WEBVTT 00:00:14.410 --> 00:00:20.289 Matthew chapter 9. We'll be looking at verses 00:00:20.289 --> 00:00:30.410 27 through 34 this morning. Let's turn on this 00:00:30.410 --> 00:00:36.409 mic. Verse 27. When Jesus departed from there, 00:00:37.049 --> 00:00:39.990 two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, 00:00:40.729 --> 00:00:44.829 Son of David, have mercy on us. And when he had 00:00:44.829 --> 00:00:46.710 come into the house, the blind men came to him, 00:00:47.310 --> 00:00:50.090 and Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I'm 00:00:50.090 --> 00:00:53.469 able to do this? They said to him, Yes, Lord. 00:00:54.229 --> 00:00:56.689 Then he touched their eyes, saying, According 00:00:56.689 --> 00:01:00.770 to your faith, let it be to you. And their eyes 00:01:00.770 --> 00:01:04.510 were opened, and Jesus sternly warned them, saying, 00:01:05.170 --> 00:01:08.849 See that no one knows it. But when they had departed, 00:01:09.310 --> 00:01:11.590 they spread the news about him and all that country. 00:01:12.350 --> 00:01:15.250 As they went out, behold, they brought to him 00:01:15.250 --> 00:01:19.989 a man, mute and demon -possessed. And when the 00:01:19.989 --> 00:01:23.489 demon was cast out, the mute spoke, and the multitudes 00:01:23.489 --> 00:01:25.909 marveled, saying, It was never seen like this 00:01:25.909 --> 00:01:30.590 in Israel. But the Pharisee said, He cast out 00:01:30.590 --> 00:01:35.049 demons by the ruler of the demons. Let us pray. 00:01:36.829 --> 00:01:39.069 Oh, Father Lord, I would ask so very much, Lord, 00:01:39.090 --> 00:01:42.750 for your help right now. God, let me humble myself 00:01:42.750 --> 00:01:45.189 before you and ask Lord for the help and aid 00:01:45.189 --> 00:01:47.969 of your Holy Spirit. Lord, would you feed your 00:01:47.969 --> 00:01:51.170 people with the true man of the true bread of 00:01:51.170 --> 00:01:53.989 life, which is Christ himself? Let them see in 00:01:53.989 --> 00:01:56.909 this passage the glory of Jesus, we pray. Amen. 00:01:58.769 --> 00:02:00.810 One of the things that I have discovered as I'm 00:02:00.810 --> 00:02:03.069 going through the book of Matthew is what really 00:02:03.069 --> 00:02:06.409 a brilliant storyteller he is. Some authors are 00:02:06.409 --> 00:02:08.330 easy to read, some are a little bit harder and 00:02:08.330 --> 00:02:10.310 you have to wade through it, but Matthew is very 00:02:10.310 --> 00:02:12.830 gifted. And I think he's particularly gifted 00:02:12.830 --> 00:02:17.110 in the way he lays out a series of events. So 00:02:17.110 --> 00:02:19.530 if you're reading Matthew compared to Mark, one 00:02:19.530 --> 00:02:21.669 thing you'll notice about Matthew is he is known 00:02:21.669 --> 00:02:24.889 for the way that he condenses narratives. He 00:02:24.889 --> 00:02:28.090 leaves out a lot of extraneous material. But 00:02:28.090 --> 00:02:30.469 what really strikes me is the way he places them 00:02:30.469 --> 00:02:33.349 in a certain sequence to kind of form a picture 00:02:33.349 --> 00:02:37.870 or to tell a story. Matthew is king of telling 00:02:37.870 --> 00:02:41.460 a story indirectly. He lets you connect the dots 00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:43.699 and figure it out. He doesn't come right out 00:02:43.699 --> 00:02:46.719 and directly tell you his point. Instead, he 00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:49.680 shows his point. And we'll see that this morning. 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:51.979 For example, as you look at the miracles and 00:02:51.979 --> 00:02:53.919 you look at the sequence in which those miracles 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:56.599 occur that Matthew's including in this gospel, 00:02:56.780 --> 00:02:58.740 you're going to get an idea that he's letting 00:02:58.740 --> 00:03:01.099 you in. He's going to let you figure out who 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:04.680 Jesus is. Now he begins in Matthew 5, number 00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:07.800 5, 6, and 7, that big sermon on the Mount. And 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:12.050 there you see an an itinerant rabbi preaching 00:03:12.050 --> 00:03:16.189 with great authority. In fact, so much authority 00:03:16.189 --> 00:03:18.689 that the people who were hearing him were left 00:03:18.689 --> 00:03:22.710 astonished as he preached. They could not believe. 00:03:22.969 --> 00:03:25.689 The question we are left with at the end of chapter 00:03:25.689 --> 00:03:30.669 7 is, who is this man who is teaching with this 00:03:30.669 --> 00:03:33.370 great authority? Well, then, Matthew, he begins 00:03:33.370 --> 00:03:36.740 to show you who he is. and he lets his readers 00:03:36.740 --> 00:03:41.300 drop in and witness what Jesus was doing. So 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:44.439 the Sermon on the Mount ended chapter 7. Beginning 00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:47.340 in chapter 8, we see Jesus immediately start 00:03:47.340 --> 00:03:51.280 healing. He touches a leper, touches the leper 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:55.219 and heals him. Then following that miracle, Jesus 00:03:55.219 --> 00:03:58.199 healed a centurion. That's a Roman soldier. He 00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:00.860 healed the centurion's paralyzed servant with 00:04:00.860 --> 00:04:03.400 just a word. Now that was interesting because 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:06.219 there was no touch needed. Jesus didn't even 00:04:06.219 --> 00:04:08.520 go to that man's house. The paralyzed man wasn't 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:12.300 even near Jesus. But just a word from Jesus from 00:04:12.300 --> 00:04:16.399 far away, that paralytic was healed. We then 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:18.680 see him go back into the house and Peter's mother 00:04:18.680 --> 00:04:21.439 -in -law is lying sick with the fever. And Jesus 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:24.339 heals her. After that, we are told that there 00:04:24.339 --> 00:04:26.879 were many coming to him from outside, many who 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:28.860 were sick and many who were possessed by demons. 