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Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
- Matthew 20:29-34
Yesterday, we read that as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again." Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom." But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able." So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father." And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. Of today's reading, my study bible explains that the two blind men greet Jesus as Lord, which is the common title for God -- and also as Son of David, which is a title deeply associated with the Messiah. We remember that Jesus is on His way up to Jerusalem, the place where the Messiah should declare Himself in the temple, so the significance and anticipation here is great. My study bible notes that "even though Jesus knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy." It also notes a traditional spiritual interpretation to this miracle, in which the blind men symbolize the future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29). In this interpretation, those who tried to silence the blind men represent persecutors and tyrants who, in every generation, try to silence the Church. But nevertheless, says my study bible, "under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ."
Opening one's eyes and receiving sight is akin to "seeing the light" of Christ, to become aware of His presence, His gift, His Person. Therefore in the analogy of these two men, there's also expressed the zeal with which we must go after our own "enlightenment." Nothing should stop us: not social custom, not the rest of the crowd, nor our own limitations and handicaps. To get to Christ is worth every other sort of difficulty, or social awkwardness and disapproval. I agree with my study bible's assessment that these things become true for us in every generation, and also in every time and place. I feel that Christ will always call us out of our surroundings and into a different "place" that is not so much conforming in all ways to a "worldly" way of thinking and being in the world. Instead we are called to become a part of that Kingdom here on earth, which these blind men do by "following Him." In this sense, they are drawn out of their "little world," the place and people they know, and are drawn instead into a journey somewhere, on the road with Jesus. Despite our own blindness, we can be enlightened. The very fact that they call Jesus both "Lord" and "Son of David" tells us about their faith in Him. It tells us that there is a trust and commitment there already in their hearts; He offers them healing for their blindness. But the journey doesn't stop there; in fact, it is just the beginning. We can wonder what will happen to them as they experience this journey, at least what we know is at the "end of the road" in Jerusalem -- their possible experience of the events of Holy Week, His conviction and scourging and crucifixion, the company of the other disciples and their followers, the great news of Resurrection that awaits, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the appearances to the disciples. All these things we can foresee as events to come in the lives of these "new" followers. But one thing we can imagine clearly: they will experience these events knowing that it was Christ who healed them and gave them their sight. When we go through difficulties, let us remember the gifts that we have received from our faith, from Him. The so-called "end of the road" may truly be just the beginning, after all.
