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Matthew 9:29  (King James Version)
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<< Matthew 9:28   Matthew 9:30 >>


Matthew 9:27-30

In this healing miracle, Jesus Christ heals two blind men in Capernaum, probably in Peter's house (Matthew 9:27-31). Peter saw Jesus work several miracles in his house: the healing of his mother-in-law, the healing of the paralytic who was let down through the roof to come before Him, and this restoration of sight to the blind men.

Blindness seems to have been a more common problem in biblical times than today. Afflictions in those times were worse because people lived under poorer conditions and had limited access to medical care, if any was available at all. Nevertheless, these people had hope, for Isaiah 35:5 prophesies of the Messiah and His work: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped." This prophecy has a physical and a spiritual fulfillment. When Christ came to earth in the flesh, He healed many physically blind people. More importantly, though, He brought spiritual healing to many by opening their minds to see principles that lead to spiritual life.

Blindness is an appropriate description of sin's effect. For example, a prophecy in Zephaniah 1:17 says, "I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD." Sin causes people to grope spiritually at noon just as the blind grope in darkness (Deuteronomy 28:29). Sin puts us in darkness as blindness does, but spiritual darkness is a far worse darkness than its physical counterpart.

Spiritual blindness has only one remedy: Jesus Christ dwelling in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. In this healing of the two blind men, Jesus was physically before them, but for Christians, He is spiritually and personally available to us through the indwelling of His Spirit (John 14:20-23).

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing Two Blind Men (Part One)



Matthew 9:27-29

Christ's statement—saying that we will receive according to faith—is both an inspiration and a challenge to faith. In many cases, we misunderstand what He says. He does not mean that we will receive in proportion to our faith but that we will receive because we believe.

Why did He ask if they believed? This took place immediately after restoring a young girl to life, and a lot of people were milling around, undoubtedly abuzz at what they heard had occurred. Matthew tells us in verse 25: "But when the crowd was put outside . . .," and in verse 26, there was a report. Then Jesus left the area. Undoubtedly, a crowd followed Him because, even if it were just out of curiosity, they wanted to see what He would do next.

It is interesting that Jesus took these men inside the house and away from the crowd before He did what He did. Why? The context does not say exactly, but there is enough here to speculate about why He did so. It has to do with the question, "Do you believe?" Jesus likely wanted to see what their response would be. What kind of conviction did they really have? Were they asking merely out of curiosity?

Matthew calls them "men," so undoubtedly, these were adults, not children. Were they going to be able to bear the responsibility of having sight? Whenever God does something for us, even though it is a freely given gift, He is not obligated to do it except as a result of His own promise. Yet, when He does something for us, it does put us under obligation.

Jesus probably wanted to see whether the conviction of these men was of a high enough quality that they would make good use of what He was about to bestow on them. When He asked the question about their faith, it was a test, not just to see if they believed He could heal them right in this moment, but if they could carry their conviction into the new, more responsible life that would result from their healing.

How many people do we know to whom God has given a great gift—maybe of healing—and then, later on, they leave the church or completely dissipate the gift that they received? I doubt God begrudges it to them at all, but that is not the point. The recipients of such gifts fail to take advantage of them in God's service, which is part of the reason why Christ asked the question.

If we get anything out of these three verses, it is that God does not heal in proportion to our faith. He heals because we believe Him.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Faith and Prayer



Matthew 9:29-30

Christ does not always touch the afflicted in healing, but in each of the four miracles involving the blind, He touches them, which was appropriate to their condition. They could not see Him, but they could feel His touch.

He used a variety of methods in touching them, as the occasion warranted. In healing these two men and Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), Jesus simply touches the eyes. In Mark 8:22-26, Christ spits on the blind man's eyes then puts His hands on them. As the blindness is not completely healed, He lays His hands on them again. In the healing in John 9:1-41, He spits on the ground to make clay, then puts the clay on the man's eyes and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The blind's sense of touch is heightened, so to feel Christ the healer perform this miracle would never be forgotten.

