Opened Eyes and Closed Hearts
Matthew 9:27-34
In his Gospel, Matthew has been building his case that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Particularly, in Matthew 8 and 9 Matthew shows that Jesus has the authority to do what only God Himself can do—heal the sick, cleanse the leper, control nature, cast out demons, forgive sins, and even raise the dead. Together, these miracles showed that Jesus has power over sin because He systematically reversed the effects of sin.
Not only has Matthew stressed the authority of Jesus over sin and its consequences, but he has also emphasized the various responses to Jesus. Some, like the centurion, the paralytic and his friends, and the hemorrhaging woman, responded in faith, believing Jesus. Matthew himself responded by following Jesus.
But other responses were not so positive. We have the two would-be disciples who could not accept the cost of following Jesus; the Gadarene townspeople who begged Jesus to leave; the scribes who thought Jesus guilty of blasphemy; the Pharisees who thought they were righteous and didn’t understand God’s compassion on sinners; the disciples of John complaining that Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast; and the mourners at Jairus’ house who ridiculed Jesus.
Jesus, as the Gospels present Him, forces everyone who encounters Him to respond in some way.[1] Jesus Himself said in Matthew 12:30, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” The things that Jesus did and the things that He claimed about Himself are so unique and amazing that they must not be ignored. The response that the Gospel calls for is to believe in Him, follow Him, and worship Him. But not everyone does. Some people marvel at Jesus but come short of believing in Him. And others reject Jesus out of hand. In the end, we must either bow to Jesus, or we will oppose Him. We must either believe in Him, or we will reject Him.
We now come to the last two miracles in this series—giving sight to the blind and causing the mute to speak. Typical of Matthew’s style, the accounts are short and to the point. He demonstrates Jesus’ authority to open the eyes of the blind and cause a demonized mute to speak. Again, these miracles give proof that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. And again, these miracles highlight the different responses to Jesus. Some believed and their lives were eternally changed. Others were amazed, but no change seemed to take place in their lives. Still others rejected Jesus and blasphemed Him.
The reason why these responses to Jesus’ miracles are so important is that the power of Jesus to work miracles also proves His power to save from sin. They portray our spiritual condition—we are all unclean, isolated, hopeless, desperate, blind, and even dead in our sins. And they show that to be saved from sin we need the powerful, forgiving, saving grace of God, which is to be found in Jesus Christ alone.[2]
The ways that people responded to Jesus then are the same ways that people respond to the Savior today.
The first response that Matthew highlights for us is[3] …
1. The Blind Men Believe – Matthew 9:27-31
Jesus had just raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead and He was going to His house in Capernaum when two blind men became aware that Jesus was passing by, and they started following Him. Matthew 9:27 says, “When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”” The text does not say why they were blind. Blindness was a serious problem in the East in that day and could have been caused by disease, exposure to the sun, dust, injury, or a birth condition. The Gospels record that Jesus healed at least six blind men—one of His most common miracles.[4]
As the blind men follow Jesus they are “crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”” (Matt. 9:27). The word for “crying out” means to “croak or cry with a loud voice”[5]. Their request is a simple sentence, but it is full of deep meaning. “Son of David, have mercy on us!” The mercy they seek is for Jesus to cure their blindness. A request for mercy implies that they knew they did not deserve what they were requesting. They are depending on His kindness, not any merit of their own.[6] Since the common understanding in that culture was that something as debilitating as blindness was a judgment of God for sin, they were probably very keenly aware of their unworthiness.
This is the first time anyone in the Gospel calls Jesus “Son of David” (Matt 9:27) and there can be no doubt that the blind men were confessing Jesus as Messiah. “Son of David” was a title for the Messiah (Matt. 1:1; 22:42). The Old Testament made it clear that the Messiah, when He came, would be a descendant of David (2 Samuel 7:12, 16) and an heir to his throne. Matthew has already plainly stated that Jesus is the messianic Son of David in Jesus’ genealogy. In Matthew 1:1, he wrote, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” This title will be used of Jesus seven more times in the Gospel of Matthew.
In Israel, in the time of Jesus, there was an intense Messianic expectation. According to the Old Testament one of the signs of the Messiah is that he would work miracles, including giving sight to the blind. Isaiah 35:5-6 says,
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. (Isa 35:5-6; cf. Isaiah 29:17-19; 42:5-7; Psalm 146:8).
