Are you ready for some Bible study this afternoon?
The Lord Jesus was a descendant of Israel’s King David.
The first of seventeen references to “the Son of David” in the New Testament is found in Matthew 1:1 – Matthew describes his gospel as “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Then he goes on to give us the genealogical lineage which runs up to Joseph and Mary. In Luke 3 we have a similar genealogy which runs backward from Jesus to Adam, through the person of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz and Ruth. There is no doubt but that Jesus carried royal blood in His veins, though both sides of his family. This natural descent from David comes up again from time to time in the Bible. For example, there is Paul’s record in Romans 1 – “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh.”
We have among us today several people who rejoice in their genealogical heritage. We have Vikings, Germans, English, a few North American Indians and of course some proud Canadians. Were these blind men’s referenced to the “Son of David” just that sort of connection? Not if you put much stock in the details of your King James Bible. I know that there is no proof of the same in the Greek Textus Receptus, but look to see if the editors of your Bible capitalized the words “Son” as well as “God” in verse 27. There may be some exceptions, but I think that most of our Bibles have capitalized “Son.” Our editors believed that the blind men meant something special when they used that term, and so do I. When I capitalize some pronouns and titles in my notes, it is because I believe that they refer to deity. And that is my understanding here – this is the divine Son of David.
By the way, I made a brief survey of some of my library Bibles, and not all used the capital letter “S.” For example, my American Standard Version didn’t, and in so doing they are attacking Jesus’ deity. But I had to snicker, when I saw that the “New World Translation” did capitalize the word “Son.” The bible of the Jehovah’s Witnesses implies that, at the very least, these blind men believed in the deity of this man Jesus.
“Son of David” means far MORE than just a DESCENDANT OF DAVID.
It may appear to be innocuous, but I think that there is an anomaly in that first verse of Matthew 1. “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Two very important members of Israel’s history were singled out before the actual genealogy was given. I am convinced that there was a special reason for that. Jehovah made specific promises to both those men, and they both point especially to the Messiah. There was a special covenant made with Abraham, and there was another made with David. And it is about that second covenant which lead these blind men to call upon Christ in this way.
Briefly put, the Davidic Covenant refers to Gods promises to David – they are found in 2 Samuel 7. It is later reiterated and summarized in I Chronicles 17:11-14 and II Chronicles 6:16. God unconditionally promised that the Messiah would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah, and that He would establish a kingdom which would endure forever. It was unconditional because God did not place any conditions of obedience upon its fulfillment. The guarantee of the promise rested solely on God’s faithfulness and did not depend at all on David or Israel. In the Davidic Covenant, God reaffirmed the promise of the land which He made in the first two covenants with Israel – the Abrahamic and Mosaic. Then God promised that David’s descendant or “seed” would succeed him as king of Israel and that David’s throne would be established forever. The promise declared that David’s “house,” “kingdom” and “throne” would be established forever. It emphasized the authority of the king’s rule “forever,” declaring the eternal and unconditional nature of this promise to David and Israel. At the dedication of the Temple Solomon prayed – “Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.”
When these blind men called Jesus the “Son of David” they were declaring their trust that He was “Messiah.” Even though those words, “Son of David ” might not catch in our minds as often as they should, they are quite common in our New Testaments, and the context in most cases is significant. Matthew 12 – “Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?” Matthew 15 – “And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.” Matthew 20 – “And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.” In Matthew 21 we have a description of Jesus’ so-called “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem. “And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.” I hope you see how each of these references take on special significance if we substituted “Messiah” for the words “Son of David.” That substitution would be perfectly legitimate and perfectly correct.
Remember that the Messiah – this Son of David – was to have a SPECIAL MINISTRY.
You and I know that the Messiah will have a variety of special responsibilities. Not the least of which was His death on the cross. But perhaps we are making that conclusion based on other related scriptures. Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God,” was the perfect and final sacrifice offered for the sins of many. But the term “Messiah” looks more to the Millennium and the eternal rule of Christ than to His sacrifice for our sins. I think that the reason Jesus forbade these men and others from spreading abroad the greatness of His miracles was due to the fact that a couple of millennia lay between those miracles and the Millennium. It wasn’t yet time to think about Christ the King – there was still a need for Christ the Saviour to do His great work of redemption.
