Matthew chapter 9. I'm going to read verses 18 through
31. Matthew 9, verse 18 through 31. While he spake these things unto
them, behold, there came a certain ruler and worshiped him, saying,
My daughter is even now dead. I believe this should be at the
point of death. She is even now at the point
of death. But come and lay thy hand upon
her and she shall live. And Jesus arose and followed
him and so did his disciples. And behold, a woman which was
diseased with an issue of blood 12 years, came behind him and
touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself,
if I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned
him about when he saw her and said, daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole.
And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when Jesus
came into the ruler's house and saw the minstrels and the people
making a noise, he said unto them, give place, for the maid
is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
But when the people were put forth, he went in and took her
by the hand, and the maid arose. And the fame hereof went abroad
into all that land. And when Jesus departed thence,
two blind men followed Him, crying and saying, Thou Son of David,
have mercy on us. And when He was come into the
house, the blind men came to Him, and Jesus saith unto them,
Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto Him,
Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying,
according to your faith, be it unto you. And their eyes were
opened, and Jesus straightly charged them, saying, see that
no man know it. But they, when they were departed,
spread abroad his fame in all that country. Let me just remind
us this morning of a couple of things. The Apostle John, he
closed his gospel narrative with these words. Now remember, there
are four gospel narratives, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There's
only one gospel. There are not four gospels. There's
one gospel. And the Apostle Paul made this
ever so clear, didn't he? When he said, if any man or even
an angel from heaven and come and preach any other gospel,
let him be accursed. There's only one gospel. And
that gospel is how that Christ died for our sins according to
the scriptures and was buried and rose again according to the
scriptures. There's only one gospel, but
we have these four gospel narratives. Three are called synoptic gospels,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke. That is, they follow an order. And you can get a synopsis of
the three gospels and see how that they Compare one with the
other. John's gospel is not a synoptic
gospel. It covered only just a few days,
really few months in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. But
John closes his narrative with these words. There are also many
other things which Jesus did. If they should be written every
one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain
the books that should be written. Now John, in comparison to the
other three gospel narratives, records very few of the miracles
of our Lord. I believe he records seven miracles
as you read through those 21 chapters in the gospel according
to John. I believe there's only seven
miracles And he said this about them. These things are written. Why, John? Why did you write,
why did you record these miracles? These things are written that
you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. and that believing you might
have life through his name or through his person. Now in the
verses which we've just read here in Matthew, we read about
three miracles, three miracles of healing. And in each one of
these miracles, the topic or the subject of faith comes up. If you look in verse 22, The
woman who came and touched the hem of his garment, she had an
issue of blood for 12 years. And when we compare what is recorded
here with the other gospels, we see that she had spent all
of her money on many doctors and was none the better. But
she purposed in her heart, if I can but touch the hem of his
garment, I shall be made whole, and our Lord told her here, daughter,
verse 22, daughter, oh, what a word, daughter, for the Lord
Jesus Christ to call a woman his daughter, to call a man his
son. He is the everlasting Father.
He does have a seed which man cannot count. Just think about
that one word. What a blessing that must have
been to that poor woman. Daughter. Daughter. Oh, we love our daughters. And
Christ loved his people, doesn't he? Daughter. Daughter, be of
good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. And concerning Jarius, And the
reason I said, as I began our reading a minute ago, that I
believe it is, his daughter was at the point of death because
of the other recordings, and Luke and Mark, what they say. That as they were moving, and
this woman came and touched the hem of his garment and sort of
interrupted his travel to the house of Jarius. That word came,
don't trouble the master. Don't trouble him. Your daughter's
dead. Your daughter's dead. And the
Lord Jesus Christ said to him, be not afraid, only believe. The point I'm making is in each
of these miracles we see faith, believing. The two blind men
in the last miracle that is recorded, he said unto them in verse 29,
according to your faith, be it unto you. Now I want us to see
some truths in this last miracle, these two blind men and their
healing, some truths about faith. There are five things I want
to point out about faith. First, the prayer of faith. You see, faith has a voice. Faith
has a voice. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. Faith, saving faith, has
