Faith and Opposition

Things didn’t quiet down when Jesus left the synagogue ruler’s house. Imagine the crowd buzzing with excitement as they follow him. What would this Jesus do next? Among the following crowd, two men in particular kept crying out to him, addressing him by a messianic and controversially political title. They may have been blind but they “saw” something of Jesus’ true identity (Matt. 22:41-45; Isa. 35:5,6). Responding in the relative privacy of the house he gave them opportunity to reiterate their confidence in him, which no doubt resulted in strengthening their faith. There’s something powerful, an addressing of our souls, in audibly speaking out our faith.

Their persistent faith leads to their healing, but it is accompanied by a stern warning not to tell anyone. On the face of it, this would have been virtually impossible. The instruction does, however, reveal his intense desire to avoid a falsely based acclaim that would not only impede but also endanger his true mission. Then a demonized man, mute as a result, was brought to Jesus–who drove out the demon, much to the crowd’s astonishment. Incidentally, although the New Testament frequently attributes physical diseases to demonic activity, this is not always the case (Mark 7:32-35).

Opposition was becoming a constant backdrop to Jesus’ ministry. The onlooking religious leaders were extremely critical, suggesting that the only way he could drive out demons was if he was in league with the devil himself. This criticism cut to the core of Jesus’ identity, mission and motives. Matthew later tells us how he responded (Matt. 12:25-30). Although highly undermining, their words didn’t seem to faze Jesus. His deep sense of personal calling and his security in his relationship with his Father enabled him to see it for what it was.

How might you be spiritually “blind” or “dumb”? How can Jesus heal your sight or speech?