My name is Sean, for those of you who know me, and I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.
It's my joy and privilege to preach God's word to you this morning.
Please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 9.
Matthew chapter 9 verses 27 to 34.
We normally stand for the reading of God's word, but I'm just going to have you guys sit today.
I will read for us Matthew chapter 9 verses 27 to 34.
Let me pray.
Father, open up your word to us.
That we might see the glory, the authority, the compassion, and mercy of Jesus Christ our Savior.
And through him that we might be reconciled to you, to love you, to worship you forever.
Speak to us in your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
I'm going to read it out loud for us. Matthew chapter 9 verses 27 to 34.
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud,
Have mercy on us, son of David.
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.
Then he touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it done to you.
And their eyes were opened.
And Jesus sternly warned them, See that no one knows about it.
But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him.
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.
But the Pharisees said, He casts out demons by the prince of demons.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
When it comes to Christianity, many people have qualms and questions about this doctrine or that,
this ethical requirement or that.
But the central question of Christianity is, Who is Jesus?
Because if Jesus is who he said he is,
if he really is the Messiah whom God has sent,
if he really is the Son of God,
if he really is the atoning sacrifice, the Lamb of God,
and if really Christianity is not a man-made religion,
but the truth of God,
then we are in no position to quibble about this or that.
We must believe in Jesus and follow him,
or else be found to be resisting God himself.
After Jesus finished his first magisterial sermon,
the Sermon on the Mount that we went through recently in Matthew chapters 5 to 7,
he said in chapter 7, 28 to 29,
The crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he was teaching them as one who had authority and not as their scribes.
And then Matthew has been spending the next subsequent two chapters,
chapters 8 and 9,
to demonstrate to us that authority that Jesus had
by recounting nine miracle stories in three groups of three.
To show us the kind and the extent of authority that Jesus had over diseases,
over natural disasters, over demons,
and even over death itself.
And we're at the very end of that section of Matthew,
looking at the last two miracles that Jesus did in this section.
Matthew's aim in retelling these stories is this,
to show us that there is no one like Jesus,
and we must believe in him.
We're going to first talk about,
it's a very simple message and a short message
to accommodate our setting here.
My two points are that just who Jesus is,
and what we must do.
That's going to be my outline for the morning.
Let's first look at who Jesus is.
Having just raised a ruler's daughter from the dead in the preceding passage,
Jesus is now moving to a new location,
when it says in verse 27,
two blind men start following Jesus.
They're crying aloud,
have mercy on us, son of David.
But Jesus doesn't heal the blind men right then and there in public,
on the road.
No, he says in verse 28,
that when he entered the house,
then the blind men came to him,
and Jesus then starts interacting with them.
We are not told whose house this is.
There are times when Matthew specifies whose house Jesus was in.
For example, we are told that Jesus entered Peter's house,
in chapter 8, verse 14,
that he was in the ruler's house in chapter 9, verse 23,
and then he was in the house of Simon the leper in chapter 26, verse 6.
But there are also several times in the gospel
when we are told without any additional detail
that he just simply entered the house.
In such cases,
it seems most likely that Matthew is referring to Jesus' family home,
his parents' house in Capernaum.
It's only after entering his house that Jesus addresses the blind men.
Do you believe that I am able to do this?
And they reply,
Yes, Lord,
in verse 28.
It's easy to gloss over this,
but this is quite the profession of faith.
These blind men believe that Jesus can give them sight.
Think of the people in your life
that you have the greatest confidence and trust in.
You trust them to get anything that you ask them to do done.
They're very reliable, dependable people.
You ask them for big things sometimes.
You ask them to do things for planning your wedding.
But imagine,
would you trust them to open the eyes of the blind?
You wouldn't.
That would be a misplaced confidence.
Because even with all the advances in modern medicine,
most forms of blindness have no cure.
Yet these two blind men reply in the affirmative,
Yes, Lord.
Yes, we believe that you can make us see.
And it says in verses 29 to 30
that Jesus touched their eyes and said,
According to your faith be it done to you.
And their eyes were opened.
A simple touch,
a simple word.
And the two men who once were blind,
now see.
And that's meant to raise the question in our minds,
what kind of man is this?
Who is Jesus?
How does he have such authority?
And then we get to the last miracle story of this section.
As Jesus and his disciples are leaving,
a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him.
Even though it's translated here as demon-oppressed,
here as opposed to demon-possessed,
as we saw in chapter 8, verse 28,
the Greek word behind the two expressions are exactly the same.
