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Matthew 9:27-34

Matthew now concludes his collection of ten miracles of Jesus, with two occasions of healing. These begin
in verse 27.

[Matthew 9:27-34]

These miracles appear to be exclusive to Matthew’s gospel alone. And with an accountant’s shorthand,
Matthew has given us scant detail. But let’s consider them, first in light of the two miracles that precede
them.

With the previous two miracles, we’ve noted that there was a connection between the unclean woman and
the dead girl - the two miracles are woven together, based on the action of the account. In a somewhat
similar way, these last two miracles are also connected - the healings of these men take place in the same
house.

Let’s go back to verse 27 and look at the healings more closely.

v. 27 There does not appear to be any break in the action, from the previous passage. Where was Jesus last
- where was He, when He brought the little girl back to life? He was in the house of Jairus. We presume
that was in Capernaum, since there is no sense that Jesus traveled far, to go to Jairus’ house.

Remember that a crowd had been thronging Jesus, on His way to Jairus’ house. And another crowd - the
noisy wailers, who were mourning the dead girl - they had been put out of Jairus’ house, when Jesus
arrived. Having just resurrected the little girl, no doubt the whole crowd would now have been inclined to
follow Jesus, carried away by the wonder of that miracle.

Traveling with this crowd were undoubtedly those who desired to be healed - including two blind men.
The fact that there are two of them might remind us of the two demon-possessed men, from chapter 8. In
Scripture, what does the number two represent? It is the symbol of witness.

The two demon-possessed men bore witness to Jesus as the Son of God (Mt 8:29). What is the witness of
these two blind men? That Jesus is - who? The Son of David. The Son of David is a title for Messiah, as
the heir to the throne of David. The Son of David is the King of Israel.

These blind men recognize Jesus for who He really is, to Israel. And they are casting themselves upon
Him, begging Jesus - in a very loud voice - to extend His mercy to them; to have compassion toward them,
in their affliction. What do they want Jesus to do? That’s obvious, right? They want Jesus to restore sight
to their eyes.

Now, when the leper came to Jesus for healing, Jesus immediately healed him. And when the centurion
made his request and his statement of faith, Jesus promptly healed his servant - long-distance. Peter’s
mother-in-law didn’t even have to ask.

And Jesus went out of His way, into Gentile territory, to heal the two demon-possessed men. With the
paralyzed man, Jesus even forgave his sins, in addition to then healing him. And the unclean woman was
healed when she touched Jesus; the dead girl, when Jesus touched her.
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But it seems that Jesus was simply ignoring these blind men - at least, at first. They’re following Him;
they’re proclaiming who He is; they’re casting themselves on Him, to extend His mercy, His healing. Jesus
just keeps walking. And He keeps on walking, until He gets to His destination.

v. 28 So what was Jesus’ destination? “The” house. What house? We have to assume by the definite
article that it is the house in which Jesus is staying, in Capernaum; where He is dwelling; where He resides.
So Jesus comes to His house.

And once He gets there, the blind men come to Him; we can assume He invites them in - away from the
crowd. Does this tell you anything about them? It tells you that they are Jews; Gentiles would not have
gone into the house of a Jew. You may have already realized that they were Jews by the fact that they had
called Jesus the Son of David.

When the men come to Jesus, He questions their faith - if they believe Jesus had the power to do “this”. To
do what? To restore their sight; that’s clearly what’s meant, isn’t it? We might think, “Of course they
believe that; that’s why they were following Jesus, and asking Him to extend His mercy to them”.

But Jesus wants them to say it to Him; to profess their faith. And as they do, they call Jesus “Lord” - more
than just a title of respect here; perhaps even a recognition of the deity of Jesus; for the One with the power
to restore their sight must be God.

v. 29-30 Jesus touched their eyes; the One who could heal long-distance, if He so desired. And Jesus
healed, based on their profession of faith in Him; the One who sometimes healed, without even being
asked.

These are the details that Matthew chooses to bring out, in his account. They will provide a particular
reflection of the healing of the nation Israel, as we shall see.

And speaking of seeing - what do you think of the instruction which Jesus gave the men, after He healed
them? They are to see to it that no one knows.

