WEBVTT 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:12.800 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:20.000 Good morning, friends. 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:30.719 I want to invite you to give praise to our God with me for what God has given to us here at Faith. 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:37.520 The last six to eight weeks or so have been really stretching here at Faith. 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:43.439 We've had weddings and funerals and all kinds of things going on. 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:53.200 And I am so thankful that the Lord has given us a pastoral team where they can step in and fill the pulpit and help me out and bring God's word to us. 00:00:53.280 --> 00:01:04.239 And I'm so thankful that we have so many able and willing musicians to be able to step in and lead us in worship when our normal worship leaders are not able to be here. 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:09.200 Webb has been speaking at Cooperstown at Automatics the last few days. 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:13.200 And Pastor Jeremy's there and Joe Hogberg with them. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:18.719 And so we're missing quite a few people today, but the Lord has just gifted us with so many individuals. 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:22.799 And I'm so thankful for what the Lord has has done here among us. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:25.599 And thank you for those who all participate. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:30.560 I'm so thankful too for those who make the coffee on Sunday mornings. 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:35.120 I might be a bit jittery this morning, so you just beware, right? 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:38.480 Please take your Bible, Matthew chapter 9. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:45.359 I'd like to walk us through this passage this morning as we pick up again in Matthew's gospel. 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:54.799 We are nearing the end of a major section in Matthew where there's a shift, a change taking place. 00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:59.120 From chapter 10 through the next few chapters. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:02.400 After that, the focus is on the disciples. 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:12.240 Up until this point, Matthew has been primarily interested in showing us again and again and again how Christ fulfills the Word of God. 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:16.800 He did not come to push it away, but to bring it to fulfillment. 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:23.039 So we're nearing the end of that section where we have two more miracles taking place. 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:29.599 If you would like to read Matthew chapter 9, beginning in verse 27 through verse 34. 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:56.960 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? 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:00.560 They said to him, Yes, Lord. 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:05.680 Then he touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it done to you. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:07.919 And their eyes were opened. 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:13.199 And Jesus sternly warned them, See to it that no one knows about it. 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:18.000 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:25.120 And as they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:29.520 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:36.479 And the crowds marveled, saying, Never was anything like this seen in Israel. 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:43.360 But the Pharisees said, He casts out demons by the prince of demons. 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:44.319 Amen. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:53.840 Many of you, I can see this morning, are like me, and you you have to wear spectacles, right? 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:55.919 You have to wear glasses. 00:03:56.960 --> 00:04:01.120 I've had trouble seeing for most of my life. 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:14.159 If my memory is correct, between my second and third grade years, my family took a vacation to Glacier National Park in Montana. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:21.519 And that vacation may be the most frustrating vacation of my life. 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:31.839 Because as we were driving along in the beautiful country of Glacier, my parents were talking all about everything that they were seeing. 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:34.399 And I couldn't see it. 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:43.600 Now, some of it may have been that I was, you know, a second grader, seven, eight years old, and was just oblivious to everything going on around me. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.480 But much of it was I couldn't see. 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:52.560 So a few weeks after that, I had my very first pair of glasses. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:56.959 And I have needed help seeing ever since. 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:05.920 In high school, this new creation came out called disposable contact lenses. 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:08.800 And I thought, hey, I'm going to try those. 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:10.399 So I tried them. 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:11.839 And they were fantastic. 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:13.759 They were really enjoyable. 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:19.040 But the problem with disposable contacts is that they're designed to be disposable. 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:27.439 And me, being a cheap high schooler, didn't want to pay for more contacts, and so I kept them in too long and got an infection in my eyes. 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:31.839 And after that, contacts aren't so enjoyable anymore. 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:34.639 So I went back to glasses. 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:44.800 And then in my mid-30s, heaven came to earth in the form of LASIK surgery. 