vouchsafed to undergo for us is not now so apparent, Who, as the apostle says, “Was made a curse for us.”  And when, as He hung, the blindness of the Jews mocked Him, surely He could have come down from the cross, who, if He had not so willed, had not been on the cross; but it was a greater thing to rise from the grave than to come down from the cross.  Our Lord, then, in doing these divine and in suffering these human things, instructs us by His bodily miracles and bodily patience, that we may believe and be made whole to behold those things invisible which the eye of the body hath no knowledge of.  With this intent, then, He cured those blind men of whom the account has just now been read in the Gospel.  And consider what instruction He has by this cure conveyed to the man who is sick within.

IX.  Consider the issue of the thing, and the order of the circumstances.  Those two blind men sitting by the wayside cried out, as the Lord passed by, that He would have mercy upon them.  But they were restrained from crying out by the multitude which was with the Lord.  Now do not suppose that this circumstance is left without a mysterious meaning.  But they overcame the crowd who kept them back by the great perseverance of their cry, that their voice might reach the Lord’s ears; as tho he had not already anticipated their thoughts.  So then the two blind men cried out that they might be heard by the Lord, and could not be restrained by the multitude.  The Lord “was passing by,” and they cried out.  The Lord “stood still,” and they were healed.  “For the Lord Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What wilt ye that I shall do unto you?  They say unto Him, That our eyes may be opened.”  The Lord did according to their faith, He recovered their eyes.  If we have now understood by the sick, the deaf, the dead, the sick, and deaf, and dead within; let us look out in this place also for the blind within.  The eyes of the heart are closed; Jesus passeth by that we may cry out.  What is meant by “Jesus passeth by?” Jesus is doing things which last but for a time.  What is meant by “Jesus passeth by?” Jesus doth things which pass by.  Mark and see how many things of His have passed by.  He was born of the Virgin Mary; is He being born always?  As an infant He was suckled; is He suckled always?  He ran through the successive ages of life until man’s full estate; doth He grow in body always?  Boyhood succeeded to infancy, to boyhood youth, to youth man’s full stature in several passing successions.  Even the very miracles which He did are passed by; they are read and believed.  For because these miracles are written that so they might be read, they passed by when they were being done.  In a word, not to dwell long on this, He was crucified; is He hanging on the cross always?  He was buried, He rose again, He ascended into heaven, now He dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over Him.  And His divinity abideth ever, yea, the immortality of His body now shall never fail.  But nevertheless all those things which were wrought by Him in time have passed by; and they are written to be read, and they are preached to be believed.  In all these things, then, Jesus passeth by.