Jesus was compassionate

JESUS WAS COMPASSIONATE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 20:30-34 30Two blind men were sitting by
the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was
going by, they shouted, "LORD, Son of David, have
mercy on us!" 31The crowd rebuked them and told
them to be quiet, but they shoutedall the louder,
"LORD, Son of David, havemercy on us!" 32Jesus
stopped and called them. "Whatdo you want me to do
for you?" he asked. 33"LORD,"they answered, "we
want our sight." 34Jesushad compassionon them and
touched their eyes. Immediately they received their
sight and followedhim.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(34) So Jesus had compassion.—Literally, andJesus. It was not His purpose to
meet the popular demand for signs and wonders, but compassiondrew from
Him the work of powerwhich otherwise He would have shrunk from here.
And then the two followedHim, glorifying God. In St. Luke’s narrative the
incident is followedby the story of Zacchæus and the parable of the Pounds.
Possibly(see Note on Matthew 20:30) they precededit.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
20:29-34 It is goodfor those under the same trial, or infirmity of body or
mind, to join in prayer to God for relief, that they may quicken and encourage
one another. There is mercy enough in Christ for all that ask. They were
earnestin prayer. They cried out as men in earnest. Colddesires beg denials.
They were humble in prayer, casting themselves upon, and referring
themselves cheerfully to, the Mediator's mercy. They showedfaith in prayer,
by the title they gave to Christ. Surely it was by the Holy Ghost that they
calledJesus, Lord. They perseveredin prayer. When they were in pursuit of
such mercy, it was no time for timidity or hesitation: they cried earnestly.
Christ encouragedthem. The wants and burdens of the body we are soon
sensible of, and canreadily relate. Oh that we did as feelingly complain of our
spiritual maladies, especiallyour spiritual blindness! Many are spiritually
blind, yet say they see. Jesus curedthese blind men; and when they had
receivedsight, they followedhim. None follow Christ blindly. He first by his
grace opens men's eyes, and so draws their hearts after him. These miracles
are our call to Jesus;may we hear it, and make it our daily prayer to grow in
grace and in the knowledge ofthe Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
And touched their eyes - Mark and Luke say he added, "Thy faith hath saved
thee." Thy "confidence, orbelief" that I could cure, has been the means of
obtaining this blessing.
Faith had no power to open the eyes, but it led the blind men to Jesus;it
showedthat they had just views of his power; it was connectedwith the cure.

So "faith" has no power to save from sin, but it leads the poor, lost, blind
sinner to him who has power, and in this sense it is said we are savedby faith.
His "touching" their eyes was merely "a sign" that the powerof healing
proceededfrom him.
Here was an undoubted miracle.
1. These blind men were well known. One, at least, had been blind for a long
time.
2. They were strangers to Jesus. Theycould not have, therefore, "feigned"
themselves blind, or done this by any "collusionor agreement" betweenhim
and themselves in order to impose on the multitude.
3. The miracle was in the presence ofmultitudes who took a deep interest in it,
and who could easilyhave detectedthe imposition if there had been any.
4. The people followedhim. They praised or "glorified" God (Mark and
Luke). The people gave praise to God also (Luke). They were all satisfiedthat
a real miracle was performed.
Remarks On Matthew 20
1. From the parable at the beginning of this chapter Matthew 20:1-16 we
learn that it is not so much the time that we serve Christ as the "manner,"
that is to entitle us to high rewards in heaven. Some may be in the church
many years, yet accomplishlittle. In a few years, others may be more
distinguished in the successoftheir labors and in their rewards.
2. God will do justice to all, Matthew 20:13. He will give to every one of his
followers all that he promised to give. To him entitled to the leasthe will give
everything which he has promised, and to eachone infinitely more than he has
deserved.
3. On some he will bestow higher rewards than on others, Matthew 20:16.
There is no reasonto think that the condition of people in heavenwill be
"equal," any more than it is on earth. Difference of rank may run through all
God's government, and still no one be degradedor be deprived of his rights.