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:49.279 I'm telling you, that was so fantastic. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:59.600 Nearly 30 years of corrective lenses had stolen away the joy of perfect vision. 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:04.240 And when perfect vision came back, let me tell you, that was fun. 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:06.319 Let me tell you how bad it was. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:06.800 Okay? 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:10.240 Tell you the change that was made. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:20.560 From that second or third grade year on, I had to get a stronger prescription for my glasses just about every single year. 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:26.319 So by the time that I had LASIK, I was really in poor shape. 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.680 So we talk about 2020 vision being being perfect vision. 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:33.600 It actually can get a little better than that, but 2020 vision, right? 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:39.519 When I had laser vision correction, my my vision was 2550. 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:45.920 Within a few hours, I was seeing it 2015. 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:49.439 It was fantastic. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:55.199 I felt much like I'm sure these blind men felt. 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:23.759 Figured it was just better for everybody if I finally just gave up and went back to glasses again. 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:28.560 But then it got worse, and so now I'm at bifocals. 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.560 Just keeps getting better, right, folks? 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:40.160 I've needed help to see for all but about 12 years of my life. 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:53.120 And after laser correction for six to seven years or so of perfect vision, I felt, boy, I I think I can understand a little bit about what those blind men felt. 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:58.720 It was so freeing, so so wonderful to be able to see perfectly. 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:10.639 Now, as helpful and as exciting as sight may be, I'm here to tell you that it is not the most important thing in life. 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:20.800 In fact, sight takes a back seat to one other sense, the sense of hearing. 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:26.319 And I think it's a truth that even these blind men would affirm. 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:29.279 It's better. 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:38.000 It's better to hear the good news of Christ than to see with your eyes all of his miracles. 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:48.559 It is better, in other words, to listen to a biblical sermon than to watch Jesus perform a miracle. 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.559 I'd like you to notice the theme of sight that's woven through this passage. 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:58.639 So we start in verses 27 and 28 with blind men, right? 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:04.159 Twice, twice Matthew emphasizes to us that these men cannot see. 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:07.759 There is no sight, there's no ability to observe. 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:16.320 After being given sight in verse 30, Jesus says to them, Alright, now see. 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:19.679 See that no one knows about it. 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:27.840 Verse 33, the crowds are going to respond by saying, This has never been seen before. 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:32.000 We'll touch on this a little bit next week in verse 36. 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:35.279 Jesus saw the crowds. 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:42.080 All throughout this passage is woven this idea of being able or not being able to see. 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:53.600 What is a little less clear but still present is the idea of the blinding of the Pharisees. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:56.559 The blinding of the Pharisees. 00:09:56.720 --> 00:10:01.759 And we need to consider some background information here to make sure we don't miss this. 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:05.440 Hold your finger here and look over at Matthew chapter 23. 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:06.960 So this is near the end of the book. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:12.080 It's near the end of Christ's earthly life, and we know that the end of the story is good news, right? 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:16.080 Christ dies, but he rises again, and the tomb is empty. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:26.799 Well, just before that, before all of that happens, there's some rough interaction between the Lord Jesus and the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees and the scribes. 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:34.799 And chapter 23 gives us what Jesus has to say to those scribes and Pharisees, and it's not good news. 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:41.120 It's all judgment, and the judgment comes in in this form of woes, woe to you, woe to you. 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:42.159 Over and over and over again. 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:43.919 Jesus says, Watch out. 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:49.279 You don't recognize what's ahead of you, so you need to open up your eyes and pay attention. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:55.759 So in verse 13 of Matthew 23, Jesus says, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:58.559 Starts off on a good note, doesn't he? 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:02.080 You shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:07.360 For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:11.120 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:19.519 You travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:27.200 Verse 16, Woe to you, blind guides. 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:31.759 Verse 17, you blind fools. 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:35.039 Verse 19, you blind men. