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and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. Matthew 15: 29-31

"So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." Luke 7:22

The Blind

"The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?" Exodus 4:11

The OT Background:

Compassionate . . .

. . . Holiness

"Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD."

Leviticus 19:14

"Cursed is the man who leads the blind astray on the road." Deuterotonomy 27:18

"Say to Aaron: 'For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. 18 No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand," Leviticus 21:17

"Do not offer to the LORD the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as an offering made to the LORD by fire." Leviticus 22:22

"If an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God." Deuteronomy 15:21

"You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong?" Malachi 1:7

Specific Encounters in the Gospels:

Matthew 9:27-31

Matthew 20:29-34

Mark 8:22-26

Mark 10:46-52

Luke 18:35-42

John 9:1-41

Conclusions:

1. Being SIGHTLESS doesn’t make you BRAINLESS

"Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." Matthew 15:14

"You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel." Matthew 23:24

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean." Matthew 23: 25-26

2. Showing MERCY should not be confused with having PITY

"He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked." Psalm 146: 7-9

"Say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.' Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert." Isaiah 35: 4-6

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16

3. Seeing WHAT OTHERS SEE is Good, Focusing on THE UNSEEN is Best.

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." 2 Corinthians 4:14

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:6

". . . so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:18

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1: 18-19

Publisher's Note: David Stauffer is the Senior Minister of Gateway Church in St. Albans. He is also a Gulf War Veteran.

Stauffer and his family reside in Scott Depot.

Gateway Church is located at: 422 B. Street, St. Albans, WV 251777

The church phone number is: 304-727-8919

The church web site is: www.GatewayChurch.net

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