Well, if you have your Bible with you this morning, please turn with me once again and for the last time for some time to Matthew chapter 9. We return to Matthew chapter 9. And our focus text this morning is going to be verses 27 through 38. 27 through 38. Here now, the holy and inspired, the inerrant and infallible word of God, written for you and for me today. When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, son of David, have mercy on us. And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him and Jesus said to them, do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to him, yes, Lord. Then he touched their eyes saying, according to your faith, let it be to you. And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them saying, see that no one knows it. But when they had departed, they spread the news about him in all that country. As they went out, behold, they brought to him a man mute and demon possessed. And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, It was never seen like this in Israel. But the Pharisees said, He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons. Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Thus far, the reading of God's holy word. Indeed, may he add his blessing to the reading of it. Let us go before him in prayer, asking for his blessing on the preaching of it. Our gracious God and heavenly Father, as we have now read your most holy word, we pray for your spirit's work opening it to our hearts, and opening our hearts to receive your word as it is the very truth of the living God. Oh, Lord, work in us, we pray, and in through your word, we pray, and bless your people. In Christ's name, we pray, amen. Amen. Well, congregation of the Lord, the more Jesus ministered to sick and needy souls, the more the news spread around the region and the more people came to him for aid. We saw this clearly with both Jairus and the woman with the 12-year-long hemorrhage in the preceding context of today's text. Person after person, we've seen how they have come to Jesus, not out of curiosity or fascination, like some in the crowds did undoubtedly, but in faith, knowing who he is. And further, person after person, Jesus has shown that he has great compassion towards those who are his, which is evident in his effectively ministering to their very needs. Many times the need set before him was great, humanly speaking, wasn't it? Jairus knew that his daughter was very sick and on her deathbed. He did what many of his family and friends may have thought was unreasonable or crazy as he left his daughter's side and he ran to Christ. And yet Jairus had faith in what? In Christ's power and authority. Jairus knew that his lord and master could do if it was his will to do so. He know he knew what he could do in regards to his daughter, and specifically he was confident that Jesus could raise her from the dead. You as Christ's people, beloved, go likewise and seek your master in all times, especially running to him when great needs exist. with your prayers and your petitions in faith. Beseeching is mercy. This is also what he calls you to do. The woman who was hemorrhaging had faith also, didn't she? Though weak as it was, though as desperate as she was, she also came to her Lord for help. If you recall, she had exhausted all of the means that she had access to. She went to many doctors, spending all that she had, but none of them could cure her. In her mind, as she knew that she was ceremonially unclean, she became focused on just wanting to touch a tassel on Jesus's robe. If she could just quietly get close to him from behind, she would be made well. And indeed, she touched his robe and was made well. And yet it wasn't her touch that made her well, was it? Jesus had truly drawn her to himself and extended his grace to her in healing her. It was her faith that made her well, Christ said. And we find this pattern then of Christ's compassion and mercy continuing to be applied in the lives of others in today's text. Let's look at Jesus's healing of the two blind men in verses 27 through 31. The blasphemy of the Pharisees in verses 32 through 34. And the plentiful harvest in verses 35 through 38. And so Jesus departs from where he was, we see in verse 27. When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, Son of David, have mercy on us. And so as Jesus was walking, two blind men were then with the crowd, following him, crying out for mercy, and calling him by his title, the Son of David. Now we know of two other accounts in the Gospels Jesus healing the blind, who likewise called him by this title, giving the same plea, have mercy upon us, son of David. One of them is in Matthew 20, with the parallel passage being in Luke 18. The other is the healing of blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10, verses 46 through 52. Now these two accounts, along with this one in our text, are separate accounts. In fact, this account of the two blind men is only recorded in Matthew's gospel. But in Luke 18, if you would turn with me there for a moment, Luke 18, beginning in verse 35, let us consider one of these other accounts. Beginning in verse 35, we read, Then it happened, as he was coming near Jerusalem, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. And so they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And notice, and