08.06.07 Mt. 9:27-31 Two Blind Men Healed
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 answered Him.
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith!” 30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus warned them sternly, “Be sure that no one finds out!” 31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout that whole area.
This is the first of many healings of the blind recorded (Mt. 12:22; 20:30; 21:14; Jn. 9) or alluded to (Mt. 11:5) in the gospels. In fact, this miracle has been called a doublet because of the similar account in Matthew 20:29-34, Mark and Luke 18:35-43. Each one was a literal fulfillment of the prophetic word of Isaiah, who said of the coming Messiah,
5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Isaiah 35:5
The healing of a demon-possessed person who was mute, or “dumb,” was considered to be a messianic miracle, as was the healing of an ordinary person who was born blind.[1] Here were two blind men that the rabbis would not or could not heal.[2] The performance of such an incredible healing also reveals the spiritual blindness of so many religious leaders. Throughout Scripture, sin is often described as moral blindness[3] and the deliverance from sin is described as a removal of this blindness.[4] To say that Jesus is the proverbial “light of the world” has more to do with spiritual blindness than it does with physical blindness. At times Jesus healed by simply touching the person (Mt. 20:34). On another occasion, he used clay mingled with spittle (Jn. 9:6-7), and on another He used moisture from His mouth (Mk. 8:23). But nowhere did He simply speak healing to the blind. The reason for the variation remains a divine secret.
[1]. For a description of the three messianic miracles, see 06.03.08.Q1, 06.03.08.Q2, 06.01.03, John 4:25 as well as the related video link 06.03.08.V. See also the comparison of Dead Sea Scroll fragments 4Q278 and 4Q521 with Luke 4:16-30 at 06.02.02.
[2]. There were four kinds of people that were considered as good as dead, and it was believed that in all four situations their illness was a divine judgment. They were the blind, the leper, the poor, and the childless.
[3]. Deut. 28:29; Isa. 59:10; Job 12:25; Zeph. 1:17.
[4]. Isa. 16:18; 43:8; Eph. 1:8; Mt. 15:14.