Healing of the Two Blind Men and a Possessed Mute
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Matthew places the healing of two blind men (Matthew 9:27-31) followed by that of a mute possessed man (Matthew 9:32-34) shortly after the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus, in Capernaum. This episode is unique to Matthew because the accounts of such healing of blind men, reported by Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43, take place in Jericho and follow a different narrative framework.
Exegesis mainly draws spiritual teachings from these accounts without truly resolving the questions their narration raises.
Maria Valtorta recounts this episode in EMV 232, at Capernaum, at the end of a day that saw the healing of the hemorrhaging woman and the resurrection of Jairus' daughter[1] reported by Matthew in the same chapter (Matthew 9:18-25) shortly after his call by Jesus (Matthew 9:9).
Exegesis questions[edit | edit source]
- The blind men call Jesus "Son of David," a title with strong messianic connotations. This title refers to the prophecies about the Messiah healing the blind (Isaiah 35:4-5). Does Matthew intend to show that Jesus fulfills Isaiah's promises? Is this a response to Jewish doubts about Jesus' messiahship?
- Jesus does not heal the blind immediately but inside the house, away from the crowd. What is the significance of this distancing?
- Jesus says: "Take care that no one knows about it." Does Matthew already know of a "messianic secret" (marked in Mark but more softened in Matthew)?
- In this passage, Jesus touches and speaks, and the healing depends on their faith: "According to your faith let it be done to you." How does Matthew relate human faith and divine initiative?
- The deliverance of the mute, immediately attributed to the "prince of demons" by the Pharisees, follows the healing of the blind men. What is the relationship between the two scenes?
- Despite Jesus’ order, "they began to spread the news about him throughout that region." Why do the healed infirm disobey immediately? Is their disobedience blameworthy?
- The Pharisees attribute the miracle to a demon. Does this scene foreshadow Matthew 12:24 (the sin against the Spirit)?
In Maria Valtorta[edit | edit source]
The context[edit | edit source]
In Maria Valtorta’s work, the episode takes place in the evening of a late May day particularly rich in events. Jesus, followed by a crowd, had healed the hemorrhaging woman (EMV 230.3), then resurrected Mirjiam, the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue leader of Capernaum (EMV 230.6). He was staying, as often, at the home of Thomas of Capernaum and his wife, probably a distant relative. Hardly had he arrived at dusk (in May the days are long) when Martha, accompanied by her servant Marcelle, came to entrust him with her hope to see her sister Mary converted, followed by a disappointment[2]. Then Jesus went out while the supper was being prepared. In the square, he saw Matthew (who lived in Capernaum) being confronted by Pharisees who rejected his "healing"[3]. Jesus also passed by children who comforted him with the spontaneity of their faith[4].
The two blind men[edit | edit source]
Upon returning, the supper was interrupted by the arrival of the two blind men who had already called to him on the road[5], but "the crowd that followed him was so numerous that it crushed him[6]." They repeated their same invocation: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us!" Peter wanted Jesus to eat in peace, but he commanded to receive them. His first word was to assess their faith:"Do you believe that I can restore your sight?"Completely healed, the two blind men fell to their knees."Oh yes, Lord! We have come because we are sure of it."
Jesus gets up from the table, approaches them, places his fingers on the blind eyelids, lifts the face, prays, and says: "Let it be done for you according to your faith[5]."
"Stand up and go; and be careful that no one knows what I have done for you. Bring the news of the grace you have received to your town, to your relatives, to your friends. Here, it is neither necessary nor favorable to your soul. Keep it free from wounds in its faith, just as now, knowing what the eye is, you will preserve it from injury so as not to be blind again[5]."
Comments[edit | edit source]
The invocation "Son of David, have mercy" appears very early in Maria Valtorta’s writings[7]. It is used by lepers and the sick. This invocation refers to Isaiah who describes a "shoot from Jesse" (David’s father)[8] filled with the Spirit of God, who will judge with justice, heal the sick, and bring peace: "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[9]." In EMV 199.5, priest John alludes to it. Since then, miracles, including resurrections (that of the widow's son[10] two months earlier and that of Jairus’s daughter the same morning) have strengthened this title. Jesus verifies that the invocation of the two blind men truly corresponds to a real faith that conditions their healing. It is complete.
Jesus does not forbid the healed from speaking of their healing: he asks them to do so where they will be believed and not in Capernaum where this announcement would turn against them. The reaction of the Pharisees to the healing of the possessed man will confirm this prediction. The two former blind men do not hold back from proclaiming the miracle to those seeking him from Nazareth. Thus comes a procession dragging a possessed man.
The possessed man[edit | edit source]
After the meal, Jesus goes "to the terrace where there is a bit of coolness. The lake gleams under the crescent moon." The rest is short-lived: a detachment seeks him dragging a possessed man bound who screams at the sight of Jesus[11]. He immediately descends. The first word of the freed possessed man is "Peace." The crowd shouts in amazement, seeing the sudden shift from fury to calm, from possession to deliverance, from muteness to speech: "Never have such things been seen in Israel!" This exultation is immediately cut off by the intervention of the Pharisees of Capernaum, those same who confronted Matthew: "If he had not had the help of Beelzebub, he could not have done it." It is the former possessed man, now talkative, who retorts: "Help or no help, I am healed, and the blind men too. You, you cannot do it despite your great prayers[12]." Jesus says nothing. He simply dismisses the crowd and keeps the former possessed man and his companions in his host's house for the night.
Conclusion[edit | edit source]
Maria Valtorta, in this episode, enriches Matthew’s gospel narrative by contextualizing it within an already eventful day: the healing of the hemorrhaging woman and the resurrection of Jairus's daughter. Her narrative details—the suffocating crowd, the verification of the blind men’s faith, the spectacular deliverance of the possessed man—humanize these scenes and highlight the personal dimension of the encounter with Christ. The healing is not only physical but also spiritual: the blind men, regaining sight, are invited to preserve their souls from new blindness, while the freed possessed man proclaims a peace contrasting with the Pharisees' accusation.
The Pharisees' reactions, attributing these miracles to Beelzebub, foreshadow upcoming conflicts and emphasize the opposition between the simple faith of the humble and the incredulity of the religious authorities. This tension, already present in Matthew, finds a striking echo in Valtorta’s writings, where the testimonies of the healed become a stronger witness than the controversies.