Mateus 20

Mateus 20

Clarke - “Reader, whosoever thou art, act in behalf of thy soul as these blind men did in behalf of their sight, and thy salvation is sure. Apply to the Son of David; lose not a moment; he is passing by, and thou art passing into eternity, and probably wilt never have a more favourable opportunity than the present. The Lord increase thy earnestness and faith!” Matthew 20:34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him. KJV Matthew 20:34 So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him. BGT Matthew 20:34 σπλαγχνισθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἥψατο τῶν ὀμμάτων αὐτῶν, καὶ εὐθέως ἀνέβλεψαν καὶ ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ. NET Matthew 20:34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. CSB Matthew 20:34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed Him. ESV Matthew 20:34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. NIV Matthew 20:34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. NLT Matthew 20:34 Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him. NRS Matthew 20:34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him. NJB Matthew 20:34 Jesus felt pity for them and touched their eyes, and at once their sight returned and they followed him. NAB Matthew 20:34 Moved with pity, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight, and followed him. YLT Matthew 20:34 and having been moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him. MIT Matthew 20:34 Jesus, empathizing with them, touched their eyes. Immediately they were enabled to see, and they followed along with him. Jesus: Mt 9:36 14:14 15:32 Ps 145:8 Lu 7:13 Jn 11:33-35 Heb 2:17 Heb 4:15,16 1Pe 3:8 touched: Mt 9:29 Mk 7:33 Lu 22:51 Jn 9:6,7 and they: Mt 8:15 Ps 119:67,71 Lu 18:43 Ac 26:18 Related Passages: Mark 10:52+ And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road. Luke 18:42+ And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God. JESUS HEALS THEIR BLINDNESS Moved with compassion (felt sorry - splanchnizomai) - ESV - "Jesus in pity" Ten of the 12 uses of this great verb are used to describe the deep feeling of pity that Jesus had for others in need. Jesus touched (hapto/haptomai) their eyes (opthalmos) - Jesus used different methods to heal, even mixing spittle and water to make a paste to put on the blind man's eyes (Jn 9:6-7+) Grant Osborne: Jesus’ compassion and touching their eyes are not found in Mark and add to the centrality of the messianic miracle in Matthew. Jesus’ compassion is also found in Mt 9:36; 14:14; 15:32, all connected to his miraculous ministry to the crowds. Jesus had great pity for the human dilemma and always responded. Most busy teacher-rabbis, let alone messianic pretenders, would never have “stopped” in their rush to destiny to help the unfortunate, but Jesus does so every time. The use of “touch” for healing is also found in 8:3, 15; 9:29 (9:20–21; 14:36 of people touching Jesus) and stresses further the physicality of the miracle. (See Matthew - Page 749) and immediately (eutheos) they regained their sight (anablepo) and followed (akoloutheo) Him - Note Jesus' miracles were immediate, complete and wrought by different modalities (this case touch, sometimes just a word, etc). Notice the verb regained which carries the meanings of recovery from blindness, to see again or regain sight. You say "So what?" This verb (anablepo) would imply that these men had once been able to see and at some point became blind. Following Him is interesting as it raises the question did these 2 healed blind man follow Him as disciples, those who had been born again? Or did they just follow along with the crowd heading to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem, something they had likely not celebrated for many years because of their blindness? I think they became disciples (especially calling Him Son of David), but cannot be dogmatic. Heaven will be an exciting place as we see who's there! 🙏 THOUGHT - As a medical doctor subspecialized in infectious disease I would propose that these men could at one time see. At some point they contracted Chlamydia trachomatis a bacterial infection that can affect both the genital tract and the eyes. When it affects the eyes, it causes a disease called trachoma — a leading cause of preventable blindness globally. Historically, trachoma was widespread in many parts of the Middle East, due to: Poverty, Limited access to clean water, Crowded living conditions, Poor sanitation.The bacteria spread through: Direct contact (e.g., hands, clothing) and Flies that have been in contact with infected eye secretions. Initial infection leads to chronic conjunctivitis. Repeated infections cause the inner eyelid to scar. The scarring causes entropion (eyelashes turn inward). Eyelashes scrape the cornea, leading to corneal damage and eventual blindness. While this is conjecture, the good news is that Jesus effected an immediate, complete cure. He always does! And He can perform the same immediate, complete cure for spiritual scarred eyes blinded to the truth in the Word of God. