two blind men follow Jesus crying 'son of David,' Jesus asks if they believe, touches their eyes, and they are healed
27 As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!”
28 When he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They told him, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”
30 Their eyes were opened. Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, “See that no one knows about this.”
31 But they went out and spread abroad his fame in all that land.
a demon-possessed mute man is brought to Jesus, the demon is cast out, the man speaks, crowds are amazed, Pharisees claim Jesus casts out demons by the power of demons
32 As they went out, behold, a mute man who was demon possessed was brought to him.
33 When the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. The multitudes marveled, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
34 But the Pharisees said, “By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons.”
referenced as the earlier occurrence of the Beelzebub controversy
22 Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
23 All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”
25 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you.
29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.
30 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.
31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come.
Jesus returns to Nazareth, teaches in the synagogue, people take offense, he could do no miracle there, he was amazed at their unbelief
1 He went out from there. He came into his own country, and his disciples followed him.
2 When the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things?” and, “What is the wisdom that is given to this man, that such mighty works come about by his hands?
3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judah, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” They were offended at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house.”
5 He could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people, and healed them.
6 He marveled because of their unbelief. He went around the villages teaching.
Jesus reads from the Isaiah scroll in Nazareth, says the scripture is fulfilled, the crowd wants to throw him off Nazareth Ridge
16 He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
17 The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,
19 and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20 He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this parable, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’”
24 He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
25 But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land.
26 Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
27 There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.”
28 They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things.
29 They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff.
30 But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.
the scroll Jesus read in Nazareth announcing the acceptable year of the Lord, healing the blind, setting captives free
1 The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
Jesus goes through cities and villages teaching and healing, feels compassion for the distressed crowds like sheep without a shepherd, tells disciples the harvest is plentiful but workers are few
35 Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
38 Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest.”
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Marcus walked through three brief Gospel episodes that all share a common thread: Jesus doing ministry "along the way," in the ordinary flow of movement from one place to another. He connected that pattern to Erin Anderson's testimony about her mission trip to Belize, where the most meaningful moments were unplanned, and drew everything together around a single question Jesus asks in the text: "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
What was said
The first episode follows two blind men who call out to Jesus as the son of David. Pastor Marcus noted that "son of David" is an unmistakably messianic title, and that two men who cannot see are recognizing what sighted people around Jesus keep missing. Jesus does not heal them immediately in public. He waits until they come to him inside, and asks them directly whether they believe he can do it. When they say "yes, Lord," he touches their eyes and says it will be done according to their faith. The healing of blind eyes, Pastor Marcus explained, was a known messianic sign, and the placement of this story right next to Jairus' daughter and the bleeding woman is deliberate: faith runs through all of them.
Jesus then sternly tells the two men to tell no one, and Pastor Marcus found a kind of dad joke in it. He just told two blind men to "see to it" that word does not spread. They go out and tell everyone anyway. Pastor Marcus said that is not surprising: when Jesus has done something real in your life, you cannot help but say so, and that is exactly what a witness does. A witness is not a lawyer or a judge, just someone reporting what happened to them.
The second episode involves a demon-possessed man who cannot speak. He is brought to Jesus by someone else, which Pastor Marcus paused on: this man did not come on his own. After the demon is cast out, the man speaks, and the crowds say nothing like it has ever been seen in Israel. The Pharisees respond by claiming Jesus casts out demons by the power of demons, which Pastor Marcus identified as a version of the Beelzebub controversy that has appeared before in the Gospel accounts. He described blasphemy in this context as being slow to call something genuinely good what it is, and slow to identify what is genuinely evil, switching right for wrong and wrong for right.
The third episode is Jesus returning to Nazareth. Pastor Marcus noted he did not have to go there, but he went, taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath as was his custom, and the people who heard him were astonished. They recognized the wisdom and the miracles, and then took offense. They knew his family. They remembered his mother. Pastor Marcus said the familiarity itself became the obstacle. Mark says Jesus could not do many miracles there, and Pastor Marcus was clear: it was not a lack of power, it was a lack of faith in the people. The one thing that astonished Jesus in the entire book of Mark is unbelief.
Matthew's account adds a detail that Pastor Marcus spent time with. After leaving Nazareth, Jesus goes through the villages teaching and healing, and seeing the crowds he feels compassion because they are distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. That compassion leads directly to the instruction to his disciples: the harvest is plentiful, the workers are few, so pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers. Pastor Marcus pressed on this: you do not have to be a professional minister to answer a question about what Jesus has done in your life. A transformed life does not have a theological argument strong enough to counter it. As you are going, the great commission is happening.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Erin described feeling spiritually alone in Belize, yet sustained by knowing people back home were praying for her. When have you experienced that kind of unseen support, and what did it mean to you?