4. God does as he pleases with his own, Matthew 20:15. It is his right to do so -
a right which people claim, and which God may claim. If he does injustice to
no one, he has a right to bestow what favors on others he pleases. In doing
goodto another man he does no injury to me. He violated none of my rights
by bestowing greattalents on Newtonor greatwealth on Solomon. He did not
injure me by making Paul a man of distinguished talents and piety, or John a
man of much meekness and love. What he gives me I should be thankful for
and improve; nor should I be envious or malignant that he has given to others
more than he has to me. Nay, I should rejoice that he has bestowed such
favors on undeserving people at all; that the race is in possessionofsuch
talents and rewards, to whosoevergiven;and should believe that in the hands
of God such favors will be wellbestowed. Godis a sovereign, andthe Judge of
all the earth will do that which is right.
5. It is our duty to go into the vineyard and labor faithfully when ever the
Lord Jesus calls us, and until he calls us to receive our reward, Matthew 20:1-
16. He has a right to call us, and there are none who are not invited to labor
for Him.
6. Rewards are offeredto all who will serve him, Matthew 20:4. It is not that
we deserve any favor, or that we shall not say at the end of life that we have
been "unprofitable" servants, but He graciouslypromises that our rewards
shall be measured by our faithfulness in His cause. He will have the glory of
bringing us into His kingdom and saving us, while He will bestow rewards on
us according as we have been faithful in His service.
continued...
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
Mt 20:29-34. Two Blind Men Healed. ( = Mr 10:46-52;Lu 18:35-43).
For the exposition, see on[1332]Lu 18:35-43.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Ver. 29-34. Mark repeateththe same story, Mark 10:46-52, with severalmore
circumstances.

1. He mentions only one blind man, and nameth him Bartimaeus, the Song of
Solomonof Timaeus. He saith, the blind man was begging.
Mark saith, when Christ calledthe blind man, they said unto him, Be of good
comfort, rise; he calleththee. And he, casting awayhis garment, rose, and
came to Jesus. He further adds, that Christ saidunto him, Go thy way; thy
faith hath made thee whole. Luke relates the same, Luke 18:35-43. He saith,
As he was come nigh to Jericho. He mentions but one blind man. In repeating
Christ’s words he saith, Jesus saidunto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath
savedthee. And immediately he receivedhis sight, and followedhim,
glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
Our Lord presently gives his disciples a demonstration of what he had said,
that he came to minister, to serve even the poorestand most despicable
creatures. Jericho was a city not far from Jordan, Joshua 3:16; it was taken,
Joshua 6:1-27, and upon the division of the land fell within the lot of
Benjamin, Joshua 18:21. Our Saviour took it in his way from Galilee to
Jerusalem. Probably these blind men, or Bartimaeus at least, who alone is
mentioned by Mark and Luke, hearing Christ was coming, satfirst on the side
of Jericho next Galilee, and then got him on the other side, as our Saviour was
leaving the town. Which makes Luke say, as he was come nigh; and the two
other evangelists say, as he went out of Jericho, he satbegging. Bartimaeus
being (as it should seem) the most known, and the most famous, is alone
mentioned by Mark and Luke. Matthew (naming none) saith there were two;
which Mark and Luke deny not, but knowing only the name of the one of
them, they mention only one. They speak to our Saviour under the notion of
the Song of Solomonof David, by which they owned him as the true Messias;
for that was a title by which the Messias wasknownamongstthe Jews,
according to the prophecies of him. They ask him for mercy; they continue in
their cry, though the multitudes rebuked them, as possibly thinking they only
came to ask some alms, and were too importunate, seeing our Lord seemed
not to regardthem. God sometimes trieth our faith by delays, how it will hold
out, but he never frustrateth it. This minds us of our duty, to pray without