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:32.740 And Jesus healed them all by just his word. And 00:04:32.740 --> 00:04:35.420 then later we see him get in a boat. And we see 00:04:35.420 --> 00:04:39.139 that He has control even over nature. A huge 00:04:39.139 --> 00:04:42.779 storm, just a wonderful tempest arose, and Jesus 00:04:42.779 --> 00:04:46.639 commanded the wind and the sea to calm down, 00:04:47.019 --> 00:04:50.519 and they immediately obeyed. We then see Him 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:53.980 heal another paralyzed man. This man had been 00:04:53.980 --> 00:04:57.600 brought to Jesus by four friends. But before 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:01.759 healing that man, Jesus forgave his sins. So 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:05.079 whoever's teaching with this authority Not only 00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:09.519 does he heal, but he forgives sin. Then we see 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:12.300 Jesus start to call another disciple. He calls 00:05:12.300 --> 00:05:14.420 this man Matthew, the one who wrote this gospel. 00:05:15.339 --> 00:05:17.480 Matthew, as we saw a few weeks ago, was this 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:21.660 despised tax collector, hated, notorious sinner, 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:24.920 a fraud, a crook, a thief. Jesus called him to 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:28.500 be one of his disciples. He heals people, he 00:05:28.500 --> 00:05:31.560 forgives sin, and he calls sinners to be his 00:05:31.560 --> 00:05:34.490 disciples. Later that evening, he enjoyed this 00:05:34.490 --> 00:05:37.209 big celebratory dinner with Matthew and his friends, 00:05:37.610 --> 00:05:40.089 and his Matthew's friends were also notorious 00:05:40.089 --> 00:05:43.269 sinners. They were the profligate of the town, 00:05:43.269 --> 00:05:45.790 if you will. And watching all this over here 00:05:45.790 --> 00:05:49.569 were the Pharisees, religious leaders, the purity 00:05:49.569 --> 00:05:53.490 police, and they are indignant. They hated what 00:05:53.490 --> 00:05:55.610 they were seeing. They could not believe that 00:05:55.610 --> 00:05:58.790 Jesus was willing to eat, to have table fellowship 00:05:58.790 --> 00:06:01.589 with men and women such as Matthew's friends. 00:06:02.029 --> 00:06:03.850 They couldn't believe He's willing to eat with 00:06:03.850 --> 00:06:07.029 sinners. They could not believe that Jesus could 00:06:07.029 --> 00:06:10.170 be a holy man sent from God because no holy man 00:06:10.170 --> 00:06:13.550 would ever deign to eat with such notorious sinners 00:06:13.550 --> 00:06:18.089 as Matthew and his friends. Jesus was undeterred. 00:06:18.430 --> 00:06:20.930 From there we read that He goes on and He heals 00:06:20.930 --> 00:06:23.930 an unclean woman who had an issue of blood, some 00:06:23.930 --> 00:06:27.370 type of hemorrhage, for 12 years. She reached 00:06:27.370 --> 00:06:30.110 out and touched to Him with His garment. And 00:06:30.110 --> 00:06:33.250 on that same day, Just a few hours later, we 00:06:33.250 --> 00:06:36.730 see him raise Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue. 00:06:37.209 --> 00:06:39.829 His daughter had died, and we see Jesus raise 00:06:39.829 --> 00:06:43.089 this young daughter back to life. Who is this 00:06:43.089 --> 00:06:45.850 man? He teaches us authority, so much authority 00:06:45.850 --> 00:06:48.850 that the people are astonished. He controls nature, 00:06:49.230 --> 00:06:53.149 wind and seas obey him. He forgives sin. He heals 00:06:53.149 --> 00:06:57.670 sickness, and he raises the dead. All that is 00:06:57.670 --> 00:07:01.009 in Matthew 8 and 9. And then we come to our passage 00:07:01.009 --> 00:07:04.509 today and there are two blind men. Men who could 00:07:04.509 --> 00:07:06.170 never see and they're crying out for Jesus and 00:07:06.170 --> 00:07:08.790 they want him to have mercy on him. And we read 00:07:08.790 --> 00:07:11.550 that in verse 27. It says when Jesus departed 00:07:11.550 --> 00:07:14.329 from there, two blind men followed him crying 00:07:14.329 --> 00:07:19.589 out saying, son of David, have mercy on us. It 00:07:19.589 --> 00:07:22.310 says Jesus departed from there. Well, you have 00:07:22.310 --> 00:07:24.829 to understand he was just at Jairus' house. That's 00:07:24.829 --> 00:07:26.730 where he raised that dead little girl back to 00:07:26.730 --> 00:07:30.089 life. And now there's two blind men. side of 00:07:30.089 --> 00:07:33.050 the road, and they're crying out to Jesus. And 00:07:33.050 --> 00:07:34.829 what do they want? It says they wanted mercy. 00:07:35.970 --> 00:07:37.149 Friends, that's what you better want from God, 00:07:37.189 --> 00:07:39.310 by the way. You don't want justice. You want 00:07:39.310 --> 00:07:41.670 mercy here. But what they really wanted, they 00:07:41.670 --> 00:07:45.329 desperately wanted to be healed. But I love what 00:07:45.329 --> 00:07:47.389 they're doing here. Notice what they're calling 00:07:47.389 --> 00:07:50.009 Jesus. They don't cry out using His name. They 00:07:50.009 --> 00:07:53.550 don't cry out, hey, Jesus! Instead, they cry 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:59.389 out, son of David, have mercy on us. Son of David 00:07:59.389 --> 00:08:02.750 is loaded with theological meaning. In fact, 00:08:02.829 --> 00:08:05.149 the way Matthew opens his gospel, he uses that 00:08:05.149 --> 00:08:07.810 very same title, chapter one, verse one, the 00:08:07.810 --> 00:08:10.769 book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son 00:08:10.769 --> 00:08:14.850 of David, the son of Abraham. The son of David. 00:08:15.550 --> 00:08:18.360 The blind men are using it. It's a Messianic 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:21.620 title, and it recognizes Jesus as the promised 00:08:21.620 --> 00:08:25.500 Messiah who would come in the line of David and 00:08:25.500 --> 00:08:30.160 rule over God's people as king forever. Now what? 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:34.000 These blind men are using that? The irony here 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:36.519 that Matthew is letting us witness is that these 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:39.360 two blind men could see that Jesus was the promised 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:42.679 Messiah, yet the Pharisees, who were their religious 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:46.610 leaders, they were blind. to who Jesus really 00:08:46.610 --> 00:08:49.570 was. Later on we'll see that the Pharisees even 00:08:49.570 --> 00:08:52.149 accused Jesus of being in league with Satan himself. 00:08:52.970 --> 00:08:55.169 So Matthew's arranging this narrative on purpose. 