Pastor Ray pointed out that Jesus asked the two blind men, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this?' before he healed them. What does it look like practically to bring a request to God with that kind of faith?
Good morning, church. How are we doing? It is good to see you. I've got, I've got a good word from Psalm 66 to lead us into worship. And if if you would, would you stand with me, and and we'll we'll sing here in just a second.
But, from Psalm 66, it says, shout joyful praises to God, all the earth. I think we could do that. Sing about the glory of his name. Tell the world how glorious he is, and say to God, how awesome are your deeds. So I'd like to do just that together, but by
life. Jesus, a savior, pain lifted high, oh God. You have done great things. He's been faithful, you. Your name lifted high, oh God.
You have done great things.
Listen. Hallelujah, God. Above it all.
Hallelujah, God. Above it all, hallelujah, God. Unshakable, hallelujah. You have done great things.
We're on Colossians three meal, music, and message tomorrow at six. I think we'll do fried chicken and summery foods. But Colossians three is it's good. It's my my favorite in Colossians. Set your sights, put off, and put on.
So please feel free to join us tomorrow, 06:00. God, we pray just that. Would you reveal more of yourself to us today? Lord, may we be open and receptive to what you have for us. And would you, God, lead us into your love, yourself giving others focused love to the world around us?
Help us. We need you in this. In Jesus'
Fellas in the booth, my mic is now on. Very hot.
Seal it for thy courts of God. Lord, God, can I just make that our our prayer today? That here here's our hearts. Here's our hearts. We offer them to you.
And, God, if there's anything that's just standing in the in the way, God, would it fall to the ground? We wanna hear from you today. We do. Holy Spirit, speak to us in a way that only you can. Amen.
And filled me with peace. Thither of mercy, oh, my help in time. Oh, I can't help but sing sing of his faithfulness. You are. All your promises are yes and amen.
All your promises are yes and amen. Beautiful savior you have brought me here. You pulled me from the ashes, broken every curse. Blessed redeemer you have set this captive. Lord, I can't help but say.
You you are. Faithful forever you will be. Faithful you are. All your promises are yes and amen. All your promises are yes and amen.
And I will rest in your promises. My confidence is your faithfulness. I will rest in your promises. My confidence is your faithfulness. I will rest in your promises.
My confidence is your faithfulness. Faithful you are. And faithful forever you will be. And faithful you are. All your promises are yes and amen.
All your promises are yes and amen. All your promises are yes and amen. All your promises are yes and amen.
I like that. And then you can have a seat here for just a moment. This is the worship through giving part of the service. And I'll invite the ushers to to come on forward. We're gonna sing a new song.
Well, new to us. It's called act justly, love mercy, walk humbly. And if that sounds familiar, it's because it's right from Micah six eight. And what does the Lord require of us? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.
Ray, would you pray
before we sing?
Thank you for this beautiful morning, Lord. I thank you for this beautiful valley. I pray Lord that we would be a people of the book that know you, that are able Lord to take in your word and to reflect it Lord accurately, to articulate it accurately, to know what's going on in the pages of your word. That it is all about your mercy and your grace. Yes.
Justice is important to you, God. May it be important to us too. In Jesus name, Lord. May we be walking humbly with you. May we be ready for whatever is next.
Would you show us Lord the opportunities that exist right next door to us. Lord, and may you inspire us to go to the very ends of the earth. I pray Lord that we would carry your message with us, that we'd be carriers of your hope and your peace, your comfort, and your love. Lord, of course, we want to be carriers of your truth, but may we do so with a tear in our eye and a crack in our voice. In Jesus name, Lord, let us walk out an example that is like that of Christ.
In Jesus name, we ask for your blessing on this offering this morning, that you would do with it as you will. I pray, Lord, that we would be faithful just as you're faithful, and that, Lord, you would bless that and multiply In Jesus' name. Amen.
Well, it all comes down to this. We require of thee, of my neighbor as myself. And you above all day, I just need the mercy. Walk humbly with you, God. And all things in all ways, walk humbly with you God.
Well, it all comes down to this to be your hands and feet. Good news to all the world where the truth will set us free. I trust in the mercy. Walk humbly with you, God. Your thanks and always.
