A Study of Isaiah 61:1
The prophecies of the Messiah include His mission; some of which remain to be fulfilled. It includes the healing of the blind, which the Masoretes conspiciously deleted it out. Claiming that opening of the blinds isn’t one of the signs of messiahship, it is not surprising that the Jews for Judiasm and Rabbi Tovia Singer remain blinded who the Messiah is!
Isaiah 61 (JPS 1985)
1 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me;
He has sent me as a herald of joy to the humble,
To bind up the wounded of heart,
To proclaim release to the captives,
Liberation to the imprisoned; — the phase “and recovering of sight to the blind” is nowhere to be found; same in the King James version; hence many Jews and Christians are still blinded (examples of Christ’s healings of the blinds in fulfilment of this prophecy are at the end)
2 To proclaim a year of the LORD’s favor
And a day of vindication by our God;
To comfort all who mourn—
Isaiah 61 (King James Version)
1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, — same here, the phase “and recovering of sight to the blind” is nowhere to be found;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn,
3 -11
Luke 4
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, — Luke quoted from the Septuagint instead of the Masoretic Text!
19 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20 And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all those who were in the synagogue were fastened on Him.
21 And He began to say unto them, “This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
Esias 61 (The Septuagint)
1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; — Luke quoted from the Septuagint instead of the Masoretic Text!
2 to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of recompence; to comfort all that mourn;
3 – 11
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Christ’s Healings of the blind:
There are 8 specific people who were given their sight and we have two more instances where we aren’t told how many people Jesus restored sight to. Following is a list of the 8 who were healed:
1. Matthew 9:27-31 Jesus gave sight to “two” blind men.
27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying and saying, “Thou Son of David, have mercy on us!”
28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him, and Jesus said unto them, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” They said unto Him, “Yea, Lord.”
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith, be it unto you.”
30 And their eyes were opened, and Jesus strictly charged them, saying, “See that no man know it.”
31 But they, when they had departed, spread abroad His fame in all that country.
2. Mark 8:22-26 Jesus gave sight to a blind man in Bethsaida by spitting on his eyes.
22 And He came to Bethsaida, and they brought a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him.
23 And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he saw anything.
24 And he looked up and said, “I see men as trees, walking.”
25 After that He put His hands again upon his eyes and made him look up; and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
26 And He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.”
3. Matthew 12:22-23 Jesus gave sight to a man who was demon possessed, and blind and mute.
22 Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb; and He healed him, so that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed and said, “Is not this the Son of David?”
4. Luke 18:35-43 Jesus gave sight to a blind man while coming into Jericho.
35 And it came to pass that as He was coming nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging.
36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.
37 And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.
38 And he cried, saying, “Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 And those who went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace, but he cried out all the more, “Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 And Jesus stood and commanded him to be brought unto Him. And when he had come near, He asked him,
41 saying, “What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?” And he said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”
42 And Jesus said unto him, “Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee.”
43 And immediately he received his sight and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
5. Matthew 20:29-34 Jesus gave sight to “two” blind men when leaving Jericho. One was named Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46-52)
29 And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.
30 And behold, two blind men were sitting by the wayside when they heard that Jesus was passing by, and they cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Thou Son of David!”
31 And the multitude rebuked them, that they should hold their peace; but they cried out the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Thou Son of David!”
32 And Jesus stood still, and called them and said, “What will ye that I shall do unto you?”
33 They said unto Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”
34 So Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
6. John 9:1-41 Jesus gave sight to a blind man by putting clay on his eyes, and then having him wash it off in the Pool of Siloam.
John 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from his birth.
2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Master, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
4 I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”
6 When He had thus spoken, He spat on the ground and made clay with the spittle; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay
7 and said unto him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which interpreted means, “Sent”). He went his way therefore and washed, and came back seeing.
8 The neighbors therefore, and those who before had seen that he was blind, said, “Is not this he that sat and begged?”
9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.” But he said, “I am he!”
10 Therefore they said unto him, “How were thine eyes opened?”
11 He answered and said, “A man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ And I went and washed, and I received sight.”
12 Then they said unto him, “Where is he?” He said, “I know not.”
13 They brought to the Pharisees him that beforehand was blind.
14 And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.
15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, “He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed and do see.”
16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such miracles?” And there was a division among them.
17 They said unto the blind man again, “What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.
19 And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? How then doth he now see?”
20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind;
21 but by what means he now seeth we know not, or who hath opened his eyes we know not. He is of age; ask him. He shall speak for himself.”
22 These words spoke his parents, because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had agreed already that if any man confessed that He was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
23 Therefore said his parents, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 Then they again called the man who was blind and said unto him, “Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 He answered and said, “Whether he be a sinner or not, I know not. One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.”
26 Then said they to him again, “What did he do to thee? How opened he thine eyes?”
27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and ye did not hear. Why would ye hear it again? Will ye also be his disciples?”
28 Then they reviled him and said, “Thou art his disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples.
29 We know that God spoke unto Moses. As for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.”
30 The man answered and said unto them, “Why, herein is a marvelous thing: that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners, but if any man be a worshiper of God and doeth His will, him He heareth.
32 Since the world began it was not heard that any man opened the eyes of one who was born blind.
33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 They answered and said unto him, “Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?” And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out. And when He had found him, He said unto him, “Dost thou believe in the Son of God?”
36 He answered and said, “Who is he, Lord, that I might believe in him?”
37 And Jesus said unto him, “Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee.”
38 And he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I am come into this world, that they that see not might see, and that they that see might be made blind.”
40 And some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said unto Him, “Are we blind also?”
41 Jesus said unto them, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; but now ye say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remaineth.
Joel Huan
The Mystery of Ephraim 