00:08:55.710 --> 00:08:58.710 There's a juxtaposition here. You have the Pharisees 00:08:58.710 --> 00:09:01.990 and you have the blind men. It's a striking contrast, 00:09:02.009 --> 00:09:04.549 right? So the Pharisees representing the religious 00:09:04.549 --> 00:09:06.929 elite, the leaders, the scribes and Pharisees, 00:09:07.090 --> 00:09:10.850 they should have known who Jesus was. There's 00:09:10.850 --> 00:09:12.649 no excuse for learning to believe, but they're 00:09:12.649 --> 00:09:17.039 blind to him. But the irony is, you have these 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:18.679 two blind men, and we assume they're peasants 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:20.259 because they couldn't work, there is no welfare 00:09:20.259 --> 00:09:24.519 system, and yet they were able to see him. They 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:27.139 were able to recognize Jesus for who he was. 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:30.379 Now the question I immediately said, why is this 00:09:30.379 --> 00:09:32.899 the case? Why were the Pharisees blind and the 00:09:32.899 --> 00:09:35.779 blind could see? Now I'm going to steal my thunder 00:09:35.779 --> 00:09:37.820 from a few weeks from now, but you can see the 00:09:37.820 --> 00:09:40.759 answers clearly in Matthew 11. So Matthew 11 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:44.600 beginning verse 20. Jesus begins to rebuke. You 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:47.440 don't see Jesus rebuking a lot in the Gospels. 00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:50.220 But he begins to rebuke the cities in which most 00:09:50.220 --> 00:09:53.200 of his mighty works have been done. Now notice 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:56.799 why he rebuked them. Because they didn't repent. 00:09:57.639 --> 00:10:00.059 Now can we stop and just imagine? Imagine you 00:10:00.059 --> 00:10:02.500 are there and you're seeing all this. Dead are 00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:05.879 raised, lepers are cleansed, blind see, mute 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:10.580 speak, deaf hear, wind and seas calm down. And 00:10:10.580 --> 00:10:13.100 you're like, no, I don't believe this guy. They 00:10:13.100 --> 00:10:15.559 did not believe. They did not repent. They had 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:19.539 seen the miracles. And Jesus now issues woes, 00:10:19.820 --> 00:10:23.379 condemnation. Woe to you, Coruscant. Woe to you, 00:10:23.500 --> 00:10:26.340 Bethsaida. For if the mighty works which were 00:10:26.340 --> 00:10:28.460 done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:30.960 they would have repented long ago in sackcloth 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:34.139 and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more 00:10:34.139 --> 00:10:36.740 tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:39.539 than for you. You're going to be judged harsher 00:10:39.539 --> 00:10:42.320 because you had much more revelation. And you, 00:10:42.500 --> 00:10:44.419 Capernaum, that's his home base of operations. 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:46.919 That's where Peter's house was. That's when Jesus 00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:48.980 was in Galilee. That's where most of these miracles 00:10:48.980 --> 00:10:51.720 were taking place. He said, and you, Capernaum, 00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:54.200 you who are exalted to heaven, you will be brought 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:59.059 down to hell, to Hades, to the grave. Why? For 00:10:59.059 --> 00:11:01.000 if the mighty works which were done in you had 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:04.039 been done in Sodom, it would have remained until 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:07.200 this day. But I say to you that it shall be more 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:11.179 tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of 00:11:11.179 --> 00:11:15.200 judgment, then for you." And at that time, Jesus 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:19.000 answered, and he starts to pray, I thank you, 00:11:19.159 --> 00:11:22.679 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have 00:11:22.679 --> 00:11:25.940 hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, 00:11:26.179 --> 00:11:30.080 and you have revealed them to babes. Even so, 00:11:30.179 --> 00:11:34.029 Father, for it seems good in your sight. All 00:11:34.029 --> 00:11:36.230 things have been delivered to me by my Father, 00:11:36.470 --> 00:11:39.009 and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor 00:11:39.009 --> 00:11:42.909 does anyone know the Father except the Son, and 00:11:42.909 --> 00:11:47.929 the one to whom the Son wills, chooses to reveal 00:11:47.929 --> 00:11:50.269 him." Now that's the text. That's a straightforward 00:11:50.269 --> 00:11:53.549 reading, right? Why were the Pharisees blind? 00:11:54.450 --> 00:11:57.710 The Pharisees were blinded, and the blind saw 00:11:57.710 --> 00:12:02.000 because it was deemed good in God's sight. Now 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:03.940 let me just say in this passage, that passage 00:12:03.940 --> 00:12:06.500 in Matthew 11, you see both human responsibility, 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:08.419 woe to you because you should have repented, 00:12:08.700 --> 00:12:11.440 but you didn't. And we also see divine sovereignty. 00:12:12.299 --> 00:12:14.980 God is the one doing all this. God chooses to 00:12:14.980 --> 00:12:18.860 reveal or to conceal according to His own wisdom, 00:12:19.100 --> 00:12:21.879 and Jesus is in a complete agreement with that 00:12:21.879 --> 00:12:25.620 Father's will. Complete agreement. God chose 00:12:25.620 --> 00:12:28.559 to reveal His Son to the least likely, and that 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:33.419 pleased Him. Spiritual sight, friends, is a gift 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:37.299 from God. So far in Matthew's gospel, and I go 00:12:37.299 --> 00:12:40.240 out and check it out, so far in his gospel, no 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:43.299 one other than demons has shown the level of 00:12:43.299 --> 00:12:45.980 understanding of who truly Jesus is except these 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:49.779 two blind men. These blind men were the very 00:12:49.779 --> 00:12:52.519 first people to use that title, Son of David, 00:12:52.519 --> 00:12:55.120 in Matthew's gospel. They were the first to use 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:59.980 it. Why do you think they used it? I suspect 00:12:59.980 --> 00:13:02.139 it's because they knew some promises. I don't 00:13:02.139 --> 00:13:04.879 know this. But I suspect that they had heard 00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:06.379 about these other miracles. They had not seen 00:13:06.379 --> 00:13:09.460 anything. But the word was sweeping town. They 00:13:09.460 --> 00:13:11.399 knew that Jesus was doing the extraordinary, 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:13.919 and they