Sermon Outline
Scripture: Matthew 9:27-31
I. You should respond with faith to Jesus’ authority.
A. Right before the blind men approach Jesus in Matthew 9:27, Jesus has just performed two astounding miracles out in the open (vs. 20 and 25). The blind men called Jesus Son of David. The Son of David was the Messiah. One of the prophecies about the Messiah was found in Isaiah 35:5-6: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.” If Jesus is the Messiah, then, the blind men thought, He could heal our blindness. Wouldn’t that be great?
B. To call Jesus Son of David was really a remarkable expression of faith by the blind men. Even though they were physically blind, they really saw better – spiritually – than many others around them. But Jesus at this moment wanted to stretch their faith even further. He stretched their faith by asking a question (vs. 28): “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Jesus then healed the blind men according to their faith. It was not the blind men’s great faith that would heal them. It was Jesus’ great authority that would heal them. Jesus then simply wants our faith.
II. You should respond by seeking deliverance through Jesus’ authority.
A. It is not just sickness that Jesus has authority over as Messiah and King. We have already seen in Matthew 9:25 that Jesus has authority over death. And in the previous chapter, Matthew 8, we see a few other things that Jesus has authority over. Jesus has authority over danger (Matt. 8: 24-26). And Jesus has authority over demons (Matt. 8: 28-34). Matthew in chapters 8 and 9 is simply giving examples of things Jesus has authority over in order to teach us that Jesus has authority over all things. There is nothing Jesus does not have authority over.
B. When you need to be delivered from some area of need in your life, what you should you do? Go to Jesus. Pray in faith to Him. And when Jesus does deliver you, what is the result? Not only does your faith increase. Your joy increases as well. Notice what happened when Jesus healed a paralyzed man. We read the result in Matthew 9:8: “When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” When you see Jesus use His authority to deliver you from some threat or danger, what do you do? You rejoice.
III. You should respond with obedience to Jesus’ authority.
A. I am sure that the two blind men rejoiced when Jesus opened their eyes. What a miracle! What a gift – to be able to see! So, it must have seemed strange to the blind men when in Matt. 9:30 Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” Jesus wanted to keep his identity as Messiah a secret for a while longer. Did the blind men who had been healed obey Jesus? No. Verse 31 says, “But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.” The blind men probably did not understand the reason for Jesus’ command. But at all times we need to respond to Jesus’ authority and Jesus’ commands by saying, “Yes, Lord.” We even need to say “Yes, Lord” when we don’t understand the reason for Jesus’ command. That is living by faith in Christ’s authority. Faith is obedience.
Application:
Respond to Christ’s authority by living by faith.
Sources:
The Gospel according to Matthew
Commentaries on Matthew by R.T. France, D.A. Carson and Craig Blomberg
Sermon Discussion Questions
1) What has Jesus done in your life to show you that He has authority and power over all things? What is it that answers your prayers? Is it the amount of faith you have or is it simply the authority of Jesus to answer your prayers?
2) How are your needs an opportunity to grow in your faith in Jesus? Is there a need in your life that you should bring to Jesus in prayer this week?
3) Why is it a contradiction for us to respond to a command of Jesus with “No, Lord”? How does our obedience to all of Jesus’ commands show that we have faith?