It means literally that they were demonized,
meaning that they were under some kind of controlling influence of the demon.
Demon has taken residence within this man.
In the case of the gathering demoniacs in chapter 8 that we saw,
the demon spoke through the man that they inhabited.
But in this case, the demon makes the man mute,
which shows us that the demons,
the different kinds of demons who have different effects on their hosts.
But Jesus' reaction in both cases is the same.
It says in verse 23 that the demon had been cast out.
Matthew is not at all interested in capturing the drama
or the mechanics of exorcisms.
He doesn't give us any detail about how it went down.
He simply tells us that the demon was cast out by Jesus.
He who has authority over demons can cast out demons.
It's as simple as that.
And that's Matthew's point.
And Matthew's point is that Jesus has that authority,
not only over the visible created world,
the diseases, the natural disasters, and death,
but also over the invisible created world,
the realm of spirits, angels, and demons.
The crowds understandably marvel in verse 33,
and they say,
never was anything like this seen in Israel.
This is a remarkable statement for these Jews to make
because there have been other exorcists in the history of Israel.
In 1 Samuel 16, verse 23,
when an evil spirit came upon King Saul and tormented him,
David played the liar,
and the spirit departed from him.
But in that situation,
the evil spirit always returned time and time again to torment Saul.
The exorcism was not permanent in that situation.
But Jesus casts out demons once and for all
with the word of his mouth.
That's the difference.
There were also Old Testament prophets who raised the dead.
You might recall Elijah,
who raised the dead son of the widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17,
but that was not an easy affair.
It was quite an involved affair.
He had to earnestly cry out to God in prayer,
and then he had to lay himself out on top of the child three times
before the child began consciousness and came back to life.
Similarly, Elijah in 2 Kings 4,
when he raised the Shimonite's son,
he also had to put his staff on the child for a bit,
which didn't work,
and then he had to come and pray earnestly
and lay himself out for probably maximal physical context
and spiritual healing power.
And that had to happen multiple times
before the child regained life.
But Jesus,
when he raised the ruler's daughter in chapter 9, verse 25,
simply took her by the hand,
and the girl arose.
Moreover,
as Todd preached on a couple weeks ago,
what manner of man ever claimed to forgive sins?
Jesus did that to the paralytic in chapter 9, verse 2.
And the Pharisees were understandably upset,
and they objected to Jesus' claim,
and they murmured among themselves,
this man is blaspheming,
for who can forgive sins but God alone?
But Jesus claimed that unique divine authority for himself,
and Jesus possessed that authority in himself.
So the crowds marveled, saying,
never was anything like this seen in Israel.
Never before was there anyone like Jesus.
And never again will there be someone like Jesus.
Who then is this man?
How does he have such authority?
We're given several important hints in this passage.
And first,
is that Jesus is addressed by the two blind men in this story,
in verse 27,
as the son of David.
Jesus was introduced to us with this title
at the very beginning of Matthew's Gospel,
chapter 1, verse 1,
the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David.
David was the great king of Israel,
to whom God had made this promise,
in 2 Samuel 7, 12-14.
I will raise up your offspring after you,
who shall come from your body,
and I will establish his kingdom.
He shall build a house for my name,
and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son.
This prophecy was fulfilled in an immediate sense
by King Solomon,
who reigned after his father David,
and built the temple of the Lord.
But Solomon did not fulfill this prophecy
in an ultimate sense,
because the Davidic dynasty,
along with the temple,
came crumbling down at the Babylonian exile.
But nonetheless,
in Jeremiah 23, verses 14-17,
God renewed his promise of a Davidic king,
the Messiah,
to his exiled people in Babylon.
And he said,
Behold,
the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will fulfill the promise
I made to the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.
In those days and at that time,
I will cause a righteous branch
to spring up for David,
and he shall execute justice
and righteousness in the land.
In those days,
Judah will be saved,
and Jerusalem will dwell securely.
And this is the name
by which it will be called,
The Lord is our righteousness.
For thus says the Lord,
David shall never lack a man
to sit on the throne
of the house of Israel.
That ancient promise
is finally being fulfilled
in Jesus the Christ,
which means the anointed one,
the prophesied king,
the messianic king.
And that's what it means
that he is the son of David.
The second clue is that Jesus
is also addressed by the blind men
in verse 28 as Lord.
