Will You See?

Matthew 20:29-34

Matthew 20:29–34 ESV

29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

Prayer of Confession

Father, it is by the power of the Holy Spirit and your will alone that we can be made to realize the state of our blindness and spiritual poverty. We are a proud, unrepentant people who resist walking in the all revealing light of your glory. We fight against having our eyes opened to the truth of your word and would rather shut them tight and walk our own way. We all fall short of your glory, Father. No one can compare to your holiness - it is beautiful and perfect, the source of all life. There is no flaw or ever to be found in you for you are indescribably perfect. According to your grace and mercy you sent your son to stand in our place, to endure the judgement for our sins, and to bring us into right standing with you. May you receive all glory and honor from those you have redeemed. Forgive us for our blindness, open our eyes to your kingdom, and help us by your power to deny ourselves and take up our cross to follow Jesus. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Scriptural Context

Matt. 20:26-28

Fair warning, if you are following along in your Bible, I will be referring to this same event found in Mark 10:46-52 a few times this morning. Now that I have given my full disclosure, I cannot be held liable for any paper cuts or similar incidents that may occur.

Cultural Context

To be blind

Today: We have many accomodations for the visually impared. There's brail for them to read with, sidewalks have textured areas and audio queues at intersections to help them travel safely, and wonderful employment opportunities. Not all countries have this degree of accessibility, but it is a far cry from the 1st century in the Middle East.

Then: Often viewed as unproductive members of society, handicapped people were considered a nuisance or even unclean. As we see in John 9:2-3 (a man born blind), their illness or disabilities were even thought to be a judgement from God for a persons' sin. They were cast aside and alone; forced to beg for their survival even by their own families. Even the holy men of Israel avoided these people for fear of being unclean...

In the parallel verses in Mark's gospel, we learn the name of one of the men is Bartimaeus. This likely a nickname given to him because it roughly translates to "son of excrement". I hope his parents didn't name him that anyway... I've heard of some odd names people have given to their children, but that one would be a strong contender for the number 1 spot on my list.

I'd be willing to wager that every one here has been in these men's shoes at one point or more in their life. I'm sure even now someone is sitting here that feel that they are unseen, unimportant, insignificant, and alone. It could be someone sitting just an arm's length away from you. You see blindness isn't just a physical condition that plagues humanity. The most detrimental blindness is spiritual and it affects every one of us. We all fail to see the glory of God and by being blind in this way, we fail to desire him above anything else.

To be the crowd

But what of the crowd following Jesus? We see that it was a great crowd. A majority of these were pilgrims also on their journey to the Jerusalem, but there were also likely people from all different nationalities and social statuses eager to see what Jesus would do next. The Jewish nationals hopeful, waiting with bated breath as they drew nearer to Jerusalem. Would this Jesus deliver them from Rome and establish his rule over all the earth? Would he give them what they wanted?

The Big Picture

The blind men

Like these men, until we cry out for mercy from the only one who can open our eyes, we will remain spiritually blind to the truth of the gospel. We won't understand it, we won't grow in it, we won't see the face of our savior who is the very image of God. But did Jesus not say to his disciples that if they see him they've seen the Father? Doesn't Paul attest in his letter to the Corinthians that Jesus is the image of the invisible God? Doesn't the author of Hebrews proclaim Jesus to be the very imprint of the Father's nature and the radiance of His glory? But unless our eyes are open, we won't see Him or know Him. And we cannot open our eyes on our own. We won't recognize our wretched position unless he opens our eyes to the truth.

The crowd

We see in Mark 10:49 that Jesus had the crowd call the men to him. A gentle course correction showing the disciples and the crowd what it looks like to put Matthew 20:26-28 into practice. This is how his church should be behaving.

Jesus' response to both

Call to respond

The best thing in the world happened to these blind men, and it wasn't the restoration of their physical sight. It was being the recipient of the compassion and mercy of Jesus as a direct result of their faith in them to make them whole. Their faith that Jesus would hear their cries for mercy was not snuffed out by the harsh criticism and scolding from the crowd. Rather they cried out all the more. Though they were blind, they saw more clearly than the crowd did that day. And to see him is to delight in him.

Compare the Rich Young Ruler with the Two Blind Men

"If God, my friend is not delightful to you, your eyes have not been opened. You are blind. And that reveals a deadness of head and heart. If God is not glorious, if He is not your delight and treasure, you may know something about Him but you do not have the knowledge that is eternal life." - Michael Reeves; God Shines Forth - 2025 Shepherds Conference.