Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb, and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. Matthew 12:22
I met a man one time who was both blind and deaf. Some birth defect had left him without any ability to hear or see, and no way to correct those disabilities. But the man could talk! He had learned from having people write with their finger on his palm, and, once he understood a question, his speech was very normal. He was a brilliant man to have accomplished such an ability, and he had a wonderful sense of humour, which made him a very pleasant companion. We enjoyed our time with him, although he never saw our faces nor heard our voices. He was able to compensate for his disabilities. But the man in our text could not compensate, because his disabilities were controlled by another. Until the Saviour appeared.
Hindered by the demon, the man was without two of humanity’s most important faculties. Even if he could hear, nobody would ever know. He was like you and me before we were saved. We were blind to the love and beauties of Christ, and we were unable to speak anything but lies and blasphemy, unable to sing His praises or utter expressions of thankfulness. We need to remember that those to whom we would take the Gospel are also spiritually blind and dumb. And, just like us, and the man in our text, it will take a miracle to bring sight and speech to them. Try as we might, we are unable to make them see the truths of the Word of God, or to give them an understanding of the Gospel. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. We might convince them to read and quote scripture, and even to sing our hymns of praise and worship. But we can never make the words of Scripture or the hymns meaningful to them. But the Holy Spirit can.
The man in our text was able to see and speak. His first sight was surely of the One Who had healed him. The greatest sight any of us has ever had is that of the Lord Jesus in His loving kindness to us. If that man was truly saved that day, he is still appreciating the wonderful view of his Saviour’s face. And that is our anticipation, too, as we look forward to seeing with the eye the One we were brought to see by faith. The man’s first words must surely have been thanks to his Healer. He would never cease to be thankful nor be reluctant to express that thanks. Thankfulness ought to be the attitude of every Christian all the time.
We have been delivered from bondage as great as that of the man in our text. Like him, we can now see and speak. Do we use these faculties to behold things concerning Himself in the Word of God and to life up voice and heart in thankful praise? -Jim MacIntosh