“The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. - Psalm 146:8
This morning we will cover 2 more miraculous occurrences during the ministry of Jesus Christ. Both are recorded in Matthew chapter 9. Both are relatively short and straightforward. As such, we should get through them pretty quickly. Afterward, we will spend some time looking back over what we’ve learned in this series so far.
I. HAVE MERCY ON US (Matthew 9:27-31)
As Jesus went on from there (perhaps after leaving Jairus’ house), a pair of blind men followed Him crying out, “Have mercy on us Son of David!” When they entered “the house” (perhaps referring to Peter’s house in Capernaum where Jesus and the apostles lived), these 2 men came up to Jesus. He asked them if they believed He was able to heal them and they said, “Yes!” Jesus touched their eyes and said, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.” Immediately their eyes were opened and Jesus sternly warned them not to tell anyone about how they had been healed, but they did.
Did you know that Jesus was the first person in the Bible to cure blindness? There is not a single instance recorded in the Old Testament of someone supernaturally restoring the sight of a blind person. The great prophets Elijah and Elisha performed many amazing miracles, including cleansing leprosy and even raising the dead, but healing the blind was something uniquely reserved for the coming Messiah. Isaiah prophesied that the coming Christ would have this miraculous ability (Isaiah 35:5). In the same way, only Jesus can open the eyes of the spiritually blind, and enable them to see the light and truth of the gospel.
The restoration of sight for these 2 men was a healing miracle. Jesus performed it by touching their eyes and speaking simultaneously. The healing of blindness was a specific and convincing sign that Jesus was the promised Messiah.
II. A SIMILAR STORY (Matthew 9:32-34; Luke 11:14-23)
Sometime later, somewhere in Galilee (perhaps still in Capernaum), a mute demon-possessed man was brought to Jesus. The Lord cast the demon out of him and the man was able to speak. The people were amazed, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!” However, the Pharisees charged Jesus with casting out demons “by the ruler of the demons”.
This incident is very reminiscent of another miracle we discussed earlier in this series in Matthew 12:22-29. In that instance the demon-possessed man was both blind and mute, whereas in this case he was only mute. Though quite similar, these appear to be 2 different occasions, as they are both recorded by Matthew and are separated by about 3 chapters. It seems highly unlikely that Matthew would tell the exact same story twice. In both accounts, Jesus was accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.
I am citing Luke 11:14-23 as a parallel account because it tells the story of a demon-possessed mute man, just as Matthew 9:32-34 does. In both cases, Jesus is confronted with the same accusation of casting out demons using demonic power. Though some distinguish these as 2 separate events, in order to minimize repetition, I am referring to them as the same.
Our lives are full of repetition. We often encounter the same things over and over again. It's no surprise that Jesus would have had similar experiences from time to time during His ministry. These 2 stories also indicate that He regularly faced the same lines of attack by His accusers. Jesus was repeatedly charged with violating the Law by healing on the Sabbath. His character was repeatedly slandered with accusations that He associated with tax collectors and sinners. Apparently His enemies also repeated the claim that His power over demons came from Satan.
This miracle is classified as an exorcism. The exorcism of the unclean spirit enabled the mute man to speak, again revealing that demonic possession can impair the physical body. Scripture doesn’t explicitly say how Jesus cast the demon out, so we will label the method of this miracle “unspecified”. As on similar occasions, Jesus cast out demons to silence them and/or to demonstrate His power over the Devil and his evil forces.
III. THROUGH CITIES AND VILLAGES (Matthew 9:35)
As Jesus was traveling through the villages and cities of Galilee, He taught in their synagogues. He boldly preached the gospel to many people. Along the way He also healed every kind of disease and sickness.
This verse does not refer to a specific event, so it isn’t included on our list of miracles. But it, and several others like it, indicate that Jesus performed many miracles besides those specifically described in the Bible (John 20:30-31). In fact, He almost certainly did more that we don’t know about than those we do know about!
CONCLUSION
Well, brothers and sisters, we have reached the mid-point of our series on “The Miracles of Jesus”. We have covered 23 distinct occasions during which Jesus performed a miracle or miracles. I thought it would be fun to mark the halfway point with a review of some things we’ve learned so far. So, here we go...
1. What type of miracle did Jesus perform the most? (healings, exorcisms, natural miracles, or resurrections)
2. What manner did Jesus use to perform most of His miracles? (speaking, touching, or through obedience to His instructions)
3. In which of these miracles did Jesus heal a sick boy without ever going to see him? (The Widow of Nain’s Son, A Centurion’s Servant, or A Royal Official’s Son)
4. Which of these miracles did Jesus perform on the Sabbath day? (A Leper in Galilee, A Man with a Withered Hand, or A Pair of Blind Men)
5. In which of these miracles did Jesus say, “Your sins are forgiven.”? (A Paralytic on a Pallet, A Demon Possessed Man in the Synagogue, or Jairus’ Daughter)
6. Which of these miracles did Jesus perform right after being woken up from His sleep? (A Demon-Possessed Mute Man, Calming the Stormy Sea, or Peter’s Mother-in-Law)
7. Which of these miracles involved a herd of 2,000 pigs? (A Demoniac in Gerasene, An Invalid at the Pool of Bethesda, or Turning Water Into Wine)
8. Which of these miracles was accompanied with a call to become “fishers of men”? (A Woman with a Hemorrhage, A Demon-Possessed Blind and Mute Man, or Catching Nets Full of Fish)
So, how did you do? Did you answer all 8 questions correctly? Were you able to remember some details about each of the answer choices that were listed? I sure hope so.
Alright. Well next week we will start the 2nd half of our series with a sermon contrasting “few” and “many”. Are you intrigued? Join us this coming Sunday to find out exactly what I’m talking about. May the Lord bless you.