Skeptics of scripture
are quick to point out
that the word Lord
in Greek can simply mean sir.
It could simply mean
a polite differential term
in the same way
people in the south
call everybody that's every male
that occupies a higher social station
than them sir.
And they explain that
that's just what it means here.
It just means sir.
However, that doesn't go deep enough
in its interpretation.
Between Matthew chapters 1 to 6,
only God is ever called Lord
in all six of those early chapters.
About 10 times.
The first time that that word
is applied to anyone
other than God
is in chapter 7,
verse 21 to 23.
When Jesus says,
not everyone who says to me,
Lord, Lord,
will enter the kingdom of heaven.
But the one who does the will
of my father who is in heaven.
On that day,
many will say to me,
Lord, Lord,
did we not prophesy in your name
and cast out demons in your name
and do many mighty works
in your name
and then I will declare to them,
I never knew you.
Depart from me,
you workers of lawlessness.
So the first time
that this title,
Lord,
is applied to anyone
other than God,
first time that Jesus
applies this title
to himself,
he claims to be
the cosmic end time
judge and ruler
of the universe.
So once again,
appropriating divine prerogatives
for himself
as he has done
throughout the gospel.
This is intentional.
In Matthew chapter 3,
verse 3,
Matthew quotes Isaiah 40,
verse 3,
and says that
John the Baptist
is the one
who fulfills the prophecy
that someone would come
who would prepare
the way of the Lord.
In the original context
of Isaiah,
that Lord is
Lord in all caps.
It's Yahweh.
It's referring to God.
And yet,
when you read on
in Matthew chapter 3,
he tells us that
John the Baptist
is preparing the way
for Jesus.
So again,
Jesus is being equated
to claiming
divine lordship.
Because Jesus is God.
Because as he was,
as God the Father
declared at his baptism
in Matthew chapter 3,
he is the beloved
son of God.
He raises the dead
and casts out demons
and forgives sin
with the word of his mouth
because he is God.
It's no coincidence
that the last two miracles
of this section
are of Jesus
opening the eyes
of the blind
and opening the mouth
of the mute
because those two
are signature miracles
that only God can do
and are characterized
and are associated
with the messianic age.
In Exodus 4, 11,
God says,
who has made man's mouth?
Who makes him mute
or deaf
or seeing
or blind?
Is it not I,
the Lord?
These are divine prerogatives
that Jesus has assumed
for himself.
As we read also
from our call to worship
in Isaiah 35,
he prophesied of a day
when God himself
would come
and save his people.
And on that day,
he said,
the eyes of the blind
shall be opened
and the ears
of the deaf unstopped.
Then shall the lame man
leap like a deer
and the tongue
of the mute
sing for joy.
This is why
these are the signs
and these are the representations
of the messianic age
and that's why
Matthew mentions
and singles these miracles out
of a sea of miracles
that he could have used.
He's saying
the Messiah is here.
Jesus is God
in the flesh.
But there is still
one more way
that Jesus is unlike
any other ruler
or deliverer
that has ever lived.
I noted earlier
that Jesus does not
heal the two blind men
in public.
He waits for a more
private setting.
In verses 30 to 31,
we see why
Jesus waited
until he was inside
the house.
He says,
Jesus sternly warned them,
see that no one
knows about it.
Jesus is not telling them
to keep the fact
that they were healed
of their blindness secret.
If you think about that
for one minute,
you realize that
that would be
an impossible request.
How do two blind men
who used to not
be able to see
but now can see
hide that fact
from anyone around them?
That's impossible
to hide
unless they pretend
that they're blind
for the rest of their lives.
That's not what
Jesus is talking about.
He's telling them
to hide,
keep his identity
concealed.
They know who he is,
the son of David,
the Christ,
the Messiah,
the Lord,
and he's telling them
to not make that known.
The common standard Bible,
the Christian standard Bible,
CSB translates it this way.
Instead of saying nothing
to anyone,
it says,
make sure no one finds out.
He doesn't want them
to find out who he is.
That's why in verse 31,
when they don't listen to him
and they go out
and telling people
what happened,
it says that they went away
and spread his fame
through all that district.
That's what Jesus
was concerned about.
His identity being revealed,
his fame spreading
among the crowds.
This secrecy,
it fits the pattern
of Jesus' ministry.
Earlier in chapter 9,
verse 25,
when Jesus was raising
the ruler's daughter
from the dead,
he first made sure
that the crowd
had been put outside
of the house
before he did the miracle.
