MATTHEW LESSON 20

     We will begin this lesson in Matthew 9:27 "And when Jesus
departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying,
[Thou] son of David, have mercy on us."

     At this point, Jesus had just healed the incurably sick woman of
the issue of blood, and had raised the young girl from the dead. We
read in the last lesson that the story of these two miracles had spread
throughout the land. No wonder these two blind men followed Him. Here,
again, was another impossible situation. These men believed that Jesus
was their only help.

     Matthew 9:28 "And when he was come into the house, the blind men
came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to
do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord."  Matthew 9:29 "Then touched
he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you."
Matthew 9:30 "And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged
them, saying, See [that] no man know [it]."  Matthew 9:31  "But they,
when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country."

     Jesus (in nearly every instance), when He healed someone, would
say your faith has made you whole (or something very near to that
statement). It seems that our faith in something happening has a great
deal to do with it coming to pass. Jesus asked them, "believe ye that I
am able to do this?" Then He healed them. Faith is one thing that
pleases God. The Scripture says that without faith, it is impossible
to please God. What is faith? We read in Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is
the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

     You see, if you could see the evidence, it would be fact, not
faith. Some ministers will tell you to shut your eyes and see your
prayer request happening in your mind. That is not really what faith
is. Faith is when we pray,and ask God for something, and then trust God
with all the details, never doubting in our hearts that God is able to
do more than we can ask, or think. I believe these two blind men had
that kind of faith. They came to Jesus, believing that He would
restore their sight, and He did. They did not follow His instructions
not to tell anyone. If they were blind, and could suddenly see, there
would be no way to keep them from telling the good news.  There is
another way to look at this, also. Before a person is saved, they are
spiritually blind. When they seek out the Lord Jesus, it is faith that
opens their eyes. A new Christian is just like these blind men.  There
is no way not to tell the good news. Once I, too, was blind, but now I
see.

     Matthew 9:32 "As they went out, behold, they brought to him a
dumb man possessed with a devil."  Matthew 9:33 "And when the devil
was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It
was never so seen in Israel."

     This person had been possessed of a devil. The devil spirit
inside him, would not let him speak. When a devil spirit controls a
person, he is totally under the control of the evil spirit. This
man was helpless, until Jesus came along and freed him. As we studied
before, these spirits of demons, or devils, are under Jesus. When He
commands them to go, they must obey. What a glorious thing to see
anyone delivered from a devil spirit, but to see one who was dumb
released to speak, was even more glorious. The multitudes realized this
was no ordinary happening. Jesus had super natural power.

     Matthew 9:34 "But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils
through the prince of the devils."

     Just as many churches today proclaim casting out devils is not of
God. so did the religion of that day. Churches have a tendency to
believe that anything not active in their particular church is not of
God; even though it is prominent in the Bible.

     Matthew 9:35  "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,
and healing every sickness and every disease among the people."

     Jesus was  many things to many people. He taught, preached, and
healed everywhere He went. Even the Jewish people agreed that He
was a great teacher, a great preacher-prophet, and a great healer.
These were just manifestations of who He really is (God manifest in
the flesh). These Scriptures above said He healed all. It is,
interesting, to me that sickness and disease were spoken of separately.
Sickness is like a case of the flu, or something like a short time
virus, But diseases are like M.S., or some other terminal disease like
cancer. At any rate, He healed them all. He brought the good news
(gospel) to everyone, so they might be saved. He not only brought
salvation, He is salvation.

     Matthew 9:36 "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with
compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad,
as sheep having no shepherd."

     Jesus, looking at the multitude, saw individuals who were lost.
They had no direction in their lives. They were weary of this world,
with no solution. They had no one to lead them. Jesus felt love for
them. He would become their Shepherd, who would lead them to green
pastures. He would be their Leader.

     Matthew 9:37 "Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly
[is] plenteous, but the labourers [are] few;"  Matthew 9:38 "Pray ye
therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers
into his harvest."

     The Scripture above reminds me of the song about the harvest.
Some of the words are: My house is full, but my fields are empty. Who
will go and work for me today? It seems all my children want to sit
around my table. No one wants to work in my field.

     The harvest is really the end of the world. We, labourers, must
hurry to reap the wheat. Many believe, as I do, that the Lord Jesus
will be coming back soon and will take the wheat (Christians) to the
great barn in the sky. We, ministers, of the Word must work for time is
drawing very short to work. Those trying to get into the family of God
must come soon, or be left behind. The 13th chapter of Matthew talks
about the seed that is planted by the Son of man. It tells of how it
grows up with the tares until harvest time. The seed is planted, then
someone comes in and waters it, but God gets the increase. The wheat
that grows is symbolic of the Christians. Some plant the Word, someone
else comes along and strengthens it, then after all is said and done
that Christian belongs to Jesus. He grows in the midst of the world
filled with evil people (the tares), but then at harvest time, Jesus
comes to receive His own. The tares are gathered and burned. The wheat
(Christians) are carried away to heaven to be with Jesus. I think
verse 43 of the 13th chapter of Matthew says it all, Matthew 13:43
"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of
their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

     There is little time left to get the Word out. Everyone who can
speak at all of Jesus, need to be about the Father's business. Work
for the night is coming, when man's work is done.

     Next lesson, study Matthew 10.

































                   Matthew Questions 20

1.  What name did the blind man call Jesus?
2.  What did these two blind men think about Jesus?
3.  What did Jesus ask the two blind men?
4.  When Jesus healed, what did He tell them that helped them to be healed?
5.  What is the one thing that pleases God?
6.  What is faith according to chapter 11 of Hebrews?
7.  If you can see evidence, what is it?
8.  What, besides a physical healing of blindness, does this passage
    tell us.
9.  What was really wrong with the dumb man?
10. What did the multitude say, when the dumb spake?
11. What did the Pharisees say about Jesus when the dumb spake?
12. What do churches today have a tendency to believe about churches
    who do more than they do in their own church?
13. Name three things that Jesus did in the cities and villages.
14. What percentage of people did He heal?
15. What is the difference between sickness and disease?
16. When Jesus saw the multitude, how did it affect him?
17. Who would be their Shepherd?
18. What was Jesus asking for in verse 37?
19. What is the harvest, really?
20. Who was the wheat symbolic of?
21. Who are the tares?
22. What happened to the tares at the end?
23. In Matthew 13:43, the righteous shall shine forth as what?