This morning we will cover 2 more miraculous occurrences during the ministry of Jesus Christ. Both are recorded in Matthew chapter 9. Both are relatively short and straightforward. As such, we should get through them pretty quickly. Afterward, we will spend some time looking back over what we’ve learned in this series so far.
I. HAVE MERCY ON US (Matthew 9:27-31)
As Jesus went on from there (perhaps after leaving Jairus’ house), a pair of blind men followed Him crying out, “Have mercy on us Son of David!” When they entered “the house” (perhaps referring to Peter’s house in Capernaum where Jesus and the apostles lived), these 2 men came up to Jesus. He asked them if they believed He was able to heal them and they said, “Yes!” Jesus touched their eyes and said, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.” Immediately their eyes were opened and Jesus sternly warned them not to tell anyone about how they had been healed, but they did.
Did you know that Jesus was the first person in the Bible to cure blindness? There is not a single instance recorded in the Old Testament of someone supernaturally restoring the sight of a blind person. The great prophets Elijah and Elisha performed many amazing miracles, including cleansing leprosy and even raising the dead, but healing the blind was something uniquely reserved for the coming Messiah. Isaiah prophesied that the coming Christ would have this miraculous ability (Isaiah 35:5). In the same way, only Jesus can open the eyes of the spiritually blind, and enable them to see the light and truth of the gospel.
The restoration of sight for these 2 men was a healing miracle. Jesus performed it by touching their eyes and speaking simultaneously. The healing of blindness was a specific and convincing sign that Jesus was the promised Messiah.
II. A SIMILAR STORY (Matthew 9:32-34; Luke 11:14-23)
Sometime later, somewhere in Galilee (perhaps still in Capernaum), a mute demon-possessed man was brought to Jesus. The Lord cast the demon out of him and the man was able to speak. The people were amazed, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!” However, the Pharisees charged Jesus with casting out demons “by the ruler of the demons”.
This incident is very reminiscent of another miracle we discussed earlier in this series in Matthew 12:22-29. In that instance the demon-possessed man was both blind and mute, whereas in this case he was only mute. Though quite similar, these appear to be 2 different occasions, as they are both recorded by Matthew and are separated by about 3 chapters. It seems highly unlikely that Matthew would tell the exact same story twice. In both accounts, Jesus was accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.
I am citing Luke 11:14-23 as a parallel account because it tells the story of a demon-possessed mute man, just as Matthew 9:32-34 does. In both cases, Jesus is confronted with the same accusation of casting out demons using demonic power. Though some distinguish these as 2 separate events, in order to minimize repetition, I am referring to them as the same.
Our lives are full of repetition. We often encounter the same things over and over again. It's no surprise that Jesus would have had similar experiences from time to time during His ministry. These 2 stories also indicate that He regularly faced the same lines of attack by His accusers. Jesus was repeatedly charged with violating the Law by healing on the Sabbath. His character was repeatedly slandered with accusations that He associated with tax collectors and sinners. Apparently His enemies also repeated the claim that His power over demons came from Satan.
This miracle is classified as an exorcism. The exorcism of the unclean spirit enabled the mute man to speak, again revealing that demonic possession can impair the physical body. Scripture doesn’t explicitly say how Jesus cast the demon out, so we will label the method of this miracle “unspecified”. As on similar occasions, Jesus cast out demons to silence them and/or to demonstrate His power over the Devil and his evil forces.
III. THROUGH CITIES AND VILLAGES (Matthew 9:35)
As Jesus was traveling through the villages and cities of Galilee, He taught in their synagogues. He boldly preached the gospel to many people. Along the way He also healed every kind of disease and sickness.
This verse does not refer to a specific event, so it isn’t included on our list of miracles. But it, and several others like it, indicate that Jesus performed many miracles besides those specifically described in the Bible (John 20:30-31). In fact, He almost certainly did more that we don’t know about than those we do know about!
CONCLUSION
Well, brothers and sisters, we have reached the mid-point of our series on “The Miracles of Jesus”. We have covered 23 distinct occasions during which Jesus performed a miracle or miracles. I thought it would be fun to mark the halfway point with a review of some things we’ve learned so far. So, here we go...
1. What type of miracle did Jesus perform the most? (healings, exorcisms, natural miracles, or resurrections)
2. What manner did Jesus use to perform most of His miracles? (speaking, touching, or through obedience to His instructions)
3. In which of these miracles did Jesus heal a sick boy without ever going to see him? (The Widow of Nain’s Son, A Centurion’s Servant, or A Royal Official’s Son)
4. Which of these miracles did Jesus perform on the Sabbath day? (A Leper in Galilee, A Man with a Withered Hand, or A Pair of Blind Men)
5. In which of these miracles did Jesus say, “Your sins are forgiven.”? (A Paralytic on a Pallet, A Demon Possessed Man in the Synagogue, or Jairus’ Daughter)
6. Which of these miracles did Jesus perform right after being woken up from His sleep? (A Demon-Possessed Mute Man, Calming the Stormy Sea, or Peter’s Mother-in-Law)
7. Which of these miracles involved a herd of 2,000 pigs? (A Demoniac in Gerasene, An Invalid at the Pool of Bethesda, or Turning Water Into Wine)
8. Which of these miracles was accompanied with a call to become “fishers of men”? (A Woman with a Hemorrhage, A Demon-Possessed Blind and Mute Man, or Catching Nets Full of Fish)
So, how did you do? Did you answer all 8 questions correctly? Were you able to remember some details about each of the answer choices that were listed? I sure hope so.
Alright. Well next week we will start the 2nd half of our series with a sermon contrasting “few” and “many”. Are you intrigued? Join us this coming Sunday to find out exactly what I’m talking about. May the Lord bless you.