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:39.440 Verse 24, you blind guides. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:43.840 Verse 26, you blind Pharisee. 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:45.840 You get the you get the hint? 00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:54.000 Jesus very clearly says that these religious leaders, by and large, are blind themselves. 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:55.600 Now, are they physically blind? 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:56.159 No. 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:00.399 They are not physically blind, but they may as well be. 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:03.759 Because there is something to which they are blind. 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:09.200 Now, what's really important here is what John says in his gospel in John chapter 9. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:16.480 John chapter 9, John chapter 10, you might remember, is about the Good Shepherd, Jesus saying, I am the Good Shepherd. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:21.600 But just before that, Jesus makes this statement in John 9, 39. 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:36.320 He says, For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see, those who are blind, may see, and that those who see may become blind. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.840 Those who see may become blind. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:53.360 Back in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus is about to send his disciples out into ministry by themselves. 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:55.600 That is, without him. 00:12:57.200 --> 00:12:59.360 There's a shift in ministry that's taking place. 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:05.360 It's as though the disciples have been in an internship for a while, and now they're going to go out and put what they've learned into practice. 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:13.600 Jesus is sending them all throughout Israel, and he's giving them authorities, investing them with responsibility, saying, Go, but I'm not going with you. 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:23.840 Jesus, up until this point, has been fulfilling messianic expectation after messianic expectation after messianic expectation. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.600 Everything that the Old Testament said the Messiah would do, Jesus is doing. 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:34.480 Even so, many people are still blind to the truth. 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:41.519 They can't see it, they won't hear it, and they won't receive Jesus. 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:45.759 So, what is Jesus telling the disciples? 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:51.519 Telling them, listen, you need to expect what I receive. 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:54.320 If they won't receive me, they're not going to receive you either. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:14:02.480 When you go out, you're going to preach, you're going to teach, you're going to heal, you're going to raise the dead, you're going to cleanse the lepers, you're going to cast out demons, and they're not going to receive you. 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:11.679 Now, in the previous passage of Matthew chapter 9, last time we were here, we saw Jesus' authority to raise the dead. 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:14.720 He raised this 12-year-old girl from the dead. 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:20.559 It's his power, his authority over death and life itself. 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:25.840 Now we see his authority over sight and over hearing. 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:30.559 Again, fulfilling even more messianic prophecies. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:39.039 Here Jesus fulfills these prophecies about the Messiah coming and opening the eyes of the blind. 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:40.879 But is that all there is? 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:43.600 Or is there more for us to understand here? 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:44.960 Let's look at it and see. 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:49.679 First, let's consider the fact that the sightless see. 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:52.159 The sightless see. 00:14:52.639 --> 00:15:00.399 There are two blind men following Jesus and they are crying out, have mercy on us. 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:04.559 Consider the fact that blind men are following. 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:07.120 How are they following? 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:12.320 Today we have seeing eye dogs, right, that can lead the blind to where they're going. 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:14.960 In this day and age, they didn't have seeing eye dogs. 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:18.399 They had friends and family members. 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:24.879 And these were most likely destitute men who are relegated to begging. 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:35.279 So they would have somebody, some friend, some relative, some person who is caring for them, lead them to a place where all the people were gathering so that they could beg for alms. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:45.600 But they're not begging for alms here, they're following after Jesus because they want mercy. 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:47.600 What is mercy? 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:50.000 What is mercy? 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:58.639 Most of us have been in a situation where we understand exactly what mercy is. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:19.279 Let me tell you, that that time when you went by the speed limit sign and you ignored it, and you're going 10 or 15 or 20 miles an hour over the speed limit, and the patrolman pulls you over, and you know he's got you. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:20.240 Right? 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:23.120 You deserve the ticket. 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:27.279 But instead of giving you the ticket, he says, just go. