Today’s passage: Matthew 9:27-34
Helpful thoughts:
- These two blind men are the first in the Gospel of Matthew to publicly say who Jesus is in calling Him the “Son of David.”
- It says the two men were crying aloud, so anyone else who was in the crowd would have been able to hear their claim of belief.
- Notice, the two men asked for mercy. Then Jesus asked them if they believed He could give that to them. They professed their faith (“Yes, Lord”) and then he healed them. So, it is quite possible these men were both saved from their sin AND healed of their blindness simultaneously.
- This passage shares the healing of the blind and the deaf/mute, pointing back to OT prophecy of the Messiah and preparing for Jesus’ encouragement of John the Baptist later in the Gospel.
Questions to consider:
- Compare and contrast the blind men and their response to Jesus and the Pharisees.
- Why do you think Jesus told the men not to spread the news? Why do you think it was so hard for them not to share? What would they have been sharing specifically? (Hint: It wasn’t their blindness being healed)
- Since the Pharisees couldn’t deny the miracles, they had to deny the source of power…Why were the Pharisees against Jesus? What were they unhappy about? What was most important to them?