Walk humbly with you God. He has beauty for us. She's it's born into dancing. Closer and closer the kingdom of heaven. Beauty And years from now, we'll see the fruit our hands have sought fit just like could see the only way grows at your feet the mercy.
Walk humbly with you, God. And all things and always walk humbly with you,
Marcus, would you send a you got it. Hey, I will tell you I picked up this mic this morning before they got here and they always supply me with fresh new batteries. That whole thing was my fault. I got it and didn't fill up. Erin, share what you'll share.
K. I'm on. Okay. So I'm Erin Anderson. As some of you know, I went on a ten day trip to Belize in June.
And I'm probably gonna cry because that's what I do. Oh my gosh. Okay. Bear with me. I didn't even look at my mom.
Okay. So I'm gonna pray. God, I just thank you for this opportunity to share. And, God, I just pray that you speak through me and use my testimony and experience to bless others. Oh my gosh.
In Jesus' name, amen. Sorry, guys. I'm a disaster. Okay. To say this trip was nothing that I anticipated it being, that's probably an understatement.
I knew it would be hard and different than anything I've experienced, but I definitely wasn't prepared for what God had in store. In trips past, I've worked for several hours and used multiples or and visited multiple schools in one day, and I've also stayed with one school for sixty eight hours and would oftentimes do ministry in the evenings. On this specific trip, we worked for a few hours in the morning and had a few or a lot of free time in the afternoon, where we usually went swimming or went to get ice cream to cool down. We also had challenges of rain limiting our work and schools not being open due to COVID. While that part was disappointing and discouraging, I think God had me on this trip for a completely different reason that I had not anticipated at all.
The church I was with was very charismatic. In Sunday night, we had an evening chapel with just our team, and they had what they called an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which is a branch of the Toronto blessing, if any of you know what that is. The pastors would pray for people on our team, and they would fall over and have experiences. I got prayed for and didn't experience a thing. After the meeting, I discovered that at least four of the kids didn't have an experience either and were confused, hurt, and ultimately questioning God and Christianity.
I don't think this one event brought them to that point, but I absolutely believe it is one of the last straws. Imagine struggling with severe depression and anxiety and thoughts of suicide or any other struggles you may have, and you're told this is the night God is going to heal you, touch you, and deliver you. You go up to get prayed for, and nothing happens. Not only that, but the majority of the people had some sort of experience, and you were one of the few who didn't. How disappointing and confusing is that?
These kids felt like God hated them for their choices and they didn't do enough to deserve his presence. That's not how God works. When Jesus was here on earth, he ministered to the hurt, the broken, the demon possessed, the prostitutes, the lowest of the lows, and yet these kids felt like they were worse than that, and that broke my heart. As a result of this event, I personally did a ton of soul searching and Bible research. And nowhere in the Bible do I see people being slain in spirit or, like, falling over and having these, like, extreme experiences.
And the only big event in the Bible that I'm aware of with a group of people all having a major experience with the Holy Spirit like that is at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out onto those who trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Savior as Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come after he left. Fast forward until Thursday night when we were supposed to do the same service with the local youth group. I was praying and praying and praying for God to truly reveal himself at that event. I wasn't planning on going and was forced to go anyways. I was pretty upset to say the least.
But God had me go for a very specific reason. During the service, I was sitting outside praying and reading the Bible. Those same kids who were hurt Sunday night came out and were all talking about how they didn't feel like they that was real and the struggles it was causing them, and I was able to sit with them and pray and just talk to them and speak truth into their lives. Fast forward to Friday and flying home. Coming back from the trip, our flight was delayed three hours, causing us all to miss our flights.
I got separated from the group because they were trying to make their flight back to Wisconsin, and I was flying I wasn't flying back with them. The airline couldn't book hotels for me, so they told me to book a room and request a refund later. So I googled a random hotel near Dallas Fort Worth Airport with shuttles, and I just picked whatever was on there. I just picked a random one, or so I thought it was random. Being a young adult young female and being alone, it always kinda makes me nervous to leave airports and just traveling.
And when I got into the shuttle, the man driving was playing Christian music, and that gave me so much peace. And when we got to the hotel, I asked him if he was a Christian, and he said, well, kind of. And I don't really know what he meant by that. Then I said, well, God bless you. And we walked into the hotel, and I was waiting to check into my room.
And he came back in with a piece of paper, and he handed it to me. There were two names on it, and he said, would you please be praying for these two names? They're my sisters. And I know that God had me go to that specific hotel for that very reason. I never caught the man's name, but I know that he God brought me there to be able to minister to this man.