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:29.440 I'm gonna let you go with a warning, right? 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:31.519 That's mercy. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:43.279 When you deserve to receive something, discipline, judgment, correction, but it is instead withheld. 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:44.720 It is not given to you. 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:46.080 That is mercy. 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:52.960 When God looks at us and says, You deserve to receive the full punishment for your sins. 00:16:53.200 --> 00:17:02.240 You have trespassed, you have gone across my boundaries, you have not followed my law, and God says, I am withholding that judgment, that is mercy. 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:04.160 That is mercy. 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:12.160 These blind men knew, they understood somehow that there was something that they deserved. 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:15.599 Were they thinking about their blindness? 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:19.039 Were they thinking that they deserved their blindness? 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:24.960 Or were they thinking more spiritually, thinking they deserved to have judgment for their sin? 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:31.759 Maybe they were thinking, as was common at the time, that something such as blindness was a result of sin. 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:45.440 Maybe it's more than that, that the closing of the section of Matthew that includes the Sermon on the Mount, the Sermon on the Mount is pinnacle in this section. 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:52.480 Maybe it's fitting to include this healing as an example of the Beatitudes. 00:17:52.559 --> 00:18:01.599 We've seen this in many of the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ, that there seems to be a connection to the person mentioned in the Beatitudes. 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:19.359 Here are two men, poor in spirit, mourning over their sin, hungering for the righteousness that Jesus offers, and seeking mercy. 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:24.880 But it also seems that they're just wanting their eyes opened. 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:30.079 Jesus asked them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:37.359 Well, we find out that there's something missing here, at least it feels like it's missing. 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:40.960 What is the antecedent to this? 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:43.920 I know you don't want to think about grammar on a Sunday morning at 11:30. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:45.039 That's okay, neither do I. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:46.240 But we need to. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:50.240 What is this referring to? 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:52.640 Jesus comes up to you and said, Do you want me to do this? 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:53.920 Do you believe that I can do this? 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:54.960 What's this? 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:56.480 What are you talking about? 00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:59.119 Because up until this point there's been no conversation. 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:03.599 It's just the blind men following him and crying out, have mercy. 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:07.279 So is Jesus asking him, Do you believe that I can give you mercy? 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:09.440 Is that what he's asking? 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:19.759 Well, we know that when they say, Yes, Lord, we we believe that you can do this, the result of this is sight. 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:22.559 It's the ability to see. 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:28.240 So is it are they asking for the ability to see? 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:31.839 Or are they asking for something spiritual? 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:35.920 I would suggest to you that it's it's likely both. 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:44.960 Matthew often has a twofold focus that includes both the physical and the spiritual that are coming together and happening at the same moment. 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:48.480 Here are two men who possess faith. 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:53.680 Matthew identifies that from the mouth of Jesus, no less. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.839 Because you have faith. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:01.839 Here's mercy. 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:11.279 So the blind are following Jesus in faith that He is merciful. 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:13.759 Think about that. 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:24.480 Two blind men craving mercy, and they believe Jesus can give it to them. 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:33.359 Do you know that these sightless men are the first people in the book of Matthew to proclaim the true identity of Christ? 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:34.240 It's true. 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.559 We often think that it's Peter in Matthew chapter 16. 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:42.079 Jesus asked the disciples, who do people say that I am? 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:45.680 And then he asked the disciples themselves, Who do you say that I am? 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:49.920 And Peter responds with, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:51.279 You remember that? 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:56.480 Well, the blind men declared the first part, not the second part, the first part. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:59.839 They say, You are the son of David. 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:03.039 That's something that we call formal equivalence. 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:11.200 It's the same thing as saying, You are the Christ, you are the Messiah, you're the Son of David. 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:18.880 So these blind men who cannot see Jesus are the very first ones in the Gospel of Matthew to say, This is who you are. 