READING: Exodus 25-26, Matthew 20:17-34
“Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes.”
Matthew 20:34
For the third time, Jesus told His disciples that He was headed toward His death (Matt. 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:17-19). This time, though, He gave more details than He had provided before. He would be delivered to the chief priests and scribes. They would condemn Him and turn Him over to the Gentiles. He would be “mocked, flogged, and crucified” (Matt. 20:19). Resurrection would come, but for now, the shadow of a cross hung over His shoulders.
He knew all that awaited Him, too. In the next chapter of Matthew’s gospel, He would enter the Holy City on His way to apparent tragedy. He would die among criminals, rejected and ridiculed by people He loved.
Still, as He and his entourage left Jericho, He heard the cries of two blind men calling out to Him: “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” (Matt. 20:30). The crowds around Jesus tried to quiet them, but the men cried out even more. Jesus stopped, asked what they wanted, and then granted their request to open their eyes. He worked that miracle on their behalf because He was “moved with compassion” (Matt. 20:34), and they then became His followers. This occasion was not the first time He had compassion on others. Wandering, hurting, and hungry crowds captured His heart (see Matt. 9:36, 14:14, 15:32), and so did the cries of two helpless blind men. The numbers didn’t matter; He cared for the one, the two, and the thousands.
What is so powerful in today’s reading is that Jesus heard and responded to the pleas of the blind men despite the fact that He was headed to His death. He would bear the sins of the world, but He did not miss the cries of hurting people on the way. His ears that would hear the ridicule of enemies within days heard the cries of blind men over against the noise of the crowds today; His hands that would bear nails of Roman soldiers brought healing to blinded eyes this day. The stress of the cross on His shoulders did not outweigh the love and compassion in His heart.
I can in no way imagine what Jesus bore that day when He ministered to the blind men. What I can imagine is that I sometimes, while bearing much less weight, walk right past others who are crying out for help. May God forgive me.
ACTION STEPS:
- Ask God to give you listening ears today. Listen closely to people around you.
- Whatever you face today, stop and minister to someone who is hurting.
PRAYER: “Father, I sometimes get so busy that I miss hurting people. Help me to hear them loudly today.”
TOMORROW'S READING: Exodus 27-28, Matthew 21:1-22