he cried out, saying, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet. But he cried out all the more, son of David, have mercy on me. And so Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he had come near, he asked him saying, what do you want me to do for you? He said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. Then Jesus said to him, receive your sight. Your faith has made you well. And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God, and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Now, beloved, as we see this, notice a couple of things. As we consider this text against Matthew chapter 9, we see what? We see the blind coming to Jesus, crying out to him again with this title for mercy. But notice in Matthew 9, these two blind men, whether some were with them, helping them, guide them or not, we don't know, but they followed Jesus. Here in Luke 18, the blind man, the beggar, needed to be brought to Jesus. But he knew who Jesus was. He made the same plea. And what did Christ say? He said, receive your sight. Your faith has made you well. And so we see an important connection here with the blind men calling Jesus the son of David. This is Christ's messianic title. These two blind men in Matthew 9 were the first in this gospel to call Jesus by his messianic title. If you recall, this should take your minds and your memories all the way back to the genealogy in chapter 1, verse 1, which gave the line and the godly line of Christ, the son of David, son of Abraham. Indeed, he who is the Messiah. And so these two blind men, knew who Jesus was. And though they couldn't see Jesus through their physical eyes, notice, they could see through the eyes of faith. And therefore, they knew who he was, and they proclaimed that he had come as they pleaded their Messiah's mercy. And yet notice that Jesus didn't respond to them right away. He didn't engage them on that road in Capernaum. Look at verse 28. And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him and Jesus said to them, do you believe that I am able to do this? And they said to him, yes, Lord. My friends, Jesus didn't engage them on the road because he was going to take time to talk with them and to test their faith. He asked them an important question. Do you believe that I am able to do this? Now, some of you may be thinking, well, I would think that maybe the more pressing question was, do you believe and know who I am? Do you believe that I am the son of God? But yet, this was the right question. This was the important question. that the Lord set before them. And what was their reply? They said, yes, Lord. They believed that Jesus had the power and the authority to heal them. And indeed, what happened? Jesus had mercy on them. Look at verse 29. Then he touched their eyes saying, according to your faith, let it be to you. And their eyes were opened. Now, beloved, faith healers today, as well as in time past, they take accounts like these, even those of Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage, saying, ah, you know, we're right. Jesus says that it was their faith that made them well. However, their view of faith making a person well isn't what Jesus did and taught. They point to some faith meter in each person, so to speak. And if that person exercises enough faith, they will no longer be subject to the crippling effects of sickness and disease, they claim. And therefore, they practice healing on command. If people continue to suffer affliction after they have, quote-unquote, been healed, it's due to their lack of personal faith. However, what faith was Jesus truly talking about and testing? What faith is really in view? It is saving faith in which the person was resting and trusting in Christ, the Messiah, for their salvation. It was the faith in which they knew who Jesus is, recognizing and confessing his divine power and authority to do what his holy will desires. That is the faith. Once again, we find Jesus commanding the healed to tell no one. And the healed disobeying Christ's command, sadly. In verse 30b, we read, then Jesus sternly warned them saying, see that no one knows it. But when they had departed, they spread the news about him in all the country. Clearly, the people who knew the men were once blind. They knew this. They knew that that was true of them. And then after Christ healed them, they would know that they had been healed as they could see. And giving this command, it may have been that Jesus didn't want to stir up a mob who had an appetite for the miraculous. But though the gospel writers never speak of Jesus rebuking healed persons for their spreading the word when he told them not to which keep in mind is sin and is breaking God's command. We should take it that it happened but just wasn't recorded for us to know or that it was likely dealt with at a later time. These things are not revealed to us but yet we know the character and the work of God in regards to his commands and blessings for obedience and judgment and chastening for disobedience. But Matthew goes on to tell us that as Jesus and the others went out, look at verse 32. Behold, they brought to him a man mute and demon possessed. And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, it was never seen like this in Israel. So here is a man who couldn't speak because a demon was holding his