And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed [him], crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us!” 28 When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. 29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
32 As they were going out, a demoniac who could not speak was brought to him, 33 and when the demon was driven out the mute person spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons (Mt. 9:27-34).”
Jesus showed in Matthew chapters eight and nine that he is a healer of all things physical and spiritual. In these two instances, Jesus gave sight to the blind and cast out a demon from a mute person. As Jesus was leaving the house of Jairus, two blind men followed him and addressed him as “Son of David (v. 27),” the Messiah. When Jesus did not answer them, the blind men followed him into the house of one of the disciples. Jesus asked them if they believed he had the power to heal them, to give them the gift of sight, and they answered him with profound respect, “Yes, Lord (v. 28).” Even though faith was Jesus’ requirement for healing the blind men, it was Jesus who performed the miracle and both their physical and spiritual sight were healed. Jesus told them not to speak about their cure, but the men could not keep the miracle secret.
When the men who were cured were leaving the house, another man who was rendered dumb by demonic possession was brought to Jesus who performed an exorcism and the man was freed from the demon and able to speak. The crowds were amazed at Jesus’ miracles. The evil demons recognized Jesus’ divinity (Lk. 4:34; Mt. 8:29) and the crowd recognized that there was something special about Jesus, but the obstinate spiritual leaders of the people who were filled with pride and arrogance rejected Jesus. In an effort to discredit him, the Pharisees accused Jesus of doing his signs and wonders through the power of demons.
Almighty God, open the eyes of our understanding that we may walk in your ways and not grow weary of doing good. Grant us patience and perseverance as we live in the hope of your glory. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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