remembered, hey, we have a prophet that 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:16.299 we hear read in the synagogue, Isaiah, and he 00:13:16.299 --> 00:13:21.159 talked about this time. Isaiah 35. Say to those 00:13:21.159 --> 00:13:23.500 who are fearful -hearted, be strong and do not 00:13:23.500 --> 00:13:26.419 fear. Behold, your God will come to you with 00:13:26.419 --> 00:13:29.460 vengeance. with the recompense of God, He will 00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:30.980 come and save you." Now, how do you know when 00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:34.659 this is going to happen? Verse 5, then the eyes 00:13:34.659 --> 00:13:37.500 of the blind shall be open and the ears of the 00:13:37.500 --> 00:13:39.820 deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:42.480 leap like a deer and the tongue of the dumb or 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:44.960 the mute shall sing, for water shall burst forth 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:46.860 in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:50.139 Isaiah is saying something. He said, listen, 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:54.360 when Messiah comes, the blind is going to see. 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:56.500 And the deaf are going to hear, the lame are 00:13:56.500 --> 00:13:58.539 going to walk, and the mute is going to sing. 00:13:59.740 --> 00:14:02.360 And these men, these blind men, they're like, 00:14:02.379 --> 00:14:06.360 hey, I heard that he healed a lame man, a couple 00:14:06.360 --> 00:14:09.220 of paralytics. Hey, he's healed other blind men. 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.120 He's allowed the deaf to hear. So they heard 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:15.179 about all these miracles, then he must be the 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:19.019 one promised by God. He must be this. So believing 00:14:19.019 --> 00:14:22.190 he was the Messiah, they have the boldness to 00:14:22.190 --> 00:14:24.649 cry out for the healing, as foretold in Isaiah. 00:14:25.809 --> 00:14:27.909 And Jesus says when he'd come into the house, 00:14:28.309 --> 00:14:31.149 verse 28, these blind men, they followed him 00:14:31.149 --> 00:14:33.370 into the house, and Jesus said, Do you really 00:14:33.370 --> 00:14:36.169 believe that I'm able to do this? And they said 00:14:36.169 --> 00:14:38.389 to him, Yes, Lord. Now Jesus had been outside 00:14:38.389 --> 00:14:40.309 with the crowds, right? He left Jairus' house. 00:14:40.730 --> 00:14:43.070 Crowds were always following him, and he entered 00:14:43.070 --> 00:14:45.370 into the house. And the scriptures do not tell 00:14:45.370 --> 00:14:48.350 us whose house he entered, but most likely from 00:14:48.350 --> 00:14:50.899 inference we can say this is Peter's house. Remember 00:14:50.899 --> 00:14:53.139 Peter's mother had been healed, she had had a 00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:55.879 fever, and Jesus raised her back to health. So 00:14:55.879 --> 00:14:58.600 this is Capernaum, most likely Peter's house, 00:14:58.899 --> 00:15:02.019 and this served again as Jesus' base while they're 00:15:02.019 --> 00:15:04.860 in Galilee, specifically Capernaum. So these 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:06.759 blind men, they follow Jesus into the house, 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:08.460 and Jesus turns and he says, hey, I've got a 00:15:08.460 --> 00:15:12.299 question for you. They're like, go ahead. Do 00:15:12.299 --> 00:15:15.419 you believe that I'm able to do this? What is 00:15:15.419 --> 00:15:19.200 he doing? He's testing their faith. believe on 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:22.799 the promised Messiah? Do you truly believe that 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:26.279 I am the one that's foretold by Isaiah? Do you 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:28.259 really believe that I can restore your sight?" 00:15:28.259 --> 00:15:31.799 And they immediately answered, yes, Lord. And 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:33.139 Jesus basically touched their eyes and said, 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:35.600 well, we'll see. According to your faith, let 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:38.960 it be to you. Now, let me just say this. This 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:41.840 is an important part. Their faith did not merit 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:45.519 their healing. Their faith was not the basis 00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:49.259 of their healing. The basis of their being healed 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:52.779 was Jesus' sovereign authority and goodness. 00:15:54.059 --> 00:15:57.379 Faith did not cause this miracle, but faith was 00:15:57.379 --> 00:16:01.480 the conduit through which God chose to do and 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:03.840 perform this miracle. Faith is not always present. 00:16:04.820 --> 00:16:07.179 Grant Osborne, in his commentary, he said, faith 00:16:07.179 --> 00:16:09.519 is not a necessary ingredient in Jesus' healing. 00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:11.740 Let me give you an example. Do you remember earlier 00:16:11.740 --> 00:16:13.919 when that Roman centurion came with a paralytic 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:15.740 soldier? That paralytic soldier was nowhere near. 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:17.940 And the centurion said, hey, will you heal my 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:20.980 soldier? And Jesus did. That paralytic had not 00:16:20.980 --> 00:16:23.559 exercised faith in Jesus. The centurion did, 00:16:23.580 --> 00:16:27.340 the paralytic had not. So faith is not a necessary 00:16:27.340 --> 00:16:32.480 ingredient in the healing, but it turns healing, 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:36.159 and I love this, into salvation, and it brings 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:39.419 the person into the process. Jesus not just wanted 00:16:39.419 --> 00:16:42.320 to heal them, he's wanting to save them. So the 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:44.720 Lord touched their eyes, and we read their eyes 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:48.470 were open. Jesus touches, immediately they receive 00:16:48.470 --> 00:16:52.409 sight. And then he says he sternly warned them. 00:16:53.210 --> 00:16:56.769 Hey guys, be quiet about this. He did not want 00:16:56.769 --> 00:17:00.169 this miracle published all over town. Why not? 00:17:00.970 --> 00:17:03.309 Again, we're not told. But here's a couple things 00:17:03.309 --> 00:17:06.410 we can know. If it were made known, even more 00:17:06.410 --> 00:17:09.430 people would come to Jesus, right? I mean, if 00:17:09.430 --> 00:17:11.849 Jesus were just looking to gather larger crowds, 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:14.240 and he just wanted to attract more people, then 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:16.160 he would certainly want this miracle published 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:18.099 all over town. If you're just trying to get people 00:17:18.099 --> 00:17:22.299 in the door, hey, let that be known. But Jesus 00:17:22.299 --> 00:17:24.759 did not want people coming to him for the wrong 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:28.140 reason. And this is the problem I have today 00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:31.420 with a lot of the church growth gurus. They need 00:17:31.420 --> 00:17:34.180 to take note. And I don't say this critically. 