to Jesus in amazement!

We ought to be amazed by Jesus!

God help us not grow numb to the beauty and wonder of Jesus Christ!

I stand amazed in the presence Of Jesus the Nazarene And wonder how He could love me A sinner condemned, unclean

How marvelous, how wonderful And my song will ever be How marvelous, how wonderful Is my Saviour's love for me

The crowds responded to Jesus in amazement!

III. The Response of the Religious Leaders

Some of the Pharisees—the religious leaders—witnessed Jesus freeing the mute man of demonic oppression.

Look at their response:

Matthew 9:34 ESV

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

The Pharisees had no category for what Jesus was doing, thus they responded in contempt.

What a tragedy!

The Pharisees were very well trained in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Jesus had clearly demonstrated His deity and that He is the Messiah by the way He taught, by raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead and countless other healings; by casting out demons; by calming the storm; by forgiving sins, and by opening blind eyes.

The Pharisees—who should have had the clearest vision of what God was doing, missed it! Yet, the blind men were able to see the truth.

The Pharisees were also jealous of Jesus.

Matthew points out that right before the Pharisees responded to Jesus in contempt, that the crowds said, “never was anything like this seen in Israel.”

The Pharisees were use to being seen as the spiritual elites.

Jesus said—in the sermon on the mount—that they pray, and fast, and give to be seen by men.

The spotlight began to move from them to Jesus, and they wouldn’t have it.

Therefore, the religious leaders responded to Jesus in contempt.

IV. The Importance of Faith

What is at the center of all three responses in this text? FAITH

A) Faith Has Been a Common Theme Throughout This Section of Matthew

The faith of the Roman Centurion

The lack of faith of the disciples

The faith of the woman with the issue of blood

And now, the faith of the two blind men.

B) Framework for Faith

Some people take these verses about faith, along with a verse like

John 14:13 ESV

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

They then frame the idea of Christian faith much like a supernatural vending machine

You decide what you want (healing, money, etc) and then YOU muster up enough faith--like putting a coin in the vending machine—to get what you want.

Then, if you don’t get what you asked for—its on you. You just don’t have enough faith.

The problem with that framework is that it puts us at the center, not Jesus.

The faith references that we see in Matthew 8 and 9, are centered around who Jesus is. Jesus is the object of the people’s faith.

And—as important as faith is—there are narratives in these chapters that say nothing about faith.

Peter’s Mother -Law

The mute demoniac

Furthermore, Jesus calmed the raging sea IN SPITE of the disciples lack of faith.

Until the story of the two blind men, every one of the people who were healed only had a partial picture of Jesus. They only saw one piece of the stained glass, rather than the whole piece.

Yet, though they didn’t have PERFECT faith, Jesus healed them.

Faith is ultimately about trusting Jesus with your life. It is about putting your trust in Him and submitting to His wheel.

Jesus warned that his followers would face persecution; He warned them that they would face tribulation. He didn’t promise them that faith would make them immune to the troubles of this world. He promised peace in the midst of those troubles.

John 16:33 (ESV)

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

C) Everyone Has Faith

Each of the three responses to Jesus, happen as a result of each groups faith.

EVERYONE HAS FAITH

Even atheists have faith.

If you meet an atheist, you should congratulate them on their faith!

It takes way more faith to believe that the universe (and all that is within it) came from nothing, to believe in an intelligent, transcendent designer.

Every Group in Our text had faith

1) The Pharisees Had Faith in the Themselves and Their Traditions

a) The religious leaders were so confident in their knowledge of the Scriptures, that they had no room for what God was doing in Jesus.

So when Jesus—in His Sermon on the Mount—taught with authority, the REAL meaning of the law, the Pharisees were not open to their wrong interpretations.

Sometimes we can be blinded by our knowledge, tradition, or experience:

Talk About the Pastor that Said all Mental Illness is the Devil

b) Most of the Jews were looking for a Messiah who would come and lead in military action to over come the tyranny of Rome. They had no room for a Messiah who would bring God’s Kingdom through love and sacrifice.

