SEEING THROUGH THE COMMOTION

Today’s passages in the One Year Bible include the familiar account of Jesus healing two blind beggars near Jericho (Matt. 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43). As I read through these accounts, I found myself contemplating one aspect of the situation that doesn’t get much attention.
These two blind men were sitting beside the road, begging. Hearing the noise of a crowd walking by, they asked what was happening. Upon hearing that Jesus was approaching, they began calling out to Him, asking Him to help them.
If I was one of those blind men, I’d probably have done the same thing—wouldn’t you?
Undoubtedly the crowd was excited to be walking with Jesus. But there was a problem. Hearing the blind men crying out for help, the crowd scolded them, yelling at them to be quiet. Why did they do that? I’m guessing they didn’t want the men to interrupt their time with Jesus.
If I was in that crowd, I’d probably be excited too—wouldn’t you?
But I have to ask myself, would I be so focused on myself and my own interests that I’d ignore the needs of others?
Fortunately, Jesus heard the men’s cries, stopped, and asked what they wanted Him to do for them. Expressing their faith that Jesus could heal them, they said, “We want to see!” Recognizing their faith, Jesus had compassion on them and healed them.
The men responded by praising God and following Jesus. Seeing what Jesus had done, the crowd also praised God.
Jesus didn’t ignore the needs of others. He didn’t allow the commotion around Him to distract Him from focusing on those who needed His attention.
Let’s not be so focused on ourselves that we ignore the needs of others. Let’s have faith in God’s ability to meet every need (while recognizing that God may call on us to be His “hands and feet”); and when we see God at work, let’s praise Him!