What Do You Want?

Matthew 20:29-34

Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 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!” 31 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!” 32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

Jesus left Jericho on His way to Jerusalem where He would be betrayed and crucified. The end of His public ministry was drawing to a close. Two blind men heard they had an opportunity to be healed by Jesus. In desperation, they cried out asking Him for mercy. The crowd kept telling them to be quiet, but the blind men would not be deterred. This might be their only chance to ask Jesus to heal them. So Jesus asked what they wanted Him to do for them. They knew exactly what they wanted: their sight. Jesus showed them compassion and touched them. Then they received their sight and followed Him.

There are several spiritual lessons to learn and apply from this historical account. First, the blind men recognized they might have only a limited opportunity to call on Jesus to help them. The same is true for you and me. You are not guaranteed good health, a sound mind, or a certain number of days. You have to call out to the Lord while you can. Do not wait! Second, as you cry out to Jesus for mercy, Satan will tell you to be quiet. He knows there is power in prayer and in the name of Jesus. He doesn’t want you to ask the Lord for help. When the devil tries to shut you up, you need to call out to the Lord even more. Third, you need to know what you need from Jesus. The blind men wanted to see. Likewise, you need your spiritual eyes to be opened so you have acute vision to see the Lord clearly. When you acknowledge your lack of vision and shortcomings before the Lord, He will show you compassion. He will touch you, heal you, and respond to you with mercy. Then you need to follow Him wherever He leads you. But you need to start by knowing what you need and then asking Jesus for help. So the question is, what do you want Him to do for you?