No one knows - what? That they can now see? An entire crowd of people heard them crying out for
healing, saw them go in the house, and now they will come out, with their sight. Jesus couldn’t possibly
have meant that they are to make sure no one knows they were healed; it would be self-evident.

But what they could do, and Jesus seems to have instructed them to do here, was to see to it that no one
knows - He is the Messiah. But isn’t that just why He has come? Yes; but there is a very careful balance
being maintained, in how and when this is being made known.

For instance, if the crowds become unruly, the government could intervene - and in this region, the
government was Herod Antipas. This could cut short the ministry of Jesus. Or if the religious rulers
perceived Jesus as a threat to their own power over the people, they could undermine His ministry.

We will find throughout the gospels that there are some times when Jesus permitted His miraculous works
to be proclaimed freely, and other times when He sought secrecy. Everything that Jesus did was informed
by the all-knowing mind of His Father, who foresaw what must occur, and when - in order for His perfect
will to be accomplished.

Which means that the Father knew these two men would not obey Jesus, in this.
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v. 31 Of course, the men were overjoyed, that they had been healed. And it seems they could not help but
proclaim Jesus as the Messiah, despite what He had requested of them. We understand that they spread the
news of Him throughout their region. But perhaps they held their tongues with the immediate crowd -
which may have been the objective.

So as those two men went out, some members of the crowd bring someone else in to Jesus.

v. 32-33 So a man was brought in to Jesus; again this man must be a Jew. And where was Jesus? He was
in the house; in His dwelling.

This man was mute - he couldn’t speak - and we have the sense that it was because he was demon-
possessed that he had this physical disability, for when the demon was cast out, the man spoke. So the
demon was preventing the man from speaking; the demon disabled his voice.

The word for “mute” simply means blunted or dull, and in the NT it is used of the senses. It can mean
either mute, or deaf - or both. The context tells us that the man was mute, because his speech was restored
after the demon was cast out; but he may certainly have been deaf as well; we can’t be sure.

In this account, we see Matthew at his minimalist best. It is obvious that Jesus cast the demon out of the
man, but not even that is mentioned; the statement of the Pharisees makes it clear.

We can know that there was no profession of faith, though, unlike the blind men. Why? Because the man
was mute! But afterwards, I’m sure that man was proclaiming Jesus just as excitedly as the two blind men.

The crowd’s response gives us the sense of how incredible these miracles were, and the astonishment which
they created. The crowd was clearly moved by the miracles - at least, in the emotional sense. And we can
be certain that as the healed men spread the news about Jesus, there were those in the crowd who came to
believe in Jesus, for themselves.

But few of them would have been Pharisees. In fact, Matthew shows the reaction of the Pharisees to be one
of increasing hostility, and opposition to Jesus. When Jesus dined with tax collectors and sinners, the
Pharisees questioned Him (Mt 9:10-13); but now, they actively accuse Him.

Notice that the Pharisees did not deny the miracles; with Jesus doing so many, that would be difficult,
wouldn’t it? But miracles require supernatural power, and therefore a supernatural source.

v. 34 So the Pharisees denied that the miracles were done under the authority of God; but instead, under the
authority of the ruler of the demons. Jesus will later show the irrationality of this thought (Mt 12:24-37).

What is absolutely certain is that the ruler of the demons - Satan - was behind this possession of the man,
by the demon, which rendered the man powerless to speak. But Jesus overruled Satan’s power and cast out
the demon - freeing the man, and loosing his tongue. It says that the mute spoke. What do you think the
first thing he said was? Maybe, “Thank you Jesus!!”

This completes the last set of Matthew’s miracles in chapters 8 and 9. The final group of four miracles
show the deliverance and restoration of Israel, still future to our day. We have seen that the healing of the
unclean woman and the dead girl reflect the cleansing and regeneration of Israel.

The healing of the blind and mute men completes the picture with the consecration of Israel, as the Servant
of Jehovah. We can see this better from a historical perspective.
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When the families of the earth rebelled against the LORD at Babel, the LORD determined to make a nation for
Himself. Israel was to hold out the light to the other nations, to lead them back to the LORD. This is how
the LORD’s nation was to serve Him.

Turn to Exodus chapter 19. When the LORD delivered the nation Israel from Egypt, He brought them
Himself in the wilderness. There the LORD gave His words to Moses for the people.

