Sermon for Sunday, Sept 7th, 2025 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Old Testament Reading:
[Isa 42:1-9 ESV] 1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. 5 Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: 6 “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. 9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
New Testament Reading:
[1Co 13:8-13 ESV] 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Gospel Reading:
[Mar 8:22-26 ESV] 22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”
Sermon Text:
[Mat 9:27-34 ESV] 27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 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.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district. 32 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
Introduction
Blind and Mute no longer.
This is not a passage that says so much “stop being blind” as it is a passage showing that Christ brings light; He opens our eyes and our ears and our mouths, and our brains to the truth of God.
We are in a section of Matthew that is rapid-fire miracles of Christ. Each of these sections in Chapter 9 has continuing action from the previous.
First, “As Jesus passed on from there.” (Matthew 9:9)
Then, “And as Jesus reclined at table in the house.” (Matthew 9:10)
Then, “While he was saying these things” (Matthew 9:18)
Then, “And as Jesus passed on from there.” (Matthew 9:27)
Then, “As they were going away,” (Matthew 9:32)
These miracles happen in perhaps just a couple days. Maybe this is just a window into the miracles of Christ who healed MANY over the years of his ministry. Imagine how many miracles are not recorded!
If you’ve been tracking them, we’ve had miracles now affecting:
Leprosy
Paralysis (twice)
Fever
Demon-possession
and
Death (and resurrection)
What is remaining of the major physical maladies but blindness?
So now we have Jesus heal two blind men of their blindness,
and — a second miracle — a man who is mute because of a demon possessing him, has that demon cast out so that he is able to talk once again.
After the miracles of Jesus these men are “blind and mute no longer.”
That is what Jesus is able to do physically,
and that is what he does spiritually, when we come to faith through His Holy Spirit, we then are “blind and mute no longer.”
First, we have “the blind see.”
I. The Blind See
27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 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.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened.
Did you catch that … two blind men FOLLOWED HIM.
How did the blind men follow him? Well, they must have listened to his word, and they must have had faith in Jesus. Indeed they call him “Lord” and he commends their faith.
Matthew Henry says “these men blind followed him, AS BEGGARS do, with their incessant cries.”
Maybe the begging we know in American does find us being followed. But I have seen it elsewhere in the world. I spent a weeks in Xiamen China where I was an engineering liaison for an airplane seat installation in a large hangar in that city. And I had a couple experiences with beggars. One was a lady who could turn on the weeping. She say me, a Westerner, and put on quite an act. I said to her “bu chen,” which I later found out was bad Chinese. I should have said “mei chen.” (I have no money, rather than say “no, money.” English, you see, has one word for “no” in all of its uses, but other languages have more ways to express the idea. Well, then, I had a second encounter in the streets of Xiamen. A very sad situation indeed, a man with man deformities who probably could only beg for money. But he was aggressive! Whenever I walked in the city I was shoulder-to-shoulder with crowds of thousands of people and I’d scarcely remember seeing anyone twice, but this beggar was visible because of his deformities, and he rode on cart similar to a skateboard. And I felt bad for him, but at one point he got to aggressive and I had to more forcefully say “no” to him. I don’t recall if I ever gave anything to him; perhaps I should have. But the point is, he followed people, aggressively asking for money. That is what Matthew Henry knew – beggars following with incessant cries.
And we must see ourselves in that role when it comes to Christ. Those who are coming to Christ in need of a miracle are much like ourselves, in need of His salvation.
And what did they say: “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” The Son of David – that mean the messiah, for the messiah is to be from that lineage.
How did they know? Well, as the Scriptures tell us “faith comes by hearing.” So a blind person might welcome and grab on to that truth. “Faith comes by hearing.” And a deaf person? They can “hear” through their vision.
Notably the blind men in our account in Matthew are suffering together. They say not “heal me” and “heal me” but “have mercy on US.” We suffer together as Christians. So Churches sing “Lord have mercy” ON US.
Then Christ asks if they believe, and they IMMEDIATELY said yes. This is good. We are beggars in need of Christ and should immediately trust in him.
And then … a miracle occurs. Their eyes were opened. Jesus touched their eyes and their eyes were open. There again we have Jesus touching a person. He held the hand of the dead girl when he brought her to life. Now he touches the eyes of the blind men and they see.
We might consider that the climax of each of these stories – the miracles themselves, and the fact that these miracles show the power of Christ over every sort of malady. He is Lord even of the eyes, of vision, of light itself.
Then there are other truths to be gained from the story as well.
For example, we have again that “messianic secret.”
And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
Jesus does not heal them UNTIL they get to the house. He’s limiting his fame and this time, not healing them in public, but in private.
Some say that this delay in healing them is to test them to see if they will follow him for a time, but the delay could easily be explained in terms of that messianic secret, that fact that Jesus wants the message to go out about him in a controlled way; in his timing.
Then, the men – who indeed have faith — they fail to obey. They tell of the miracle, for the text tells us that “they spread his fame through all that district.” This disobedience doesn’t negate their faith or their salvation, but shows just how sin continues to dwell in man even in those who come to faith. This doesn’t imply that they’ve turned against Christ or have lost salvation.
