Jesus Our Light

Jesus Our Light 

Matthew 9:27-34

Introduction

ILLUS – It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

John 1:4, In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 

1.Light and darkness are powerful themes in the Bible.

2.When Jesus entered our world, what did His presence mean? What did His very presence do?

3.Tonight, we will discover what it means to have Jesus as our Light in a world filled with darkness.

Matthew 9:27-34

Context

1.In Matthew 8-9, Jesus was in the northern end of the Sea of Galilee by His town of Capernaum.

2.He had just finished His Sermon on the Mount in which He told the people of Israel that to enter the kingdom of heaven, they must be transformed in the inner man, a transformation that happens when a person has placed his or her faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

3.After the Sermon on the Mount, we are told that the crowds were amazed by His teaching because “He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes”. (7:29) 

4.The events that unfolded next, demonstrated Jesus’ power and authority, His credentials for being Messiah. He spoke with authority. Now, Jesus revealed His power and authority over all creation in Matthew 8-9.

5.Ten miracles were recorded in these chapters, each with powerful applications for our lives. We will focus on the last two miracles this evening.

I.Jesus Makes the Blind See (27-31)

• Immediately after Jairus’s daughter was brought back to life, we’re introduced to two blind men who had heard about Jesus and cried out to him as he was heading to a home nearby.
• Their words are profound because they reveal these men had deep insight into the nature of Jesus. 

A. “Have mercy on us, Son of David”

1.Notice their urgency for they repeatedly cried out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

2.Notice their request, for they asked for a touch of divine kindness, mercy. They knew Jesus owed them nothing but in humility they appealed to His benevolent, divine heart.

Psalm 51:17, A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

3.Notice as well, their perseverance for they would not let their blindness deter them from seeking an audience with Jesus.

a.Probably, hand in hand, they listened to where the crowd was going and followed closely behind, begging for guidance where needed.

b.Once Jesus arrived at His destination, they even followed Him right into the home!

APPL – These two men are a great example for us all, for God delights in humble hearts that truly seek Him.

• These blind men were like the leper who earnestly sought Jesus and asked to be cleansed. (8:2)
• They were like the paralytic’s four friends, who would not let the crowds or a roof, for that matter, get in the way of their friend being healed by Jesus. (9:2)
• They were like Jairus who ran through the crowds in search of Jesus for he knew that Jesus was his daughter’s only hope for survival. (9:18)

• They were like the woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years, spent all her money and suffered much at the hands of many doctors without success. She knew if she could just touch the hem of His cloak, she would be healed. (9:20-21)
• As I shared last week, don’t let anyone or anything get in the way of seeking Jesus. Seek Him, and don’t stop seeking Him. 

Psalm 16:8, I have set the Lord continually before me;
because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

4. Finally, notice their confession for they called Jesus the Son of David.

a.This title was reserved for Messiah alone!

2 Samuel 7:16, Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.

b.These blind men were declaring that Jesus was the rightful heir to David’s throne.

c.Though physically blind, they had spiritual eyes to see who Jesus is.

APPL – Blindness is a picture of the spiritual condition of each person’s heart! We are born spiritually blind to spiritual truth because we inherited a sin nature from Adam.

1 Corinthians 2:14, But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

• And Satan and his demons diligently work to keep the unbelieving blind.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4, And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

• Unfortunately, the spiritually blind are deceived into thinking they can see. Notice what Jesus said about the Pharisees in Matthew 15:14… 

Matthew 15:14, they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.

• But when the Holy Spirit illuminates the eyes of a person’s heart through the Good News about Jesus Christ, their eyes are opened, the veil is removed. 

2 Corinthians 3:16, but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Amazing Grace – “Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found, T’was blind but now I see!”

• Now, spiritual blindness is not reserved for the unbelieving only. Christians can become blind too.Notice the sobering words of the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 1:5-11…

2 Peter 1:5-11, Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Transition – The two blind men were finally before Jesus. I believe He continued His journey until He reached the home so that He may be alone with them, without the crowd pressing in. Here was another holy moment, where Jesus our Light, confronted the darkness of these two men by asking them a simple yet direct question…

B. “Do you believe that I am able to do this”

1.Jesus did not ask the question because He needed to know their answer before He could heal them. Jesus is the Son of God therefore, He knows everything, including the desires and longings of our hearts.

2.Jesus called the question for their benefit. He wanted to reveal the means by which the blessings of God are given to man. By faith!

a.By faith in Jesus we are saved.

b.By faith in Jesus we are healed.

c.By faith in Jesus we overcome temptation.

d.By faith in Jesus we live, breath, and have our being.

