Matthew 9 - Blind Eyes are Opened!

And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. Matthew 9:28-29.

After Jesus raised Jarius' daughter from her deathbed, He was followed home by two blind men who recognized Him as the Son of David. Jesus seemingly ignored them until He went inside the house where He was staying and then asked them if they truly believed He was able to heal them. I don't think Jesus was questioning their belief regarding His power, but rather His desire to use that power to heal them. Could His power actually open the eyes of the blind?

This is a very important question that many of us Christians need to ask ourselves regarding our perspective of the Savior. Do we really and truly believe that He is able and willing to heal us, deliver us, set us free, open our spiritual eyes to the wonders of God, or whatever our request may be? Even raise a loved one from the dead?

These men answered "yes" and then Jesus opened their eyes - a picture of the post 30 AD believer whose spiritual eyes would be opened based solely on the preaching of the Word. He told them that they were healed in accordance with their faith - a very important spiritual truth for us to remember. 

When these men were sent away, a mute man was delivered of a demon and his tongue was loosed. The multitudes were astonished at these events and marveled at all Jesus was doing in Israel.

The beauty of recognizing Jesus as Messiah (the Son of David) is that we become born again, and our spiritual eyes are opened just as these blind men's eyes were opened in the natural. While natural sight is wonderful, spiritual sight is far and above more important than anything we can see in the natural realm. 

As new creations IN Christ, God gives us eyes to see and a tongue to confess the wonderful things He is doing on this earth. Praise Him for such a glorious gift!

Matthew 9 - The Curse is Removed and the Dead are Raised!

And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. Matthew 9:20-22.

After Jesus forgave the paralytic man of his sins, He taught the disciples a bit on righteousness and fasting and then had a break-through with the ruler of the local synagogue, Jarius. While his daughter lay on her deathbed,  this Jewish ruler came to Jesus, asking Him to come and lay His hands on her for healing. As Jesus made His way to Jarius' house a woman who had a bleeding problem for 12 years touched the hem of His garment and was miraculously healed. Jesus announced that she was a daughter of Abraham and that her faith had made her whole.

Unfortunately, by the time Jesus came to Jarius' house, his daughter had died. But to Jesus, this was a non-event, for He announced that she was merely sleeping. Those in the house laughed Him to scorn to the point where He had to put them outside in order to raise her up. Even the Lord knew how debilitating it is to one's faith when surrounded by doubters and mockers. Of course, she was raised up from the deathbed, which only increased Jesus' fame throughout all of Israel.

We should be seeing these miracles in our day, since Jesus is the same, yesterday, and forevermore. Sadly, so many of us are told that God doesn't heal like that anymore, and that He certainly never raises people from the dead. How untrue! My research has revealed that there are believers in other parts of the world uncontaminated by denominationalism who have experienced miraculous, supernatural victories over death! Let's be bold and believe the wonderful things laid out in God's holy Word!

Matthew 9 - Pick Up Your Mat and Walk!

For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men. Matthew 9:5-8

After Jesus was asked to leave the area of Gadera, He went back to His home town of Capernaum and healed all those who came to Him. Because the house where He was ministering was so packed, several men had to go to great lengths to get their paralytic friend before Jesus. We learn from the other Gospels that they actually cut a hole in the roof and lowered their afflicted friend down from the ceiling! When Jesus saw their faith (their extraordinary measures), He declared the man His "son," AND declared him forgiven of his sins!

Why was this so shocking? Because the scribes and teachers of the law knew full well that, under the Law, only God has the authority to forgive sin. Therefore, Jesus was declaring Himself God by making this proclamation--and He did it in a new way, without going to the temple and sacrificing an innocent animal before the priest, shedding its blood. God was issuing in a new order under a new covenant.

To prove this amazing authority to forgive sin, Jesus looked at the man, commanding him to rise, pick up his mat, and return home. While the scribes declared blasphemy in their evil hearts, the multitudes marveled that God had given this kind of power to men.

As born again children of God, IN Christ, we need to accept what the heavenly father has said about us, that our sin has been forgiven once and for all! As new creations in Christ, we likewise need to rise up from the bondage of denominationalism and false teaching, pick up our mats and return home, declaring the good news of ALL Jesus died to give us!