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Jesus Again Tells about
(Matthew 20.17-19; Mark 10.32-34)
31Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and said:
We are now on our way to Jerusalem. Everything that the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will happen there. 32He will be handed over to foreigners, who will make fun of him, mistreat him, and spit on him. 33They will beat him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.
34The apostles did not understand what Jesus was talking about. They could not understand, because the meaning of what he said was hidden from them.
Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar
(Matthew 20.29-34; Mark 10.46-52)
35When Jesus was coming close to Jericho, a blind man sat begging beside the road. 36The man heard the crowd walking by and asked what was happening. 37Some people told him that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by. 38So the blind man shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” 39The people who were going along with Jesus told the man to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!”
40Jesus stopped and told some people to bring the blind man over to him. When the blind man was getting near, Jesus asked, 41“What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see!” he answered.
42Jesus replied, “Look and you will see! Your eyes are healed because of your faith.” 43At once the man could see, and he went with Jesus and started thanking God. When the crowds saw what happened, they praised God.
Reflect
Have you spent any time with blind people? If so, have you watched a blind person’s eyes follow a sound and then stare blankly? Then you know the look of futility.
It has been said that there are none so blind as those who will not see. In today’s passage, we’d have to say that this fits the disciples. They had a picture of how God’s promised King was going to establish his Kingdom on earth. What Jesus was talking about was so far off script that they could only look at him with blank stares.
The blind beggar, on the other hand, had 20/20 vision. He “saw” Jesus’ compassion and so pled for his pity. He “saw” what he had to do, what he needed to do, to get to Jesus, so he insisted. He “saw” the disdain of the crowd, but didn’t let that deter him. He “saw” that he had to be clear on what he wanted so he asked for sight.
Then Jesus said: “Look and you will see!” He “saw” that he had to “look”. He couldn’t hide from fear by keeping his eyes closed. He “saw” that he had to trust. He had to open them.
Do you think that it is all this “seeing” by the blind man that Jesus declares is the faith that brought his healing? I do.
Now back to the disciples. With compassion, Jesus is preparing them for what is ahead. Right now, they are blind to what they will see. In just a little while, with spiritually blank stares they will watch unbelievably cruel things being done to Jesus. After resurrection morning, the stares will still be blank as they witness bewildering wonder. But stay with the story. Insight dawns. The blank stares start to fade. They see!!
Respond
Father,
You see everything. With compassion, you look upon the blindness of spirit that holds me back from a full grasp of reality – both good and evil. I see dim outlines, but with hope I look forward to when all will be clear. Through Christ the Lord. Amen.
Keith Elford
Keith Elford serves as the bishop of The Free Methodist Church in Canada. His mandate is to oversee a diverse group of godly, competent leaders who, using a variety of approaches, work together to see healthy churches developed within Canada and beyond. Prior to being elected as bishop in 1997, Keith was a pastor for 24 years, serving congregations in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. He regularly writes for The Mosaic, a Free Methodist publication.