Introduction

1. Intimidated by evangelism. Many Christians are intimidated by evangelism. It's easy to think to yourself, "I don't have enough theological knowledge or understanding. I don't have the right words to present the Gospel."

2. Africa Christian Training Institute. During college I went to Uganda to do evangelism for 3 weeks with Dr. Henry Krabbendam's Africa Christian Training Institute. Notice that organization is not named the "African" Christian Training Institute. Its purpose is not first to train Africans, but to train Christians; to train American Christians to do evangelism. Before we went to Uganda we studied how to do evangelism and were encouraged to prepare as much teaching material as we could. But Dr. Krabbendam also told us not to think we were unable to do evangelism. If you have gone to Sunday School and heard sermons all your life, you have a great wealth of biblical and theological knowledge to offer others. More fundamentally, if you are a Christian; if you have been saved through the gospel, you know the gospel already; you just need to start telling it to others.

3. The eyes & words of faith. As I've studied this passage I've become convinced that it lays the foundation for boldness in evangelism and the Christian life, even though it does not speak directly of these things. What this passage shows you, because the events it records showed Jesus' disciples the same thing, is that Jesus gives the eyes of faith, and Jesus gives words of faith. If you believe in Christ, you have enough understanding, and you can find the right words, to spread the gospel. In this passage, Jesus challenged the two blind men to say whether they really believed in Christ, and Matthew records this challenge for us at the end of Jesus' miracles and right before Jesus sends His disciples on their first evangelistic mission. Jesus shows you He will equip you for your mission. Do you believe in Christ? Then look how He equips you for your Christian mission.

4. Outline.

   1. Eyes of Faith vv. 27-31

   2. Words of Faith vv. 32-33

   3. Words of Unbelief v. 34

Body

1. He gives you the eyes of faith vv. 27-31. First, He gives you the eyes of faith. We learn first that these two blind men had eyes of faith in vv. 27-31. We see their faith in their confession, cure, and charge.

   1. Their confession of faith

      1. Text

         • 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."

      2. Messianic Title: "Son of David." They addressed Jesus with the messianic title, "Son of David," indicating they believed Jesus was the promised Messiah. God's promise to David was a promise to send the Messiah, a future son of David who would reign on David's throne. Turn with me to Psalm 132:10-18. The word "anointed" in this passage is the standard Hebrew word for Messiah. David was anointed king over Israel, but God promised to clothe His people with salvation and joy through a future anointed one, who was the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

         • Psalm 132:10-18

           • 10 For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

           • 11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: "One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.

           • 12 If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne."

           • 13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place:

           • 14 "This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

           • 15 I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread.

           • 16 Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy.

           • 17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.

           • 18 His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine."

      3. The challenge

         • Petition: "Have mercy on us!" The blind men petition Jesus saying "Have mercy on us!"

         • Jesus challenged them to profess their faith clearly: "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They answered, "Yes, Lord." They believe He is the Messiah, and for that reason, they believe He can heal them. They don't merely believe He is a great miraculous healer. They believe He is the promised Son of David. They already have the spiritual understanding they need. Because they believe He is the Savior in general, they believe He can save them from their particular problem.

         • Do you believe Jesus is the Savior? Then, I ask you, do you believe He will give you what you need to carry out the Christian mission?

   2. The cure Christ wrought for them. Do you see what Christ did for these two men? Once they were blind, but now they see. But while they were still physically blind, they had spiritual sight to see that Christ could heal them. Not only did Jesus challenge them to explicitly profess their faith, but now He explicitly approves of their faith, saying that they had understood rightly exactly what He could do for them, because that is exactly what He did do for them. "29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith be it done to you.' 30 And their eyes were opened." Do you believe Jesus will give you what you need to carry out the mission of the Christian church?

   3. The charge Christ gave them to keep in private v. 30. Notice also the charge Christ gave them:

      1. Text

         • 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.

      2. Christ had several good reasons for telling them to keep their healing a secret. Perhaps He was displeased with the unbelief in Capernaum. At certain times He avoided fame to avoid the crowds and the Jews to avoid being put to death before His time. He also sought to quell the Jews' desire for an earthly king.

      3. Yet the blind men spread His fame, more out of zeal than wisdom. Their zeal was the result of their faith, but their revelation to all disobeyed Christ's command, and was out of line with Christ's plan to send His disciples evangelizing in the immediate future.

2. He gives you words of faith vv. 32-33. Those with eyes of faith received physical sight as well. Don't you wish you could see as they did, even when they only had the eyes of faith? Jesus who gave them physical vision can give you spiritual understanding as well. In vv. 32-33 the spiritually oppressed is freed both spiritually and physically—from the power of a demon and the inability to speak. Jesus can give you the eyes of faith, and words of faith as well.