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:36.859 Perhaps I do. I don't want to have a critical 00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:41.380 spirit. But they use gimmicks. to get a lot of 00:17:41.380 --> 00:17:43.680 people in the door. And I believe they have good 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:45.720 motives saying, let's get people into here. But 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:49.079 they're attracting people to Jesus for the wrong 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:53.220 reason. Much of what goes on today is really 00:17:53.220 --> 00:17:56.799 akin to a dog and pony show. And moreover, whatever 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:58.460 it takes to get them in the door is what's going 00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:02.079 to take them to keep them inside. So why do people 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:04.319 need to come to Jesus? Why bring people to Christ 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:07.160 today? Because you are sinners who have broken 00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:10.000 the law of God. You stand under God's judgment 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:13.319 and you need to be saved from God's wrath. That's 00:18:13.319 --> 00:18:16.720 why you come. The Lord did not want people to 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:20.480 come to him simply to be healed without understanding 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:24.920 who he really was. He could have gotten all Israel, 00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:27.920 both Galilee and Judea, to come to him to be 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:31.339 healed, but that's not why he had come. Why did 00:18:31.339 --> 00:18:36.369 he come? To seek and to save the lost. Chris 00:18:36.369 --> 00:18:38.650 Miller, I love what he said, I put Christ Miller, 00:18:38.710 --> 00:18:40.549 his name is not Christ, it is Chris, sorry about 00:18:40.549 --> 00:18:45.589 that. Although a magician wishes for fame, a 00:18:45.589 --> 00:18:49.910 redeemer longs for repentance. Now keep in mind, 00:18:49.930 --> 00:18:52.730 remember, there's a common misunderstanding among 00:18:52.730 --> 00:18:54.809 the Jews of that day concerning the role of the 00:18:54.809 --> 00:18:57.750 Messiah. They knew he would come as king, they 00:18:57.750 --> 00:19:01.809 wanted their king, but they had sadly overlooked 00:19:01.809 --> 00:19:06.319 his role as a suffering servant. Isaiah wrote 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:09.759 about that extensively. They did want deliverance. 00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:11.700 They did. The Jews wanted deliverance, but they 00:19:11.700 --> 00:19:14.660 wanted deliverance from Rome. And they could 00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:17.119 not see they needed delivering from their sin. 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:20.799 They knew about the lion from the tribe of Judah. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:24.059 Yes, come lion of tribe Judah, come and rule. 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:28.099 And they could not see they were blind to see 00:19:28.099 --> 00:19:30.960 that that lion would first come as the lamb of 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:36.240 God to save. Most of Israel was blind to who 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:39.119 Jesus was because they did not understand their 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:41.980 need of salvation. These blind men got it. They 00:19:41.980 --> 00:19:44.500 knew they needed help, but most Israel didn't. 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:46.960 They were blind because they placed confidence 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:50.660 in their lineage. They were the sons of Abraham. 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:54.460 They had the sign of covenant, the circumcision. 00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:56.980 They assumed they were automatically right with 00:19:56.980 --> 00:20:00.730 God, and none of that was true. And they're at 00:20:00.730 --> 00:20:02.450 now, so we're back to the miracles of Jesus. 00:20:02.710 --> 00:20:04.849 And we see none of these were done so that Jesus 00:20:04.849 --> 00:20:07.829 might garner praise or popularity or prestige. 00:20:08.170 --> 00:20:11.309 Why were the miracles done? They were signs, 00:20:12.369 --> 00:20:15.809 pointing to the dawn of the Messianic age. They 00:20:15.809 --> 00:20:18.589 were done so that people might see a new day 00:20:18.589 --> 00:20:22.789 had dawned, the King had come. All that Isaiah 00:20:22.789 --> 00:20:25.650 had prophesied the Messiah would do was taking 00:20:25.650 --> 00:20:28.440 place right before their eyes. So there is no 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:31.460 excuse for human unbelief. No one should be an 00:20:31.460 --> 00:20:33.940 unbeliever at this time. Blind receive their 00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:37.519 sight, deaf hear, mute speak. All these were 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:39.839 authenticating Jesus' message that the kingdom 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:43.279 of heaven was at hand. Now sometimes critics 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:45.599 will ask, why do we see so many miracles in the 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:47.200 Bible but we don't see those miracles today? 00:20:48.380 --> 00:20:51.140 You don't see the blind receiving sight or the 00:20:51.140 --> 00:20:55.599 deaf receiving hearing? Why? That's a good question. 