Friday after the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on September 9, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 9:27-35 (NKJV)
9:27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.” 31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.
32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”
34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Devotion
Jesus healed many people during His earthly ministry, from many different afflictions, including blindness, demon possession, and even on rare occasions, death itself. It is hard to find two consecutive pages in the Gospels where Jesus does not perform at least one miracle.
But more rarely do those who seek healing from Jesus confess who He truly is. The two blind men in our reading today are a notable exception. “Son of David” they call Him–hearkening to the promise that the Christ would come from the house and lineage of David. And indeed, David confessed that he would call his Son “Lord” (Psalm 110:1).
Jesus commends these men for their faith, and heals them both. And although He commanded them not to speak of what had happened, they could not keep their silence and told everyone around them. It seems that people were focused on making Jesus a “bread king,” and were focused more on the miracles He could do for them, rather than on His message of repentance and forgiveness of sins (John 6:15).
Do we, today, have such gratitude for what God has done for us that we cannot but show and tell others of the hope that is in us? For today there is no such restriction to be silent. Let us rather joyfully confess our thanks to God to our friends and neighbors!
Prayer: Almighty and Merciful God, of Whose only gift it cometh that Thy faithful people do unto Thee true and laudable service: Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may so faithfully serve Thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain Thy heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