While I do have stories about the kids who stole my heart and times I was able to talk to some of the locals and about building the house, I wanted to share with you a different side of missions, one that I hadn't experienced before. Mission trips trips aren't always smiling kids and happy endings, but nitty gritty, extremely hard, and they can bring a lot of spiritual growth. I think the reason that God wanted me on this trip were to grow my relationship with him, Just sorry, guys. To solidify my beliefs and understanding what the Bible says and to be there for those kids who were somewhat outcast and were struggling with their faith. Let me tell you, that was probably the hardest spiritual battle of my life.
But God was right there with me. I couldn't have done it without the prayer and encouragement, especially from my family, as well as from pastor Ray and everyone else who was praying. At one point, I knew that God was with me, but I felt very alone because I was the only person who wasn't going with this and wasn't, like, leaving what everyone else was. And but I knew there was tons of people back home praying for me. And I just saw that, like, I was there in the battle by myself, but, like, behind me, there was thousands and thousands of people all praying and, like, ready to fight with me, which was so encouraging.
Please join me in continuing to pray for the individuals who are hurt and broken by a church, that they will find truth in who God truly is, that they will seek to live for him and share the gospel with those around them, not to throw it all away because they didn't feel God's presence at a planned event. I pray that God thank you. Oh my gosh. Sorry. I pray that God where was I?
I pray that God will meet them in their everyday lives and wrap them with his love. Please join me in also praying for the shuttle driver in Dallas, Texas and for his sisters, whatever they may be facing. My desire is for everyone I come in contact with to know that they are loved and valuable in a world where love and value are mostly a thing of the past. People are so hurt and broken, and it breaks my heart. I wish I could fix everyone, but Jesus wouldn't have had to die on the cross if people could fix people.
Thank you all for your financial and prayer support of the trips and opportunities that God has given me. We were able to bless a family with a new home, and several kids at a school accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Praise God. To finish up, I'd like to encourage each and every one of you not to focus on the stress and inconveniences of each and every day, but instead to see how God is using a delayed trip or canceled plans as an opportunity to share the gospel and God's love with those around you. I'm not gonna lie, I'm definitely not a fan of having to make six plus phone calls to cancel flights and rebook new ones, and to deal with the runaround of no one knowing how to help me.
It was stressful and super frustrating, but if I didn't miss that flight, then I wouldn't have had the opportunity to be a light to the shuttle driver in Dallas, Texas. God wants to use you, and sometimes he allows our plans to change so that we have time in our busy days, weeks, months, or even our life to take our mind off of ourselves and see the hurt and broken people around us. First Corinthians fourteen thirty three says, in regards to prophecy and speaking in tongues, for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of all the saints.
For her ministry here in this valley and on the valley where she lives across the hill, Lord. Thank you for the steady life that is lived intentionally in a Godward direction. In all humility, Lord, we ask that that's what you would be working through in the volunteering in the youth group here or in setting up a small group for young adults that bounces from house to house. Lord, I pray that you would increase Erin's impact on this and the other Teton Valley and Lord, to the very ends of the earth. I thank you for the experience that you've given.
I thank you that's her experience and testimony, Lord, is what you are doing in and through us. I pray, Lord, that you bless her efforts. I pray for that shovel driver and for both of his sisters. In Jesus' name, we have no idea, Lord, what is going on. You do.
And so, Lord, we ask you that you would authenticate your message with whatever miracle is necessary in those lives. In Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. This is sort of a transitional Sunday for me.
It feels like there's big, big, big, and then there's gonna be big, big, big, but this one is three little snippets, little events that happen kinda in between. So it goes right along with what Aaron was saying that it's incidental ministry. It is as you are going, actually, go ye therefore. The go is actually a participle, which is going as you are going, be making disciples, that's good to think about. It's not it does have imperatible force.
I won't argue with that. But it does also mean just as you are going, be making disciples. So as Jesus went, as he was going. As Jesus went on from there, and you remember last week he was in Capernaum, and in Capernaum he was going to the synagogue ruler Jairus' house when a lady reached out in faith, and I wanna make sure that you hear me say reached out in faith. It was faith and Jesus said so explicitly, was your faith that has made you whole.
I say that because last week I put up a slide that said, is this biblical? And then I put, no. At the time it wasn't. There's nothing in the Torah that says anything about sacred cloth. Right?
She just knew that Jesus had power. She didn't want to be seen and she reached out in faith in a way that she thought was going to be very discreet and innocuous. And she touched just the tassel, just the hem of his garment and she was made whole. And then Jesus turns and looks at her. She looks at him and she's able to say, I did it.
