Well these two men that were given their sight couldn’t keep who Jesus is and what He did for them to themselves, despite Jesus’ warning. So Like the previous miracle, the news spreads all around that region, while Jesus goes on His way only to be met with another case of human suffering beginning in verse 32…
“When they left, a demon-possessed man who couldn’t speak was brought to Jesus. So Jesus cast out the demon, and then the man began to speak.”
As we witness this scene with the other disciples, we notice again the element of desperate faith. And like Jairus, it’s not the faith of the sufferer that gets our attention, but the faith exercised on behalf of the sufferer. We’re never told who brought this man to Jesus, but we see the evidence of their desperate faith on his behalf. Can you imagine what it takes to physically bring someone who is demon possessed to Jesus? And so it becomes abundantly clear to us that Jesus heals human suffering in response to…
Desperate Faith On Behalf of Others.
It’s like the four friends of the paralytic, whose names we also don’t know, who brought him to Jesus by lowering him through the roof of Peter’s house. It was when Jesus saw their desperate faith in action on behalf of their friend that He forgave his sins and healed him.
The reaction to Jesus casting the demon out of this man is that everyone begins to speak. The man begins to speak. Now we don’t know what he said, but I can’t image him not praising God for the miracle working power of Jesus that just delivered him. Then the crowd begins to speak. In utter amazement at the power of Jesus, they exclaim that nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel. And then, of course, the Pharisees had to say something. They falsely accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of the prince of demons, Satan himself. They could only say this because they themselves refused to come under the loving rule of King Jesus. Nevertheless, when Jesus heals someone in response to someone else’s desperate faith on their behalf, it bears witness to Him. Jesus cannot resist acting on this kind of faith and the results of His power cannot be denied! One can receive Him with praise or try to dismiss Him, but sooner or later everyone will be confronted with the witness to the reality of Jesus! He just needs you to open up your mouth and say something!
Now I wonder if you’re picking up the trajectory of these healings. It started with desperate faith in Jesus’ ability, then it moved to desperate faith in His identity and now it’s moved to desperate faith on behalf of others. And is always the direction Jesus is maturing His followers towards… other-centerdness. Jesus is trying to move you from merely asking for miracles for yourself, to seeking miracles for others. So are you praying on behalf of others healing? Are you praying for your family, your co-workers, this church, the nation? Someone’s miracle could be depending on you exercising desperate faith on their behalf. Their faith may be weak or they may not have faith at all, but you do. Bear witness to Jesus and bring somebody to Jesus.
As Jesus moves on the story builds up to a climax with Jesus preaching, teaching and healing all over the place and then we get this summary statement in verse 36 that gives us a powerful insight into the mind of Jesus. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36 NLT
This is the whole point of these stories. This is what we learn about Jesus. Jesus heals human suffering in response to desperate faith in His ability, desperate faith in His identity and desperate faith on behalf of others, because He has compassion. The root of this word compassion in the original language is referring to what a mother feels in her womb for her children. It is a physical, gut level feeling you have in light of the needs of other people. This is how Jesus feels when He encounters suffering humanity. He is moved with compassion! Jesus touched suffering humanity with healing power, because He was touched by their desperate faith! And this is exactly what He seeks to reproduce in His followers in order to create a compassionate Kingdom now! That’s why He then tells His disciples that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Then He asks them to pray to the Lord of the harvest for more laborers. The answer to this prayer is seen in the next chapter when He sends out the 12 as disciple makers in order to extend His compassionate Kingdom.
But here’s the thing. You don’t have to wait until you're desperate to turn to Jesus in faith. It was His compassion for you that led Him to the cross to pay the price for your redemption so that you would look to Him in faith.
CJ Cousins
Follower of Jesus, Husband, Father, Associate Pastor for Younger Generations at Vienna SDA Church and Speaker/Author for Living For Him.