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing Two Blind Men (Part Two)



Matthew 9:18-30

Jesus and His apostles touched the sick when they healed, yet miracles often occurred without this physical act. The miraculous power to heal derives from God's authority, not from the physical touch of the hands.

Martin G. Collins
Basic Doctrines: The Laying On of Hands



Matthew 9:27-30

As Christ passes by, the two blind men have the ultimate opportunity, and they take advantage of it. He did not pass by every day. If the two men had not pursued Him for healing at once, they may never have had another opportunity to be healed. Spiritually, the same is true for everyone. God opens doors of opportunity for salvation and service, but very few take Him up on it: "For many are called but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14). A person must pass through those doors quickly, or they will close and the opportunity will be forever squandered (Matthew 25:6-12; Revelation 3:20). A Christian may also miss rendering service to others because he fails to take advantage of opportunities. With opportunities come blessings, and if an opportunity is missed, so are the blessings.

If we want blessings from Christ, we must follow Him. The blind men desired physical sight and so followed Him. Those who are indifferent in their faithfulness to Christ will have trouble receiving any blessing from Him, for He treats His followers differently from those who do not follow Him. At times, even a church member will complain of a lack of God's blessings in his life, but it may be that he has not followed Christ diligently and recognized the abundance of spiritual blessings he has received. God even goes so far as to warn His ministers that, if we fail to take to heart His warning about due diligence in serving Him with integrity, He will curse us (Malachi 2:1-2).

Christ calls, "Follow Me!" (Matthew 4:19; 8:22; Luke 18:22), but following is not easy because, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Mark 8:34).

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing Two Blind Men (Part One)



Matthew 9:27-30

With an attitude of humility (Proverbs 15:33), the blind men seek Jesus' mercy in healing, giving Him praise and honor. We have no merits for any blessing from God. As Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9, these things are given by grace, not because of anything we are or have done.

The blind men not only honor Christ in their request, but also humble themselves. They do not ask Him to be just to them, for all have sinned and deserve death (Romans 3:23), but in their humility they ask for mercy. Had they asked for justice, they would have been asking for their "rights." Demanding rights is an arrogant approach, the opposite of humility. In emphasizing rights, a person ignores his responsibilities.

Another positive characteristic the blind men exemplify is that they continue to follow Christ until they receive an answer to their request—they persevere. In spite of the crowds, they keep following Him along the road, and when He stops and enters a house, they do not give up but go into the house after Him. When we do not receive an answer to a prayer the first few times we ask, we often quit praying and sometimes indirectly accuse God of failing to act on our behalf. However, delay in answering prayer is not necessarily denial. It may be to test our faith and strengthen it.

If we desire blessings from God, we have to persevere in pursuing them. God does not usually give special blessings to those who seek them half-heartedly. As parents, we use the same method with our own children. We sometimes delay our response until we know whether they are truly sincere in their request, and until we determine how important it is to them and how hard they are willing to work for it.

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing Two Blind Men (Part One)



Matthew 9:29

Jesus says, "According to your faith let it be to you," similar to His words to the centurion whose servant was dying in Matthew 8:13. In both cases, the condition for the miraculous cure is faith. Faith opens the door for divine blessing; its lack closes the door. Christ could do few mighty works in Nazareth due to the people's lack of faith (Matthew 13:57-58). Similarly, salvation is a great work, but unbelief prevents it. It is important to study the Word of God to increase faith, as it comes by hearing or reading God's Word (Romans 10:17).

"Their eyes were opened" is more than a description of a literal action; it is also a Hebrew figure of speech. The Jews thought of blind eyes as "shut," and seeing eyes as "open." Jesus removes two men's blindness—they can now see and comprehend what was once closed to them. Thus, the opening of the eyes also suggests spiritual understanding.

Most people do not grasp the value or the meaning of Scripture, but Christ can open a person's eyes to enable him to understand His Word just as He did for His disciples after His resurrection (Luke 24:16-31, 45). The psalmist prays, "Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law" (Psalm 119:18).

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing Two Blind Men (Part Two)




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Matthew 9:29:

Exodus 15:26
Matthew 9:27-30

 

<< Matthew 9:28   Matthew 9:30 >>



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