There are no records of any blind person being healed in the Old Testament. And so, when you have two blind men following Jesus calling out, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” that is a clear indication they believed that Jesus was the Messiah. These men did not just believe that Jesus was a miracle worker or one of the prophets. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah Himself. These men may have been physically blind, but they really “saw” better than many others.[7]
Although it seems that Jesus initially did not respond to their cries, they continued to follow Him all the way into the house. Matthew 9:28 says, “And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.” They were persistent. Why did Jesus delay instead of healing the men in public as He had other people? It would appear from what is said later in this text that Jesus wanted to minimize public attention that He was the Messiah. He waited to heal them in private.
Once the blind men are in the house, “Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord.’” (Matt. 9:28). At this point we should think it was obvious what they believed. They had already demonstrated their faith in Jesus by the fact that they were following Him and crying out to Him for mercy. Yet, Jesus asks about their faith anyway. Jesus tests their faith, giving them the opportunity to verbally confess their belief that Jesus had the power to heal them. They say, “Yes, Lord.” Although the term “Lord” was often used out of simple respect, similar to our use of the term, “sir,” it is obvious that they called Jesus, “Lord,” in recognition of His Lordship as Son of David, the Messiah. They believed in Jesus as the Christ.
Matthew 9:29 recounts Jesus’ response, “29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith let it be to you.’ 30 And their eyes were opened.” This has been a common theme throughout this section on miracles. Jesus responds to faith – the faith of the leper, the faith of the centurion, the faith of the paralytic, the faith of the ruler, the faith of the woman with bleeding. And notice that it is not just faith in God but faith in Jesus specifically. Jesus doesn’t ask them, “Do you believe that I can ask God and He will heal you?” No, he asks them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
“According to your faith” does not mean “in proportion to your faith” (as in, so much faith, so much sight).[8] Faith does not merit Jesus’ favor. Rather, faith claims His favor.[9] Faith is simply the open hand that receives the unmerited gift of God’s mercy and grace.
Jesus didn’t always require faith from people in order to heal them. Jesus’ power is not dependent on our faith. When Jesus asks about the faith of those whom He will heal, He does it because He wants not only to heal them physically but to save them spiritually. Salvation is always by God’s grace and received by faith in Jesus Christ. These men picture salvation.
After opening their eyes, Jesus instructs them. Matthew 9:30 says, “And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.”” This was certainly not a command that they should keep hidden the fact that they could see, for that would have been impossible and nonsensical. It would be very obvious to all that knew them that something radical had occurred since they could now see. Jesus’ charge is related to the same reason He delayed His response to their cry for mercy. Jesus did not want people to be proclaiming that He was Messiah prematurely. The religious leaders were already growing in opposition to Him, and it was not yet time to aggravate that.
Though the command was strong and clear, the two previously blind men were not able to keep quiet – Matthew 9:31, “But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.” This was disobedience and therefore wrong, yet it was disobedience born out of overwhelming joy.
Unlike these formerly blind men, all believers today have been charged by the Lord to proclaim Him to others. Yet how many of us are so eager to spread the news about Jesus to everyone? There is nothing greater to talk about than the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He is and all that He has done, and our joy in Him should overwhelm us so that we cannot contain our praise.
The response of the blind men was to believe in Jesus. But not everyone responds this way. Next, we see…
2. The Multitude Marvels – Matthew 9:32-33
Here we find the second and more common response to Jesus’ ministry. It comes from the crowd after Jesus performs another miracle. Matthew 9:32 describes the scene, “As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.”
There are many things that can cause an inability to speak, but the cause in this case is clearly stated. The man is demonized. While there is a difference between sicknesses and demonic workings (Matt. 10:8), the demons do have the power to cause physical afflictions. In this case, the demon made the man mute.[10] We might wonder why Matthew includes the healing of a demon-possessed man at this point, especially since he already showed the power of Jesus over the demonic when He cast demons out of the two Gadarene demoniacs (Matt. 8:28–34). The point that Matthew makes here is not just the miracle, but the response to the miracle.
Matthew 9:33 says, “And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.” Simply and effortlessly, Jesus cast out the demon, released the man from bondage to evil, and the man immediately regained his ability to speak. Those who have been set free by Jesus, speak for Jesus, which is exactly what Jesus commissions His disciples to do in Matthew 10.
