Blind

Scripture:  Matt 12:22-29 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

22 Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. 23 The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” 25 Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 26 And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive. 27 And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. 28 But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. 29 For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.” Matthew 12:22–29 (NLT)

Jesus delivered a man from a demon that made him blind and unable to talk. Jesus set the man free and healed him so he could both see and speak. The crowd was amazed and wondered out loud if Jesus was the Messiah! The Pharisees concluded, “He casts out demons by power he gets from Satan, the biggest demon of them all!”

The crowd saw this demonstration of God’s good power and began to believe Jesus was truly the Son of God. Their minds were open to learn, and their hearts were open to change. The Pharisees saw the same demonstration of God’s power and said, “We don’t believe Jesus is the Son of God, so it has to be Satan casting out Satan!” Their minds were already made up, so they couldn’t learn. Their hearts were hard, and they couldn’t change. Jesus tried to help them understand their blindness and see their error by explaining the foolishness of their argument, but they just couldn’t see the truth!

This is about us friends! Is your mind open to learn new things? Is your heart open to grow and change? Don’t be trapped by having to defend old ideas and fight against new ways of thinking and seeing. We’ve got to be able to learn and grow and change!

Prayer:

Father, Please help us to learn, grow, and change. Soften our hearts, open our minds, so we can embrace the truth, so we can be Jesus-following, Kingdom of God people.