Two Blind Men

This morning I had the privilege and joy of fellowship in the Word with two other brothers. We looked at an incident in Matthew 9. The passage reads like this, "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.' And their eyes were opened." ( Matthew 9:27-30 ESV) Some people can tell you many fascinating things about the Bible. They have lots of knowledge. Some people are wealthy, others well educated. There are differences in our physical appearances and personalities. We say one person has a good sense of humor but another is cold. But Jesus assesses people on one thing only- their faith. This passage provides one example of this. Think about these two blind men. They have heard about Jesus, at least enough to know that He is of the lineage of David. They are bold enough to cry out to Him for healing. But He does not respond. He does not stop and heal them. Instead He continues on His way. We do not know how far he went. Was it two minutes, two hours or longer? The blind men could have given up. They could have said, "Jesus doesn't care about us. He's too busy." But they keep following. He enters a house. They go in also. I doubt that it was their house. Even though Jesus has not responded they are determined. Their faith is producing action. Now Jesus questions them. "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" Their response is instructive. "Yes, Lord." Not "maybe," or "I hope so." And they acknowledge Him as Lord. Jesus does not say, "I'll do this for you," or "no problem." He brings it back to their faith yet again. "According to your faith be it done to you." He knew that they had faith because they had been exhibiting this all along, following on the road, going in the house, and responding to His question. "Without faith it is impossible please Him, because everyone who comes to God must believe that He is, and is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him." ( Hebrews 11:6) Jesus is searching for those who will believe Him.