But the focus of the story is not so much the response of the healed man as the response of the crowd: “And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”” (Matt. 9:33). Here, Matthew summarizes the general effect produced upon the people. This is how the multitudes responded, not just to this miracle, but to all that Jesus had done. The people are speaking of all that they have witnessed and heard from other witnesses. In the entire history of Israel, nothing has ever appeared that compares to all that Jesus has just done.[11]
Did the multitudes believe that Jesus was the Messiah? Did they come to Him for salvation? Did they follow Him as disciples? Not most of them. They marveled, but their amazement did not turn into personal faith in Jesus. Several times Jesus rebukes the crowd for seeking the miracles and not Him. For example, after Jesus fed the 5000, He says in John 6:26, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” They followed Jesus for the free food and the entertainment of the miracles. Free stuff and entertainment can attract a crowd but don’t expect that to produce faith in Christ. That only happens as the Holy Spirit works to convict people of their sin and need for a Savior through the faithful proclamation of God’s word.
Many people today believe that Jesus was a good person and they marvel at what He said and did. Yet they do not believe Him to be the Messiah. They reject the fact that He is God in human flesh Who has come to save mankind from their sins by being a substitutionary sin offering. They marvel at Jesus’ teachings and His life, but they do not want to follow Him. They pick and choose which of Jesus’ teachings they like. They throw out the rest of the truth about Jesus to justify their sin. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Luke 11:23). The multitude marveled. They were amazed, but that was all.
Then we come to the third response to Jesus:
3. The Pharisees Blaspheme Jesus – Matthew 9:34
The third response to Jesus’ ministry is by those who are openly against Him as seen in Matthew 9:34, “But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”” Given all that Jesus had done, it should have been clear who Jesus was—especially to the Pharisees, who were so learned in the prophetic scriptures. And yet, when someone brought a man to Jesus who couldn’t speak because of a demon that was afflicting Him – and when Jesus cast the demon out, and the man began to speak – the Pharisees refused to believe.
Since they could not refute what had happened, they denied the means by which it occurred. They couldn’t deny the miracles, but they could still deny Christ. The Pharisees charged that Jesus was in league with Satan whom they call “the ruler of the demons.” They proclaimed the good that Jesus performed to be from evil. Later, in Matthew 12, Jesus will elaborate further on this attitude, and He will relate it to the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, a sin that will not be forgiven.
Some people have so hardened their hearts towards God that they want nothing to do with God or Christ. They may even blaspheme the Holy Spirit by attributing Christ’s power to Satan rather than God. They have crossed a line of no return with God where they can no longer be forgiven.
The committed unbeliever will not believe regardless of any facts or reason no matter how obvious and convincing. You cannot debate someone into the kingdom simply because a person who is dedicated to darkness refuses to see the light regardless of the intensity of the light. The only hope of such a person is that their spiritual blindness would be lifted, they would see their sinfulness, repent, and turn to Jesus. Otherwise, they are doomed for all eternity in their sin.
How can we tell when this has happened to someone? We can’t. We don’t know people’s hearts, and so we can’t know for sure when someone has completely rejected Christ. Our mission continues to be to pray for them to come to Christ and proclaim the gospel of Christ because only God knows when someone has truly crossed that line.
There are three responses to Jesus and only one leads to eternal life. The two blind men exemplify salvation. They knew their need and believed Jesus could rescue them. They cried out for His mercy and received it by faith.
The opposite response is the open criticism and rejection of the Pharisees. They condemned themselves in their unbelief.
The crowds were amazed, but their hearts were not turned. If their amazement does not turn to faith in Jesus Christ, they remain just as condemned in unbelief as those who reject and blaspheme Christ.
Matthew has shown us the great authority and power of Jesus Christ in all these miracles. Each of them shows us who Jesus is and how He can save us from sin. How will you respond to Jesus today? I urge you. Believe in Jesus Christ—that He is the Messiah, the King, the Son of God. Believe that He died on the cross so that your sins could be forgiven and you could be justified, made right with God in Christ. Turn from your sin and yourself. Turn to Christ.
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[1] Greg Allen, No ‘Neutrality’ About Jesus! https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2005/110505.htm
[2] James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2001), 158.
[3] Scott Harris, Three Responses to Jesus – Matthew 9:27-34. https://www.gracebibleny.org/three-responses-to-jesus-matthew-927-34. I adapted Harris’ outline and drew from some of his points.
[4] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 36.
[5] Larry Pierce, The Outline of Biblical Usage. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2896/nkjv/tr/0-1/
[6] Craig S. Keener, Matthew, vol. 1, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), Mt 9:27–29.
[7] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 233.
[8] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 233.
[9] Daniel M. Doriani, Matthew & 2, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, vol. 1, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), 403.
[10] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 36.
[11] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Matthew’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 380.