Later in 12, 16,
after healing
many of those
who followed Jesus,
he ordered them
not to make him known.
In Matthew 16, 19-21,
after Peter confesses
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Messiah,
Jesus tells his disciples,
tell no one,
he strictly charges
the disciples
to tell no one
that he is the Christ.
And then finally
in chapter 17, verse 9,
after temporarily revealing
his divine glory
at the transfiguration,
Jesus tells his disciples,
tell no one the vision
until the Son of Man
is raised from the dead.
But why does Jesus
hide the fact
that he is the Messiah,
the Christ?
Why does he not reveal
his full glory and power
to everyone
for all to see?
Because Jesus
is not interested
in stirring up
people's misguided
zeal,
messianic fervor.
He is not interested
in instigating
a revolution
and overthrowing Caesar.
His goal wasn't
to amass
as many supporters
and followers
as he could
because he wasn't
trying to consolidate
influence and power
to make himself
untouchable,
which is what
earthly rulers
tried to do.
Instead,
Jesus knew
that his destiny
was to suffer
and die
on the cross
for the sins
of many
as the sacrificial
Lamb of God.
Jesus could have
overthrown Caesar
if he wanted to.
Could the man
who opened
the eyes
of the blind
instead
strike people blind?
Of course he could.
Could the man
who
stopped
and calmed
a furious storm
with the word
of his mouth
make a storm
erupt
to overtake
the strongholds
of his enemies?
Of course he could
do that.
Could the man
who raised
someone from
the dead
also strike
someone dead?
He is the Lord
of life
and of all creation.
Of course he could
do that.
In Matthew 26,
53,
Jesus tells
his disciples
explicitly that
if he wanted to,
he could appeal
to his heavenly
father and he would
at once send
more than 12
legions of angels
to protect him
and fight for him.
But why
doesn't Jesus
do that?
The Pharisees
here
detract from
Jesus
and slander
Jesus
in verse 34.
He casts
out demons
by the prince
of demons.
But Jesus
does nothing
to retaliate.
He doesn't
even defend
himself against
their false
argument
until later
in chapter 12.
Jesus
minds his own
business
and continues
to proclaim
the good news
of the kingdom
of God
because that
is what he
came to do.
Jesus is a man
like no other
and he saves
us in a manner
like no other.
Jesus
state his
mission very
clearly
two passages
ago that Todd
preached on
in chapter 9
verse 12 to 13.
Those who are
well have no
need of a physician
but those
who are sick
go and learn
what this means.
I desire mercy
and not sacrifice
for I came
not to call
the righteous
but sinners.
the two
blind men
said to
Jesus
in verse 27
have mercy
on us
son of David
and that's
exactly what
Jesus did.
If that is
who Jesus
is
and what
he came
to do
then how
should we
respond?
What must
we do?
unless I
missed something
I don't
think anyone
here is
physically
blind
but even
if you
and I
are not
physically
blind
all of
us
are
spiritually
blind
by
default
later in
chapters 15
and 23
Jesus
repeatedly
rebukes
the Jewish
leaders
of his
day
for being
spiritually
blind
he says
in Matthew
15
14
let them
alone
they are
blind
guides
and if
the blind
lead
the blind
both will
fall into
a pit
that is
the unfortunate
condition
of every
man
and every
woman
apart from
Jesus
Christ
2nd Corinthians
4
4 says
that the
God of
this
world
namely
Satan
the prince
of demons
the sinful
world
has blinded
the minds
of the
unbelievers
to keep
them from
seeing the
light of
the gospel
of the
glory of
Christ
who is
the image
of God
not all
of us
have
blindness
of the
eyes
but all
of us
do have
by default
apart from
Christ
blindness
of the
mind
so what
then must
we do
we must
take our
cue from
the two
blind
men
who cry
out to
Jesus
for mercy
have
mercy
on us
son of
David
mercy
is not
a wage
or an
award
that we
earn
it's
rather
a pardon
for guilty
sinners
it's
favor
for the
undeserving
we
cannot
attain
spiritual
sight
or some
kind
of
spiritual
enlightenment
by meditating
for long
enough