Public confession of what happens, but also Jesus was able to say, it is your faith that has saved you. Not any kind of superstition or anything else. Okay? So that's what just happened. He also went on to Jairus' house and raised the daughter, 12 years old, to life.
And as Jesus went on from there, two men who were blind followed him crying out, have mercy on us, son of David. This one might remind you of the story of blind Bartimaeus, but I think it's two different events. He in his ministry, in the Messiah ministry of Jesus, healing the blind was something that he did. It was forecast that he would be doing that, that Messiah would be doing that, and people watching should know that if you heal the blind, that's a messianic sign. If you heal the deaf, that's a messianic sign.
Casting out demons, messianic sign. So as Jesus went on from there, two men were blind, followed him crying out, have mercy on us, son of David. Son of David is no doubt about it a messianic title. They are recognizing his messiahship. And ain't it interesting that two blind men are recognizing something that people who can see Jesus plainly are missing.
Have mercy on us, son of David. And after he entered the house, the men who were blind came up to him and Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I'm able to do this? Do you believe that I'm able to do this? This reminds me of another story too, we'll get to that when we get to that. Okay?
Do you believe that I'm able to do this? Belief is pistis, which is belief but it's also faith. It's also the faithfulness of God, faith in the faithfulness of God. Believe. Do you believe You've already called me Messiah.
Do you believe that I can heal your blindness? Do you believe that I'm able to do this? Able like I have the power to, not just the authority but the actual power to do so. Do you believe that I'm able to do this? That's an important question.
It's still an important question. When you come to Christ with a request, it is important that you have faith in Christ. It really is important that you believe that he is able to do this. Now, think but if not faith is really good too. The kind of faith that Nebuchadnezzar is going to throw the Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego into the fire and he says, I know that our God can deliver us but if not I'm still not bowing to me.
Right? But if not faith is great but do you believe that I'm able to do this? Important question for them and for us. And they say to him, yes Lord. Love that.
Yes Lord. Every time we hit this, I say it again. You can either say no or you can say, yes, Lord. Right? You can't say, no, Lord.
If he's the Lord, you're saying yes. They say to him, yes, Lord. We believe that you can do this. Then he touched their eyes. He didn't spit on the ground and make mud like he did, medicine like he did before.
He didn't just say it like he's done before. He didn't say it from a distance like he's done before. I think Jesus goes out his way to do things different every time. Seems to me. He's touched their eyes and said it shall be done for you according to your faith.
It's very important that we see that it's faith. These stories are right next to each other. Jairus believed and came and asked him and he went and even though he was interrupted by someone else who believed and had faith and was healed, Even from the dead, his little girl is raised back to life. And then the next thing is about these blind guys that know he's Messiah, call out to him as such. Do you believe?
Yes, Lord. He touched and said, it shall be done according to your faith, and their eyes were opened. Amen. Opening the eyes of the blind is a messianic thing. The transition that we're going from right now is Jesus' early Galilean ministry to his late Galilean ministry.
And we're heading faster and faster, it seems, towards the cross. Okay? So we know that the gospels are passion narratives with long introductions, but we're coming to the end of those introductions. And things are speeding up, and we'll start to see heated conflict from here. Their eyes were opened so two blind guys have been made to see and Jesus sternly warned them.
Sternly? That doesn't sound like Jesus to me. He sternly warned them but this is funny to me. I think it's a dad joke. See to it that no one knows about this.
Hurrah oh, that's the word. He just says to two blind men who just received their sight. Now you see to it. Isn't that fun? I think that's funny.
See to it that no one knows about this. That see right there cracks me up. See that no one knows. But they went out and spread the news about him throughout the land. How could you not?
Right? When Jesus has done something for you, you can't help but tell it. Even if it's through a crack in your voice, through tears. Right? If Jesus has done something in your life, that is your testimony.
So he's asked us to be witnesses. He's not asked us to be lawyers. He's not asked us to be judges. He's asked us to be witnesses, and witnesses tell what their experience is. These guys having been blind, they'd still be recognizable to everybody that they know.
They'd still be recognizable and Were you faking all those years? No. This guy named Jesus came by. He's the son of David. He's the Messiah and he made me see.
And then he cracked the dad joke. They went out and they spread the news about him throughout the land. Okay. End of a little pericope there. I can stop right there, I'm gonna keep going.
