“Means to an End”

Series: “The Gospel Truth”

Text: Matt 9:27-10:1

Introduction: (What?)

There is no denying that Jesus healed and delivered many people during his earthly ministry. I read somewhere that there were 37 miracles of healing which meant that a lot of all Jesus did while here on earth involved healing or deliverance. As we will see in the passage today, He also gave the power to heal and deliver to His disciples when He sent them out. In the Book of Acts we see the disciples and Paul healing people in Jesus’s Name. However, healing is not the endgame of Jesus, but rather it is a means to the end. Examination: (Why?)

1. Blind men healed and warned (vv27-31)

Matt9:27-31 “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he entered the house, the blind men approached him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus warned them sternly, “Be sure that no one finds out.” But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that whole area.”

The blind men called Jesus “Son of David” which was a messianic title recognizing that He was a descendant of King David. Jesus almost always referred to Himself as the “Son of Man” while some others called Him the “Son of God”. Their use of this title was a product of their belief that He was in fact the Messiah.

Notice that Jesus did not respond to the men in public. Rather He waited until He entered the house and they followed Him inside. There was never a desire on the part of Jesus to put on a show for the multitudes. As usual faith was the catalyst to healing. Jesus’s question led to a profession of faith by the blind men. He made sure that they saw the connection by saying to them “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” It is important to realize that if they had just been saying what they thought Jesus wanted to hear, they would not have been healed. Their faith was genuine.

As He had done when He had healed a leper, Jesus sternly warned the blind men “Be sure that no on finds out.” From my study I believe there were two reasons Jesus said this. One, He didn’t want to attract a crowd of people just for the sake of healing because His primary mission was to “seek and save the lost”. Two, He didn’t want to be known as a Healer when His primary role was that of a preacher/teacher. His notoriety as a healer actually got in the way of His teaching and preaching about the kingdom of God. It was important for Jesus to keep the main thing, the main thing. As a church we must determine what our main assignment is and stick to it regardless of what other churches may be doing.

2. Deliverance and a False Accusation (vv32-34)

Matt 9:32-34 “Just as they were going out, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to him. When the demon had been driven out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.””

By this time it was not unusual for people to bring friends or family members who were oppressed or possessed to Jesus. This particular man had been mute for so long that when he began to speak the people were amazed. The Pharisees could not deny that Jesus had cast the demon out, so they resorted to a false accusation that He was doing it by the power of the devil (Beelzebub, the ruler of demons). Although Matthew doesn’t record Jesus’s response, Luke did in Luke 11:17-23 “Knowing their thoughts, he told them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul. And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges. If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his estate, his possessions are secure. But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he takes from him all his weapons he trusted in, and divides up his plunder. Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.”

We must be careful to give God glory for His work. If we attribute our healing or deliverance to chance or to some other entity, we are getting very close to blasphemy. If you prayed for yourself or someone else, and were healed or delivered, GIVE GOD THE GLORY. At times we are so afraid of being labeled as kooks or religious extremists, we shy away from giving God His due.

3. The Real Purpose for the miracles (vv35-38)

Matt 9:35-38 “Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.””

Jesus wasted no time. He kept moving from place to place focusing on His primary call…teaching and preaching the good news of the kingdom. He also “healed every (or every kind of) disease and every (or every kind of)sickness.”

Jesus felt compassion on the people because there was a lack of leadership to protect and help them. However, even as He was healing the sick and setting free those who were demonized, He never forgot that there was a harvest that was ripening and would soon need to be harvested. Consequently He urged those listening to “pray to the LORD of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

The CSB Disciple’s Study Bible notes that “A harvest has several characteristics: (1) it is valuable; (2) it must be gathered, or it will be lost; and (3) it is URGENT. Time moves quickly and then the opportunity is gone.”

A question that each of us must answer is “how many people whom you knew have died without Christ?” How many did you pray for but never spoke a word of witness to? Jesus asked for prayers, but He told them WHAT to pray…pray for workers to be sent out into His harvest. In the first verse of chapter 10, Jesus became the answer to the prayer when; Matt 10:1 “Summoning his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness.”

The twelve were the ones who had answered the call to “follow Me” which meant that they would do whatever He asked of them. They were the ones who heard His admonishment to pray to the LORD of the harvest. Now they were the ones whom He was summoning to be the answer to the prayer.

Application: (How should I respond to this message)

In Isa 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.”

The harvest field today is the world. The LORD of the harvest is God. He has sent out workers (local churches) into many parts of the harvest field, but they (we) have settled for meetings and programs over personal evangelism.

In Acts 8:1-4 “Saul agreed with putting him (Stephen) to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison. So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the word.”

This is the pattern for the church; and by the way, if you are a believer, you ARE the church. Notice that it was not the apostles who were scattered, but it was everyone else. We must recognize that WE are the scattered ones, and WE must be preaching the word “on our way”. The literal translation of the Great Commission is “As you go, make disciples.” It doesn’t say WHERE you should go, but just AS YOU GO. I believe that it means that as you go about your normal traffic pattern of life…make disciples of those whom you encounter. Your assignment, and mine is to share our story of the Good News of Jesus in our neighborhood, at the restaurant, the grocery store and/or the doctor’s office. It could be as simple as giving God the glory or credit for something. Last week in the doctor’s office he was questioning me about how I felt and how I was doing. I said, “Great! God is good.” That boys and girls is a witness. It is a seed. Now it needs to be tended and watered, but at least it is scattered. How are you going to be the answer to Jesus’s prayer this week?