Then he touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it unto you.
Two blind men have followed Jesus through the streets, calling Him Son of David. He waits until they are indoors with Him. Then comes a question, a touch, and a word that ties the result to their believing.
The Question That Draws Faith Out
Before He heals, the Lord asks whether they believe He can. He wants their conviction spoken, not assumed.
He asks the two blind men whether they believe He is able to give them what they ask. No doubt He does this to draw out the decision of their faith. When they answer yes, He speaks and acts according to their faith, and their eyes are opened. He is indeed the Son of David, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 42:7.
The Touch, and the House
The cure comes by touch, and the place matters too.
He did not pass by the two blind men. "When He was come to the house (which always stands for relationship), the blind men came to Him, and Jesus says to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They say to Him, Yes, Lord. Then He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it done to you. And their eyes were opened." So He healed them by coming in touch with them — not absent and unseen, but present and touching them. He is absent from the earth now, unseen to human eyes. Yet we believe in Him, and through Him we believe on God. We believe, too, that He is able, and that all power is given to Him in heaven and on earth. It is also now "according to your faith."
Faith Given a Measuring Line
The Lord lets their believing set the terms. Bellett notes that He had spoken the same way before.
"According to your faith be it done to you!" was the Lord's word to the two blind men. How wonderful and blessed, that our Lord lets our faith, or patience, or expectation of hope measure His active and generous power! But so it was. "According to your faith be it done to you"; and again, "As you have believed, so be it done to you" (Matt. 8, 9).
If faith is the measure, the measure can stretch.
There is no limit to the blessing which we might enjoy, if only we counted on God more. "All things are possible for one who believes." Our God will never say, "You have drawn on Me too heavily; you expect too much." Impossible. It is the joy of His loving heart to answer the very largest expectations of faith.
Not Looking at Faith, but at Him
Anyone who has said "my faith is too weak" hears a warning here. But notice what the blind men were thinking about.
Probably they never thought about their faith, and certainly did not speak about it. What engrossed them was just this — we have a need, and He is able to meet it. If they had put their conviction in the Lord's own style of words, it would have been this: "According to Your ability be it done to us."
Cutting points to a second "according" that runs the other way.
It springs from what He is. So it is important to see that there is another "according" to consider. It looks in another direction — not at your faith, but at His faithfulness.
A Pledge to a Blind Nation
They call Him Son of David, the title that ties Him to Israel. The healing points beyond these two men.
They cry and say to Him, "You Son of David, have mercy on us." It is the confession of Christ as connected with Israel… The Lord was giving picture after picture, and pledge upon pledge. Israel would not be forgotten. Israel would be raised out of death. However blind they were, they would see; however unable to speak, they would speak.
The Question Turned Back on Us
Their faith was real, and the result proved it.
He knew their faith was real; and we know it was, for at once their eyes were opened. Let each of us ask ourselves: if God answers my requests according to my faith, what will I get?
Summary
- Faith questioned — He first asks, "Do you believe that I am able?" He wants their faith spoken before He acts.
- Faith touched — He healed them by touch, inside the house. He is unseen now, yet all power is His.
- Faith measured — He lets our believing measure His power. He never tells anyone they have asked for too much.
- Faith's object — the blind men thought about His ability, not their faith. Assurance rests on His faithfulness, not on the strength of yours.
- Faith's outcome — their eyes opened at once, a pledge that blind Israel will one day see. So the question stands: if answers come according to my faith, what will I receive?