9:27–31 Isaiah 35 tells of a coming day when God will open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf (v. 5). Matthew’s account of Jesus as the giver of sight says, in effect, that the day of messianic deliverance has arrived.

As Jesus walks along, two blind men follow him and call for mercy. The title they apply to him, Son of David, was messianic, but in the popular mind meant little more than wonderworker. Jesus apparently paid scant attention to their cries and went inside. Seeing them follow him inside, he asks if they believe in his power to heal their blindness (v. 28), a common malady in the ancient world. Lack of sanitary conditions made blindness from infection widespread.

In response to their affirmative answer Jesus touched their eyes, and their sight was restored.…