[Exodus 19:3-6]

v. 3-5 The LORD was offering to take the nation Israel as His own people; like a man, making a proposal of
marriage to a woman. The responsibility of Israel, like that of a wife, would be to obey the voice of her
husband, and to keep His covenant; that is, to be faithful to their marriage contract - the covenant for
eternal life, through Christ - Israel’s Messiah, the Savior.

v. 6 If Israel would believe in the LORD for His Christ - the covenant Son - they would be set apart to the
LORD as a holy nation, and consecrated to the service of Jehovah as His priests. So Israel was to be a
kingdom of priests, who would minister the truth of the LORD and His Christ to the other nations - in order
for the members of those nations to be saved.

But in order for Israel to be this kingdom of priests, they had to believe in the revelation that the LORD made
of Himself to them, through His Word - they couldn’t minister to others what they didn’t believe for
themselves. So faith was fundamental to Israel becoming the Servant of Jehovah. Without faith, they
could not serve the LORD’s purposes.

Yet from their inception as a nation, Israel never believed in the LORD; and therefore, they failed to fulfill
the LORD’s commission for them, generation after generation.

Turn to Isaiah chapter 42. Isaiah was given to see the failure of Israel in their role as the Servant of
Jehovah - and also, to see the One who was appointed in place of Israel, to fulfill that commission.

Chapter 42 begins with a prophecy of the faithful Servant, in whom the LORD delights. This Servant would
be anointed with the LORD’s Spirit; the Holy Spirit (v. 1). He would be willing to be kept by the LORD -
perfectly doing His will; and the LORD would give this Servant as a covenant to the people; a light to the
Gentiles (v. 6). What Servant is Isaiah prophesying of, in this case? This Servant of the LORD is Jesus.

But later in the prophecy, Isaiah speaks with dismay of another servant. This begins in verse 18.

[Isaiah 42:18-25]

v. 18-20 This is the unfaithful servant of the LORD - the nation Israel. They were perfect, in that the LORD
perfectly equipped them for their ministry, as His kingdom of priests - His messenger, to deliver His truth
into the other nations.

The LORD had given Israel His Word, the Law, the Tabernacle service, even prosperity and protection. Yet
Israel failed to see the truth of God for themselves. They were blind to their Messiah, their Savior. They
only had eyes for the idols of the other nations. And they turned a deaf ear to the word of the LORD, spoken
through His prophets, calling for them to repent, and return to the LORD.
v. 21 Israel’s faithlessness had no effect on the LORD in His righteousness; He was not dependent upon
them, as His servant; He would appoint others. First Jesus took the role of the Servant, and then the LORD
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called out a new people, to hold out His light of truth to the ends of the earth - the church - the new
kingdom of priests (Rev 1:6). In this way, the LORD fulfilled His purposes - despite Israel.

But this did not relieve Israel of their responsibility for their own failure.

v. 22 This alludes to the judgments that came upon Israel for their unbelief; Israel to the north was taken by
the Assyrians; Judah to the south, by the Babylonians. A far fulfillment of the prophecy was the dispersion
of the Jews by the Romans into the nations after their rejection of Jesus.

v. 23-25 Isaiah was sending a warning, to the future generations of Israel. The calamities which befell
Israel were no accident; they were the LORD’s judgments, for their disobedience to His calling, as His
servant.

The next chapter continues this prophecy, showing the future hope of Israel.

[Isaiah 43:1, 8-13]

v. 1 Notice the time change, here: “But now”. The prior portion of the prophecy left off with the
judgments of Israel, including their scattering among the nations.

But now, the prophecy advances - to the time when the nation of Israel will be redeemed. Has that
happened yet? No; that is still in the future. This is when Israel will repent as a nation of their rejection of
Jesus as their Messiah. The LORD will forgive Israel, and He will take them as His people; His holy nation.

The prophecy continues, indicating that throughout all of the judgments that came on Israel, the LORD was
with them - which will include the fiery trial of the Great Tribulation, yet to come. Isaiah then prophesies
of the regathering of Israel, into the land that the LORD promised them.

We continue now in verse 8.

v. 8 Who is Isaiah speaking of? Look back in chapter 42, verses 18-20. That’s Israel, as the blind and deaf
servant of the LORD.