tongue, so to speak. And yet after Christ cast out the demon, he could speak freely again. If you remember the Gergesene demoniacs, what was true of them, They were unruly men. They were violent men. They were aggressive, attacking people along the way. The people couldn't travel along those roads because of them, because they would harm them and be vicious toward them. But yet when Christ cast out the demons into the swine, what happened? The man was found in his right mind, right? Sitting clothed, no longer violent, no longer thrashing. New men. So the Pharisees, though, noticed that they were not of the amazed, right? They were not the ones that were part the crowd that marveled and said such things, the Pharisees had a very different opinion. Look at verse 34, but the Pharisees said, he cast out demons by the ruler of the demons. Now, this is a very serious accusation. Beloved, this is the unpardonable sin. The Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons with the power of Satan as if he were a sorcerer. If you look with me at Matthew chapter 12, beginning in verse 22, there's an important response of Christ there regarding such. We read in verse 22, then one was brought to him who was demon possessed, blind and mute. and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw, and all the multitudes were amazed and said, could this be the son of David? Now, when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? If this is truly the power by which I am doing this, his kingdom will crumble, his house will fall. Christ's point is, If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons noticed by the spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with me is against me. And he who does not gather with me scatters abroad. Now keep these last words in mind as we consider the harvest yet to come in Matthew 9. Very strong, very powerful words and illustration by Christ to bring great clarity. to the faultiness of the argument in the accusation that they made against him. But if this is the unpardonable sin, which it is, what is the unpardonable sin, beloved? It's blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It's saying that the work of Christ, the work of God is really the work of the devil. This is exactly what Jesus charges them with in Matthew 12, 31, when he says, therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven men. Jesus charges them with this very sin. Indeed, Jesus, the son of David, cast out demons by the Spirit of God, and surely His kingdom had come upon them, as Christ said is true." My friends, see here that Christ vindicates Himself so thoroughly from their blindness and malice. The scribes accused Jesus of working with and using the power of the devil when they were the ones who were working with and under the devil's power. Yet Christ's work, Christ's work marvelously is the work and the power and the authority of the living God, praise the Lord. Wonderfully, Jesus didn't give further thought to the Pharisees' accusations. He said what needed to be said. But look at verse 35. Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Beloved, as the King and the Messiah, see that Jesus went on carrying out the same ministry that he began in Matthew 4, 23. Same things, different people, more people being blessed, being healed, being brought into the kingdom. Beloved notice, That although such accusations were made by the Pharisees, it didn't stall Jesus one bit. It didn't change his course. It didn't concern him. He knew who they were and he knew the gravity of the sin that they committed. And of course he knows what judgment would befall them. He is the son of God. He is the King and the Messiah, and he carries out and continues his mission, even in the face of adversity, as we've seen time and time again, even this being one of the sharpest and strongest accusations that they have posed against him so far in this gospel. Beloved, this is also what the church must do. As we are on the mission for God, As we are carrying out the Great Commission, as we are pressing forward and pressing back the gates of hell, they rail against us, they make accusations against us. But yeah, we press on for the sake of Christ and by the power of the Spirit, with the Word of God and the Gospel. And so as Christ went about in this ministry, what was true as he did so? Look at verse 36. But as when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd." Notice the lens that Jesus looks at the people through, beloved. It's the lens of a shepherd. He can see the spiritual goats and the wolves amongst his lambs. And as he looks at the crowd, he saw his beloved people as those who were, what, they were tired and worn out. The sheep in that multitude were found wandering and running and scattered instead of gathered. They were hungry and thirsty. It had been a long time since they had laid down in the green pastures. or had been nourished by the gentle waters. Beloved, the backdrop for his words here are grounded in God's words through Ezekiel to the irresponsible shepherds in Ezekiel chapter 34, beginning in verse four. We read there, the weak you have not strengthened. nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought that which was lost. But with force and cruelty, you have ruled them so that they were scattered because there was no shepherd and they