WHAT BLIND MEN SAW
Matthew 20:29-34
Once again, we see that the Messianic priorities are not what people think they are.
#Jesus
#compassion
#matthew
Published April 26th, 2020
Main point summary
20:29-34
notes
Main point summary
Jesus is presented as the compassionate Servant Messiah, who is not too important or too busy to help “the least of these.”
20:29-34
NT
Matthew 20:29-34
esv
nasb
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net
mine
n And as they went out of Jericho,
a As they were leaving Jericho,
Καὶ ἐκπορευομένων αὐτῶν ἀπὸ Ἰεριχὼ
As they were leaving Jericho, 40
As Jesus and the disciples were leaving Jericho,
a great crowd followed him.
a large crowd followed Him.
ἠκολούθησεν αὐτῷ ὄχλος πολύς.
a large crowd followed them.
a large crowd of people followed him.
locative
And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside,
And two blind men sitting by the road,
καὶ ἰδοὺ δύο τυφλοὶ καθήμενοι παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν,
Two 41 blind men were sitting by the road.
And there were 2 blind beggars sitting on the side of the road.
and when they heard that Jesus was passing by,
hearing that Jesus was passing by,
ἀκούσαντες ὅτι Ἰησοῦς παράγει,
When they heard that Jesus was passing by,
When they heard that Jesus was about to pass their way,
they cried out, “Lord, 1 have mercy on us, o Son of David!”
cried out, “Lord, a have mercy on us, b Son of David!”
ἔκραξαν λέγοντες· ⸂ Κύριε, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς ⸃ , ⸀ υἱὸς Δαυίδ.
they shouted, 42 “Have mercy 43 on us, Lord, Son of David!” 44
they shouted out, "O Lord, O Son of David, show us mercy!"
temporal
progression
The crowd p rebuked them,
The crowd sternly told them to be quiet,
ὁ δὲ ὄχλος ἐπετίμησεν αὐτοῖς
The 45 crowd scolded 46 them
Now the crowd rebuked them and scolded them
telling them to be silent,
ἵνα σιωπήσωσιν·
to get them to be quiet.
in an effort to get them to be quiet.
actionpurpose
but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
but they cried out all the more, “Lord, a Son of David, have mercy on us!”
οἱ δὲ μεῖζον ⸀ ἔκραξαν λέγοντες· ⸂ Κύριε, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς ⸃ , ⸀ υἱὸς Δαυίδ.
But they shouted even more loudly, “Lord, have mercy on us, 47 Son of David!”
HOWEVER, the 2 beggars shouted even more, "O Lord, O Son of David, show us mercy!"
concessive
actionresult
And stopping , Jesus called them
And Jesus stopped and called them,
καὶ στὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐφώνησεν αὐτοὺς
Jesus stopped, called them,
Jesus stopped and called to the two men.
and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”
and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
καὶ εἶπεν· Τί θέλετε ποιήσω ὑμῖν;
and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”
He asked, "What do you want me to do for you? In what way do you want me to show you mercy?"
They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened .”
They * said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.”
λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Κύριε, ἵνα ⸂ ἀνοιγῶσιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν ⸃ .
They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”
They answered, "O Lord, we want to see! Let our eyes be opened."
questionanswer
And Jesus in pity touched their eyes,
Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes;
σπλαγχνισθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἥψατο τῶν ⸀ ὀμμάτων αὐτῶν,
Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes.
And Jesus, who was moved with pity and compassion for the two men, touched their eyes.
and immediately they recovered their sight
and immediately they regained their sight
καὶ εὐθέως ⸀ ἀνέβλεψαν
Immediately they received their sight
Immediately, the men could see,
and followed him.
and followed Him.
καὶ ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.
and followed him.
and they joined the crowd following Jesus.
inference
What was the reason the crowd wanted to silence the men? According to Mark, one of the man was named Bartimaeus This wasn't the only time a crowd did this. (Mat 19:13 - children) It's funny how the crowd speaks for Jesus as if they know what he does or doesn't want and can keep away the undesirables. If blindness was considered the result of sin (John 9), then maybe they assumed these men were sinful people for whom Jesus had no time. "Jesus doesn't have time for you. Don't you know where he is headed and for what purpose?" "Be quiet! Leave Jesus alone, because we're trying to follow him." "Don't bother Jesus; I need him to hear what I'm asking." "Jesus has no time for blind beggars like you; only for respectable worthwhile people like me." Do we ever act as if Jesus has no time for others unlike us? or as if Jesus shouldn't be bothered by other people's needs and requests? How often to we act as Jesus' manager, deciding who may talk to him, who he has time for, what he can and cannot do, etc?
There are none so blind as those who will not see. (English writer, John Heywood in 1546)
In this mere “stopping” of the Son of David, on the way up to Jerusalem, is all the difference between Jesus and a political or triumphal Messiah, or also between Jesus and a religious genius absorbed in his own meditation; even the nearness of his own decisive suffering does not get in the way of his service for men (-Pierre Bonnard, L’Evangile selon Saint Matthieu (Neuchâtel: Delachaux & Niestlé, 1970). cited in R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 1, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 298.
How do you see Jesus? crowds - as a celebrity, too busy and famous to be bothered by you? blind men - as a loving Messiah, who came to seek and save lost sheep
The word for eyes in v. 34 is unusual and poetic, sometimes used of the ‘eyes of the soul’; perhaps Matthew’s use of it, and the mention that they followed him, suggests that this physical healing points to a greater blindness which Jesus can dispel, one which was seen in the ambition of James and John (20:20–28), and which will become increasingly clear in the Jewish leaders he is now going to meet in Jerusalem. -R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 1, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 298–299.
were they Gentiles?
2 beggars cry out to Jesus for help the crowd rebukes them but they cry out all the more
Jesus stops and heals the men "What do you want me to do for you?" "We want to see!" Jesus showed compassion and healed them The men followed Jesus
this is more than feeling sorry for them; this was an emotion that led to action
discourse
Comments
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