Colossians 2:6, Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him

3.As I recently shared, biblical faith is composed of three elements:

a.Knowledge of the truth

b.Acceptance of the truth as being true

c.Trust or application of the truth to one’s life

4.Their confession was a revelation of the faith in their hearts, “Yes, Lord!”

a.Only two words, yet each filled with faith.

b.“Yes” – They were convinced that nothing was too difficult for Jesus!

c.“Lord” – They were convinced that Jesus is God.

5.They could not see the expression on Jesus’ face but suddenly felt the warmth of His touch and heard the words that changed their lives forever, “Be it done to you according (in response) to your faith.”

APPL – Now, I know Jesus sternly warned them to not tell anyone about what had happened so that He might continue to move about freely in sharing the Gospel and healing people along the way, but I must confess that I am also touched by their response. “But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land.” (31) 

• They went on a sight-seeing tour of the whole land
• And told everyone about Jesus along the way! 

Romans 10:15, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!

II. Jesus Makes the Mute Shout for Joy (32-34)

• After the two blind men left the home, we are introduced to a mute man who was brought before Jesus by his friends.
• Matthew recorded this as the tenth of ten miracles performed by Jesus, the casting out of a demon from a man who was mute. Why?

A.Jesus is Mighty to Save

1.Now, the Gospel writers often make careful distinctions between diseases, sicknesses, and demonic possession.  

2.Here, it appears that the man was mute due to being possessed by a demon.  

3.No questions were asked. In fact, not much was recorded as to what Jesus did or said. In a few words we’re told that Jesus cast out the demon and the man who had never formed a syllable with his lips was suddenly able to speak. (All without the assistance of a speech therapist!)

APPL – What do you think he said? I don’t think it is unrealistic to assume his first word was “Jesus”!

ILLUS – My personal comfort in knowing our unborn children are in Jesus’ presence.

There’s Something About That Name – “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there’s just something about that name. Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain;
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, But there’s something about that name.”

APPL – Jesus was ten for ten. He healed a leper. He spoke to the storm and calmed the sea. He delivered the demon possessed. He made the lame walk and healed the sick with a touch. He raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, and voice to a demonically possessed mute man. All of these miracles were a confirmation and a fulfillment of the Scriptures.

Isaiah 35:5-6, Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy

APPL – There should have been no doubt left in the mind of any witness that Jesus is their Messiah. Yet, look at the response, two distinct, polar opposite responses to Jesus.

Matthew 9:33-34, and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

Transition – Which is it…

B. Son of David or Ruler of Demons?

1.One group rejoiced!

2.The Pharisees said, “Devil!” and scoffed!

APPL – How is it that two groups of people can look at the same miracles and come to vastly different conclusions?

• How is it that one person can look at the stars and say there must be a God while another person looks at the same sky and declares it is a random cosmic accident, chance?
  
• How is it that one person can look at an unborn child and say, “This is a human being made in God’s image”, while another person declares, “It’s just a mass of tissue”?

• After the two blind men left the home, we are introduced to a mute man who was brought before Jesus by his friends.
• Matthew recorded this as the tenth of ten miracles performed by Jesus, the casting out of a demon from a man who was mute. Why?

A.Jesus is Mighty to Save

1.Now, the Gospel writers often make careful distinctions between diseases, sicknesses, and demonic possession.  

2.Here, it appears that the man was mute due to being possessed by a demon.  

3.No questions were asked. In fact, not much was recorded as to what Jesus did or said. In a few words we’re told that Jesus cast out the demon and the man who had never formed a syllable with his lips was suddenly able to speak. (All without the assistance of a speech therapist!)

APPL – What do you think he said? I don’t think it is unrealistic to assume his first word was “Jesus”!

ILLUS – My personal comfort in knowing our unborn children are in Jesus’ presence.

There’s Something About That Name – “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there’s just something about that name. Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain;
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, But there’s something about that name.”

APPL – Jesus was ten for ten. He healed a leper. He spoke to the storm and calmed the sea. He delivered the demon possessed. He made the lame walk and healed the sick with a touch. He raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, and voice to a demonically possessed mute man. All of these miracles were a confirmation and a fulfillment of the Scriptures.

Isaiah 35:5-6, Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy

APPL – There should have been no doubt left in the mind of any witness that Jesus is their Messiah. Yet, look at the response, two distinct, polar opposite responses to Jesus.

Matthew 9:33-34, and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

Transition – Which is it…

B. Son of David or Ruler of Demons?

1.One group rejoiced!

2.The Pharisees said, “Devil!” and scoffed!

APPL – How is it that two groups of people can look at the same miracles and come to vastly different conclusions?

• How is it that one person can look at the stars and say there must be a God while another person looks at the same sky and declares it is a random cosmic accident, chance?
  
• How is it that one person can look at an unborn child and say, “This is a human being made in God’s image”, while another person declares, “It’s just a mass of tissue”?