ceasing. Christstops, calleththem, asks them what they would have. They
seemmost sensible of their bodily wants, and answer, Lord, that our eyes may
be opened. Jesus hath compassiononthem, toucheth their eyes, (Christ
sometimes, but not always in healing, touched the affectedpart), and (as Luke
saith) he said, Receive thy sight. The miracle is wrought; they presently are
able to see. Luke addeth, that Christ said, Thy faith hath savedthee. We have
met with the same phrase before. I have made thee whole, but thy faith in me
hath prevailed with me to do it. Their faith in his power was seen,
1. In their owning him as the true Messiah;so able to do it.
2. In their imploring his mercy, and going on in their cries of that nature,
though they met with a rebuke.
Faith and fervent prayer do greatthings with God, because ofhis compassion.
The prayer of faith shall save the sick, Jam 5:15. The effectualfervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much, Jam 5:16. Nor is any man so mean and
contemptible in the world, (these two blind men were beggars), but if they can
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, if they will lie in Christ’s way, if they will cry
unto him, and not give over their cries, they shall obtain at our Saviour’s
hands greaterthings than these. This miracle gains God glory from the
multitude, and from the blind man not only praise, but a resolution to follow
Christ. This should be the effectof all salvations wrought for us. Mercyis then
duly improved, when it bringeth forth in our hearts glory and praise to God,
and engagesus to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Saviour had wrought his
former miracles in Galilee, where the witnesses ofthem were remote; he hath
now two witnessesin the province of Judea, who go along with him towards
Jerusalem, where we shall find him in the next chapter.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

So Jesus had compassionon them,.... His bowels moved towards them as a
man; he pitied their miserable and distressedcondition, and discoveredthe
tenderness of his heart towards them by some outward sign, by his looks, or
by some gesture or another:
and touched their eyes;with his bare hand, without the use of any instrument
or medicine. The Ethiopic version adds; "and said unto them, according to
your faith shall it be unto you"; which seems to be takenout of Matthew 9:29.
The EvangelistMark relates, that "Jesus saidunto him (Bartimaeus) go thy
way, thy faith hath made thee whole":not that the virtue of healing came
from the actof faith, but from the object of it; his faith was not the cause of,
nor the reasonwhy, but the wayand means in and by which he receivedthe
cure:
and immediately their eyes receivedsight; or, as the Syriac and Persic
versions render the words, "that moment their eyes were opened":the cure
was wrought at once, directly; a clearproof of the omnipotence of Christ, and
of his true and proper deity: the words, "their eyes", are not in some copies:
and are omitted by the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, which
read thus, "they immediately saw". The Persic versionadds, and they saw the
world; the men and things of it, which they either had never seenbefore, or, at
least, for a considerable time; which must be a very surprising and agreeable
sight to them.
And they followedhim; in a corporalsense they joined the multitude, and
went after him to Jerusalem;partly to express their gratitude for such a
wonderful favour bestowedupon them; and partly that they might be
witnesses ofthe power of his deity, and the truth of his Messiahship, as they
went along, and at Jerusalem:and in a spiritual sense;they became his
disciples, they embracedhis doctrines, believed in him as the Messiah,
submitted to his ordinances, imitated him in the exercise of grace, andin the
performance of duty: for, at the same time he restoredtheir bodily sight, he
gave them a spiritual one to look to him, and follow him, the light of the
world, that they might enjoy the light of life in another world.
Geneva Study Bible

So Jesus had compassionon them, and touched their eyes:and immediately
their eyes receivedsight, and they followedhim.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 20:34. σπλαγχνισθεὶς. Note the frequent reference to Christ’s pity in
this gospel(Matthew 9:36, Matthew 14:14, Matthew 15:32, and here).—τῶν
ὀμμάτων, a synonym for ὀφθαλμῶν, as if with some regard to style which the
scribes might have been expectedto appreciate, but have not (ὀφθ., thrice,
T.R.). ὄμμα is poetic in class. Greek.—ἠκολούθησαν, they followedHim, like
the rest, without guide (sine hodego, Beng.), so showing at once that their eyes
were opened and their hearts grateful.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
34. they followedhim] It is probable that very many of those who had received
sight and soundness of limb by the word or touch of Jesus followedHim to
Jerusalem.
followed]Jesus Himself leads the procession. SeeLuke 19:28.
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 20:34. Σπλαγχνισθεὶς, being moved with compassion)The
compassionofJesus was arousedby every human misery.—ἠκολούθησαν
Αὐτῷ, they followedHim) with the multitudes mentioned in ch. Matthew 21:8,
and without any one to lead them.[898]
[898]Sc. as formerly, when they were blind.—ED.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 34. - Touchedtheir eyes. Only St. Matthew mentions this action of our
Lord; but in all other casesofthe cure of blindness the healing touch of the
Man accompaniedthe word of the God (comp. Matthew 9:29; Mark 8:23;

