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Jesus healing two blind men is a
miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
attributed to Jesus in the
Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...
. The Gospel of Matthew (New International Commentary on the New Testament) by R. T. France (Jul 27, 2007) page 365 It follows immediately on the account of the
Daughter of Jairus The raising of Jairus' daughter is a reported miracle of Jesus that occurs in the synoptic Gospels, where it is interwoven with the account of the healing of a bleeding woman. The narratives can be found in Mark 5:21–43, Matthew 9:18–26 an ...
.


Narrative

According to the Gospel account in Matthew 9:27-31, as Jesus continues his journey after raising the
daughter of Jairus The raising of Jairus' daughter is a reported miracle of Jesus that occurs in the synoptic Gospels, where it is interwoven with the account of the healing of a bleeding woman. The narratives can be found in Mark 5:21–43, Matthew 9:18–26 an ...
, two blind men follow him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" When he had gone indoors, the blind men come to him, and he asks : "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They reply, "Yes, Lord". He then touches their eyes, and says, "According to your faith let it be done to you"; and their sight is restored. He warns them sternly, to tell nobody, but they go and spread the news of the healing 'throughout that district'.


Development

The story is a loose adaptation of one in
Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to h ...
, of the healing of a blind man called Bartimeus. In a practice characteristic of the author of the Matthew Gospel, the number of persons is doubled and unnecessary details removed. The same story is told later in the same Gospe
(Matthew 20:29-34)
with almost identical details.


Significance

The author of the Matthew Gospel introduces the term 'Son of David' to indicate that the healings show Jesus as the Messiah. This is confirmed by Cornelius a Lapide, where he comments on this passage, writing:
These blind men had conceived the hope of recovering their sight from Christ from the many and great miracles which they had heard were done by Him. Therefore they said, Have mercy upon us, pity our blindness, which is the greatest misery, and restore to us the light of the sun. We believe that Thou art the Son of David, that is, the Messiah, to whom this healing of blindness and other diseases has been promised by the Prophets. (Is. 35:5; 61:1.) For Messiah had been promised to David as his Son, that He should be sprung from his posterity. Wherefore Messiah was always called by the Jews, the Son of David. Therefore these men, whose bodily eyes were blind, had sharp-sighted minds...Cornelius Cornelii a Lapide; Thomas Wimberly Mossma
''The great commentary of Cornelius à Lapide,''
London: J. Hodges, 1889-1896.


See also

* Life of Jesus in the New Testament *
Miracles of Jesus The miracles of Jesus are miraculous deeds attributed to Jesus in Christian and Islamic texts. The majority are faith healings, exorcisms, resurrections, and control over nature. In the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus refuse ...


References

{{Miracles of Jesus, state=expanded Miracles of Jesus Gospel of Matthew Supernatural healing