And as they were going out, as they were going, there it is again, as they were going, behold, a demon possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to him. So there's been two blind men and now someone is bringing to Jesus. It's not that this man came on his own. Someone else brought this demon possessed man to Jesus. And after the demon was cast out because that's what Messiah does.
The man who was previously unable to speak talked and the crowds were amazed. Jesus gave a man who had no voice a voice. That's a messianic sign right there. No doubt about it. But think about that the implications of that today right now.
If Jesus sets you free, you'll be free indeed, but he also gives you a voice to say what it is that he's done. Though you may have been mute, the thing I hated worse than anything was standing in front of people and talking, but I can't help but do it. Paul says, woe be unto me if I don't preach the gospel. Right? After the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked and the crowds were amazed.
Crowds were amazed and they were saying nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel. Now, we know we're supposed to be looking for it. We have the Torah. We have the prophets. We have all of these things that show us what we are to be looking for, but we haven't seen it.
They're saying until now. Until now. Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel. Pay attention to who it is that's saying it. It's the crowds who were amazed.
Uh-oh. What do you think? If you've got the crowds that are following after Jesus, what is the religious hierarchy going to be doing? Getting upset. They always are getting upset.
But, strong disjunctive, but the Pharisees were saying, he cast out demons by the power of the demons. Y'all ever heard of an argumentum ad nauseam where you just keep saying the same thing over and over and over again? Maybe a slightly different form, but we've heard this before. Have we heard it before? Have we heard this line of Pharisee thinking before?
We have heard it in all of these places. So we call it the Beelzebub controversy. It started a while back in Matthew 12, Mark three, Luke 11. They're not all in chronological order, but we have seen it before as we're following the harmony approach. Right?
And Jesus responds to the accusations and attack. And if you want to, you can go back and listen to that one. It's on March 13, or you can go back on your own to those passages and see what Jesus has to say back about that. We're not gonna go into it today beyond this. He mentions blasphemy.
Blasphemy is abusive or scurrilous language. Scurrilous if you hey, why not? Let's define scurrilous too. Scurrilous is making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation. What would the pharisees want to do?
Damage Jesus' reputation. Rather than, they're the people of the book. They're the ones who are supposed to know. They're the ones who are supposed to know that, oh, curing the blind, giving them sight is a messianic thing. This might be him.
Nicodemus went to him at night, right? Under cover of darkness. A scurrilous attack on his integrity is the example given in the dictionary and I'll just capitalize the h. This was a scurrilous attack on Jesus' integrity. So abusive or scurrilous language, it literally is being slow or sluggish to call something good that really is good.
How can you say that healing two blind guys and a demon possessed man is not a good thing? It's a good thing. Slow to identify what is truly bad, that really is evil. Now the Pharisees also believed that if someone had a physical ailment that sin is the cause of that ailment. We see that in another story in the New Testament and they may feel that both of those blind men and that demon possessed man deserved what they were getting.
Act justly. Love mercy. Slow or sluggish to call something good that really is good. Slow down to identify what is truly bad that which is really evil. Blasphemy switches right for wrong and wrong for right.
It calls what God disapproves right and it exchanges the truth of God for a lie. So that's the Beelzebub controversy. We're going to switch now to Mark. So that was Matthew. And then in Mark, we get this story.
I feel like they're in a flow. Jesus was leaving from Capernaum, it says, and Jesus went out from there and he came into his hometown. Now, he was born in Bethlehem. We know that city of David. We know that he's born there but that's not where he grew up.
Joseph and Mary were from Nazareth and went to Bethlehem. Jesus went out from there and came into his hometown, Nazareth. It's about 40 miles away and it's about 2,100 feet of vertical elevation change. So if you're going up the path right where your phone quits working, that's about 2,100 feet right there. Jesus went out from there and came into his hometown, Nazareth, and his disciples are following him.
And when the Sabbath came, as was his custom, he went to synagogue and he began to teach in the synagogue. That's a pretty common thing most places in the world. It's kind of hard for us as Americans to imagine. I remember various mission trips where we go in and when we show up, the pastor comes over and says, which one of y'all is going to preach? Oh my goodness.
I hope it's not me, know. But that's that's very common. And I haven't been on a mission trip in forever. I mean it's it's been twenty plus years that I haven't had the opportunity in almost every other country. In America, we think, they're not pastored.
They shouldn't be up there. But incidental ministry is really really important in giving a time for people to be able to speak. We're trying to work more testimonies in. I hear testimonies all the time. I want you all to hear more of them.
