Matthew 9:27-31 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
The blind men’s belief in the Messiah is the key to this story. “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. We see two men not willing to let Jesus get away from their presence: they went indoors to ask Jesus for something very critical to their lives: sight. Jesus touched their eyes, even though they were interrupting his activities and thoughts at that time. He turned to them and dealt with their problem of blindness. The men could have stayed outdoors, unsure about going inside a stranger’s house, but they believed the person who had just passed them was the Messiah. Instead of standing at the doorway, they followed him into the dwelling, knowing Jesus had God’s power in him. He could change them from sightless beggars to normal men of that society. He could change the condition of their unprofitable lives to a better station in life. They did not hesitate to enter the house. As Christians, we should not hesitate to call on the Lord for our needs. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7) Nothing should prevent us from asking God to intervene in our lives. How many of us stand at the doorway, afraid to go in because maybe He will not answer our requests, or maybe our concerns are too small for him to meet. We should enter the house of our Almighty God and ask him as his children for the things that concern us. The Messiah has not only passed our way, He has claimed us as our Savior. We are not intruding on Jesus even when we ask for the smallest things. He loves us and has sent the resident Holy Spirit within us. In the scene above, these two men saw Jesus as the answer for their condition of blindness—someone who could change their lives a hundred-and-eighty degrees. He could make their lives worth living, worth enduring the natural vicissitudes of life, worth loving the people around them, worth becoming profitable citizens of that day. Their cry of Have mercy on us reveals their belief in Jesus working a miracle for them. They saw power in him to change their sightlessness to sight. Therefore, they entered the house with a strong belief in Christ as the Messiah sent to Israel by God. Jesus fully understood that their cry for help indicated a strong faith in him as the Son of God. Consequently, Jesus turns to them, these trespassers, and touched them. Probably a number of blind men in that community needed healing that day, but these two men willingly pressed into Jesus with their desire to be whole. As Christians, we should press into Christ for our needs and desires. A double-minded person will receive nothing from the Lord; we ought not to hesitate at the doorway, believing Jesus is not concerned about our everyday needs. We should move forward to Jesus’ side for his touch to give us a miracle.
Does this story reveal to us that all people who believe in Jesus’ divinity and power will be healed? Of course not, life in Christ does not mean all things in this life work out well in the flesh for those who believe in him as the Son of God. Many people who are participating in this breakfast have health issues and concerns that remain outstanding. At this time, God has not brought closure to their needs, but the trials of our faith do not mean our faith is too small for God to care about our problems. No, God is faithful and just; He does everything perfectly. As He molds us for eternity, He allows situations that do not work out the way we desire. Our faith may be strong, but as with Paul and with many others our personal lives reveal many hardships. Paul struggled with a thorn in the flesh. God told him as He tells us that He works with us in the hard times. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) We become more perfect in our walk when our steadfast faith in him stays steady under great duress. We are not greater than our Master. He paid a great price in the flesh. Sometimes we also have to endure hardships and pain for the purposes of God. Your will be done on Earth, not ours, dear Lord, but yours. In the Old Testament we see people of faith enduring extreme hardships without deliverance. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:35-38) Were they not worthy to be rescued? The Bible says that the world was not worthy of them, for they endured by faith without deliverance from these hardships and untimely deaths. Sometimes as with Paul the purpose of God exceeds our understanding. Paul struggled in almost every city he visited with the gospel. We do not know how many bones were broken in his body from the beatings he received by rods or by the stoning he endured, but God’s purpose far exceeded Paul’s experiences of pain and suffering. By faith, Paul laid this persecution and the vicissitudes of life at the feet of Jesus, believing in God’s greater purpose than just saving Paul for eternal life. Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. (Philippians 1:12) Even as he experienced restricting chains in the latter part of his life, by faith Paul placed it all in the hands of God. Sometimes in our difficulties and pain, we must realize God has a greater plan for us than just being the solution-maker for our lives. Enduring through our weaknesses, health issues, and struggles can be a stimulant for greater faith, greater love, greater mercy in life. Rather than being anemic in faith, bewailing our circumstances, we become more acquainted with God’s voice. We recognize his voice more often in our spirit as we hear, “I love you.” “I am with you.” “You are not alone.” “I have given you my life.” Of course his comforting voice is all that we need to endure to the end of our lives.
Good News has come to Earth to restore mankind to God. Jesus came as the Good News. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12) In today’s focus, we see the blind men following the Good News. They did not stop at the doorway, hesitant to enter a house not their own. No, they followed the Good News into that house because their faith was in Christ the Messiah who had come their way. Their concern was would He touch them. Have mercy on us, was their cry. Please, Christ, see our needs, put aside everything else, was their cry. Of course, Jesus came to heal; He came to the poor, the captives, the outcasts. He could do nothing less than touch them. They were healed; they went out rejoicing, failing to follow Jesus’ admonition not to tell anyone of their healing. “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. Jesus needed his freedom to move around as He willed, but his popularity and notoriety because of his miracles restricted his movement. Crowds were constantly pressing in on him. But these two men knew what had happened to them: Christ had made them whole. They knew their lives would never be the same. We who are IN CHRIST have been healed eternally, not for a temporary moment on this earth, but eternally! Jesus validated the Good News by his many wondrous, miraculous acts. God’s power emanated from Jesus’ touch and presence with miracle after miracle to prove that He was from the Father’s house. God’s stamp of approval was upon Jesus the man. Even at the cross as He was dying, people knew something was different about Jesus. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39) We who are alive IN CHRIST are people of faith, for faith is required to move from the fleshly man and woman to a new creature. Life abundant begins when we enter this new reality, but not in all our fleshly endeavors in this world. The old man will die, corrupted by sin, destined for the grave, but the new man has been enrobed with the body of Christ, the Eternal One. Our hope is not in the old man being good, but in the new man being like Christ. Yes, He has healed us internally, making us no longer in need of anything but Christ in us. But this should not prevent us from entering the house where Christ exists, saying, Have mercy on us. We still live in this body; we still live in this land of flesh. We are not in the Promised Land—we are on Earth. Therefore, our cry for God’s intervention in our lives should be constant, with strong faith in his love for us. He will and does intervene. He does heal us, and when we feel and see this healing, we should testify of it joyfully, for the world needs to hear about God’s goodness. But when our fleshly lives seem to be stagnate in the hurt and health needs not answered, testify of God’s goodness, for when we are most weak, He is most strong in us. His voice is always flowing through the green wood in us for He is alive! Rejoice, for He is alive in us, dear breakfast companions! Amen!
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