00:20:56.109 --> 00:20:58.250 First, it is important to note that miracles 00:20:58.250 --> 00:21:03.329 have never been common in any age. No age. Miracles 00:21:03.329 --> 00:21:06.769 tend to appear in concentrated periods when God 00:21:06.769 --> 00:21:09.589 is revealing something new or he's advancing 00:21:09.589 --> 00:21:13.690 his redemptive plan in a major way. For example, 00:21:13.710 --> 00:21:15.730 let me give you a few examples here. You see 00:21:15.730 --> 00:21:19.589 miracles in the Exodus. Moses was given authority 00:21:19.589 --> 00:21:21.910 to perform miracles, think about the plagues, 00:21:22.190 --> 00:21:25.029 to show that God had sent him and to show the 00:21:25.029 --> 00:21:27.069 people that He was about to deliver them from 00:21:27.069 --> 00:21:30.670 Egypt. You go centuries later, probably about 00:21:30.670 --> 00:21:32.369 nine centuries later, almost a thousand years, 00:21:32.549 --> 00:21:35.329 you have prophets like Elisha and Elijah, or 00:21:35.329 --> 00:21:38.109 Elijah and Elisha, I should say. They were given 00:21:38.109 --> 00:21:42.609 the abilities to perform miracles. Why? To confirm 00:21:42.609 --> 00:21:46.329 God's Word in a time of widespread idolatry throughout 00:21:46.329 --> 00:21:50.470 Israel. You have Christ. Christ comes on the 00:21:50.470 --> 00:21:52.309 scene and He performed greater miracles than 00:21:52.309 --> 00:21:54.839 anyone had ever done. Why? To prove that he was 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:58.759 the Messiah sent from God. Later we see the apostles. 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:01.240 They're performing miracles in the early church. 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:03.799 Why are they given that ability? To authenticate 00:22:03.799 --> 00:22:05.700 that the message they were preaching was true 00:22:05.700 --> 00:22:10.019 as it spread beyond Israel. But apart from these 00:22:10.019 --> 00:22:13.960 epics, not many public miracles took place. It's 00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:15.480 not as though this was happening willy -nilly 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:18.160 all the time. In fact, that's why it captured 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:20.319 the attention of the people. This was something 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:24.200 different. Now let me hasten to say, one day 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:27.039 in the future the blind will see, and the deaf 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:30.420 will hear, the lame will walk, and the mute will 00:22:30.420 --> 00:22:34.180 sing, because another epic, another day will 00:22:34.180 --> 00:22:37.440 dawn. And all that is going to take place when 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:41.599 the kingdom of God arrives in its fullness. The 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:44.200 kingdom of God, when it is fully realized in 00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:48.180 its full eschatological completion, is heaven. 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:53.400 At that time, There won't be any more sickness, 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:57.000 and there won't be any more suffering, and there 00:22:57.000 --> 00:22:59.680 won't be any more need for funeral homes or hospitals, 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:02.660 because there won't even be death at that time. 00:23:03.460 --> 00:23:05.339 But in the meantime, you and I, in the meantime, 00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:10.059 we work with faith in our risen King, praying 00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:13.940 daily for his kingdom to come. So we go back 00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:16.920 to Matthew. What do you see? The blind are receiving 00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:20.440 their sight, but the people who have sight are 00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:24.500 becoming more... blind. It's a reversal of roles, 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:28.539 right? Verse 32. Right after the Lord had healed 00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:30.700 these two blind men, another desperate man was 00:23:30.700 --> 00:23:32.880 brought to him. They brought to him a man mute 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:36.740 and demon possessed. That's a pretty severe case. 00:23:37.720 --> 00:23:40.299 What's Jesus going to do? Now, we see this man 00:23:40.299 --> 00:23:43.240 was mute and the muteness was caused by the demon. 00:23:43.619 --> 00:23:47.420 Demons often use a few physical ailments and 00:23:47.420 --> 00:23:50.140 illness to torment people. For example, in the 00:23:50.140 --> 00:23:52.380 Gospels we read that sometimes those who were 00:23:52.380 --> 00:23:54.779 demon -possessed were blind. Sometimes the demons 00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:57.220 would cause epileptic seizures. Sometimes it 00:23:57.220 --> 00:23:59.599 would cause muteness or other forms of suffering. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:02.779 Because demons, just like their ruler, came to 00:24:02.779 --> 00:24:06.539 steal, kill, destroy. But the demons don't match 00:24:06.539 --> 00:24:09.380 our Lord. We're told Jesus cast out that demon. 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:11.619 We're not told how. Did he touch the man? No, 00:24:11.619 --> 00:24:15.079 no. We're just said he cast out the demon, setting 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:18.890 this man free, and the man began to speak. The 00:24:18.890 --> 00:24:22.769 blind see, the mute speak. These crowds are gathered 00:24:22.769 --> 00:24:24.569 there and they could not believe what they had 00:24:24.569 --> 00:24:27.329 just witnessed. Miracles like this had never 00:24:27.329 --> 00:24:29.970 been done in Israel, they said. Not even in the 00:24:29.970 --> 00:24:32.130 great epics of Elijah and Elisha. You don't see 00:24:32.130 --> 00:24:34.509 these things. None of their miracles compare 00:24:34.509 --> 00:24:38.910 with Jesus's. Jesus was the true prophet sent 00:24:38.910 --> 00:24:40.789 into the world. He's the great healing prophet. 00:24:41.029 --> 00:24:44.089 He's the Messiah and the promises of God were 00:24:44.089 --> 00:24:47.410 being fulfilled. And the people were left in 00:24:47.410 --> 00:24:52.750 awe and wonder except one group of people. The 00:24:52.750 --> 00:24:57.250 Pharisees, they're blaspheming. Instead of falling 00:24:57.250 --> 00:24:59.710 on their faces and repenting of their unbelief, 00:25:00.210 --> 00:25:03.490 they amped up their attacks. Earlier in the same 00:25:03.490 --> 00:25:05.769 chapter, chapter 9, the Pharisees were upset 00:25:05.769 --> 00:25:09.210 why they saw Jesus eating with sinners. They 00:25:09.210 --> 00:25:14.180 just don't like it. How dare he? Now, they are 00:25:14.180 --> 00:25:16.339 attributing his miracles to the power of Satan. 