When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Now, we have seen in Luke him go into this. His very first recorded sermon was in the book of Luke and he read from the Isaiah scroll and then sat down and said, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and they wanted to kill him. It says they wanted to throw him off of Nazareth Ridge for what he said. If you go back and listen to that one, woah.
He opens up the acceptable time or the acceptable year of the Lord and he does not mention God's vengeance. He just opens up and says, this is the time. Set the captives free. He mentions the blind seeing. He mentions a lot of those messianic things in Isaiah 61.
And then Jesus says, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing that God has opened up the acceptable time to recognize and be saved. He doesn't go into the vengeance of God coming down. It's coming. Don't worry. Throw it tarry.
Wait for it. But he has announced an acceptable time of the Lord. And when this Sabbath comes, he begins to teach in the synagogue. And many listeners were astonished. Okay.
Now, we had the crowds being astonished before by the mute man now having a voice and no demons. And now, as he's teaching, many of the people listening were astonished beside themselves. And they were saying, where did this man learn these things? I mean, I recognized him. I watched him play high school basketball.
No. No. Where did this man learn these things? I mean, grew up around here. What's this wisdom that has been given to him?
He speaks like no other person I've ever heard and such miracles as these performed by his hands. They're recognizing the message is unique and they're recognizing the miracles. This is like nothing we've ever seen before and we know this guy. How can this be? Is not the carpenter?
Is this not the carpenter? The son of Mary? Oh my goodness. They don't usually mention the son of mama in these times. It's almost unheard of.
If they do, it's it's usually derision. Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this just a worker blue collar guy illegitimate son of Mary? You know you know what happened. You remember what happened?
That's that's the that's what it looks like they're saying here. Isn't not this the carpenter the son of Mary and the brother James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? And are his sisters not here with us? They're all still around. He grew up in that same household.
We know this guy. How did he gain this wisdom and how is it that he started being able to do these miracles? And it says, and they took offense at him. Isn't that sad? Being faced with exactly the same information, we can either see it and go, thank you God for your faithfulness.
Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your love. Thank you that you've extended grace towards us Lord. Or we can say, I'm not having that. I'm not believing that for a minute.
Must be a trick. They took a fence at him. He's too big for his britches. I know where he comes from. And Jesus said to them, a prophet is not dishonored except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.
It's interesting that he went back to Nazareth. He didn't have to go to Nazareth, know. I mean, maybe he did. He wanted to present again the opportunity to the folks that he grew up with. He went by there.
But if you're going to Nazareth, you're pretty much going to Nazareth. That's not the way they'd walk hardly anywhere else. Jesus said to him, prophets not dishonored except in his own hometown, except among his own relatives and in his own household. We know that familiarity breeds contempt. There are lots of sayings.
There was already a saying in Greek, there was already a saying in Hebrew, there's one in English. The more you're around something, the less you think it's special. And that's kind of what was going on. And it says he could not do any miracle there. Now he'd already done miracles on the way there and he had done some miracles there.
The next sentence is gonna say that, but this could not. Doesn't mean he didn't have the power to. It's like they took a fence at him. Didn't put their faith in him. Exposure's Bible commentary, use a lot and it states this.
Verse five opens with one of the boldest statements in the gospels since it's mentioned something that Jesus could not do. He couldn't do any miracle there. Oh, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. Isn't that the understatement of forever? That's great.
He did he did some miracles but he couldn't do many just because they didn't believe him. They didn't put their faith in him. Do you believe that I can do this? These people did not. He still showed some of them that he could, but this says Jesus was amazed at their unbelief.
Now, we have seen by this point the crowds being amazed. We've seen now Jesus is amazed at what? Their unbelief. So what amazes Jesus? I I've tried to look up every instance.
In Mark, the only one is unbelief. That's the only thing in the book of Mark. If you include Matthew, it's unbelief and is there anything else? Faith. It's either unbelief or belief.
Those are the two things that are amazing to Jesus. Our normal incidental lives where we're just walking around trying to make the money to do the thing, have to get the rent and all that sort of stuff. Just doing what you do. What you believe matters. What you don't believe also matters.
Now, when Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those who are fallen, truly I say to you, I've not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. Now, in this time, Jesus is expanding the tent post. Right? He's going bigger and other people are expecting it's just for us. But no, he's saying Gentiles.
He hasn't seen this kind of faith even in Israel where he would have loved to have seen it but what he's amazed by by his very hometown is their unbelief. Mark six six b says this, and he was going around the villages teaching. That's what he was doing. Incidentally, as you are going, be making disciples. As you're going, be baptizing.
