Read Matt. 20:17-34
“See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
(Mat 20:18-19)
And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
(Mat 20:30-34)
Jesus tells his disciples what is going to be happening to him in the upcoming days. If they had understood the prophets and Moses then they would have understood what he is telling them. But we see from their conversations afterwards they just didn’t get it. Jesus was telling them how the salvation of all mankind was going to take place. While it sounds horrible it is the gospel, the good news not only for Israel but for the whole world. Jesus would become a curse and then he would defeat sin, death and the devil by his resurrection from the dead opening the gates of heaven for all believers. But the disciples were blind to this.
On the other hand there were two blind beggars upon hearing Jesus was passing by understood who Jesus was and what his mission was and is. They cried out Son of David have mercy on us. Now these guys were not just looking for some money to get by on. When Jesus asked what they wanted they asked to be able to see. They believed in the power of Jesus because they believed who he was and what he came to do.
And what is it Jesus came to do and still does to this day? To have mercy. Jesus had mercy on these guys. More than that in his previous conversation he showed the mercy he was preparing for all people. He would have mercy on the world by having no mercy shown to him. By his merciless, punishment, suffering and death Jesus has mercy on us all. For in his passion Jesus takes the merciless, punishment, suffering and death that we deserve and experience sometimes in this our lives.
Lord Jesus Christ, give us the eyes of faith that see what you have done for us and to believe it that we might have mercy on those around us and demonstrate your love for them through us. Amen.