The Pharisees had created traditions and were so steeped in them, that they expected a Messiah who would come and follow those same traditions.

c) They were so confident in their self-righteousness that they saw no need for a Savior.

They were not looking for someone to save them from their sins and to bring salvation by faith. They were quite confident in their ability to keep the Law.

Ultimately, the Pharisees had faith in themselves, which blinded them to the beauty and mercy of Jesus Christ.

2) The Crowds Had Faith in Jesus’ Power

The crowds, too, had a measure of faith.

They were astonished by Jesus teaching.

They didn’t know what to do with it, but they believed what they were seeing. They new God was up to something new.

3) The Blind Men Had Faith to Follow Jesus

Matthew 9:27 ESV

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

The word translated “Followed” is a Greek word that means to accompany spatially, which they certainly did, but it also can mean “ join as a disciple (in the general sense)”

Many scholars believe that this word, combined with the fact that the blind men asked Jesus for “mercy” suggests that they wanted more than healing. They wanted wholeness and forgiveness for sins. Ultimately, they desired to be real followers of Jesus.

The blind men have—it would seem—the kind of faith that Jesus calls us all to place in Him.

Closing: How of you responded to Jesus?

How do you know if you are like the Pharisees, the crowds, or the blind men? You look—not at what say, nor at what you feel—but what you do.

Some of You May Be Like the Pharisees

Maybe you are here because someone invited you, or because you grew up in church and it is somewhat nostalgic.

But you don’t really buy into this Christianity thing.

Maybe you see Jesus as a good teacher or moral example, but you have no category for Him being the Son of God. Maybe as a post-enlightenment, westerner, you are all for reason, science, humanism, and progress. But this faith stuff may be too mystical for you.

The good news is that you don’t have to drop all rationality to believe in Jesus. There are many logical reasons to believe. Our faith hinges on the one event: the resurrection of Jesus. And there are many compelling reasons to believe in that historical event—not the least of which is hundreds of eyewitness testimonies.

But yes, Christianity goes beyond reason: it takes an element of faith, but it is not blind faith.

Tim Keller: Christianity is too rational for mysticism and too mystical for rationalism.

If you find yourself a sceptic, I encourage you to look into the validity of the resurrection. Start there. Then you will be open to the possibility that Jesus is who he claimed to be.

One more note: Even for those of you who are really Christians, don’t be so blinded by your Christian tradition that you miss the full truth of who Jesus is and what you taught.

How do you know you have faith like the Pharisees?

Perhaps some of you are still walking in legalism rather than the freedom you have in Christ.

Maybe you are not open to other interpretations of certain Scriptures, because of your tradition.

Some of You May Have the Faith of the Crowds

Maybe you are amazed by Jesus… and you should be!

But being amazed won’t bring you eternal life and transformation

Most of the people I speak with in this area, claim belief in—and most of the time a love for—Jesus. However, their lives are no different than the secular world. Often, these people aren’t even part of a church.

You can identify with the faith of the crowds in the story if you stop in your Christian walk with mere amazement.

I Hope You Have the Faith of the Blind Men

The blind men’s faith, went beyond amazement.

They saw Jesus as the Messiah.

They recognized their need for them, as they cried to Him for mercy.

This is the same as Matthew’s testimony that we looked at a couple of weeks ago.

Matthew was known amongst the Jews as being a traitor.

As a tax collector he exploited the marginalized for his own gain.

When Jesus approached Matthew, Matthew didn’t just say, I am amazed by you.

No, the Bible says that Matthew got up from his tax booth and followed Jesus.

That equates to life change.

How do you know how you have responded to Jesus?

It is not about what you say or what you feel. It is about what you do.

Matthew 7:21 ESV

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

My prayer is that each of you have responded to Jesus with saving faith. That you have repented of your sins, and that you are wholeheartedly following Him.