a voice, and we see here the prayer of faith. Thou son of
David, verse 27. This is their cry, this is their
plea, this is their prayer. Thy son of David, have mercy
on us. Now, we know from the scripture,
I want you to look a few pages over into Matthew 22. When they
cry unto him, thou son of David, at this time, at this point in
the life of the nation of Israel, Everyone spoke of the Messiah,
the one who had been promised to come from way back there in
Genesis chapter three, the seed of the woman who would bruise
the head of the serpent and all those promises through the Old
Testament. They knew that he was called
the son of David and they referred to him. They didn't speak so
much about the Messiah as they did The son of David, the son
of David's coming. The son of David, he's coming
with healing under his wings. Notice here in Matthew 22 and
verse 42, the Lord said, saying, what think you of Christ? Whose
son is he? Now, without any hesitation,
without any deliberation, they quickly responded. The Son of
David. That word Christ, what thank
you of Christ. Now that's the Greek equivalent
to the Hebrew Messiah and it means anointed. Whose son is
the anointed? The Son of David. The Son of
David, they knew that. That's the way they referred
to the promised one when our Lord was here in this world,
in his body. They cry, these two blind men
cry, thou son of David, thou son of David. What had they heard
about the son of David? What had they heard about the
Messiah? What had they heard about the
promised one to come? Now I guarantee you that blind
men When they heard about the son of David, they especially
caught hold of the promise that he would open the eyes of the
blind. Lame men, when they heard the
promise of the coming Messiah, they got a hold of the fact he
would heal the lame. The deaf, what did they latch
on to? He will open the ears of the
deaf. Look back with me to Isaiah chapter
35. Isaiah chapter 35, and here we
have a promise concerning the coming of the Messiah and what
he would do. And don't you know Don't you
just know a person who was a leper? When he heard about the coming
of the Lord, how he would cleanse the lepers, that's what registered
with him. And that's what registered with
these two blind men. The son of David, the Messiah,
he'll open the eyes of the blind. Notice here in chapter 35. The
wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them. And the
desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose. It shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon
shall be given unto it. The excellency of Carmel and
Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency
of our God. Strengthen you the weak hands,
confirm the feeble knees, say to them that are of a fearful
heart, be strong, fear not, behold, your God will come. You see what these people needed,
what you need, what I need, what all sinners need, only God can
accomplish. A good man, a faithful man, he
might help us a bit, but to save our souls, only God. Your God shall come. This is
what was promised. Behold, your God will come with
vengeance, even God with a recompense. He will come and save you. Thou shalt call his name Jesus. for he shall save his people
from their sins. He shall save you. Then the eyes
of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall
be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap
as an heart. We've been studying in Acts and
Bible study, Brother Streeter teaching, We've seen that miracle
of that layman, right? Every day he was taken there
to the gate called Beautiful and laid out there to beg. One
day Peter and John came and in the name of Jesus commanded him,
took him by the hand, raised him up. What did he start doing?
He started running and leaping and praising God, just like the
scripture had said would take place. Then shall the lame man
leap as an heart, and the tongue of the dumb sing. The person
who couldn't speak, who was deaf, begins to speak. And what does
he speak? He speaks the praises of Christ,
the one who opens his hearing and opens his speech. For in
the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the desert. Oh, it was a wilderness when
the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world. The Pharisees, the
Sadducees, the high priests, all of them, they were given
to self-righteousness and law works and believing they could
be justified by their doing and just completely misunderstood
and taught what was not to be taught concerning how men are
saved by grace through faith. It all had to do with works.
Works. It was a wilderness, but it was
promised that as in a wilderness, water would break out. Grace. That's what that water is, isn't
it? It's grace. Our Lord told that
woman at the well, whosoever drinketh of the water that I
shall give unto him, it shall be in him a well of living water
springing up unto everlasting life. Grace, grace when he came. The first thing that I point
out about the faith of these two men is it was a crying faith,
a praying faith, a prayer of faith. And you notice they pray
for mercy. And true faith always prays for
mercy. It never comes. Lord, I thank
Thee, like that Pharisee in the temple, our Lord told that parable,
I thank Thee that I'm not like other men. And just began to
brag on himself and talk about what all he did, he tithed, everything,
I mean, he just had it all lined out there. I'm so proud of myself. And that poor man, that publican,
he wouldn't even so much as lift up his eyes toward heaven, Unworthy,
unworthy. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. And that's what these men cried.