As you're going, be teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you, the great commission. Matthew expands on this little blurb right there from Mark, and he was going around the villages teaching. Matthew says this, and Jesus was going through all of the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. And he was healing every disease and every sickness. And seeing the crowds, he felt compassion for them because they were distressed and they were downcast.
Oh boy. How many of y'all feel distressed and downcast? Quit watching the news first of all. But if you if you feel distressed and downcast, you are not alone. People feel distressed and downcast.
And Jesus, seeing the crowds, he felt compassion for them because they were distressed and they were downcast. And they were like sheep without a shepherd, wandering all over the place. And then he said to his disciples, listen, look at this. Look with me here. He says to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful.
There are plenty of people out there who do have humble faith, and they need to be told. They are praying for somebody. They're praying for something, and they're reaching out like the woman in faith. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. So therefore, because of that, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.
You do not have to be a professional minister to say, yes, I'll proclaim the truth of the gospel when given the opportunity. You do not have to be a professional minister to answer the question, so what who's Jesus? What's he done for? Why would you make that statement? You can answer that statement.
It's your witness. There is no theological argument to stifle a transformed life. Okay? If your life has been transformed, it was Jesus that transformed it, just tell the story. You have not been sternly warned not to.
Okay? The great commission says, as you are going, be doing this. Plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his field. Now according to the New Testament, these are the things that amazed Jesus, unbelief and faith. That's it.
I think that's the last slide. If I click it, it's going turn black. Oh, communion. So communion is a statement that you believe. Communion, we practice here an open table.
So if you are a believer and you have been for many, many, many years and this is the umpteenth time that you've taken communion, great. You're saying, I'm with you. Do this as often as you will as a remembrance of me. But if during this sermon, you went from a place of, I don't believe that to, oh my goodness, I think I do believe that. It's an open table.
Just as often as you will, you're to take of this little representative sample. It's a representation of the body and blood of Christ. I'm going ask the ushers to come on forward. We still have these little cups. We bought zero five million of them.
All right. When we finish them, we'll go back to the other way, okay. I know you don't like it. I know it's uncomfortable. It's not that hard.
So the little clear plastic on the top. You can start pulling that off now if you want to and reveal the wafer. This we'll use as a symbol of Christ's body and then the tinfoil pulls off to reveal a little symbol. It's grape juice. It's not a common cup of wine like they would have used in the first century, but would you would you just pray with me?
Would you open your heart to believe the gospel? God Almighty, I pray that you would birth in us more faith than we have ever known. I pray Lord that you would use us in ways that are just along the way as we are going incidental. That we would be ready Lord in season and out of season to give a defense for the hope that is in us. I pray Lord that come what may, we would trust in you.
Would you bless this as we distribute it Lord? Would you bless this little wafer and this little plastic cup of juice? May it be a meaningful symbol of the relationship, Lord, that we have with you and trust in you. Amen.
Oh, love's so amazing. Oh, love's so amazing. Jesus Jesus Messiah, Lord of all. A polar tram, a veil was torn. A love so amazing.
Jesus Messiah, A rescue for sin, a ransom from heaven. Jesus Messiah, the Lord of all.
On the same night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread after supper, and after he had given thanks, he blessed it and said to his disciples who were there with him, and his voice rings out still to the disciples who are sitting here right now. He says, this is my body which is given for you. Take this and eat and do it as often as you will in remembrance of me. In the same manner that he had taken the cup bread, he also took the cup after supper, and he said to his disciples that were there with him that this is the new covenant in my blood. It's the new covenant in my blood.
That which you've been looking forward to. Jeremiah spoke of it. The whole Old Testament points to it. This is the new covenant in my blood. Take this in.
Take it in. Allow it to be a part of who you are. Allow it to be who you are. The new covenant in my blood, take this and drink and do it as often as you will in remembrance of me. Amen.
Would you stand with us? What do you want to sing, Carl?
How about we believe?
We believe. Would you stand with us? We're going to sing the benediction today. We believe in God the father. We believe in Jesus Christ.
And he's given us new life. We believe in the crucifixion. We believe that he conquered death. We believe in the resurrection, and he's coming back again. We believe.
And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and of the Holy Spirit be with you all. I pray Lord that you'd be reflecting yourself off of these mirrors, shined up and ready onto a world that does not yet know you. In Jesus' name, we pray this blessing on all within hearing. Amen. Also, IJM, Bethany Donnelly, down the hall with the connect hour and there's plenty of food down there.
So please feel free. Go down, join her. If somebody else is talking to her, just saddle up anyway.
