Compassionate Healing

“Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him.” (Matthew 20:34 NLT)

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 20, two blind men ask Jesus for healing. The crowd tries to shush them, but they shout even louder for help. I wonder why the crowd wants them to be quiet?

Jesus has compassion on the blind men and heals them of their blindness. Their clear vision enables them to follow Jesus--not just tag along with the crowd.

Many of us go through our days blindly. We are unable to sense anything beyond our own viewpoints. Our perspective is limited to what is right in front of us. We are like a herd of buffalo. We keep moving because we don’t want to be left behind or trampled. Unfortunately, our lack of awareness sometimes causes us to follow the herd right off a cliff.

God is merciful. He knows our weaknesses better than we do. However, He waits for us to ask for help. As long as we are unaware of our sickness, we do not seek healing. We continue on with our mindless habits. The Spirit within us gets covered up by layer upon layer of indifference, distractions, and short-term pleasures. Then one day, our afflictions cut through the layers like a scalpel. We become painfully aware of the yuckiness within us and around us. We cry out to the Lord in desperation. The crowd around us says: Shush! You are making us uncomfortable.

But, we can no longer be quiet...we know we are unwell, unclean, and undiscerning. We must seek help.

“LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains. Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.” (Psalm 107:13-15 NLT)