What Would You Ask?

Scripture:

Matt. 20:29   As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.  30 There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”  31 The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!”  32 Jesus stood still and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?”  33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”  34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.

Observation:

Jericho was the last stop before reaching Jerusalem. You can imagine the excitement and the focus of moving on to the final destination. The crowds were not very encouraging to the two blind men and they had to shout above the others for Jesus to hear them. They caught his attention and he called back to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” Their response may be seen as both physical and spiritual. “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” The response is also both physical and spiritual — for their regain their sight and they become disciples.

Application:

If Jesus were walking down the street in your community today — what would you ask? The blind men asked out of their own perceived need. They wanted to be able to see. Their physical blindness affected nearly every aspect of their lives and limited their ability to join in with the norm of society. They cried out from the margins for the Lord to have mercy on them and he heard and responded. We may cry out to the Lord with our perceived need, while at the same time he knows our real need. Therefore, again I pose the question — what would you ask?

I’m guessing that most of us would respond from our perceived need, which may not be our real need. Just like the blind men, our real need is growth in discipleship. When the goal of life becomes Christ himself, then our real need is to have our spiritual eyes opened and to draw closer to him. If we knew this was our need — what would we really ask?

Prayer:

LORD, open my eyes to see my real need and help me to draw closer to you every single day. Amen.

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