A man put up a sign in his yard that read: ‘Puppies for Sale.’ Among those who came to inquire was a young boy, who said, ‘Please, Mister, I’d like to buy one of your puppies if they don’t cost too much.’ The man replied, ‘Well, son, they’re $25.’ The boy looked crushed. ‘I’ve only got two dollars and five cents. Could I see them anyway?’ The man replied again, ‘Of course. Maybe we can work something out’. The lad’s eyes danced at the sight of those five little balls of fur. ‘I heard that one has a bad leg,’ he said. ‘Yes, I’m afraid she’ll be crippled for life’, said the man. ‘Well, that’s the puppy I want. Could I pay for her a little at a time?’ The man responded, ‘But she’ll always have a limp.’ Smiling bravely, the boy pulled up one pant leg, revealing a brace. ‘I don’t walk good either, I guess she’ll need a lot of love and help. I sure did. It’s not so easy being crippled and alone.’ The man gave the puppy to the boy, free of charge. Similarly, we are crippled by sin, eternally. God through His infinite compassion, sent His son to rescue us and heal us from our crippling sin problem. Sin has damned humanity. Sin is the cause of our sicknesses, diseases, and the fallen state of things in our society. It is only cured by Christ, from the inside out, and on a personal basis, until He returns.
In a literal illustration of sin’s effects, Jesus heals a cripple in Matthew 20.29-34. His deficiency? Blindness. Comparing the parallel texts in: Mark 10.46-52; Luke 18.35-43, 19.1, you’ll see some interesting things. First, in verse 29— “And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.” Matthew says “leaving Jericho” and Luke says “going into”. There were actually 2 Jerichos: an ‘old’ one and a ‘new’ one. So obviously it was between the 2. Taking all three contexts into account, we have a name that has become famous: Bartimaeus. “Bar” means ‘son of’. We see he was Timaeus’ son, and apparently Timaeus was a man who was well known. If a man who’s known is named Charlie, they may call his son: ‘Little Charlie’. In other cultures this is done quite frequently. Charles in Spanish is Carlos; his son may be called Carlito (little Charles). Now we have a name and some background. I guess if I was speaking publicly, I could titled this: Blind Bart And His Blind Bud Who Were Banded By A Band Of Backsliders. But, I digress.
We notice in verse 30 the reach of the blind men, which was a leap of faith— “And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.” The two blind guys cry out for mercy. Why mercy? Each passage of compassion has a person or people desiring mercy and Jesus always granting mercy, not necessarily grace. They didn’t ask for grace because they were already aware of their sin condition and how utterly unworthy they already really are… mercy was needed! This is an act of faith (humility). Notice in 31b— “…but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.” They weren’t going to quit, even yelled at Him. They were convinced Jesus was able to heal, and they needed His attention, while He was near. Now is the time to act, that’s faith. Act when He is there.
I think it’s special to note what they addressed Jesus as. Matthew says: “Son of David” meaning Messiah, which indicates their faith. Mark says: “Rabboni” meaning My Master, indicating their love.
In verse 31 we also see the reaction of the crowd, and their lack of compassion— “And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace.” Why are you expecting the crowd to care? The world doesn’t care. They only care about themselves and what promotes their personal agendas. Compassion and sympathy is from Christ. It’s like they are saying… ‘Who cares’. Why is the crowd stopping them? Selfishness. If we seek glory for ourselves, or if we hog the light for ourselves, then we cannot glorify Him. The crowd was about to miss out on a miracle, due to self-focus. Hearing a blind guy yell out, in public, while you are trying to see a famous person, is embarrassing… to a selfish person. This is a crowd of selfish followers. It’s hard to stomach, but apparently it’s true, that believer can see a person in this condition and not care enough to stop and help. In this condition, the person in need becomes annoying.
When other people’s problems disturb us… we are in bad shape. 1 John 3.16-18 says— “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” Look at the drastic nature of his question: “how dwelleth the love of God in him?” Because you know what it’s like, you know what it feels like to be in need of help, and yet still, some don’t care?! This is why John questions the heart of the person refusing to give compassion. Why would we not be sympathetic? Are we not all crippled in some way?
It’s important to note that Jesus was on His way to enter Jerusalem and therefore on His way to the cross. So, Jesus never passed that way again. You better take the opportunity to get a hold of God when you can. If it’s an act of faith, and your desperate enough for His mercy, you are desperate enough for a change, then you aren’t going to allow anyone to stop you, including yourself. These guys needed Jesus now! Too many so-called believers today don’t even want Him until it’s convenient.
The response of Jesus, is as it always is… a love for people. Verse 34 explains— “So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.” He had compassion on them; delivered mercy by touching their eyes and giving sight. We as the body of Christ today should respond as He did then. In fact, sympathetic compassion should start in the House of God. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3.8— “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.” What about when we have the opportunity to give mercy? Jesus was headed to the cross. Am I too stressed? Do I have too much on my mind? Jesus was in a straight, yet took the time to be sympathetic and compassionate to these men.
Last, I want you to focus on the other guy: Bart’s bud. A nameless nobody who just happened to be with Bart that day. If you are where God wants you to be, then you get the overflow of mercy when it is given. You get a portion of the blessing just from being at the right place when the Lord is at work.
Are you where you need to be?