Sermon / Learning How to See / Mathew 12:22-37
On the surface, the story we find in Matthew 12:22 seems like the simplest story:
A man is hurting.
He comes to Jesus.
Jesus heals him.
Some people get mad.
Why does Matthew tell us this story? He says that Jesus healed all who came to him, so why does this story take center stage?
What we see in this passage, lurking just below the surface, is the most dramatic, cosmic battle taking place. A cosmic battle we often miss but are all engaged in. This man’s story is our story. His battle is our battle. Matthew includes this story because this man’s suffering is a microcosm of the suffering of the world.
Here we see a deeply spiritual battle, that is profoundly symbolic and deeply personal.
Sight and sound are the major themes of this story: perception and speech. These two things are arguably some of the two most important things in your life.
How you see reveals your allegiances, how you perceive the world, and how you interpret events. What you say reveals what’s in your heart.
Today we will take up the first theme: Spiritual Sight.
And we will learn that:
- Spiritual blindness means you can’t see your own Contradictions(v.25-26)
- Spiritual blindness means you can’t see your own Condemnation(v.27-28)
- Spiritual Blindness means you can’t see the real Conflict (v.29-30)