There was a reason that I asked that the 72nd Psalm be read during our song service. It is described as a prayer of David for his son Solomon – both of whom are types/pictures of Christ. As we read the words of that Psalm, yes, we see Solomon, but more clearly we see Christ Jesus. “Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. and blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.” As that Psalm suggests, the Son of David would be merciful, blessing people in all kinds of ways.
And specifically, as I pointed out last week, the Son of David – the Messiah – would wrought specific miracles. Isaiah 35 is a prophecy about the Messiah and His Millennial Kingdom. “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Listen again to verses 5 and 6 – “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.”
Now, visualize the ministry of the Lord Jesus. Yes, there is the Sermon on the Mount and probably hundreds of other sermons and lessons. And yes, there are the sermons and statements of John the Baptist – “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” But those who had not been given ears to hear, missed the meaning of all those messages. On the other hand, it didn’t take the special ministry of the Holy Spirit to see Jesus’ miracles. As Christ said to the disciples of John, “The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” What will be the logical assumption when those nominal Jews hear of someone performing the miracles which Isaiah said that the Messiah would perform? Their conclusion would be, “This is the Messiah, this is the Son of David whom we are supposed to expect.” “Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.”
Again, I take you back to my message this morning. These two blind men were men of faith. That doesn’t mean that their faith was perfect, or that they got all the details straight. But they were right in that this is the Son of David – the Messiah. They were absolutely convinced that Jesus of Nazareth could restore their sight, because He is promised the Son of David. I sincerely hope that over time they also perceived that Jesus is the Lamb of God – the Saviour. They needed a Saviour much more than they needed the Messiah or their sight. And so do you.
That Jesus, the “Son of God,” was a key part of their faith, and He must be part of yours as well.
Now as a verbal postscript, let me return briefly to my message from last Sunday night.
“And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.” Was there a play on words when our Lord said, “See that no man know it?” Probably not, because this was a very serious command.
During the last seven days, several people brought me things to consider in regard to the blind men’s disobedience. One was the difficulty that they would have had in order to obey. Remember that they had not seen daylight in perhaps years – perhaps they never had any sight. As their vision returned, they might have looked around the room in amazement and utter joy. And when they stepped out the door, what they saw might have taken their breath away. If they had not deliberately planned to hold their tongues, their miracle would have spread like wild-fire. Maybe they should have left the house with definite plans on how to proceed, covering the grace received. Note the Lord’s words, “See that no man know it.” It wasn’t that they were forbidden to speak about it; they were supposed to hide that they could see. Were they to pretend blindness in order to obey the Lord’s command? I don’t know if that was a practical possibility for any length of time. But the truth was that they deliberately disobeyed the command of Christ and “spread abroad his fame in all that country.” In this case, they are not to be praised for their praise of Christ, because they had the command of Christ.
Then Judy reminded me that there was another blind man who was healed, and somehow I missed referring to him. Mark 8:22 – “And (Christ) cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.”
And then finally, as I was preparing this morning’s message I began to consider another man whose sight was restored. The healing of the man born blind in John 9 could be used as an example of why the Lord forbade these people from recounting their wonderful story. This other miracle is such an important case in so many ways that it fills an entire chapter. On that occasion, the disciples pointed out the man – it was not that he was confronting the Saviour. “Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” Christ replied, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” Then Jesus used spittle to make clay, which He applied to the man’s eyes, telling him to go to the pool of Siloam to wash. When the man whipped away the clay, his sight was restored. He was not commanded to keep silent, but neither was Lord standing at his side when he could see again. What is described in the rest of the chapter is significant. His neighbors forced him to stand before some of the leaders of the Pharisees. When he gave Jesus praise for his healing, Christ’s enemies became furious – with everyone. The man came close to losing his life because he described Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. Even the man’s parents were brought in for questioning, accused of abetting fraud. When the man was threatened with excommunication and other punishments, he stood his ground. “Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man (Jesus) is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.”
The point of all this is that these healings of these various blind people, as well as many of His other miracles, together declare that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of God. And yes, we need all the physical blessings of this Christ. But far more important is the blessing of new life through Him. Do YOU realize and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of David, the Son of God? Is your faith in Him and His sacrifice, as the only remedy for your sins? Repent before God and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.