Two Blind Men – by Ritchie Way

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Feb 15, 2016 4330

‘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 will 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’ (Matt. 9:27-31).

It is significant that the two blind men recognised and acknowledged Jesus as the ‘Son of David’. The prophets had predicted that one of David’s descendants, whom the Jews called the ‘Son of David’, would one day rule over God’s people. The Psalmist wrote: ‘The LORD swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: “One of your own descendants I will place on your throne” (Psa. 131:11). That descendant was Jesus of Nazareth. Matthew began his Gospel with these words: “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of David … “

Before Jesus was born the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her that the Lord God would give her son “the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32-33). Isaiah said “He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness… “ (Isa. 9:7). The two blind men, who knew that the One who would reign on David’s throne would be the “Mighty God” (Isa. 9:6), had no question that he had the power to restore their sight. They followed Jesus to the house where he was staying, and did not give up when he left the crowd and went indoors. They went into the house and Jesus touched their eyes, saying, “according to your faith will it be done to you.” And their sight was restored.

Try to imagine that you were blind and Jesus restored your sight. What would you want to do? You would want to rush out of there to share the good news with everyone you met, both friend and stranger. But Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” Jesus did not want his mission to be sabotaged by people seeking temporal blessings rather than eternal blessings. But in spite of Jesus’ stern admonition to keep this good news to themselves, “they went out and spread the news about him all over that region”.

There are times when we think we know better than Jesus and countermand his instructions to us. These blind Jews who received their sight felt that all Israel should know that their Messiah had come to them at last, and proceeded to proclaim him everywhere. What they didn’t know was that their understanding of the true Messiah’s mission fell short of God’s intention. They were looking for an earthly Messiah who would reign in Jerusalem, to whom the whole world would come to honour and learn from, as the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon.

Jesus’ mission, however, was much more far-reaching than that. He wasn’t just another earthly king seeking to establish another earthly kingdom filled with earthly citizens. He was a heavenly King, who had come to set up a heavenly kingdom filled with heavenly citizens who had been washed clean by his blood. So when Jesus asks us to do something, no matter how unreasonable it may sound, we should do it.

– Ritchie Way