Matthew 9:30

Tuesday, 29 April 2025

And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.” Matthew 9:30

“And their eyes, they opened. And Jesus, He in-snorted at them, saying, ‘You see none knows’” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus told the blind men that according to their faith, their sight would be restored to them. Now, that is realized in the words, “And their eyes, they opened.”

The power of the Lord to give sight to the blind is realized. Regardless of what type of blindness they suffered, He went to the cause, identified it, and corrected it with merely the word that it should be done. This is something prophesied would come to pass concerning the ability of the coming Messiah. For example –

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.” Isaiah 35:5

However, the state of blindness referred to by Isaiah may be interpreted as simply dulled spiritual senses. This is seen, for example, in Isaiah 42 –

“Hear, you deaf;
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My servant,
Or deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as he who is perfect,
And blind as the Lord’s servant?
20 Seeing many things, but you do not observe;
Opening the ears, but he does not hear.” Isaiah 42:18-20

Because of this, the verses concerning giving sight to the blind could be taken as a metaphor. However, this is not what the people expected. They took them to be literal. This is why the two men called out to Jesus, calling Him the Son of David. They knew the Messiah would come from the line of David, and they knew that He would be able to restore sight to the blind. Jesus even reminded John that this was a messianic promise –

“And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’
4 Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see 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. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.’” Matthew 11:2-6

Jesus’ healing of these men clearly pointed to Him being the Messiah. They understood Him to be such, and their appeal to Him was not in vain. Once healed, Matthew next says, “And Jesus, He in-snorted at them, saying, ‘You see none knows.’”

Here is a new word, embrimaomai. It is derived from en, in, and brimaomai, to snort with anger. Thus, it is a word that mimics an animal like a horse or pig. If one makes a piggy grunt with the nose by inhaling while properly forming the nostrils (gnugnugnugnu), it gives the sense of the intent of the word. But its meaning is that it is accompanied by a sense of anger more than anything else.

When someone is passionate about what he has to say, this in-snorting sound can occur suddenly. Therefore, the word is used to express a strong admonition or warning, such as here. It can be a mark of scolding, such as in Mark 14:5. It can also be used as being moved in the spirit and even groaning, as in John 11:33 and 11:38.

Jesus’ in-snorting here signifies His urgent desire for them not to reveal to others what occurred. Otherwise, there would be displeasure in Him for it. The exact reason for this isn’t stated, but He had waited until they were inside before attending to them. This means He wanted the matter done privately. And yet, He did other such miracles openly. But those instances were later (Matthew 12:22).

Therefore, because this was a sign that the Messiah would accomplish, it seems that He did not want this openly divulged at this time. It is not until Chapter 16 that Peter declares Jesus to be the promised Christ of God.

Life application: Today, two thousand years after Jesus’ miracle healing of these men, people in the world continue to struggle with blindness. Some are born blind, some develop blindness through age or sickness, and some receive trauma that causes blindness.

Think of all that had to go into Jesus’ “simple” miracle of giving sight to these blind men. He had to know if they had trauma, what sort it was. If they had an infection, tumor, nutrient deficiency, or stroke, how did it affect the eye? Did the men have diabetes, or was it caused by macular degeneration or glaucoma?

To determine what causes blindness today and then treat it takes many specialists being involved in the process, expensive machinery, an understanding of many variables, etc. From there, some types of blindness can be corrected. Others have no hope of it being so.

And yet, with the spoken word and nothing more, Jesus was able to heal these two men. The power of God was evident in Him and working through Him to effect the miracle. And Jesus, unlike the prophets of Old, did not appeal to the Lord (Yehovah). He merely spoke the word under His own authority.

This reveals the nature of the Man. He is the Lord God. He is great and He is glorious. He is Jesus!

Lord God, how exciting it is to see Jesus for who He is. He isn’t just a prophet in a long succession of prophets that came to reveal Your intent for His people. Rather, He is the fulfillment of all prophecy. He is the true and great Prophet. You have united with humanity in the Person of Jesus. Thank You for having so revealed Yourself to us. Amen.