00:25:17.420 --> 00:25:19.039 What's interesting, they can't negate the miracles, 00:25:19.099 --> 00:25:21.480 they can't deny that they occurred. I mean, they 00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:24.200 saw them themselves, so they concluded that Jesus' 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:27.660 authority to heal and to cast out demons must 00:25:27.660 --> 00:25:30.079 have come from Satan himself. Now, let's forget 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:31.859 he also controlled the wind and the sea and can 00:25:31.859 --> 00:25:35.720 raise the dead. These men are just, you use the 00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:39.500 word, I mean, they're almost idiotic. They refused. 00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:43.750 They refused. to believe that he was from God 00:25:43.750 --> 00:25:46.049 because he didn't meet their expectations of 00:25:46.049 --> 00:25:49.490 what the Messiah would be like. I mean, the Messiah 00:25:49.490 --> 00:25:51.529 in their mind would not fellowship with sinners. 00:25:53.309 --> 00:25:55.589 And the irony is they're blind to what great 00:25:55.589 --> 00:25:59.170 sinners they are. So they're blind to Jesus, 00:26:00.390 --> 00:26:04.809 and the blind begin to see Jesus. And this is 00:26:04.809 --> 00:26:07.849 true for all of humanity. All of us, everyone 00:26:07.849 --> 00:26:10.970 in here, including myself, are born spiritually 00:26:10.970 --> 00:26:14.549 blind. all of humanity is blind to the things 00:26:14.549 --> 00:26:17.549 of God. Now, sure, we see well enough for this 00:26:17.549 --> 00:26:19.450 world, right? But we are blind to the things 00:26:19.450 --> 00:26:21.970 of God. That's what the Bible says. Our problem 00:26:21.970 --> 00:26:25.670 does not lie in our optic nerves. The problem 00:26:25.670 --> 00:26:28.529 is that our heart is darkened, our heart is blind. 00:26:30.009 --> 00:26:33.230 Our heart is corrupt, naturally. And you and 00:26:33.230 --> 00:26:35.829 I cannot see the things of God unless God first 00:26:35.829 --> 00:26:39.940 removes the scales from our eyes. He's got to 00:26:39.940 --> 00:26:45.019 do it. God must first give the grace that you 00:26:45.019 --> 00:26:48.180 have spiritual sight. Then and only then will 00:26:48.180 --> 00:26:52.180 you see in Jesus the glory of God. God must do 00:26:52.180 --> 00:26:55.500 it. Jesus said to Nicodemus, that leading Pharisee 00:26:55.500 --> 00:26:58.500 in John 3, he said, most assuredly I say to you, 00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:03.059 unless one is born again, he cannot see, not 00:27:03.059 --> 00:27:05.099 even enter, he can't even see the kingdom of 00:27:05.099 --> 00:27:08.670 God, much less enter it. You must be born again. 00:27:09.829 --> 00:27:13.690 You must be born again. If today you see Christ 00:27:13.690 --> 00:27:16.970 as the one sent from God and you can see in Jesus 00:27:16.970 --> 00:27:20.210 your salvation, that is because you have received 00:27:20.210 --> 00:27:23.029 a gift that God has granted to you. Praise Him 00:27:23.029 --> 00:27:26.650 for that. Just as Jesus opened the eyes of these 00:27:26.650 --> 00:27:30.049 blind men, so God has also opened the eyes of 00:27:30.049 --> 00:27:32.710 your heart so that you might see His dear Son 00:27:32.710 --> 00:27:36.349 as Savior and Lord. You know what that ought 00:27:36.349 --> 00:27:39.849 to do? It ought to make all of us fall on our 00:27:39.849 --> 00:27:42.410 faces in worship before the one who has shown 00:27:42.410 --> 00:27:46.069 us such mercy. But you might be thinking, okay, 00:27:46.190 --> 00:27:47.789 well, I understand, all right, these miracles, 00:27:48.210 --> 00:27:50.829 but I mean, okay, Jesus, Messiah, but what does 00:27:50.829 --> 00:27:54.849 that have to do with us today? And the answer 00:27:54.849 --> 00:27:59.920 is everything. Since Jesus can forgive sin, And 00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:02.359 since He has power over nature, and He has authority 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:05.240 to heal, and He can cast out demons, He can even 00:28:05.240 --> 00:28:07.400 raise the dead. That changes everything, by the 00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:12.099 way. Everything. Jesus is the Son of David. He 00:28:12.099 --> 00:28:15.500 is the Son of God who came as the promised one. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:18.220 And since He's the Son of God, then you must 00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:21.200 surrender to Him or you perish. That's what the 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:24.079 scriptures teach. Your confession, like all Christians, 00:28:24.500 --> 00:28:30.420 must be, Jesus is Lord. Psalm 2 says, kiss the 00:28:30.420 --> 00:28:32.619 son lest he be angry with you and you perish 00:28:32.619 --> 00:28:36.599 in the way. Lord, Jesus is Lord. We're saying 00:28:36.599 --> 00:28:41.420 Jesus is Yahweh. He's the ultimate authority 00:28:41.420 --> 00:28:46.140 in heaven and in earth. That means, at that time, 00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:49.759 Caesar's not Lord. That means today, Trump is 00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:53.259 not Lord, your boss is not Lord, your bank account 00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:56.200 is not Lord, and not even you are Lord of your 00:28:56.200 --> 00:28:58.700 own life. It is not your body, it is not your 00:28:58.700 --> 00:29:02.220 life, it is not your choice. When you come to 00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:05.740 Jesus, you surrender yourself, you surrender 00:29:05.740 --> 00:29:08.160 your rights, you surrender your decisions, you 00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:11.660 surrender your values, you surrender your desires, 00:29:12.059 --> 00:29:15.819 you surrender your very life. What? Because he's 00:29:15.819 --> 00:29:19.500 the one who's Lord. Jesus said, in the gospel, 00:29:19.599 --> 00:29:22.279 He said, no man can serve two masters. You're 00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:24.900 not going to straddle the fence with Jesus. He's 00:29:24.900 --> 00:29:26.519 not going to allow you to say, I'll take a little 00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:28.880 bit of Jesus and I'll take a lot of this. He 00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:31.740 doesn't give you that option. There can't be 00:29:31.740 --> 00:29:35.380 any competing loyalties. Why? Jesus alone is 00:29:35.380 --> 00:29:38.700 Lord. And since He is Lord, you must bow before 00:29:38.700 --> 00:29:43.240 Him. There is no other power, ideology, or person, 00:29:43.500 --> 00:29:46.640 or hobby, or sport, or anything who's ultimate. 