Introduction

‘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.’ Matthew 9:27-31

After raising Jairus’ daughter back to life, two blind men follow Jesus.

There are some people who suggest that the record of the two blind men here in Matthew 9:27-31 is somehow related to the recording of the blind man Bartimaeus in Matthew 20:29-34 / Mark 10:46-52 / Luke 18:35-43.

However, there is no evidence of this from the scriptures and it also wouldn’t make any sense. Just because the blind men essentially say the same thing in both passages doesn’t mean they are the same event.

In Matthew 20:29-34 the healing of Bartimaeus takes place as Jesus the King is beginning to make His way to Jerusalem, Matthew 20:17. The Matthew 9:27-31 event took place as Jesus left the home of Jairus after raising the little girl and returned to the place He was staying, Matthew 9:18-26.

If it were the same event, this would imply that Jesus failed to heal these two men and somehow He would have to heal them again later.

Also, it would make no sense for Matthew to record the same blind healing event twice. I believe that these are two different blind men in two different places.

Blindness

We know that blindness is a horrible disability today but in Bible times it must have been so much worse. There was no way you could work and no benefit system to help you, which meant you had no way to sustain yourself. There was no Braille available.

A blind man in Bible times wasn’t permitted to approach the altar or give offerings to the Lord, which meant they could never become priests, Leviticus 21:18-23.

God, however, instituted some measures so that the needs of a blind person could be met and ensured that no one would mistreat them or take advantage of them, Deuteronomy 27:18. It’s probable that these two blind men were beggars who looked for help from anyone who passed by.

They recognised that Jesus was the Son of David, the Messiah, Isaiah 9:7 / Matthew 6:7 / Matthew 6:11 / Matthew 6:20 / Matthew 6:28 / Matthew 6:24 / Revelation 22:16.

Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning the words, ‘Son of David.’

‘Son of David was the same as if they had called him Messiah. Two things here are worthy of remark: 1. That it was a generally received opinion at this time in Judea, that the Messiah should be son of David, John 7:42. 2. That Jesus Christ was generally and incontestably acknowledged as coming from this stock, Matthew 12:23.’

Coffman, in his commentary, says the following, concerning being blind.

‘From various Old Testament passages, it is clear that blindness is a type of sin, Deuteronomy 28:29 / Isaiah 59:10 / Job 12:25 / Zephaniah 1:17 / Isaiah 29:8 / Ephesians 5:8 / Matthew 15:14. Several examples of Jesus’ restoring sight to the blind are recorded and were prophetically included as a positive mark of the Messiah’s power when he should be revealed. Isaiah said of the Messiah and his times, ‘then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,’ Isaiah 35:5.’

They followed Jesus and cried out for mercy, Isaiah 35:5 / Matthew 12:23 / Matthew 15:22 / Matthew 20:31 / Matthew 21:9 / Matthew 21:15 / Matthew 22:44-45. They followed Jesus indoors which is a demonstration of their faith, Hebrews 11:6.

Jesus asks them if they think He is able to heal them. In other words, Jesus is asking, do they really believe He is who they claimed Him to be? As a result of their faith in Jesus, they were healed, Matthew 9:22 / Matthew 8:3.

Jesus then warns them sternly, not to tell anyone else about this, Matthew 8:4 / Mark 5:43, however, maybe understandably they did the opposite, they told everyone what had happened, Matthew 4:24 / Matthew 14:1.

Life Changing

Imagine being transformed from a life of darkness to a life of light, Luke 4:18. Assuming they were blind from birth, imagine these blind men going home and seeing their families or children for the first time. Imagine seeing colour for the first time. Imagine them being eligible to become priests, approaching the altar and giving their offerings to the Lord.

I have a good friend who is physically blind and when I spoke to him about his disability, he said, ‘Don’t feel sorry for me because I’m physically blind, feel sorry for those who are spiritually blind’.

His words are very true, Jesus often spoke to the religious leaders of His day and called them blind, Matthew 15:14 / John 9:39.

We may not be able to miraculously heal people of blindness today, but we should continue to preach the Gospel to all people whose minds have been blinded by the evil one, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4.

Jesus doesn’t want to just heal us of our sin, He wants to transform our lives, Romans 12:2 / 2 Corinthians 3:18 / 2 Corinthians 5:17.