   1. The connection. You see this in the connection vv. 32ff have with the preceding verses. V. 32 begins by saying, "32 As they were going away."

      1. The account of the "man who was mute" is so closely connected to the preceding passage that it is most natural to see the two accounts as one account. V. 32 begins with the end of the story of the two blind men, mentioning them with the word "they," then before the sentence is finished, v. 32 immediately introduces the "man who was mute," because the man who was mute came at the same time "as" the two formerly blind men were going away. Vv. 32ff continue to work out Jesus' purpose of showing you how faith in Him will equip you to spread the gospel to others.

      2. There is not much content in this second account, but there is a sharp contrast, which makes the point. There is a contrast between this man's condition and his cure, between its persuasion and perversion.

   2. His condition v. 32. The contrast between his condition and his cure turns on the words "cast out." Before the demon was cast out of the man he was in his very sad condition: "behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him."

      1. Not only was he mute, but he was mute because he was oppressed by a demon. He had both a physical and a spiritual malady.

   3. His cure v. 33. But "33 ...when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke." Jesus healed him spiritually, and gave him the ability to speak.

      1. Moses told God he could not speak, but God gave Moses the words he needed.

      2. Paul said he was not eloquent, but God sent Paul to preach the simple message of "Christ crucified." (1 Cor. 1:17, 23)

      3. And you say "I'm not able to present the Gospel to others."

      4. But the center of the gospel message you bring to others is Christ, in whom you believe. If you believe in Him for salvation, tell people that He saved you! Tell them how He saved you, so far as you understand. Give your testimony. That is the gospel. And be assured that if you believe in Christ, He will use your words when you speak of Him. God's word is a double-edged sword, piercing even to the very bones and marrow. It is powerful; the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. God will equip you with the words you need. Speak His word, and He will use it.

   4. The persuasion of this cure. Notice also this cure's persuasion and perversion. The contrast between the persuasion and perversion of this cure turns on the word "But" at the beginning of v. 24.

      1. And the crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel."

      2. The multitudes marveled. God caused this mute man's speech to have a tremendous effect. We are not told, but perhaps some of the crowd believed in Christ for salvation. At least outwardly, many were persuaded of Christ's great power! Can He who formed your lips not use them to bring His word to the lost? He can! As a result, not only you, but they also, will speak words of faith.

3. Words of Unbelief v. 34. Notice also the perversion of this cure. The "crowds marveled...34 But the Pharisees said, ‘He casts out demons by the prince of demons.'" The Pharisees blasphemed God, saying Christ's power came not from God but from Satan. But Christ answered them in Luke, "A house divided cannot stand." The blind saw who Christ was, but the Pharisees remained spiritually blind. The mute and the crowds spoke words of faith, but the Pharisees spoke words of unbelief. Because the Pharisees lacked the eyes of faith, they lacked words of faith as well.

   1. God has purposed to blind the hearts of some, and open the eyes of others, to the praise of His sovereign glory and grace. Isaiah tells us this is what Christ's miracle for these blind men should teach us, and I believe these blind men understood the marrow of Isaiah's message. Throughout Isaiah when God promises to give sight to the physically blind, he uses that miracle as a picture of His promise to give sight to the spiritually blind. Follow this thread through Isaiah.

      1. It was God's purpose when He called Isaiah to be a prophet in Is. 6:8-10.

         • 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

         • 9 And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "' Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'

         • 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

      2. This was His purpose with the unbelieving prophets and people during Isaiah's day in Is. 29:9-12, 15-18.

         • 9 Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink!

         • 10 For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers).

         • 11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed."

         • 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read."

         • 15 Ah, you who hide deep from the LORD your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?"

         • 16 You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

         • 17 Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?

         • 18 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.

      3. This was God's message to those blind to the evil of their idolatry in Is. 42:16-18.

         • 16 And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.

         • 17 They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, "You are our gods."

         • 18 Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see!

      4. God calls you, and all men, to repent and believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. He calls you to no longer be spiritually deaf and blind, but to have the eyes of faith, and see. His call in the gospel is the power of God unto salvation; God works powerfully through that call to bring you, and others, to saving faith in Him.

Conclusion

1. Do you believe in Christ? Believe also that He will give you the eyes of faith—the spiritual understanding—you need. Believe He will even give you the words you need—the ability to speak, and salvation to those who hear.

2. Consider

   1. Your current roles of service in the church.

   2. Your contact with family, friends, coworkers.

   3. Our upcoming outreach efforts.

3. Trust the Lord to give you the understanding and words you need to bring the gospel of Christ to those who need to hear!