Son of David, have mercy, have mercy on us. Saving faith always
recognizes that Jesus Christ and his salvation, it cannot
be earned, it cannot be deserved, it cannot be merited. If we're
ever to be saved, it has to be by God's free and sovereign grace. Because if he gives us what we
deserve, and mercy deserved is not mercy, Grace merited is not
grace. Thou son of David, have mercy
on us. The second thing about their
faith, the testing of faith. If you're still open, your Bible's
still open here to Matthew chapter nine. If you read through this,
it's clear that when the Lord Jesus departed from the house
of Jairus, after he had raised his daughter from the dead, after
he departed from that house, he's on his way to another house. Maybe his house. Maybe his house. This is in Capernaum. And they
immediately began to cry, thou son of David, have mercy on us. But he didn't stop. I want you
to get the picture. He leaves this house. He's on
his way. We don't know how many blocks
it was, how far it was, how much time it took till he gets to
this house where he's going, his house. And they began crying. They began crying. He doesn't
turn around. He doesn't stop. He keeps traveling
to his house. He didn't stop. He didn't answer. What was this? Their faith was
being tested. Let me say this. If your faith
is faith that can be put off, it's not saving faith. Saving
faith will not quit. It will not stop. Look back here,
or look ahead to Matthew chapter 15. We have another prime example
of this. This Syrophoenician woman here
in Matthew chapter 15, verse 21, we read, then Jesus went
thence and deported into the coast of Tyre and Sidon And behold,
a woman of Canaan came out of the same coast and cried unto
him, saying, here it is, mercy, right? Here's the prayer of faith.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter's grievously
vexed with the devil, but he answered her not a word. Just like these two blind men. Thou son of David, have mercy
on us. But he continues walking. He
continues on his travel. Well, what about this woman here? He answered her not a word. Well,
is that the end of it? It's all over? Forget about it? Not if it's true faith. Not if
it's real faith, not if it's faith that God gives, that God
works in his heart, in the heart rather of his elect. The faith
that comes from the word of God. Oh no, what did this woman do? Though he answered her not a
word, what did she do? She came and worshipped him,
worshipped him. These two men, they follow him
somehow. I'm sure they're directed by
someone. They follow him. They're not
leaving. They're not giving up. This is a difference between
blindness and sight. They're not going to quit. They're directed somehow into
the house, into the presence of the Lord. And verse 28, back in our text
here in Matthew chapter nine, when he was coming to the house,
the blind men came to him. They wouldn't give up. They wouldn't
quit. And I'm saying this because faith,
true faith is usually tested. When people get interested and
get concerned about their soul and about being saved and seeking
the Lord, there's usually quite a few obstacles that pop up in
the way. Gonna quit? Give up? No use. He didn't answer me anything. Didn't stop. Just kept right
on moving. Look in John chapter six. Turn
with me here to John chapter six. Our Lord in this chapter had a great multitude of people
listening to him. And then all of a sudden they
said, you know, What he's saying? What he's saying? That's a hard
saying. We've got to eat his flesh. We've
got to drink his blood. No man can come to me except
the Father which hath sent me draw him. And all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. The true bread which came down
from heaven, they listened and that's a hard saying. They turned away. They left him. Notice here in John chapter six,
beginning with verse 66. From that time, many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him. Now watch this, then
said Jesus unto the 12, will you also go away? Will you? The door's open. Will you go away? Faith is tested. Your faith, my faith is tested. Lord, to whom shall we go? Is that where you are today?