When the LORD Jesus returns to the earth in His Second Coming, He will come into His house - the house
of Israel - and He will touch His nation, with a great work of healing.

Israel will look upon the One whom they have pierced, and they will mourn; they will repent of their
unbelief, in Jesus, and they will proclaim Him the Son of David; their Messiah.

Israel will no longer be blind to who Jesus is; they will have eyes to see. And Israel will have ears to hear
Him; they will respond to the voice of their Lord, walking in obedience with Him.

v. 9 These nations are the Gentile nations. When Jesus returns, they will also be gathered together -
assembled - and they will be judged.

What the LORD is saying next in the prophecy is that everything that He has said, will have come to pass.
He is urging the nations to bring out their own witnesses - those who can show that their so-called gods
were able to prophesy these events accurately.
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Will there be any “takers”? Of course not! Only the true God - in His omniscience, in His foreknowledge -
can correctly and precisely foretell the future - and does so with perfect accuracy. The so-called gods are
no gods, after all! They have been disproven.

v. 10-12 The LORD is speaking here to the regenerate nation Israel. They are His witnesses and His servant.
The LORD has chosen Israel - to know; to believe; to understand - the true and living God, the one and only
Savior - and to then make Him known, to the other nations.

The LORD ends by declaring Himself, to His Servant.

v. 13 Before the day was, I am He. What does that say, the LORD is? That He is an eternal being,
preexistent, self-existent; the Creator. And no one can deliver out of His hand. When the LORD saves, it is
forever; permanent; irreversible. He is the omnipotent Redeemer of men; the one and only. This is what
Israel will declare to the nations, throughout the Kingdom age, as the servant of the LORD.

We can see in this a reflection from Matthew’s account. Some of the Jews during the Tribulation will come
to believe that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel - like the blind men, recognizing Jesus to be the Son of David.

But it wasn’t until Jesus came into the house that He healed the men. Likewise, the believing Jews will
have to wait until the end of the Tribulation, when Jesus returns to His house - the house of Israel - before
deliverance and healing comes to the entire nation.

Only then can Israel fulfill their role, as the Servant of the LORD - like the healed men, who then went out,
proclaiming Him.

Another element of this is brought out, with the healing of the mute man. We can see this as we look into a
prophecy that the LORD gave to Zechariah. Turn to Zechariah chapter 3.

Zechariah lived after the time of Isaiah. He was actually born in Babylon, during the captivity. Zechariah
was born a priest; a descendant of Aaron.

Zechariah was one of the exiles who first returned to Jerusalem. They did so under the leadership of
Zerubabbel, a descendant of David, of the royal line, and Joshua, who was at that time the high priest.
Zerubabbel and Joshua become part of the visions that the LORD gave to Zechariah, concerning Israel.

At the time, some Jews had returned to the land, and rebuilt the wall of the city. But due to opposition and
complacency, the Jews abandoned rebuilding the temple, for 16 years.

The prophets Zechariah and Haggai were commissioned by the LORD to stir up the people to complete the
temple. The visions given to Zechariah reflected the restoration of Israel, which were particularly inspiring
to the people. Four years later, the temple was finished.

This vision given to Zechariah concerned the Jerusalem, as the place of worship appointed by the LORD.

[Zechariah 3:1-10]

v. 1-2 So in the vision Zechariah sees Joshua the high priest. High priests were always to be the firstborn
sons, in Aaron’s line - Aaron was the first high priest, who was appointed by the LORD.
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The Angel of the LORD is Christ, in a preincarnate appearance. Joshua the high priest is standing before
him, and Satan is standing at Joshua’s right hand.

This tells us that the vision is of a judicial scene; like a courtroom. The judge is the Angel of the LORD. The
right hand is the place of accusation under the law (Ps 109:6); that’s where Satan stands, who is opposed to
Joshua, and making an accusation against him. So it is Joshua - representing Jerusalem - that stands
accused here, before the LORD.

What charges could Satan bring against Jerusalem, standing for Israel here? The charge of unbelief - for
not trusting the LORD, for not believing in His Coming Savior. The charge of idolatry - for false worship.
The charge of disobedience - for not keeping the commandments of the LORD. I’m sure Satan had a long
list; for there were many, many charges against the nation.

