The Blind, Lame, Lepers, Deaf and the Dead - Matthew 11:5

Matthew the apostle shared how Jesus told His disciples, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Are you he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see”, and in chapter eleven and verse five of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus spoke concerning, “the blind, lame, lepers, deaf and the dead” where we read:

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.

The verse reads, “The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, ...” Matthew began with the words, “the blind” which means “those who have opaque or smoky sight or cannot see” “receive their sight” which means “recover the ability to see and look”, “and the lame” or “and those maimed or deprived of foot” “walk” which means “make their way, progress, make due use of opportunities, amble about and regulate their lives”, “the lepers” which refers to “the scaly, rough and affected with leprosy” “are cleansed” which means “are made clean from physical stains and dirt by curing”, “and the deaf” or “and the blunted, dull in hearing or dumb” “hear” which means “are endowed with the faculty of hearing, understanding and perceiving”. Matthew shared how Jesus told John the Baptist's disciples to observe how “blind” people are seeing, cripple people are “walking”, people with “leprosy” are made clean and people who could not “hear” now do.

The verse continues, “... the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Matthew added the words, “the dead” which means “people who have breathed their last, are lifeless, deceased, departed and are destitute of life” “are raised up” or “are aroused, awaken and recalled from death to life”, “and the poor” which refers to “people who are reduced to beggary, asking alms, destitute of wealth, influence, position and honor” “have the gospel preached to them” which means “have the good news and glad tidings of the kingdom of God proclaimed to them”. Matthew shared how Jesus told the disciples of John the Baptist to report how “dead people” are “raised” to life again and “beggars as well as those destitute of wealth” have Jesus' “good news” of God declared to them.

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see more of the ways Jesus ministered to people. He made the “blind see, the lame walk, the lepers cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead raised”, and He “preached” the “good news” of the kingdom of God to “the poor”. Jesus is the Messiah of God, and no one has ever done what He did among people. God desires people to have a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus, and those who truly consider these things shall know for certain, “Jesus is the Messiah of God”.

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus referred to, “whosoever shall not be offended in me”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.