In fact, you cannot lose your salvation. This is a oft-debated point. You cannot lose your salvation.
Why? But you did not gain it!
Your salvation comes only from the Lord, and He follows through on that which he starts.
It is really a poor phrase people say “Once saved always saved.”
And there is a sense in which it is false and a sense in which it is true.
Catholics, Arminians, others don’t like this idea that “you can’t lose your salvation.” They think it is a haughty, or that it is weak on sin (antinomian), but they are operating under the false premise that man contributes to his own salvation.
So OSAS is false if you understand it as man’s actions, for it is false from the beginning. The “once saved” is never true when it comes to man. As I have believe RC Sproul has said “If you could lose your salvation, you would do so.”
But OSAS is true if you understand that it is God who saves men through Christ, and his work is not in vain. And his work is not in weakness, but in power.
The better term than OSAS is the Perseverance of the Saints. And we persevere not because we are so great, but because of the Holy Spirit working in us. It is God who perseveres for us and in us.
II. The Mute Talk
Then there is a second miracle in the text.
Matthew Henry says “see the calamitous state of this world, and how various the afflictions of the afflicted are! We have no sooner dismissed two blind me, but we meet with a dumb man.”
Trouble abounds. Trouble is afoot, and isn’t going away anytime soon. This is an indication of the trouble that we are in, pushing us to recognize that we too need a savior.
Well, Matthew Henry had used the word “dumb.” That’s not in favor today. A deaf person isn’t necessarily “dumb”; and can even be quite intelligent and learn much.
Our text says “mute.”
If you look at the Greek it is Kophos. And in the King James Version is translated as dumb (8x), deaf (5x), and speechless (1x).
The “speechless” or “mute” is the best for our passage given the context. We see after the man is healed that he begins speaking. It doesn’t say he begins hearing. Muteness was the real problem, and the root cause was demon possession.
This doesn’t mean that all muteness, deafness, or dumbness is because of demon possession. That would be a great error to make. But in this case it is true.
32 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
Of course, we know Jesus’s answer to this in another place. A house divided cannot stand.
[Mat 12:24-28 ESV] 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
The Pharisees are trying to undercut the work of Christ.
Can’t they be glad that the blind see and the mute talk? The crowds were amazed, but the Pharisees were scoffers, indignant.
This really is a terrible sin, to be jealous of the good that another person does. Or to be threatened by it. Instead, rejoice when good comes to your neighbor.
And they say Jesus is working with demons, a sin they are in fact committing.
III. Brought to Faith in Christ
Now, I’ve noted throughout this sermon that these accounts are also about us; truths about every Christian and the need of Christ. Physical healings point to needed spiritual healings.
And lest anyone thing I am improperly “spiritualizing” this passage, we have to remember the very words of Christ.
I’ll read them from Mark’s Gospel as they are a bit more pointed than Matthew’s version.
He said:
Mark 2:17 “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
You see how he turns from the physical to the spirit. By saying he comes “not for the righteous, but for sinner” it is clear that the healing of the physically sick goes along with the healing of the spiritual sick (or dead).
Without the spirit of God, there is only blindness, and there is only muteness.
That is, without faith in Christ, you can see nothing, and you cannot speak anything of truth.
But He who heals the physical maladies also heals the spiritual, bringing salvation to his people.
Blindness, that physical condition, is frequently spoken of in the Scriptures in its spiritual manifestation:
[Isa 59:10 ESV] 10 We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
[Rev 3:17 ESV] 17 For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
And then we learn that the Christ will give sight to the blind, meaning SALVATION, spiritual salvation.
[Psa 146:8 ESV] 8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
[Isa 35:5 ESV] 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
That is what Christ fulfills, and that is what he promises for the salvation of his people even today.
So this fulfills Isaiah:
I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
So we can sing, “I once was blind, but now I see.” That’s always been a favorite song of mine – Amazing Grace. And of all its lyrics, I love best “I once was blind, but now I see.” Not of my own accord, but of Christ who heals.The song gets its words from John 9:25: He answer, “Whether he is a sinner I do no know. One thing I do know, though though I was blind, now I see.”
And we were blind.
This is spiritual blindness, and a blindness of knowledge in general.
I don’t think it is emphasized just how much non-believers are in the dark.
The term fool is regularly used in the New Testament.
Romans 1:22 – “professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
1 Cor 3:19 – “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”
This foolishness, the darkness people are in, is not just that they don’t know salvation in God; it is also all the errors they carry with them, idea of man that do not match with the truth which God has ordained and established.
That is faith. Seeing, understanding, believing, the truths of the Lord told us in His world.
So if that is seeing, what is the talking?
If God enables us to SEE through faith, what is that talking when we are un-muted.
Most generally, as I’ve noted, the talking is speaking the truth.
But the most clear example of that is to proclaim the Gospel. That is the greatest truth. The Good News.
We also “speak truth in love.” And speak kind words to others.
So this is the natural path of the Christian; you believe AND you proclaim. And I like the word “proclaim” so much better than “share” or “preach.” Proclaim the Gospel. Proclaim all truth, because the Lord has healed you from sin, saving you by the power of His Word, through Jesus Christ His Son.
So this day let us praise the Lord for the salvation He brings.