Isaiah 35:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The physical faculties essential for attaining a clear understanding of God will be restored. The adversary has obscured our path and hindered our pursuit of knowledge that leads us to the Divine. Consider the blessed Paul, who states, “His invisible things, His eternal power and Godhead, from the foundation of the world through the beholding of the creatures are visible” (Rom. 1:20). Yet, how can one lacking sight perceive? Regarding hearing, he notes, “faith is from hearing” (Rom. 10:17). If one has no ears, how can they listen? However, those who were made blind by the foe were healed by the coming Christ, not merely through the renewal of their physical faculties, but also through the restoration of their moral understanding.

Then He will come to those residing on the earth, and the sightless will have their eyes opened. Those who once worshipped the creation rather than the Creator will find that this very creation, which led them astray, becomes a guide, leading them truly to the knowledge of the Creator. For through the splendor of creation, the Creator of all that exists is revealed in a corresponding manner. As Paul states, His invisible nature, which has been understood by His creations since the beginning of the world, is made visible, along with His eternal power and divinity (Rom. 1:20). Thus, the sightless will receive sight, and the deaf will hear; for those who once turned away from the divine truth and sought to conceal the mystery of the saints will, in joy, embrace it.

What can anyone say in response to this? How can they even think to challenge it? Prophecy clearly states that God will arrive, and the signs indicate the moment of His coming. They proclaim that upon His arrival, the blind will gain sight, the lame will walk, the deaf will hear, and those who cannot speak will articulate clearly. Thus, let them ask, When have we ever witnessed such signs in Israel, or has anything like this happened in Judah? The leper Naaman was healed, yet no deaf individual regained hearing, nor did any lame person begin to walk. Elijah and Elisha brought the dead back to life, yet no one born blind was granted sight. While raising the dead is indeed remarkable, it does not compare to the miracle of the Savior.

Look, God the Redeemer will arrive and bring salvation. Then the sightless will have their eyes opened, and the hearing-impaired will hear. The lame will leap like a stag, and the speechless will speak clearly. The prophet proclaims upcoming blessings for the Israelites following the oppressions of the Assyrians and Babylonians, which had left them in a state of confusion, rendering them unable to see, hear, or comprehend. Thus, he now declares that they will experience a transformation opposite to their previous condition, with the sight of the blind restored and the hearing of the deaf renewed. All of this is completely fulfilled through the Messiah.

Hear the prophecies that foretold our Lord's capacity to heal every form of ailment and to raise the deceased. These prophecies declare: ‘at his coming the lame shall leap like a deer, the tongue of the dumb shall be clear, the blind shall see, the lepers shall be cleansed, and the dead shall rise and walk.’ The fulfillment of these promises can be confirmed through the accounts documented during the time of Pontius Pilate.

Although these blind individuals lacked physical vision, they possessed a profound insight of faith and spirit, enabling them to perceive the genuine and eternal light—the Son of God. Regarding Him, it is written: There was the true Light, which enlightens every man that cometh into the world (John 1:9). He prophesied about His purpose in coming to illuminate the sightless through Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, for the Lord has anointed Me, sent Me to preach the gospel to the poor, and to restore sight to the blind. Isaiah testifies elsewhere, saying: Behold, our God will restore judgment; He Himself will come and make us glorious (Isaiah 59:14-21). Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be attentive.

God, through Christ, brought the world back to Himself (2 Cor. 5:19), and the Creator embraced the role of His creation, intended to transform into the likeness of its Creator. In this way, the marvels of divine deeds were fulfilled, which the prophetic spirit had previously announced: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute shall sing.

Behold how the wonderful Lord has forged our salvation! That which He prophesied through the prophets about Himself, He fulfilled. The prophet spoke his words in former times according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and now Christ speaks the words of His prophet.

The prophecy regarding the blind, the deaf, the lame, and the mute found its literal expression during the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus performed miraculous healings on these individuals, and both the recipients of these healings and those who witnessed them recognized these acts as evidence of His divine mission. This is underscored by His instruction to the two disciples sent by John the Baptist to relay to him: “Come, tell John what you have seen and heard: for the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the poor preach the gospel” (Luke 7:22).