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:28.720 Based on hearing alone, they believed that Jesus was the promised one. 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:35.680 And in that act of faith, they are submitting themselves to Christ the Lord. 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:36.640 Notice that. 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:44.720 Now that's a that's a common refrain that we've seen in these healings since the Sermon on the Mount. 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:49.920 You can go all the way back to chapter 8 and verse 2, where the lepers proclaimed Christ as Lord. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:53.599 And then right after that, the centurion did in chapter 8, verse 8. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:59.519 The disciples did, as they were out on the lake in the middle of the storm, and Jesus calms the storm. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:05.599 They cried out to him, referring to him as Lord. 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:15.440 Now, the word Lord could be just a matter of respect, that is like saying Sir, yes, sir. 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:22.079 Or it could go all the way to the other end of the spectrum and be a reference to Jesus as God. 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:26.079 You are the Lord, the God of the Old Testament, in other words. 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:29.119 It's the way it's used most often throughout the New Testament. 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.839 And there are lots of places in between as well. 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:33.599 It all depends on the context. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:39.599 So, what kind of context do we have here to help us understand them referring to Jesus as Lord? 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:42.079 Well, it goes back to the previous statement. 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:53.119 They believed him to be the Son of David, the King, the Messiah, the promised one who would come. 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:58.319 And in that they say, You are our Lord. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:05.599 And because you are our Lord, we believe that you can grant us mercy. 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:12.559 And so those who cannot see are given sight. 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:16.640 He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it done to you. 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:19.359 And their eyes were opened. 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:25.279 Now the obvious fact here is that they did receive mercy from Jesus, right? 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:30.559 They had faith in Jesus, and he said, I recognize your faith. 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:37.680 You believe that I can give you mercy, therefore I'm giving you mercy, and it was instantaneous healing. 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:46.799 The particular verb that Matthew uses here is one that he uses it in a way that indicates it was instantaneous, right then and there. 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:49.680 Now, even with my LASIK surgery, they told me to go home. 00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:54.480 They put swim goggles on my face and sent me home and said, go take a nap. 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:57.519 The first time anybody said that to me since I was a kid. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:23:58.640 Go home and take a nap. 00:23:58.880 --> 00:23:59.680 So he did. 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:05.759 And I woke up from that nap, and it was about three or four hours later, and it was the most amazing thing. 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:11.599 Even through the swim goggles, I could read that small print going across the bottom of the TV without glasses. 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:21.279 It took probably a few weeks, I don't know, something like that, to for all the fuzziness to go away and for perfect vision to come into place. 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:24.640 None of that for these men. 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:30.400 Jesus said, Let it be and it was. 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:35.440 Just like Genesis 1, let it be and it was. 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:37.359 But it came with a warning. 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:39.599 See. 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:43.599 See that no one knows about it. 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:48.079 In other words, you have received a gift of mercy in your sight. 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:52.400 Make sure you receive and use that gift of mercy appropriately. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:58.640 The appropriate way to use that new gift of mercy is don't make a big deal about it. 00:24:58.880 --> 00:24:59.440 What? 00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:01.920 How do you not make a big deal about it? 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:08.720 How do you not make a big deal out of not seeing your entire life and then all of a sudden I can see? 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:10.559 How do you keep your neighbors from knowing that? 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:12.480 Hey, isn't this the guy that we gave alms to? 00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:13.279 How is he now seeing? 00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:14.400 Wouldn't you feel jipped off? 00:25:15.119 --> 00:25:16.079 Gibbed out of your money? 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:17.519 What's going on here? 00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:20.319 How could you not make that known? 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:25.839 But Jesus says, no, I the best way to make use of this gift of mercy is to be quiet. 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:28.319 Why? 00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:32.079 Well, I think Matthew tells us in verse 31. 00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:38.400 They went away and they spread his fame through all the district. 