The Bible Study podcast, episode 427. Today, the Bible study podcast continues the study of the book of Matthew as we wrap up chapter 9.

Welcome to the Bible study podcast. I'm your host, Chris Christensen.

We're continuing on with chapter 9, verse 27, as Jesus does more healing.

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, have mercy on us, son of David.

When he had gone indoors, the blind man came to him, and he asked them,

Do you believe that I am able to do this?

Yes, Lord, they replied.

Then he touched their eyes and said, according to your faith, let it be done to you.

And their sight was restored.

Jesus warned them sternly, see that no one knows about this, but they went out and spread the news about him over that region. While they were going out, a man who was demon possessed and who could not talk

was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke.

The crowd was amazed and said, nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel,

but the Pharisees said, it is by the Prince of Demons that he drives out demons.

Now remember that as we've looked at all of these healings that we're getting here in this

section of Matthew, Matthew talks a lot

about Jesus teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, and then he goes into this section here where

Jesus is healing and driving out demons and repeatedly doing this sort of thing. And Matthew keeps

coming back to this issue of authority and this issue of there's never been someone like Jesus before, that this is new to people, that they're saying, where have we heard somebody teach with authority and then where have we seen somebody act with authority like this, who even has power over?

And that's what's going on again here in this story of the

blind and the mute. The first one is interesting because we have this incredible faith,

but also this incredible disobedience from these two blind men, right? They're wandering around,

crying out, have mercy on a son of David.

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