Matthew 11:5

Monday, 23 June 2025

 

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. Matthew 11:5

 

“Blind – they up-look, and lame – they walk, lepers – they are cleansed, and deaf – they hear, dead – they are roused, and poor – they are evangelized” (CG).

 

In the previous verse, Jesus told John’s disciples to report what they heard and saw. Now, He gives a description of some of those things beginning with, “Blind – they up-look.” This is a new word, anablepó, coming from ana, up, and blepó, to look at, behold, see, etc. Thus, it literally says up-look, but with the intent of the blind seeing once again.

 

This was something prophesied in the Hebrew writings, such as –

 

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened.” Isaiah 35:5

 

Verses such as this indicate that there would be a time when the blind would see. Jesus is attributing this to His ministry without explicitly saying it. He merely asks John’s disciples to report what they see. He next says, “and lame – they walk.”

 

This was also an anticipated event –

 

“Then the lame shall leap like a deer.” Isaiah 35:6

 

Isaiah excitedly pronounced more than just walking, but jumping like a deer. The disciples might not have seen that, but they would have witnessed them at least walking after being lame. Jesus continues with, “lepers – they are cleansed.”

 

This is not a specific prophecy, but it is something that was accomplished in 1 Kings with the healing of Naaman the Syrian. The healing was at the word of the prophet Elisha. As Jesus was accomplishing this same healing by His own power, it is an implicit reference to the power of the Lord working through Him. Next, He says, “and deaf – they hear.”

 

This is found in the second half of Isaiah 35:5 –

“And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.”

 

Jesus states these things as a matter of fact. They had heard of them or personally seen them. The confirmation of Jesus fulfilling the role of the Messiah is clearly being explained to them. Understanding this, He continues with, “dead – they are roused.”

 

As with the leprous, this is not explicitly prophesied (except in the resurrection) as something the Messiah would do. However, like the example with Naaman, both Elijah and Elisha restored the dead to life.

 

In both cases, the prophets prayed to the Lord for restoration, and it came to pass. In Jesus’ case, He healed under His own power and authority, demonstrating that He is the anticipated Messiah. Lastly, Jesus notes, “and poor – they are evangelized.”

 

This includes another new word, euaggelizó. It is a verb indicating to announce the good news and thus evangelize. This was referred to in Isaiah 61:1 –

 

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound” Isaiah 61:1

 

Due to the words about preaching the good tidings, which come from the same verse as proclaiming liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison for the bound, Jesus is surely hinting at the fact that ending John’s imprisonment is not beyond His ability to change.

 

As such, John will have to grasp this and accept that God’s will for him is being worked out through his imprisonment. This is the point of Jesus’ carefully stated words. John’s disciples would return and report what they heard and saw. John would then have to understand that another was not coming. If his imprisonment continued, it was for a purpose that he was not privy to.

 

Life application: John did not understand his situation and asked for clarity