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:44.799 Have you ever watched a famous person try to make their way through a crowd? 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:50.400 Or some important official? 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:57.039 Often they have to have a bodyguard to help make their way through a crowd. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:04.000 Having fame makes it difficult for Jesus to minister to people. 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:11.200 And instead they go out and increase his fame, making it more difficult. 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:16.720 Now imagine then that the crowds believe that you might be the promised king. 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:18.400 What's going to happen then? 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:24.799 They're going to go out and say, hey, let's make him king, increasing the difficulty even more. 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:28.799 But I'd like us to think a little bit about what is not so obvious. 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:34.400 Not what's missing, not what's not here, but just what's more difficult for us to perceive. 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:41.039 These blind men had no sight. 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:44.480 They had no sight. 00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:50.079 Yet they saw that Jesus was worth pursuing. 00:26:51.920 --> 00:26:53.920 They saw that Jesus was worth pursuing. 00:26:54.079 --> 00:27:00.319 They had no sight, yet they had faith in Jesus the Messiah. 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:04.480 Which is exactly what the New Testament tells us is the way it works, right? 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:06.319 Romans chapter 10, verse 17. 00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:08.319 So faith comes by what? 00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:10.319 Hearing. 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:14.480 And hearing by the word of Christ. 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:17.279 They heard of Jesus. 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:19.200 Perhaps they'd heard him teach. 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:19.680 We don't know. 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:21.119 We're not told that. 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:27.519 But at the very least, they had heard that this man is able to do these kinds of things. 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:40.720 Maybe he's the Messiah, and that led them to believe, to trust that, yes, this is the Son of David, this is the promised one, and through hearing they were led to faith in the Messiah, and as a result, they received mercy. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:44.720 Faith comes by hearing. 00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:48.240 Let's think more about this. 00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:58.880 I think there is a neglected passage of Scripture, neglected largely by the modern church in Psalm 138. 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:07.759 Psalm 138, verse 2, the psalmist says, You, God, have exalted your name, that is, who you are, your being. 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:13.119 You have exalted your name and your word above all things. 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:17.200 What's left out of all things? 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:21.119 Big old zero, right? 00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:30.880 So everything that exists, everything that exists within God's created realm, everything that is, is here. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:38.000 And God says, All right, I'm putting my name, my being, and my word above that. 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:47.680 There is nothing more highly exalted than the person of God and his word. 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:52.640 Now, why would God exalt his name and his word above all things? 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:54.079 I think it's very simple. 00:28:54.400 --> 00:28:59.759 He has done that because faith comes through hearing his word. 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:04.799 Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ. 00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:11.119 Do you want true life? 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:15.039 And hear the word of God. 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:20.240 Do you want hope in a hopeless world? 00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:23.039 Then hear the word of God. 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:25.920 Do you want healing? 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:28.559 Then hear the word of God. 00:29:29.839 --> 00:29:31.359 Do you want restoration? 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:34.000 Hear the word of God. 00:29:35.359 --> 00:29:37.279 Do you want reconciliation? 00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:39.759 Hear the word of God. 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:42.240 Do you want guidance? 00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:44.480 Hear the word of God. 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:47.759 Do you seek wisdom and understanding? 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:49.759 Hear the word of God. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:53.279 And we're not talking about worshiping this book. 00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:55.839 That's not what we're talking about. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:04.319 We're talking about comprehending and applying the truth about how highly God views himself and how highly he views his word. 00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:12.960 And the psalmist declared that there is nothing greater than knowing God, your name, and knowing his word by which we know him. 00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:21.680 Now, if you're not a Christian, praise God that you're listening to me and you haven't left yet. 00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:35.599 If you're not a Christian, put yourself in the position to hear the Bible read and explained and do it again and again and again and again. 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:43.599 It's not that just hearing is going to change everything, but it's the way that God has set up for the way faith comes in. 00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:47.680 Faith comes by hearing. 