Matthew 21:14

Tuesday, 7 July 2026

Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. Matthew 21:14

“And they approached Him, blind and lame, in the temple, and He cured them.” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” With that noted, Matthew next says, “And they approached Him, blind and lame, in the temple.”

At the end of Chapter 20, as Jesus healed the blind men at Jericho, it said, “And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.” If they followed Him to Jerusalem, it may be that they were with Him as He entered the temple. If so, it would be obvious to those who were healed that Jesus could heal the blind at the temple as well.

Even if those men didn’t follow as far as Jerusalem, others who were there in Jericho and saw what Jesus did would have implored the blind and lame to seek Him out while He was there. With the unholy use of the temple taken care of, a more suitable use for bringing God glory was to be seen in these needy souls. Thus, Matthew notes, “and He cured them.”

As seen in earlier commentaries, this was one of the expected roles the Messiah would fulfill –

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.” Isaiah 35:5, 6

Jesus was sent by His Father on a mission to accomplish all things in the Law and Prophets. He set about completing that mission, and He continued through His last week before the cross.

Life application: Take time today to pray for people in your church to want to know God more intimately by wanting to know His word more fully. Those who think they can bypass this fundamental and basic step in knowing Him more personally are not thinking clearly.

It is true that we can be deeply in love with God by knowing the simple gospel. Many people lived lives full of love for Him without having a copy of His word, but to know Him intimately, and to understand what He expects of us more fully, there is no substitute for reading and contemplating Scripture.

It is truly our lifeline back to Him. Be sure to read it and to pray for others to want to do so as well. The word is what will bring about true change in the hearts and minds of those who have received Jesus.

Lord God, thank You for our precious Lord Jesus, who is so meticulously revealed to us in Your wonderful word. May we have the deepest hunger and desire to know You by knowing Him. And we will know Him when we know Your word. Help us to be responsible in this matter. Amen.