SHARING BREAD
29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a
large crowd followed him. 30 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!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
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!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
Matt
20:29-34 (NIV)
This passage is for all of us who at times struggle with the
notion of God not being willing to help us when we seek Him or at the very
least, we struggle with the pregnant pause in His timing and wonder if our
continuous supplications even reach the Ear of heaven. We are definitely a microwave group of people
– ask now get now types. Waiting in our
society has a very negative connotation. Yet
God is always at work in the waiting. If He does not act within our time frames –
like perhaps say a genie – we wrongly assume His lack of mercy, compassion and
love. Nothing could be further from the
Truth. God is not only willing to help
us - He is all powerfully able to aid. He
eagerly waits for us to seek Him - desiring for us to articulate our needs
(prayer) and have faith in His ability to act on our behalf in His timing. He wants us to trust Him in this indeed, He
responds to our trust.
God is the Master of making a way when there seems to be no
way. I believe He enjoys parting those
Red Seas – doing God size things that are simply too hard for man to
accomplish. He will either change our
circumstances or change our hearts in the circumstances bestowing grace giving
way to grace sufficient to meet each need.
He heals both physically and spiritually. The One who gives the power gets the
glory. Jesus’ compassion is shown even
clearer in Mark’s account of our verses for today:
46 Then
they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd,
were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus),
was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When
he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of
David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many
rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of
David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up!
On your feet! He's calling you.” 50 Throwing
his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked
him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want
to see.” 52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith
has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus
along the road. Mark 10:46-52 (NIV)
“God never strikes except for motives of love, and never takes
away but in order to give.” Francois Fenelon
Our Lord is not only ready to aid, Scripture
tells us He rises to show us compassion, He runs to the returning, He rejoices
over us with singing, He is the rewarder of those earnestly seeking and He is
the restorer of our souls. It is His
desire to show us His great love. The
Prophet Isaiah tells us:
18 Yet the
LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD
is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)
The Prophet Zephaniah tells us:
17 “The
LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in
you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zeph 3:17 (NIV)
In
our verses for today we find two eagerly seeking the Master’s mercy. Physical ailments often cause us to be more aggressive
in seeking His Presence and the touch from His healing hand – that is a beauty
from the ash for there is no better place to be than at the feet of the Savior. The cries of these blind men reach the ears
of our Jesus and in His tenderness He calls them while all the while the crowd
is noisily rebuking and seeking their silence.
Jesus asks what they desire not because He did not know (He is fully aware
of what is in a man’s heart) but because He wanted them to petition their
need. We do not realize we need a Savior
until we realize we have a need for One.
In mercy He immediately restores their sight – such is the love of sweet
Jesus.
“He who counts the stars and calls them by their names is in no
danger of forgetting His own children.”
Charles H. Spurgeon
“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us to
love.” Augustine
What I glean from this:
· God is always
at work in my waiting. I am to be
patient and boldly persistent in prayer.
· God
delights in doing things that are too hard for me and always in response to my
Trust in Him. “Then you will know that I
am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” Isaiah 49:23 (NIV)
· The Lord rises
to show compassion, runs to the returning, rejoices over us with singing,
rewards those earnestly seeking and is the restorer of our souls.