So what did Joshua offer as his defense? What did he have to say, for himself? Do you see any rebuttal?
Not a word. Joshua was completely mute; he was speechless. He could not raise a word in his defense,
because there wasn’t any.

It would seem that the accusations of the ruler of the demons had disabled Joshua’s voice. And the sin and
guilt of the nation Israel completely muted Israel’s witness of the LORD to others - all that others would see
were hypocrites.

And yet, despite this, what was the LORD’s finding, here? How did He decide the case? The LORD threw the
accusations out of His courtroom, and rebuked the accuser of the brethren. Why? Because the LORD had
chosen Jerusalem.

The LORD was looking down the corridors of time, all the way to the end - with Israel passing through His
fiery judgment on the earth, the Great Tribulation. The remnant of Israel would be like a brand, plucked
from that fire - purified, but not destroyed. Every member of the nation would repent and receive Jesus as
their Messiah - and be cleansed.

v. 3-5 The filthy garments of Joshua means that they were covered in excrement. The nation was utterly
defiled. But their repentance will allow the LORD to completely remove the iniquity from Israel.

Joshua’s change of garment suggests the righteousness that will be imputed to believing Israel. His new
clean garments are again those of the high priest. This shows the restoration of Israel as the servant of the
LORD, His kingdom of priests. And during this, the Angel of the LORD stood by, affirming His verdict, for
the nation.

But this is all future, to the time when this prophecy was given. So the LORD had this exhortation for
Joshua.

v. 6-7 The Angel of the LORD - the LORD of the angelic hosts, the supreme judge - now makes this
conditional promise to Joshua. In verse 7, the LORD’s house would refer to the tabernacle; His courts would
refer to the outer courts of it.

When Israel is ready to submit to the LORD, then Jerusalem will become the seat of the LORD’s rule, over the
earth - administering over the house of Israel, as well as the courts - the Gentile nations. That is to say,
Israel will be instated as the servant of the LORD; His kingdom of priests. And the land that was promised to
Abraham so long ago would finally be given to Israel - in the midst of the Gentiles.
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The prophecy continues with a word to Joshua and his companions - Jerusalem and the believing remnant
of Israel - the kingdom of priests.

v. 8 “Wondrous sign” in this context refers to an object lesson; something to be learned from. At the time
of this prophecy, generation after generation of Israel had failed to believe in the LORD. They are Joshua in
his filthy garments - the priest without a voice - their witness to the LORD among the Gentiles muted -
stifled, by the accusations of Satan against them.

But behold - the LORD would bring forth His Servant - and what is the title for Him, in verse 8? The
BRANCH. This refers to the Messiah as the son of David - the royal branch, in the family tree. This
Servant would serve the LORD’s purposes perfectly - which would result in the restoration of Joshua.

v. 9 Behold the BRANCH; behold the stone - they are one in the same. The stone refers to the cornerstone;
the foundational stone of a building. In this case the building is the house of Israel, and their foundation
stone is their Messiah. The seven eyes are defined later as the eyes of the LORD (4:1); those eyes have
overseen the laying of this foundation stone; they didn’t miss a thing.

The inscription it is engraved with may refer to a dedication chiseled on such cornerstones - indicating the
builder, and the purpose of His building. The LORD shows Himself to be the builder; and the purpose of this
building, a dwelling place for Him; in the midst of His kingdom of priests.

The stone is laid before Joshua. All was the LORD’s doing. The only thing that Joshua has to do is to rest
himself on the stone - by faith.

And when the nation of Israel does that, they will be built in a day; a temple from which the light of the
LORD’s truth can radiate out, to the other nations. The LORD’s purpose for Israel will then be fulfilled.

v. 10 The LORD knows that day will be when Jesus returns, to set up His kingdom. It will be a prosperous
kingdom of righteousness and peace - as reflected by the vine and the fig tree.

And in that day, everyone will invite his neighbor. Israel will serve the LORD by extending His invitation -
for eternal life, through faith in Christ - to their neighboring Gentile nations, throughout the kingdom age.
The mute will have found his voice; and everyone will say, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”

Reading: Genesis 17; Gen 28:3-4; Gen 35:9-12; Gen 49:22-26; Is 60.