I read a little passage in Matthew before going to bed last night:
Matthew 20:29-34.
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!"
(31) 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.
Something struck me while reading it, particularly verse 31. The blind men called out to Jesus--and the crowd rebuked them for asking for mercy. Yet they tried again, and Jesus responds. They want to see. They receive what they ask and they follow him. I'm not sure exactly why this passage touched me the way it did--I think it has to do with the parallels of today. How there are so many in the dark who cry out to Jesus for mercy--and society, many, sometimes even Jesus's followers, tell them to be quiet. Why? The blind men were persistent though and they received what they asked--mercy.
Any number of things could be drawn from this--in the church setting, or in the general world. I'd rather not do that though. I just wanted to share this so you too could think about it and respond with your thoughts. Do we shush people who are calling out for mercy and not realize it? Do we let ourselves be shushed when we call out recognizing the Son of David who can give us mercy and sight?
I thought that was rather speaking there too--maybe it's after studying and thinking about the doctrine of the Trinity for the last year. To recognize Jesus as the "Son of David" was to recognize him as the Messiah foretold in the prophets, the same who was spoken of as Lord and God.
Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us.
Posted by Anna at July 11, 2004 12:20 PM | TrackBack