The Blind See (Matthew 20: 29-34)

 This is not the first or the last time that it will be recorded in the Gospel account that Jesus will cause the blind to see. This one is a strange twist on a familiar story. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 20 and let’s look and listen at one of those more familiar miracles that Jesus performed when he walked on earth.

Two Blind Men Receive Their Sight

Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” So, Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

This is a very simple story told in a very straightforward manner. Here are two blind men sitting at the side of the road and they cry out to Jesus to have mercy, calling up him to restore their sight and the crowd rebukes them and tells them in essence to shut up. But they persist and keep calling upon Jesus and the Lord hears them, responds, and he heals them. Just a very simple straightforward story but what is the significance of this story as to why was it included in the gospel of Matthew.

Jesus did many miracles sometimes they’re isolated in individual stories told on other occasions there are curated together but this one stand alone and is placed towards the end of his ministry period. He has healed other blind people before, so why is this included here what is the significance of this story, is it possible that these blind men saw something we need to see.

Being blind can cause people the ability to develop their other senses. Blind people will sometimes hear things other people can’t hear and can in a sense also see/perceive things others couldn’t see. I think that’s the case here. So, I want us to look at this story, and pay close attention to see what we might see.

It starts out with Jesus passing through the city of Jericho. Now upon going through the Gospel of Matthew I have pointed out we are now at the phase where he is heading toward Jerusalem, he’s been on the east side of the Jordan river in the territory called Canaan, but now he has now crossed the Jordan and the first city they would reach  on their continuing  journey is Jericho and from Jericho they are going to move up the mountain path towards Jerusalem, so they were currently about 15 miles away from the city of Jerusalem. He has just told the disciples that Jerusalem is the place where he would be condemned and crucified, but then three days later he would come back from the dead. So, Jesus and his entourage is on the way to Jerusalem and the scripture tells us in verse 29, “A great crowd followed him”.

Perhaps that’s because at this point, he was probably at the height of his popularity, but it is also possible that there was already lots of people already on the road going through Jericho up the windy road to Jerusalem for the Passover. So perhaps that also had an effect of swelling the crowd to either even greater proportions. What is significant to Matthew is that on this journey there pass two men sitting on the side of the road, and in verse 30 Matthew writes “behold”, which is Matthew’s way of saying ,hey look, pay attention. Some suggest that Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience which is why he mentions  there are two of them present because of the Jewish rule that in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. (Deuteronomy 19: 15)

What is significant I believe is the fact that this story gets included in all the synoptic Gospel accounts not just Matthew but Matthew Mark  and Luke as well. So, what is going on, and what is of significance. Well, I believe he is trying to tell us that these blind men saw something other people. Look at what he says they say in verse 30, When they heard that Jesus passed by they cried out saying, “have mercy on us all Lord son of David”. What did they see?

First, they saw that Jesus was the son of David, now that happens to be the theme of the whole Gospel of Matthew, that Jesus Christ is the son of David and that he is the Messiah. Those fact were stated way back in chapter one, and we’ve been given constant reminders to that  truth all the way through the gospel.  We were told that was so, but we were also told that the Pharisees didn’t get that. The religious leaders looked at Jesus, but they did not see who Jesus was. So, it’s significant that Matthew puts in just before Jesus goes to Jerusalem.

Therefore, on of the points of this story is to say, the religious leaders didn’t get it, but these tow blind people did. Two insignificant beggars  sitting by the side of the road, and they hear Jesus passing by and they see who he is without physical eyesight. I think the real issue here is  not that these are blind men who will regain their sight, but that these are two blind men who see. 

But notice what they say, they not only acknowledge that he is the Messiah, but they scall upon him have mercy on them. This means that they not only saw who he was, they not only saw his personhood, but they saw his power and there need of Gods mercy in their lives. Others may look at Jesus and see nothing more than a mere great teacher, but these guys looked at him and saw not only his personhood, but they saw his power and they saw that he could have mercy on them, so they cried out. Note they said have mercy on us or Lord, Son of David.

I need to pause here because I think this is a critical point, they called on the Lord if in a sense that’s the essence of what being a Christian is all about. The Bible says as far back as the book of Joel that those who call upon the Lord shall be saved. The New Testament teaches that those who call on the Lord for salvation get saved when they recognize who Jesus is as the Messiah/Saviour, the one who died and the one who rose from the dead and they call on him for mercy they will be saved. There are those people who call themselves religious Christians and then there those people who call on the name of the Lord. It is one thing to be called by his name it is another to call upon him as you saviour.

Let me ask you a question do you call on the Lord, do you constantly call on him for mercy. That’s what these blind men do, they plead with the Lord for mercy because of who he is.

