As Jesus and His disciples are leaving Jericho, a great number of people follow Him and on the road they encounter two blind men. Matthew is the only gospel writer who mentions that there were two men while the other writers only focus on the one named Bartimeaeus because he may have been the louder of the two. Although they cannot see what is happening, they detect that there is something big taking place. They enquire of others as to what is going on and find out that Jesus is nearby (Luke 18:36). Recognizing this as their only chance for healing, they cry out “have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” The way they addressed Jesus proves that they knew Jesus was God and therefore had the ability to heal them. This term Son of David was a messianic title and pointed back to when God promised David that through his line would come the one who would establish an everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12-16). This, of course, was a reference to Jesus Christ. Although these blind men could not see, they knew this person who was healing the sick was the Anointed One. Verse 31 reveals that the multitude of people got involved with this incident and demanded that the blind men keep quiet. The people viewed them as a nuisance instead of helping them encounter Jesus Christ. The crowd’s warnings fell on deaf ears because the blind men cried out even more for Jesus to have mercy on them. Jesus stands still and calls the men to Himself asking what they want Him to do (20:32). The men respond by asking Jesus to restore their sight (20:33). Jesus has compassion on the men, touches their eyes, and they receive their sight (20:34). This is a wonderful picture of humility and desperation and we have so much to learn from these blind men. First, these men knew Jesus was their only chance to be made whole. We must daily view Jesus as the only One who can deliver us from spiritual blindness and we must desperately rely on Him for guidance. Secondly, the blind men forgot about the people around them. If the would have allowed the crowd to discourage them, they would have never met with Jesus. We have a tendency to listen to the crowd instead of focusing on the One who can heal our brokenness. Like the blind men, we must see the need to humble ourselves before God and rely on Him for everything we need.
Dear God, keep me humble before You and may I recognize You as my only hope.
