April 15th, 2023

The last two Sundays were known as the Sunday of the Passion and the Sunday of the Resurrection of our Lord. And there were two parts in Matthew 9 which had a noticeable connection to these significant events. Jesus started talking about the days when he would be taken from his followers (9:15), and Jesus also raised a person from the dead (9:25). These two events in Matthew 9 seem to be somewhat connected to death and resurrection of Jesus, and they were also connected to each other in that, while Jesus was talking in the first event, the second event begins right away (9:18).

It may be helpful to give, again, the response after Jesus raised the girl from the dead. Here is Matthew 9:26, again, in a somewhat-literal translation: And it went out, the report, this, into all the land, that. That line may be connected to the final line of the next miracle that Jesus does, which, interestingly enough, is also connected to the previous miracle in that Jesus is ‘passing by from there’. What follows is the text of Matthew 9:27-31, again, in a somewhat-literal translation (with the verbs in the historical present in bold print):

And passing by from there, the Jesus, they followed him, two blind ones, crying out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David.”

Now coming into the house, they approached him, the two blind ones, and he says to them, the Jesus: “Believe that I am able, this, to do?”

They say to him, “Yes, Lord.”

Then he touched the eyes of them, saying, “According to the faith of you, let it happen to you.” And they were opened of them, the eyes. And he warned them, the Jesus, saying, “See, no one, let know.” Now they, going out, spread about him in all the land, that.

After the miracle of the Matthew 9 resurrection, the text says that ‘the report’ is the thing that spreads into all the land. After the next miracle of the healing of the two blind ones, there is more of an emphasis on the people going out. In the same way that the previous events connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus, this event may be connected to the disciples going out at the end of Matthew 28.

The unique thing of this last miracle is that this is the first occurrence in this section of Matthew of someone else besides Jesus saying or doing something that is given in the historical present. The text could have said, ‘They said to him’, but the text says, ‘They say to him.’ This occurrence also connects this miracle to the events after the resurrection, since Jesus is alive forever and is still connected with his followers.

There is another close connection to what immediately follows this last miracle. What follows below is the last specific miracle that is given before the next sermon of Jesus. And it is an interesting miracle, especially when the result of it is given. Again, the translation type is the same as above (Matthew 9:32-34):

Now them, going out, behold, they brought to him a man who could not speak, demon possessed. And being thrown out, the demon, he spoke, the man who could not speak. And they marveled, the crowds, saying, “Never it appeared, thus, in the Israel.”

Now the Pharisees were saying, “In the ruler of the demons he throws out the demons.”

There already was a contrast between the crowd that was mourning the girl’s death and the two blind men. The crowd basically laughed at Jesus when he told them she was just sleeping, in stark contrast to the blind men who had faith. In contrast to the laughing crowd of mourners, these two blind men treated Jesus very seriously. Now after this last miracle, the marveling crowds said that nothing like this has happened before. And it seems that, with the inclusion of the comment of the Pharisees, there is a fork in the road for those who are traveling along with the text.

The uniqueness of the event could join the instigator with Satan, the so-called ‘ruler of the demons’. The other option is obviously that Jesus is connected to his Father in heaven. And the Sermon on the Mount gave a start to that connection.
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After Jesus’ resurrection, the news went out. And, in the same way, there were some incredible things happening. And Satan or God is behind those unbelievable things, because some extra power is needed. The thing to remember with this God, though, is that he is not so obvious in the giving out of his gifts with his power; he is better known for his love. And that is something that faith receives—as a gift.