Matthew 9:27 - Exposition

And when Jesus departed thence. As he was passing along on his way thence , i.e. from the house of Jairus, if the context be pressed. It should be noticed that "thence" ( ἐκεῖθεν ) is found also in Mark 6:1 , immediately after the healing of Jairus' daughter. There it refers to the neighbourhood generally. Possibly its presence in Matthew is ultimately due to his remembering it in the next succeeding section of the oral framework. Two blind men followed him, crying ( out , Revised Version; κράζοντες , so also Matthew 20:30 ), and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. The Revised Version rightly reverses the order of the two last clauses; the stress is on their own needs, not on their faith in giving him such a title. The words are identical in Matthew 20:30 . Thou Son of David. The thought has been brought out in the genealogy ( Matthew 1:17 ), and our Lord lays stress upon it in Matthew 22:42 , sqq. Observe that although the excited multitudes at Jerusalem shout out the title at the triumphal entry ( Matthew 21:9 ; cf. also Matthew 21:15 ), yet the multitudes in Galilee only suggest the possibility of his having a right to it ( Matthew 12:23 ), and the only persons who use it when directly addressing him are a heathen woman ( Matthew 15:22 ), and three, or perhaps four, blind men (here and Matthew 20:30 , Matthew 20:31 ). With the remembrance of what was promised to take place in Messianic days ( Isaiah 35:5 ), the blind would be especially likely to accord him a Messianic title (cf. also Matthew 11:5 , note). Have mercy ( Matthew 5:9 , note).