00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:49.039 Hearing what? 00:30:49.200 --> 00:30:50.480 The word of Christ. 00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:56.880 The two greatest things for you as a non-Christian are knowing God and knowing his word. 00:30:57.359 --> 00:31:03.200 Because God has ordained that those two things are sufficient for you for all of eternity. 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:10.400 Believe what he says because it shows what he has done to give you mercy. 00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:14.640 What is mercy? 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:26.480 Mercy is understanding that you have a debt of sin that God could say comes due any minute. 00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:29.759 You have to pay right now. 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:36.880 But instead God says, I'm putting the payment for that on my son. 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:39.599 That's mercy. 00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:46.000 Most of you are Christians. 00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:55.279 So for us, I think this demands that we do some soul searching. 00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:02.160 God has has set his word above all things. 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:05.279 Says it very plainly. 00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:11.839 He has set himself and his word above absolutely everything. 00:32:12.640 --> 00:32:15.359 Does it have that place in your life? 00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:31.119 I would dare to suggest that perhaps there's one way that we could really answer that question, and that is whether or not we give more time to God and his word than we do to the social media apps on our phone. 00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:40.640 Do we effectively rely upon God's word as all sufficient? 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:47.839 We're continually tempted to trust something other than Scripture. 00:32:47.920 --> 00:32:50.319 We're tempted to trust our feelings. 00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:54.559 We're tempted to trust our own way of thinking through things. 00:32:54.799 --> 00:32:58.480 We're tempted to trust our experiences in life. 00:32:58.799 --> 00:33:03.200 We're tempted to trust what our culture says about things. 00:33:03.359 --> 00:33:05.279 We're tempted to trust science. 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:06.559 We're tempted to trust this. 00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:07.680 We're tempted to trust that. 00:33:07.759 --> 00:33:18.640 And whether we realize it or not, before long, what has happened is we have devalued Scripture, or at best, we have undermined it, and it's just a matter of time before it crashes. 00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:24.400 Beloved, if you do that, it's idolatrous. 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:34.400 Because God has said, I have exalted my name and my word, so that nothing is above it. 00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:40.000 Not only that, let's take that a step further. 00:33:40.319 --> 00:33:43.519 Remember that old Sunday school song? 00:33:44.880 --> 00:33:48.319 Be careful, little ears, what you hear. 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:56.640 Take care, little ears, what you hear. 00:33:59.440 --> 00:34:18.079 If faith, whether we're talking about the initial saving faith moment, or whether we're talking about continuing discipleship faith, if faith comes by hearing, do you not think that God's enemy would seek to influence what you hear? 00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:39.760 The voices that you allow to influence your hearing will influence you to value what God has said and strengthen your faith, to exalt his name and his word even more, or they will lead you to devalue God's word until it becomes meaningless and worthless in your life. 00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:45.599 Let's take that one step even further. 00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:54.239 Not only should we take care of what we hear, we should take care of how we think about what we hear. 00:34:56.239 --> 00:35:03.679 Satan wants us to hear his lies and believe them to be true. 00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:07.920 That's the way he's done it from the very beginning. 00:35:09.039 --> 00:35:16.239 He wants us to consider what God has to say, but understand, no, what Satan has to say is truer. 00:35:17.599 --> 00:35:20.239 It's better, it is more reliable. 00:35:20.480 --> 00:35:29.039 He will use every trick that he has learned from the beginning to get you to buy into something that will lead you astray from God's word. 00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:38.559 You know, too often we we naively think that something is good and useful simply because it's produced good results for us. 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:42.719 Maybe it's been beneficial and it's helped us in the past. 00:35:43.760 --> 00:35:49.280 Maybe we've felt good about it and we've experienced it positively. 00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:54.800 We naively think that something is good and useful because it's a bestseller. 00:35:56.639 --> 00:35:57.920 It feels good. 00:35:59.440 --> 00:36:03.920 Maybe someone we trust is doing it or using it or feeling it or saying it. 00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:15.840 Too often we cannot discern between what is what is right and what is biblical and what is almost right. 00:36:17.920 --> 00:36:30.880 See, Satan is so good at what he does that he even convinces us to rely upon what is false, even to the point of believing. 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:34.639 I can't be wrong. 00:36:36.159 --> 00:36:41.199 He convinces us that we're not wrong when we're believing a lie. 00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:44.079 You wonder if that's true? 00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:46.480 Read Genesis 3 and you'll be convinced. 00:36:47.039 --> 00:36:50.639 It's the way he does things and it's the way he's done things from the beginning. 00:36:50.960 --> 00:36:54.559 He will convince us that scripture says something that it does not say. 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:58.960 He will convince us that scripture twisting is right. 00:37:00.960 --> 00:37:04.800