or piling
up enough
merit
or good
deeds
no
spiritual
sight
is given
as a
gift
by Jesus
to those
who
humble
themselves
those
who
admit
that
they
are
sinners
and
acknowledge
their
need
for
mercy
that's
why
if
you're
that
person
that
God
spoke
to
through
Lauren's
prophecy
earlier
and you
feel
that
your
sins
are
too
great
that
you
cannot
possibly
be
saved
or you
cannot
possibly
be
loved
actually
you are
exactly
the kind
of person
who can
receive
the mercy
of God
because
you're
humbling
yourself
and
acknowledging
your need
for mercy
because mercy
is not
merit
it is
given to
the undeserving
it is
pardoned for
guilty
sinners
the biblical
term for
this
humbling
of
yourself
to
receive
God's
mercy
is
faith
believing
in
Jesus
asked
in
verse
28
do
you
believe
that
I
am
able
to
do
this
and
it's
only
when
the
blind
men
reply
yes
Lord
Jesus
says
according
to
your
faith
let
it
be
done
to
you
faith
as
a
prerequisite
for
healing
is
attested
in
numerous
places
in
scripture
later
in
chapter
13
of
Matthew
it
says
that
Jesus
did
not
do
many
mighty
works
in
that
place
because
of
their
unbelief
faith
precedes
these
mighty
works
of
healing
we
often
want
God
to
work
on
our
terms
but
the
proper
posture
is
to
surrender
to
God
and
submit
ourselves
to
him
and
work
and
live
according
to
his
terms
belief
precedes
healing
and
just
as
faith
is
a
prerequisite
for
the
healing
of
physical
blindness
so
it
is
a
prerequisite
for
the
healing
of
spiritual
blindness
non-Christians
often say
I will
believe
in
Jesus
when
I
can
see
the
spiritual
realities
that
you
speak
of
it's
the
materialist
objection
I
will
only
believe
what
I
can
see
with
my
physical
eyes
however
the
spiritual
reality
is
precisely
the
opposite
we
must
first
believe
in order
to
see
the
blind
men
believe
Jesus
first
then
they
are
healed
in
accordance
with
their
faith
Augustine
a
fourth
century
theologian
and
pastor
put
it
this
way
faith
is
to
believe
what
you
do
not
see
the
reward
of
this
faith
is
to
see
what
you
believe
Anselm
an
11th
century
Christian
pastor
puts
it
similarly
let
me
seek
you
he's
talking
to
God
praying
to
God
let
me
seek
you
in
desiring
you
let
me
desire
you
in
seeking
you
let
me
find
you
in
loving
you
let
me
love
you
in
finding
you
for
I
do
not
seek
to
understand
so
that
I
may
believe
but
I
believe
so
that
I
may
understand
I
often
take
my
three
girls
out
to
swim
during
the
summer
we're
just
out
yesterday
at the
Cambridge
public
pool
and
my
youngest
is
just
learning
how
to
float
and
no
matter
how
many
times
I
assure
her
trust
me
if
you
just
stretch
out
and
let
yourself
go
I
keep
my
hand
under
you
and
you
will
float
everyone
floats
the
water
will
hold
you
she
it
took
her
maybe
two
years
to
believe
me
and
she
is
finally
starting
to
let
herself
go
no
matter
how
many
times
I
tell
her
that
that's
the
case
it's
not
until
she
actually
lets
go
that
she
begins
to
know
that
she
can
float
!
that
the
water
can
support
her
weight
she's
finally
beginning
to
understand
the
freedom
of
floating
believe
what
you
do
not
see
and
you
will
see
what
you
believe
do
you
believe
that
Jesus
is
Lord
do
you
believe
that
he
is
the
son
of
God
do
you
believe
that
Jesus
is
able
to
save
you
do
you
believe
that
Jesus
died
on the
cross
for
your
sins
and
was
raised
from
the
dead
on
the
third
day
all
those
who
say
yes
to
that
question
can
sing
and
testify
unreservedly
what we
sang earlier
this morning
amazing
grace
how sweet
the sound
that saved
a wretch
like me
I once
was lost
but now
I'm found
I was
blind
but now
I see
let's pray
together
yes
father
that is
a true
statement
we were
all once
blind
but in
your
mercy
you have
opened
our eyes
to see
your truth
your love
your salvation
and God
for that
you deserve
all the
glory
make us
Lord
glad
recipients
of your
mercy
and if
there's
anyone
here
who has
not yet
surrendered
to that
mercy
help
them
open
their
blind
eyes
help
them
to let
go
entrust
themselves
to
Jesus
Christ
our
Lord
our
only
Savior
in
his
precious
name
we
pray
amen
!
Thank you.