MATTHEW 20:29-34 – And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 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!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
THEME OF THE DAY. TOUCHED BY THE MASTER. I wonder just what was going through the minds of the two blind men in today’s scripture. Here were two men who never looked at the beauty of a flower, the tranquility of a calm sea, or the pleasure of human contact, eye-to-eye, in love. Then they hear Jesus was approaching them. Hope begins to swell within; a hope for something they never experienced. Here comes the Great Physician. Here comes the Man whose reputation goes before Him of healing the hurting. And He is passing by us! Maybe, just maybe, He may touch us.
In the hustle and bustle of a crowd, Jesus is pushed along. The insensitive mob attempts to quiet these begging blind men from distracting and detouring the Lord. That is a lesson in itself and one we must heed. A person can be very close to Jesus and yet not have the heart of Jesus. A person may be a professing Christian and yet be far away from living a life of compassion toward others. It isn’t our profession of closeness to Jesus making us Christians. It is our reality of knowing Jesus, a knowing changing us into His image, that makes us Christians. This knowing of Him always produces a love for people; a love that moves us to serve them and point them to the Lord Himself. Now back to the story . . . the persistence in the cries from the blind men for the Lord to have mercy on them prevails. He stops. He takes notice of them. He challenges them to verify their faith in Him with a question. And they again prevail revealing the true nature of faith in Christ – total abandonment and confidence He could do what they needed in their lives. The miracle occurs with the touch of the Master – “And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed Him.”
Friends, Jesus isn’t walking upon the earth in a literal form healing blind people. But He is walking in His people, His church, and we are His heart, hands, and feet to the hurting all around us. The world needs to see and feel the impact of Christians whose hearts beat with the heart of Jesus; whose lives reflect His life of sacrifice to reach the lost and comfort the hurting. Yet Christians cannot have the heart of Jesus without seeking the heart of Jesus through Word and prayer. It will not be the ‘doing’ Christian who is works-based, activity-driven, or service-oriented that will make the greatest impact for Christ in the world. It will be the Christian who has discovered the fruitful life for Christ is the abiding life in Christ; an abiding learned, developed, and nurtured through unhurried time in His Word and prayer to fellowship with Him – a fellowship defined as a holy exchange of heart to heart that transforms us into His caring image.
Touched by the Master. If we are Christians, we know His touch. It was by His Gospel through His Spirit and Word. And we, as His “touched” people, are given the responsibility and privilege to reach out to others also in need of His healing touch.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to reflect Your Son in my world of influence by acts of love and sacrifice to the hurting.”
QUOTE: “People are to see in Christians the Christ they claim to know. It is a seeing which includes acts of loving service”