by David Scott Robertson
(Mat 20:30 NIV) 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!"
(Mat 20:31 NIV) The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
(Mat 20:32 NIV) Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
(Mat 20:33 NIV) "Lord," they answered, "we want our sight."
(Mat 20:34 NIV) Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
Can you imagine what it must have been like to be blind all your life –
Not knowing, really, what anything at all looks like?
And the first sight,
The very first sight you see by a miraculous hand of God,
Is the face of Jesus Christ!
Can you stretch your imagination to consider this thought?
Can you at least attempt to fathom the unparalleled wonder,
The inexpressible amazement,
The sheer joy of it all?
Think of it!
To have your eyes, brain, and senses
Begin to function in a way that is unprecedented in your life experience
And, and, and
Being initiated into that experience
By seeing the beautiful face of Jesus of Nazareth,
The very Son of God!
The face the prophets longed to see but never did.
The face that modern-day followers of The Way longed to see but rarely have.
The face that agnostics and atheists would have their false paradigms dashed in one steady gaze.
What a rare and unusual privilege
These two obscure and extremely blessed ex-blind men had!
Can you meditate on the implications?
How many people on planet Earth in all it history and culture
Can testify of this experience?
Out of the personal tragedy these two blind men had endured in their lifetimes…
The heart-breaking disappointment their parents must have experienced
Realizing at some point that their precious new sons were born blind…
The hardships this must have created in trying to raise these handicapped children…
The inability to function properly in society,
The absence of a normal childhood,
The teasing of unkind teenagers,
The inability to work and make a living but consigned to beg to sustain themselves,
The impossible thought of marrying and having a family…
Who among us that has the gift of sight to read these words can even begin to understand?
(John 9:2 NIV) His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
(John 9:3 NIV) "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
God had a plan from the foundation of the world for these two blind boys.
God knew them,
He loved them from the beginning,
He orchestrated time, space, events, culture, schedules, traffic flows, and other minute details
To get these two blind men to the place where
Destiny would intersect the timing and power of God.
Their blindness had been,
In a sense,
Their “school of hard-knocks.”
It had in fact uniquely prepared them,
Groomed them,
Trained them to be released to an unqualified ministry.
(Mat 20:34 NIV) “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.” [emphasis mine]
And they followed Him.
Hundreds, thousands saw the face of Jesus of Nazareth
When the Son of God literally and physically walked the dusty roads of the ancient Middle East.
The multitudes saw His face but never knew Him
In the way these two healed blind men had come to know Him.
Who knows what this one encounter with Jesus
Did for these two men beyond restoring their sight?
Perhaps they on to live fruitful, productive lives in society.
Perhaps they had the delight and pleasure of learning a trade,
Using a newly acquired skill to “earn” a living and make a contribution to their family’s income.
Wouldn’t you like to have been at the dinner table with their parents
Describing story after story of how things used to be compared to how things are?
Maybe these men even went on to meet woman,
Fall in love,
Get married and raise a family.
What bedtime stories these men could tell their own sons and daughters
About the time the Messiah came to town and changed everything.
For all we do not know about the lives of these two former blind men
This one thing we do know…
…they followed him (Matthew 20:34).
Here’s where I’m going with this thought today:
To be born blind is not the worst thing that could ever happen to a person.
To see Jesus Christ
And not become His follower,
I should think,
Is a far greater tragedy than blindness.
DSR
8/21/01