I hope so. I pray so. Lord, to whom shall
we go? Where am I going to go? Am I going to go to one of these
churches that has a priest that does some hocus-pocus and somehow
turns the bread and the wine into the actual flesh and body
of Christ, and I eat that, that wafer, and now I'm saved, now
I have eternal life? Is that what I'm going to do? Or am I going to go to one of
these churches that just says, well, everybody's saved. God
is such a God of mercy. He wouldn't send anyone to hell. No way. What are we going to do? Well, God's people, those who
have true faith, they say just like Peter, Lord, to whom shall
we go? There is no other place. There
is no other hope. There is no other way. Lord,
to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. And we believe and are sure,
this is our assurance, we believe and are sure that Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. All right, go back with me to
our text. I've got three other things I want to say about this
faith, quickly. First of all, the cry of faith,
the testing of faith, the persuasion of faith. Our Lord asks these
two men, believe ye that I'm able to do this? Do you? Now, we don't know if these men
had been born blind. We know the Lord opened the eyes
of one man who was born blind. He said it had never been done. I heard the other day about a
baby being born blind. It was sad just to hear about
it. Do you believe that I'm able to do this? Yay, Lord. Yay, Lord. In saving faith, this
is what knowledge produces. First there's knowledge, and
then there's persuasion. Yay, Lord, I believe you're able
to do this. I know you're able to do it. Men hear the gospel, which tells
of him, that is of Christ, of his person, of his life, of his
death and resurrection, according to the scriptures, and they're
persuaded. And as we sang in that hymn a
little while ago, we don't know, we don't understand really how
faith comes, but we hear the word, we hear the gospel, and
we're persuaded. I believe that. I believe in Christ. It's a miracle,
isn't it? It's a miracle. God's saving
grace, God's saving work. I know this, faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We need to be, if we're
lost, we need to be where the word of God, the gospel is proclaimed,
where it is preached. They're persuaded. Men hear the
gospel, they're persuaded. Oh, I'm just a little sinner. No, no, I'm not persuaded about
that. I'm persuaded I'm a big sinner. I'm a sinner. But no matter how great my sins
are, I'm persuaded that the blood of Jesus Christ is yet more powerful. Right? Yes, I'm guilty. Sure enough, I'm guilty. But I know this, the blood and
righteousness of Jesus Christ is able to save the vilest of
the vile. He made intercession for the
transgressors, the prophet said. And that's what I am, a transgressor. I've transgressed God's law.
He prayed for me. He prays for me. Christ. The triumph here, the fourth
thing, the triumph of faith, their eyes were opened. Now listen,
it wasn't their faith that opened their eyes. No more than it was
that woman touching the garment that cured her disease. Virtue,
the scripture tells us, virtue went out of Christ. The healing
is in Christ. The saving is in Christ. But
faith, faith unites us to Christ. Brings us to Christ. And it's
not the size of your faith. You say, well, I just have a
little faith. It's not the size of your faith, it's the object
of your faith. Christ, he's the object of our
faith. Our faith brings us into union
with him. Believe, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And then the last thing
about their faith, the confession of their faith. The Lord told
them, now see, See that you don't tell anyone, they couldn't hardly
get out of the door before they were, I see! I see! I once was blind, but now I see. I had to tell somebody. I had to tell somebody. Why this emphasis on faith? Why this emphasis on believing? because the scripture says, for
by grace are you saved through faith. I want you to turn to
one other verse, and I'm almost finished, but listen to me. In Galatians chapter three, you
know Paul wrote the letter of Galatians showing how that man
are justified by faith, not by the works of the law. But I want
you to notice this one statement here in Galatians 3 and verse
9, when he said, So then they which
be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Are you of
faith? Are you? Do you trust in Christ,
believe in Christ, have no confidence in the works of the flesh? Notice
what Paul says here. So then they which be of faith,
well, I'm a faith. Can you say, yes, I'm a faith.
I trust in Christ. I look to Christ. I believe in
him. They that be of faith are, not
maybe, not perchance will be, no, they that be of faith are
blessed. with Abraham, with faithful Abraham. Think of these four blessings
of Abraham. Number one, justification. Abraham believed God and it was
imputed unto him for righteousness. Are you of faith? Do you trust
in Christ? Then you're justified. You're
declared to be righteous before God. Number two, Abraham was
called the friend of God. That means reconciliation, doesn't
it? Now, at one time, Abraham, like
all of us, were enmity with God, but he was reconciled. They that
be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. We're justified
by faith. We're reconciled unto God. He refers to us as his friend,
his friends. The third blessing of Abraham
is he is our shield. That's what he told Abraham.
Remember, I am thy shield. And you know, when we think of
a shield, these Roman soldiers are pictured in the scripture,
they have a shield and they hold it in front of them, don't they?
Well, that's good, but let me tell you something. Our shield
is all around us. underneath us and above us. Right? He, we're blessed with
faithful Abraham. The Lord is our shield and nothing
can touch us that he does not allow, that he does not permit. And the last thing, those who
are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. He is our reward. He said, I am thy shield. and
the exceeding great reward. I hear people talking about rewards
in heaven. You know, I'm gonna have a reward,
I'm gonna have a crown that's bigger than yours. I don't see
that at all, do you? I think we'll all be there singing
the same song. By grace are we saved. Christ is my reward. That's all. What could you want more? What could he give unto you more
than that? Then Christ, being with him,
and not only being with him, but being like him. Amen? Amen. Well, let's sing a hymn
before we go home. Let's turn to number 487, hymn
number 487.