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Amen! Daniel Doriani: In the Old Testament, there is no record that a prophet or servant of God ever heals the blind. But the healing of the blind is Jesus’ most common miracle. Why? Because the Bible says God alone gives sight to the blind (Ex. 4:11; Ps. 146:8–9). When God restores all things, when his Servant comes, then “the eyes of the blind will see” (Isa. 29:18; 35:5; 42:7). Thus Matthew attests the deity of Christ. Donald Hagner: Just before arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus performs a striking miracle in the healing of two blind men, who appeal to him using the title Son of David. This is the same title with which Jesus will be greeted on his entry into Jerusalem (21:9). In the temple Jesus will again heal the blind and the lame too (21:14). The present passage thus at once rounds out the preceding main section of the Gospel and serves as a transition to the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem and the events to occur there. The present miracle has the effect of confirming the messianic identity of Jesus as the Son of David. With sovereign power he brings sight to the blind, and they respond by following him in discipleship—all this in strong contrast to the way he will be received by the Jerusalem authorities. . . Jesus on the way to his death in Jerusalem does not cease being the Messiah who meets the needs of individuals. The giving of sight to the blind is a dramatic miracle that points to the dawning of the era of messianic fulfillment. The Son of David is present among his people. And as he compassionately delivers them from their literal darkness, so he continues on his way to Jerusalem, where in his sacrificial death he will deliver all of humanity from an even greater darkness—that of the bondage to sin and death. . . This healing pericope thus may be seen as the gospel in a microcosm. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JESUS HEALING THE BLIND Jesus' miracle of healing blindness was especially significant because there is no record in the Old Testament of anyone healing blindness — not even great prophets like Moses, Elijah, or Elisha. They performed many miracles (e.g., raising the dead, parting waters, multiplying food), but restoring sight to the blind was unique to Jesus. This makes Jesus’ healing of the blind stand out as a new, never-before-seen miracle. So why is this so significant? It is significant because healing the blind was one of the specific signs the Hebrew Scriptures associated with the coming of the Messiah. In Isaiah 35:5–6+ we read “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy...” This passage describes the Messianic Age, a time when God will come to save His people (Ro 11:26+, Zech 12:10+, Zech 13:8-9+) and bring healing and restoration. In addition, Jesus Himself Points to This Sign of healing the blind as evidence that He was the long expected Messiah. In Matthew 11:4–5+, when John the Baptist questioned if Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus said “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear…” That list is almost a direct fulfillment of Isaiah 35+ and Isaiah 61+ both classic Messianic texts. Moved with compassion (4697) splanchnizomai from splagchnon = bowel, viscera - see splagchnon note below) means to experience a deep visceral feeling for someone, to feel compassion for, to feel sympathy, to take pity on someone. Compassion is the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. This verb expresses an outward flow of one's life in contrast to our natural tendency toward self centeredness. It is notable that 8/12 NT uses describe this deep seated emotion in Jesus. It follows that if we desire to imitate Jesus, we need to be men and women of deep compassion! Zodhiates note on splagchnon - In Class. Gr. writers, it is chiefly spoken of the upper viscera of animals, as the heart, lungs, and liver which were eaten during or after the sacrifice… Figuratively, the inward parts indicating the breast or heart as the seat of emotions and passions. In the NT, of the gentler emotions as compassion, tender affection indicating the mind, soul, the inner man (2Co 6:12, Philemon 1:7, 20; 1Jn 3:17; Sept.: Pr 12:10 (cf. Ge 43:30; 1Kgs. 3:26) (borrow The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament) SPLANCHNIZOMAI - 12 VERSES Matt. 9:36; Matt. 14:14; Matt. 15:32; Matt. 18:27; Matt. 20:34; Mk. 1:41; Mk. 6:34; Mk. 8:2; Mk. 9:22; Lk. 7:13; Lk. 10:33; Lk. 15:20 Regained (308) anablepo from ana = up, again + blepo = to look, to perceive and so discern) means to look up or direct one's vision upward (Of Jesus "looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food," = Mt 14:19; Mk 6:41,Lk 9:16; Of Jesus "and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh" = Mk 7:34, Of man who regained his sight "he looked up and said, “I see men..." = Mk 8:24; "at that very time I looked up at him" = Acts 22:13) To regain one's sight or recover from blindness and thus see again ("the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT" = Mt 11:5; "“Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” = Mk 10:51; "so that he might regain his sight" = Acts 9:12, 17,18). Of one born blind anablepo means to gain sight, become able to see, receive sight (" I went away and washed, and I received sight.” = Jn 9:11, 15, 18). Friberg - (1) strictly look up (Mt 14.19); (2) of recovery from blindness = see again, regain sight (Mt 11.5); (3) of one born blind = gain sight, become able to see, receive sight (Jn 9.11) (Borrow Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament)