Grant B. Caldwell
01/03/09
Jesus said, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" (Matthew 9:28). This was Jesus’ response to two blind men who followed Him, "crying out and saying, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us!’" (verse 27). Their response was an emphatic "Yes. Lord!"
The Need — Here were two men who were blind. It is difficult to imagine being afflicted with this condition. There is an old method designed to learn some empathy for the blind. Close your eyes or tie a blind fold around your head and try to function in that condition. That is alright, and some measure of understanding might come from that. However, there is always the realization that at some point you will open your eyes or take off the blindfold and go on about your business. Those who are blind do not have that thought in their mind. Look around you and try to imagine what it would be like to never see those sights again, never see the beauty of creation again, never see your loved ones again. These men were hopeless, just as men are hopeless in sin (Ephesians 2:12).
The Cry — They followed Jesus and cried out. This word suggests "any inarticulate cries, from fear, pain etc." (Vine, Vol. I, page 259). They cried, "Have mercy!" In a recent sitcom, one of the young men, whenever he would be favored with a kiss from a pretty girl would say, "Have mercy." The idea was that it was too much of a good thing. However, in the Bible, the word was used in reference to desperate needs. It "signifies, in general, to feel sympathy with the misery of another, and especially sympathy manifested in act, to have pity or mercy on" (Vine, Vol. III, page 61). These men were desperate. There was no cure for their condition. Their only hope was formercy, just as our only hope is for mercy (Hebrews 4:16).
The Question — Jesus asked, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They had already called Him "Son of David," and had already requested mercy. Why this question? The answer is to focus attention upon Himself as the power of God and the object of faith. The idea that theirs was only psychosomatic or hysterical blindness and could be eliminated by a change in their mental state is totally without foundation. The power was in Jesus and in Him alone. Jesus was the only way for them to have mercy, just as Jesus is the only was for us to have mercy (John 8:24).
The Reply — These men replied "Yes, Lord!" They believed He was able to heal them. But they went further calling Him Lord. This word means "he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has the power of deciding; master, lord" (Thayer, page 365). They knew that the power for them was in Jesus, just as the power for our healing from spiritual blindness is in Christ (John 9:39). Do you believe and will you come for mercy (Mark 16:15-16)?