Matthew 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it to you. This expression was connected with a miracle of healing. Not all Christ's gracious deeds are recorded in our Gospels. Some are fully detailed. Some are briefly sketched. Some are merely summarized. The reason for the difference of treatment may be found in the degree in which any miracle afforded illustration of truth. This is not one of the fully developed cases, but it yields one point. Blindness is a common affliction in the East. Christ had just wrought a miracle. Its proper result was reached, for others were led to believe in Christ. These two blind men heard what Jesus had done, so they sought his help for themselves. He tests their faith, and gives accordingly. Why did Christ always require, and work for, faith? Because he healed diseases for the sake of healing souls. Calling out faith was healing the soul's sickness. The word "faith" often bewilders; better call it "trust." That is a simpler word, and helps us to connect religious faith with everyday faith. The spirit of trust is the spirit that puts us ready to receive God's best blessings. But the text must not be read as if it meant that the conditions of blessing are all rearranged by Christ, and that we can have anything we like from God, if only we believe enough. I. HELPED TO TRUST, THAT IS THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIAN LIFE. Take the familiar command, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," and put "trust" for "believe," then it means, "Give the whole matter of your soul's salvation into his hands." That is the beginning. II. LEARNING TO TRUST; THAT IS THE GREAT WORK OF CHRISTIAN LIFE, There is a constant tendency to fall back on self-confidence, which needs to be watched and resisted. There is a constant demand for the culturing of weak trust into strength. All Christian discipline means development of trust. III. ACCORDING TO TRUST; THAT IS THE LAW OF DIVINE BLESSINGS IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. Because that is the guarantee that gifts will be well used. If we were utterly self-willed, we should fling back the gift. Just in the measure of our self-will we are likely to use unworthily the gift. So far as we can trust, we are likely to use it rightly. Open souls welcome spiritual blessings. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.WEB: Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." |
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