Two Blind Men Meet Jesus
In this story about two blind men who meet Jesus, a miraculous healing takes place. Jesus responds to their faith, and heals them.
Two Blind Men
Matthew 9:27-29 (ESV) says,
“And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David.’ 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?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith be it done to you.’”
These two men wanted desperately to see. Just how desperately? Let’s talk about that for a moment.
Blindness In The 1st Century
Blindness is a challenge no matter what century you live in, no matter how many resources are available to those with physical challenges. But to be blind in the 1st century was beyond what many—maybe most of us can imagine.
Those who were blind couldn’t work. They couldn’t earn a living. They had to resort to begging. And as humiliating as that may sound, the situation was made even worse since the generally held belief was that those with any form of physical challenge were under judgment by God for either their own sin or the sin of their ancestors.
Consider the question Jesus’ disciples asked in John 9:2 (ESV) of the man born blind:
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
That was not the case with this man and there is no indication that it was the case with the two men in today’s passage either. And even if it was, the fact that Jesus responded to their faith and healed them is an indication of His compassion, mercy, and grace.
But let’s consider their situation before they were healed. They had heard of this rabbi, this healer. They knew He could heal them. What they didn’t know was if He would. They knew their only hope was to go to Him, to pursue Him. And that’s just what they did despite the attitude of others in the crowd.
Plus, they didn’t just saunter along quietly, hoping that Jesus would take notice of them. No, their faith and hope—and desperation—made them cry out to Him.
Faith Hope and Desperation
Imagine that for a moment. Just what did they hear from others?
“Hey, watch where you’re going!”
“Don’t bother the Master. He has better things to do than heal you two sinners.”
“Stop that yelling! I’m sure Jesus heard you the first time. If He was going to do anything for you, He would have done it by now.”
“Oh, just go back to your begging.”
Jesus Responds To Faith
While we don’t know for sure what the crowd said to these two blind men, we do know that they didn’t give up. They followed Him right into the house. And, in this case—as in a number of others—we learn that Jesus responded to their faith and granted their request.
Think of the thing you want most in life; the thing that you are most desperate for; the thing that, if you had it, would change everything. Now, imagine if God gave you whatever it was. When you do, you will have the tiniest glimmer of how those two men must have felt.
Can Jesus Still Heal?
Can Jesus still heal the blind? Absolutely. Does He do so? I believe He does. But even more important is the fact that He is the Light of the World as He says in John 8:12:
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Whether we have physical sight or not, Jesus is the Light and we can walk with Him, trusting that He will show us the way. In fact, Jesus is the Way.
May we walk in the Way. May we walk in the Light. And may we deliberately seek to do so with our family. And when we are desperate for the Lord’s touch, for His healing in some area of our life, may we cry out to Him and let our children know they can do the same.
Though the answer to our plea may not always be exactly as we want it, we can rest assured that Jesus is willing and able to answer in the best possible way.
And further, why not ask Him to show you today how you can be used to answer someone else’s prayer. Are you willing to set aside feelings of pride and self-righteousness? Are you willing to remember what it says in Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Even if someone’s hardships are because of poor choices, sinful choices even, God is the God of mercy and grace. Are you willing to reflect that and reach out a helping hand?
How would you compare the two men? Contact us– we’d love to hear from you!
Steph Nickel
Steph Beth Nickel is eclectically interested and eclectically involved. In all she does, Steph seeks to nurture and inspire. She is currently working on the first book in a nonfiction series. Nurture and Inspire LOVE is a compilation of the first devotionals she wrote for HopeStreamRadio.
Steph is a freelance writer and editor. She is the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’ award-winning memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances, published by Castle Quay Books. Deb and Steph are working on a follow-up book.
You can visit her website, stephbethnickel.com, to learn more about her.
Visit Steph’s contributor’s page or at Steph Nickel’s Eclectic Interests.
Leave a Reply