That the basic narrative of this passage, but there is a complication, the text tells us in verse 31 in that the crowd warned them that they should be quiet. Now the word translated quiet is a very strong word, these poor blind beggars are  pleading for mercy and the crowd turns and says to them in essence, shut up.

I suppose this tells us that if ever someone decided to follow the Lord, they will face opposition. Whenever you ever decide to follow the Lord, somebody is going to object to what you say and to try and silence you that’s just the nature of the beast. The opposition may be subtle it may be nothing more than a snide remark, or for some it could be a much more severe form of persecution. However, if you’re willing to be identified as one that calls on the Lord, you will get opposition from the crowd, maybe starting with the family and extending to your friends a sometimes people that you work with. These opposition will usually appear at the crossroads of life and what happens to a lot of believers is when they come to that intersection they have to decide am I going to pursue what the Lord is telling me, or am I going to listen to my family, listen to my friends, listen to my co-workers and I going to shut up, like they say.

Well, here’s what these two guys did, the text says, “they cried out all the more”. They decided at that critical moment that they would not be bludgeoned into silence and that they would cry out even more. They had a problem; they knew Jesus could solve it and nothing was going to stop me from getting to the source of that solution. The lesson here is plain to see, be persistent,  and cry out for mercy from the Lord. They may have been blind at this point, but they saw they saw something very clearly and what they saw was this that in order to obtain mercy you need to not listen to the crowd, but be persistent in calling upon the Lord. They saw who Jesus was and that you need to plead with him for mercy. If you want to succeed at just about anything, you will have to learn the lessons of persistence in this and other areas of your life. This is true about spiritual things, but it is also true about practical worldly things as well.

Persistence is one of the keys of success if you’re going to reach your goals in life, and many people have said that in many areas of life. 

These men have learned that lesson, they have figured out who has the power and the mercy to help them and they are not going to be denied it, no crowd is going to stop them. I submit to you that these blind men might not have been able to see the trees on the ground of the clouds in the sky, but they could see Jesus and they could see his saving power. They pleaded with him and then the text tells us, “So Jesus stood still”, just think about that for a moment, the Lord listened to the voice of two poor blind beggars and he stops and he stands still and he says to them, “what do you want me to do for you”. An obvious question, I mean they’re blind, I mean isn’t it clear what they want him to do. Here’s what they say, no messing about, “that our eyes may be open we want to see”. We want to see physical world, and we want to have physical sight, and we want to have spiritual insight. The text says that immediately their eyes received sight and that they also immediately followed him. 

Finally, it  says they immediately followed him. From that we can not only conclude that they were grateful but that they chose to make him the centre of their lives and they became disciples by following him. Someone once said ingratitude is the worst of all sins, but these men received their sight from Jesus and then they gave to him their grateful loyalty. You can never repay God for what he’s done for you, but you can always be grateful and chose to respond in gratitude by following him.

Summary and Conclusion.

I submit to you that these men who were blind, perceived, they saw who Jesus was and ignored the crowd. They persisted and cried out to him. They saw who Jesus was, they saw his sense of compassion, his mercy and his grace and they called out to him. That says to me there’s a great valuable lesson in this message to all of us, and that is we need to see who the Lord is, and we need to persistently cry out to him and when he answers respond in gratitude by recommitting ourselves to follow him.

The blind men saw Jesus but not worth their physical eyes they saw him with eyes of their souls. There’s more here than physical sight going on in this story. This short passage is clearly intended to communicate to us that they we all need to see who Jesus really is. See him as Messiah and Saviour, and see him as our Messiah and Saviour. They seized the chance with both hands they grabbed the moment, and they wouldn’t let go until they got what they needed. They pleaded with the Lord until he stopped and responded to their need.

I’d like to conclude by suggesting that in some sense there is also a picture here of how we all might feel sometimes. Maybe we feel like we’re stuck at the side of the road, instead of moving forward in the mainstream of life. Maybe you feel you feel stuck and that you also desperately need a touch of compassion in your situation. Most of us face some type of struggle, some fell it almost every day, whether it’s just trying to make ends meet, or looking for job, or looking for a place to live,  fighting to bring kids on our own, or trying to keep a marriage together, or trying to deal with the demands of an unpleasant boss or any other number of other things that can appear in a 24 hour day. If you feel like you are sitting on the side of the road being told to keep quiet, I invite you to call upon the name of the Lord. To see that God loves you that Jesus died for you and that Jesus has the power to meet where you are and give you the grace and the resilience to go through it, or just to give you whatever you need to not just survive but to prosper.

But in order to receive that we have to be persistent in our prayer and in our petitions, and in our calling upon him by name.