became food. for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill. Yes, my flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them. Shame on you, wicked and irresponsible shepherds. You have failed in the duty. You were to seek after them and to search them and to bring them back. You were to feed and nourish them and you didn't. You left them for the predators to feast upon. Shame on you. And so as this is the backdrop, as Jesus looked at this multitude, he found the people there were like sheep without a shepherd. They were without one who would guide and protect and tend them. They were without one who would feed and give them rest. And therefore Christ had compassion on them as he is the chief and the good shepherd. Psalm 23 should readily come to your mind in this picture, in these words. But what would Jesus do in the midst of his compassion? Would he tend to them himself? No. he would call and send men as his under shepherds. Look at verse 37. He said to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. My friends, verses 37 and 38 are really the introduction to what is often referred to as the mission discourse in chapter 10. Jesus now shifts from a shepherd sheep illustration to a farming illustration as he gives instruction to his disciples, teaching them that the harvest of sheep for the kingdom was ripe and ready, but there weren't enough laborers to gather them in. Here they were lost and scattered, tired and weary. They needed shepherds. But the shepherds were few. The laborers to bring in that lush and wonderful harvest were few. And because this was true, what did his disciples need to do? They needed to pray. That was their chief duty in that regard. They needed to pray. And why? Verse 38, therefore pray that the Lord of the harvest would send out laborers into his harvest. Beloved men could flood the harvest fields trying to bring it all in. However, none of that effort would be successful without the work of the Lord of the harvest, without the work of Christ in and through his spirit and word to send and to bless the laborers to go and reap. The people needed to hear good preaching. They needed to receive good teaching and to have one to mend their wounds. You know, Jesus's words are a good reminder that the picture that Jesus painted for his disciples about the ripe harvest and few laborers, it remains true and accurate to this day. The spiritual harvest fields are perpetually ripe and you need to remain in regular prayer, beloved, that God would raise up and call and send more men as laborers, as faithful preachers and shepherds into the harvest together. Matthew Henry said it well, it's ill with the church when good work stands still or goes on slowly for want of good workmen. When it is so, the laborers that are there have need to be very busy. The laborers that the Lord has sent are working hard for his kingdom purposes. but we continually need to be in prayer that he would raise up more and send more laborers into the harvest. And so beloved, the forgiveness of sins can't be bought with money or earned by good works, but rather it's received by faith. We have seen this message at the beginning of chapter nine, just as healing was received by faith when Jesus worked his miracles. And so take the reason why he did those miracles with you today as Jesus demonstrated his power and authority showing who he is to both his sheep and the goats. Blessing his sheep and confounding and condemning the goats. But considering blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, Many of you may know that committing it, like the scribes and Pharisees did, is incredibly serious. You may be anxious or wondered if you have or could commit the unpardonable sin. Take comfort, beloved. If you belong to Christ, the answer to that question is no. You haven't and can't. God won't allow you to. Dr. R.C. Sproul said it well when he said, I do not believe that any Christian in the history of the church has ever committed that sin. Even if you are sitting there saying, I am not sure that I'm a Christian, and I think maybe I have committed this sin, if you are worried about it, that is one of the clearest evidences that you can have that you have not done it. I think the only one, he says, who commit this sin are the demons themselves who come straight from hell. They know the identity of Christ. They know he is anointed by the Holy Ghost and is not in league with the devil. But at this point, the scribes accusing Jesus of being in league with the devil were themselves in league with the devil. Beloved, we see such work. and even their power and influence in many in Matthew. And even today, we need to keep these things in mind. If you belong to Christ, I believe the scriptures teach that you can't and you won't. God will not allow you to. But never forget Christ's compassion toward his sheep in the white harvest fields. And stay steady in prayer that the Lord of the harvest would raise up and call and send more workers to preach and to teach and to shepherd his people. The church desperately needs that, and the Lord, in his compassion, is well aware and is working out his plan, piece by piece, shepherd by shepherd, to meet the needs, to bring in his flock. And he will not stop until we are all brought in. Praise the Lord. And praise God for his word. Let's pray together.