Matthew 20:29-34

Matthew 20:29-34 Two blind men call on Jesus as the “Son of David”

Matthew now returns to his narrative about Jesus’s walk to Jerusalem.  We are now around 15 miles or so from Jerusalem.

The city of Jericho was more than 800 feet below sea level, in the Rift Valley that includes the Dead Sea (the Salt Sea).  Jerusalem is approximately 2,500 feet above sea level.  So, from Jericho, it is climb of more than half a mile in altitude, through canyons and hills, over a 15-mile walk.  The road they are walking on is the road that was famous for robbers – the road Jesus talked about in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37).

Jesus is leaving Jericho, embarking on the climb to Jerusalem, when this incident happens.

The story was probably told frequently: it appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  Mark tells us the name of one of the men: Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46), which suggests that Bartimaeus may have become a well-known member of the church.  Matthew has already told us a similar story in 9:27-31.  Some scholars suggest that they are the same story told in different ways, but the details of the stories are very different.

Who is walking with Jesus?

Who starts shouting, and what do they say?

What is the reaction of the crowd?

When the blind men keep shouting, what does Jesus do?  What does he ask them?

When the blind men tell Jesus they want to see, what is Jesus’s emotional reaction?

What does Jesus do?

What do the men’s actions tell us about them?

Are they mild-mannered and easily pushed around?  Are they easily discouraged?  Does their blindness cause them to be ignorant of what is going on in their town?  What do these things tell us about them?

This is the one chance these men will ever have to be healed of their blindness, and they are not willing to let anything stand in the way of seeking the One who can make a difference in their lives.  Are we so committed to seeking out the Lord?  What does the example of these men say to us about our own approach to God?

The blind men call him “Son of David.”  In Matthew’s Gospel, that term is used by people seeking healing – see, for example, 9:27 and 15:22.  In the next scene, where Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey, Matthew’s is the only Gospel where that phrase is used by the crowds, who call Jesus the “Son of David.”

What does “Son of David” mean?

David was the great king of Israel, and the Jews always expected that one day a descendant of David would once again rule them.  King Solomon was the immediate son of David, according to the flesh.  At the time of Jesus, some people believed that Solomon had powers (verse 7:20 in the apocryphal book of Wisdom, which was written in the voice of Solomon, claimed he had knowledge of nature-based healing methods).

Jesus is the “son” of David in the sense that he is a descendant of David, and Christians understand him to be the “Son of David” messianically.

The fact that the blind men call Jesus “Lord” and “Son of David” suggests that they recognize that Jesus is the Messiah.  Although Jesus previously told evil spirits not to tell that to anyone, Jesus does not tell them to be quiet.  Perhaps now that he is so near to his crucifixion it no longer matters.

Commentators have always seen this story as about more than a physical healing: it speaks to the issue of spiritual blindness and sight.  What do you think this story might suggest about spiritual blindness?

Though these men are physically blind, they are closer to the truth than many “seeing” people, who are spiritually blind.  How can we avoid spiritual blindness?

Jesus doesn’t heal the men immediately.  Although their need was probably very obvious, he first asks them what they want and waits for them to give him an answer.  Do you think that is true in general in our relationship with God – that God waits for us to ask specifically before he answers?  Why?

Notice that they don’t say, “We want to see.”  They specify what they hope Jesus will do: “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”  They are specifically asking Jesus to do something specific.  They are not expressing vague hope or a general desire – they are specific.  Does this tell us anything about how we should approach God in prayer?

What does the fact that Jesus was “moved with compassion” (verse 34) say to you?

When Jesus heals the men, what do they do in response?

They immediately follow Jesus on the road toward Jerusalem.

Thomas Aquinas quotes the early Christian scholar Origen as writing: “We also now sitting by the wayside of the Scriptures, and understanding wherein we are blind, if we ask with desire, He will touch the eyes of our souls, and the gloom of ignorance shall depart from our minds, that in the light of knowledge we may follow Him, who gave us power to see to no other end than that we should follow Him” (Aquinas. “Commentary on Matthew 20”).

In what way might God be calling you to embrace a new ability to see, and follow him?

What message do you take from this story for yourself?  What does the example of these blind men say to us about how to respond to Jesus?

Take a step back and consider this:

“Lord, let our eyes be opened” (Matt. 20:34).

These blind men wanted their eyes to be opened to see what is going on in the real world.

We rightly lay a spiritual gloss on this story as we pray: “Lord, let our eyes be opened to your grace.  . . . to your love.  . . . to your wisdom.”

We would do well to pray that prayer more literally:

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the beauty in your creation that we miss every day.”

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the beauty in our family members.”

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the ways our co-workers do wonderful things.”

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the not-so-random acts of kindness that our neighbors perform.”

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the beauty in the members of our community who quietly work to address the needs of the people we fail to see.”

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the suffering of those around us.”

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the hungry children desperate for food.”

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the immigrants who want nothing more than a chance to start at the bottom of a new society so they can stop living in constant fear.”

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the people who are denied health coverage and cannot afford to see a doctor.”

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the victims of war who fear every airplane that flies overhead, because it might carry the bomb that kills them.”

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the people who are threatened, doxed, flamed, fired, arrested, silenced, intimidated, or abused for trying to stand up for justice and the truth.”

• “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the people you see, whom others do not want us to see.”

The blind men asked that their eyes be opened to see, and then they followed Jesus on the road toward his Cross.  May that be our prayer too, and may their response be ours as well.

What might you already sense that God wants you to “see” – things that you may be missing because you are too busy, or too insulated, or too distracted?

What might God want you to “see” that you are not currently focusing on because it makes you too uncomfortable?

Once you see, what might God want you to do – the thing that would be your act of following him on the road?