Following Jesus: Seeing clearly
Passage: Matthew 9:27-34 and Ephesians 1:18-19 Preacher: Mark Kingston
What if the people we think of as blind are actually the ones who see most clearly?
That’s what happens in this story. Two blind men, marginalised, desperate, ignored, start shouting at Jesus. “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” Their cry is raw, gutsy repentance. It’s not polished or polite. It’s real and it matters, because repentance is how we turn back toward God. It reorients us. It opens us up to God’s grace and healing.
But it’s WHO they see that really blows this story wide open: “Son of David.” That’s not just a nice Bible-sounding name. It’s a messianic title. It means they recognise Jesus as the promised King, the one who would put everything right. And here’s the twist: these two nobodies are the first in Matthew’s Gospel to see Jesus for who He really is.
That’s the moment faith is born. Because true faith doesn’t come from trying harder. It comes from seeing clearly. And seeing clearly? That’s a gift. A gift God loves to give. Paul prays that the “eyes of your heart may be enlightened.” So if we’re struggling to see, struggling to believe, let’s ask Him. “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.” Because when we see Jesus, His mercy, His power, His tenderness, faith starts to rise. And God, it seems, can’t resist real faith.
And here’s the final challenge: we become like whatever we focus on. Focus on power, you’ll get controlling. Focus on pain, you’ll grow bitter. But fix your eyes on Jesus? You’ll start to look like Him.
So cry out again. Repent again and ask for God’s help to see him more clearly. Because when that happens, you’ll start to believe more deeply and that might just open you up to the new thing God wants to do in you and through you!
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
What do you long for Jesus to do in your life, but maybe stopped asking for?
(You don’t have to share the deepest thing unless you want to. But we all carry hopes, don’t we? Maybe name a longing that’s still alive, or one that’s been shelved for a while.)When did you last cry out to God with that kind of honesty: raw, real, no filter?
(We’re not always taught how to pray like that. What gets in the way for you? Have you ever experienced a moment where that kind of honesty felt freeing, or even necessary?)What are you looking at most these days and how’s it shaping you?
(Let’s think really practically: what fills your gaze in an average week? A phone screen? The news? Your own worries? How does that shape your mood, your thoughts, your faith?)What if the issue isn’t how much faith you have, but how clearly you’re seeing Jesus?
(This one turns the focus around. How does that change the way you think about faith? Has there been a moment in your life when Jesus felt especially clear or real to you?)What would it sound like to pray: “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord”? Could that be your next step today?
(You can say it as a prayer. Or talk about what’s hard about praying that. Or what you hope might happen if you did).
