As Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed Him. Matthew 20:29-34
“Would that, realizing our blindness, we were seated by the roadside of the Scriptures, and hearing that Jesus is passing by, that we could make him stop beside us with the force of our prayer.”
Origen of Alexandria (c. 185-253) in Commentary on St. Matthew’s Gospel 12:20.
God has me sitting in this text and the parallel passage in Mark this week. I hope it ministers to you too.
We see the mercy and compassion of Jesus meet the blindness and brokenness of two blind men. They believe that Jesus can give them what they need: mercy (not the judgment they deserve) and sight (vision that can only come from Him).
In Matthew’s Gospel, it is not one blind man named Bartimaeus but two blind men that receive their sight.
This implies that what God did for Bartimaeus was not a one off. Jesus can do it for two men. He can do it for me and you. He can hold back judgment and give clear vision.
Wherever you are today, make Him stop. Ask Jesus for mercy and vision. As He gives it, follow Him wherever He leads.
This shapes our generosity as His calls for giving our lives, our resources, and anything else, will seem crazy according to the world’s way of thinking, but once we have mercy and vision, they make sense in God’s economy.