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.
Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak
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.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few
35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9: 27-38 ESV
Matthew 9: 27-38 Blind See and Mute Speak
…4Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.” 5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.… Isaiah 35: 4-6
Have mercy on us, Son of David - This is a Messianic term they use for Him, and the miracles He does proves not only His right to that kingly title, but also the reality of His Millennial reign, in other words, what was spoken of by the prophets, the peace, healing, all these things can and will have a literal fulfillment during His thousand year reign, the Lamb will become the Lion.
Our Lord is here called by his royal name: “Thou Son of David.” Even the blind could see that he was a king’s son. As Son of David, he is entreated to show mercy, and act according to his royal nature. It is mercy which gives us our faculties, and mercy alone can restore them. This prayer suits us when we perceive our own darkness of mind. When we cannot see our way into truth, let us appeal to the Lord for gracious instruction; ever remembering that we have no claim except that which originates in his mercy. - C. H. Spurgeon
…9Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? 10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his. 11He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.… Genesis 49: 9-11
Do you believe that I am able to do this - Their answer, "Yes, Lord", for He is Lord. They have not seen the other miracles, for they are blind, and Jesus doesn't ask them do you believe in miracles, but more rightly, do you believe in Jesus as the source of this healing. Even when the disciples went out to heal, it was not their own power, but the power of God. They have rightly acknowledged Him as Messiah and Lord, for He is the King above all kings. He has come to take away the penalty of sin, and the opening of the eyes testifies to this, that the blind see even before He gives them physical sight, well, some would miss this for the temporal relief.
…2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function,… Romans 12: 2-4
According to your faith be it done to you - We know that faith is a gift from God, and that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. They can't believe based upon what they see, for they are blind, nor is faith shadow boxing in the mirror, psyching yourself up to believe for something. It does not find it's root in feelings, emotional sway, but in trusting and taking God at His word regardless of circumstances. Jesus throws it back to them, if they have received faith, then this will be the fruit of it, it will be evidenced here by sight.
1Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. 2 This is why the ancients were commended. 3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.… Hebrews 11: 1-3
He cast out demons by the prince of demons - You can see a stronger shift building up against Jesus. The Pharisees had witnessed the miracles, knew that much of their law was added to, and can be found in the Talmud, but since He doesn't conform to their apostate ideologies, they can't accept Him. He fulfills OT prophecy, and no one has seen miracles like this, but just as Isaiah prophesied, He would be despised and rejected. Here they go so far as to slander Him, and to associate Him with His enemies. They are like the antifascist today, calling everyone else what they are, fascists, racist and anti-God.
…25Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.… Matthew 12: 25-27
Proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom - The King is present with them, showing His power over sin, over it's results, and making His way to the cross, to be the Redeemer of all who believe.
Proclaiming (2784)(kerusso from kerux/keryx = a herald - one who acts as the medium of the authority of one who proclamation he makes; kerugma = the thing preached or the message) means to proclaim (publicly) or to herald or act as a public crier - the town official who would make a proclamation in a public gathering. Kerusso was used of the official whose duty it was to proclaim loudly and extensively the coming of an earthly king, even as the gospel is to clearly announce the coming of the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:16+)!
Gospel (2098)(euaggelion from eú = good + aggéllo = proclaim, tell) is literally good news or glad tidings. In the NT euaggelion is used only of God's message of salvation in three senses (1) act of proclamation (preaching the gospel) (1Cor 4:15), (2) the work of evangelization (spread of the gospel) (Phil 4:3), (3) the content of the message as an offer of salvation (good news) (Ro 1:16). In secular Greek it originally referred to a reward for good news and later became the good news itself. The word euaggelion was commonly used in the first century as our words "good news" today. The idea then and now is something like this - “Have you any good news (euaggelion) for me today?” This was a common question in the ancient world. In ancient secular Greek euaggelion described good news of any kind and prior to the writing of the New Testament, had no definite religious connotation in the ancient world until it was taken over by the "Cult of Caesar" which was the state religion and in which the emperor was worshipped as a god. Our English word Gospel is from the Old English or Saxon word gōdspell (gōd = good + spell = message) which is literally "good tale, message". When I was a young man Godspell was actually the name of a popular musical play (See description). I wonder if they really understood the meaning of this word which is the very foundation stone of Christianity. In modern secular use Gospel has an interesting meaning of something accepted as infallible truth or as a guiding principle (e.g., such and such is "the Gospel truth"). This is not a bad Biblical definition either! Uses in Matthew - Matt. 4:23; Matt. 9:35; Matt. 24:14; Matt. 26:13
Kingdom (932)(basileia from basileus = a sovereign, king, monarch) denotes sovereignty, royal power, dominion. Basileia can also refer to the territory or people over whom a king rules. Basileia is used most often in the NT to describe God's (Christ's) rule and reign, a rule and reign which in turn most often described by the phrases kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God.
He had compassion for them - Jesus, Who is both God and man, has come to feel as a man, tested in every way. He sees them without shepherds, lost, harassed to their very souls, confused. We see Him in the garden, devastated, sweating blood even, and I will study that aspect more as I go further, but if the Son of God has compassion on sinners, then who has the right not to?
Adrian Rogers - "Actually, the word compassion means, “from the pit of your stomach.” Have you ever hurt so bad that it feels like someone has kicked you in the stomach? That’s the word moved with compassion. The Bible speaks of His churning with pain. The Latin word compassio is a word that we get our word compassion from. It means, “to suffer with.”...It’s a very powerful word; it literally means “to convulse; convulsed.” I mean, it has the idea of just hurting right in here. “He was moved with compassion.” Do you know what the word compassion means? It comes from our English word meaning “with” and “passion,” meaning “to feel” or “to suffer.” Jesus was convulsed as He felt with those sheep. He saw them as sheep having no shepherd. That’s what caused Him to leave heaven and come and die for us....The word compassion comes from two Latin words: the first one, com, which means “with”; the second one, passion, which means “to suffer.” When we have compassion, we learn to suffer with other people. No man has ever been a great man of God, no man has ever been a great deacon, until he’s a man of compassion." - Precept Austin
Pray earnestly - Now this is a command, just like His words to the blind men. If we have faith, then we should want it for others, and our prayers appear to be an integral part of God's sovereign plan. It won't always be well received, but go tell the good news.
8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!” 9And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’… Isaiah 6: 8-9
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