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:52.700 Nothing. Jesus alone occupies that space. He 00:29:52.700 --> 00:29:55.400 changes your identity, your self -worth, and 00:29:55.400 --> 00:29:57.859 your purpose now come from belonging to Him. 00:29:59.099 --> 00:30:01.980 We are the children of God. We are Christians. 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:06.019 And we see here in Matthew's gospel that He will 00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:09.440 not allow you to remain neutral. The crowds, 00:30:09.460 --> 00:30:13.440 they marveled at Jesus. And the Pharisees blasphemed 00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:17.849 Him. What do you want to do with Jesus? To remain 00:30:17.849 --> 00:30:19.670 undecided, as though you had that option, is 00:30:19.670 --> 00:30:23.109 to reject Him. Jesus, you either stand with me 00:30:23.109 --> 00:30:25.089 or you're against me. You're either with me or 00:30:25.089 --> 00:30:28.230 you're not. You know, I think about that great, 00:30:28.490 --> 00:30:30.150 you know, choose you this day whom you will serve, 00:30:30.309 --> 00:30:31.809 Joshua said. It's for me and my house. We will 00:30:31.809 --> 00:30:35.170 serve the Lord. If Baal be God, go and serve 00:30:35.170 --> 00:30:38.670 Him. But if the Lord be God, fall on your faces 00:30:38.670 --> 00:30:42.140 and serve Him. You cannot remain undecided. And 00:30:42.140 --> 00:30:44.359 church, I want you to see that in these miracles 00:30:44.359 --> 00:30:47.240 that Matthew's pointing out, they parallel our 00:30:47.240 --> 00:30:50.940 salvation. Just like these blind men, you and 00:30:50.940 --> 00:30:54.079 I were once blind. We were helpless. We could 00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:58.099 not fix ourselves. But the grace of God reached 00:30:58.099 --> 00:31:02.839 for us and gave us sight. Now seeing, just like 00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:05.440 that mute man who once couldn't speak, now our 00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:07.940 mouths have been open so that we can tell others 00:31:07.940 --> 00:31:12.160 about him. That's our responsibility. Because 00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:15.579 Jesus is Lord, the Great Commission is not optional. 00:31:17.380 --> 00:31:20.359 Evangelism. It is about calling others to place 00:31:20.359 --> 00:31:22.839 themselves under the rule of the rightful king. 00:31:23.980 --> 00:31:25.640 Hey, you're in the wrong kingdom. You're serving 00:31:25.640 --> 00:31:27.799 the wrong savior. You're suffering the wrong 00:31:27.799 --> 00:31:31.359 deliver. Come to Jesus. Because Jesus is reigning 00:31:31.359 --> 00:31:33.559 right now. The world doesn't see him. The world 00:31:33.559 --> 00:31:35.859 doesn't recognize him. But Jesus is seated on 00:31:35.859 --> 00:31:38.119 the right hand of the Father on high, ruling 00:31:38.119 --> 00:31:42.920 over all people. History is not random. It is 00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:46.000 moving toward its planned end. What is the planned 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:48.299 end of all history? It will culminate with the 00:31:48.299 --> 00:31:50.359 Lord of glory returning in triumph and every 00:31:50.359 --> 00:31:52.519 knee bowing to Him and every tongue confessing 00:31:52.519 --> 00:31:55.240 to Him. Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of 00:31:55.240 --> 00:31:58.700 God the Father. That's where we're headed. You 00:31:58.700 --> 00:32:02.619 will bow. Bow now or bow then. But since He is 00:32:02.619 --> 00:32:05.519 Lord, He holds ultimate authority in our lives. 00:32:05.710 --> 00:32:08.890 He calls us to wholehearted allegiance and obedience, 00:32:09.150 --> 00:32:11.970 and we participate in his ongoing mission in 00:32:11.970 --> 00:32:15.549 this world with faith in our risen King. You 00:32:15.549 --> 00:32:18.390 know what we can do now? Let's fellowship with 00:32:18.390 --> 00:32:21.130 him. Jesus gives himself to his church today 00:32:21.130 --> 00:32:23.849 in the table and he says, fellowship communed 00:32:23.849 --> 00:32:27.579 with me because he's the risen Christ. And this 00:32:27.579 --> 00:32:29.539 is our privilege. Our faith is strengthened, 00:32:29.619 --> 00:32:32.279 but friends, we participate. We commune with 00:32:32.279 --> 00:32:34.259 the Lord of glory now at the table of the Lord. 00:32:34.559 --> 00:32:37.319 Let us prepare our hearts. Father, thank you 00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:39.480 so very much, Lord, for your word. Lord, it is 00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:43.559 glorious. It is rich. It's so helpful. God, would 00:32:43.559 --> 00:32:45.980 you help? Lord, I cannot make people see who 00:32:45.980 --> 00:32:49.019 Jesus is. Lord, I pray that you'd wake up cold 00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:50.880 people who are indifferent, who are serving lesser 00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:53.039 masters, who are not masters, who are serving 00:32:53.039 --> 00:32:55.640 lesser gods, which are not gods. They were serving 00:32:55.640 --> 00:32:57.299 things that will enslave them instead of set 00:32:57.299 --> 00:32:59.859 them free. Oh, Lord, if the Son sets us free, 00:32:59.880 --> 00:33:04.660 we are free indeed. But Father, now we come and 00:33:04.660 --> 00:33:07.339 we read and what we cry out is a mystery. Paul 00:33:07.339 --> 00:33:10.480 said, Lord, we participate in the body and blood 00:33:10.480 --> 00:33:13.059 of Christ. It is a true koinonia. It's a true 00:33:13.059 --> 00:33:15.640 participation, a true fellowship in the body 00:33:15.640 --> 00:33:18.119 and blood of Christ that was given to us and 00:33:18.119 --> 00:33:21.200 given for us. Oh, God, we receive that today 00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:24.220 and we fellowship with Jesus, our Lord. Lord 00:33:24.220 --> 00:33:26.819 bring people who don't know you maybe people 00:33:26.819 --> 00:33:31.319 who Lord have have been deceived Lord they're 00:33:31.319 --> 00:33:33.339 deceived because Lord their their hearts are 00:33:33.339 --> 00:33:37.299 cold and dead Awake them awaken them more to 00:33:37.299 --> 00:33:39.920 life this morning. We pray in Jesus mighty name. 00:33:40.079 --> 00:33:43.759 Amen Deacons if you would come and prepare the 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:44.680 table of the Lord, please