John 9:6), and Christ did not now depart from his usual practice. Thus, as we
have noticed before, he connectedthe cure with himself. He proved that his
flesh takenunto the Godheadwas life-giving, remedial, efficacious;and he
confirmed the faith of the sufferers and bystanders by showing that there was
no deceit or collusion. The other synoptists give Christ's assurance to the men,
that the restorationof their sight was the reward of faith - a faith exhibited by
the invocationof Jesus as "Sonof David," by continued importunity amid
surrounding difficulties, by confidence in his powerand willingness to heal
brought to a point by Christ's question, "Whatwill ye that I shall do unto
you?" They followedhim. A fact only less remarkable than the miracle that
led to it. The impulse of a grateful heart drew them along the road which the
Saviour travelled. They may have accompaniedhim to Jerusalem, and joined
the applauding multitude which escortedhim to the holy city, and employed
their new powerof sight in observing that wonderful spectaclewhichthe next
few days afforded. One, at any rate, of these men, Bartimaeus, seems to have
become knownin the early Church as a devotedfollowerof Christ, and hence
his name is recordedfor all time in the sacrednarrative.
END OF BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
So Jesus had compassionon them - Σπλαγχνιαθεις, He was moved with tender
pity. The tender pity of Christ met the earnestcry of the blind men, and their
immediate cure was the result.
They followedhim - As a proof of the miracle that was wrought, and of the
gratitude which they felt to their benefactor. For other particulars of this
miraculous cure, see the notes on Mark 10:46, etc.

Reader, whosoeverthou art, act in behalf of thy soul as these blind men did in
behalf of their sight, and thy salvationis sure. Apply to the Son of David; lose
not a moment; he is passing by, and thou art passing into eternity, and
probably wilt never have a more favorable opportunity than the present. The
Lord increase thy earnestnessandfaith!
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
And Jesus, being moved with compassion, touchedtheir eyes;and straightway
they receivedtheir sight, and followed him.
Christ's wonderful compassionsethim apart from others. Alas, compassionis
not a common human trait. How few there are who have the grace to see and
the compassionto pity the sufferings of others. It is far easierto ascribe their
woeful condition to their own sins or misdeeds and to go blindly and
heedlesslyonwardwithout regard to those of our fellow mortals who make up
the company of earth's wretchedsufferers. How glorious it is that Jesus saw
the man, and all the human tragedy, and the bleeding human heart that beat
beneath the beggar's tatteredshirt. H. Leo Boles observedfrom Mark's
accountthat Jesus bade them, "Go thy way." And yet, with an affectionate
disobedience, they followedhim as their benefactor.
It was their way to follow him, since they were obedient after all. The blessing
which they sought in receiving sight may have led them to become his disciples
and receive spiritual blessings.[4]
ENDNOTE:
[4] H. Leo Boles, A Commentary on the Gospelaccording to Matthew
(Nashville: The GospelAdvocate Company, 1961), p. 408.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

So Jesus had compassionon them,.... His bowels moved towards them as a
man; he pitied their miserable and distressedcondition, and discoveredthe
tenderness of his heart towards them by some outward sign, by his looks, or
by some gesture or another: parpat and touched their eyes;with his bare
hand, without the use of any instrument or medicine. The Ethiopic version
adds; "and said unto them, according to your faith shall it be unto you";
which seems to be taken out of Matthew 9:29. The EvangelistMark relates,
that "Jesus saidunto him (Bartimaeus) go thy way, thy faith hath made thee
whole":not that the virtue of healing came from the act of faith, but from the
objectof it; his faith was not the cause of, nor the reasonwhy, but the way and
means in and by which he receivedthe cure:
and immediately their eyes receivedsight; or, as the Syriac and Persic
versions render the words, "that moment their eyes were opened":the cure
was wrought at once, directly; a clearproof of the omnipotence of Christ, and
of his true and proper deity: the words, "their eyes", are not in some copies:
and are omitted by the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, which
read thus, "they immediately saw". The Persic versionadds, and they saw the
world; the men and things of it, which they either had never seenbefore, or, at
least, for a considerable time; which must be a very surprising and agreeable
sight to them.
And they followedhim; in a corporalsense they joined the multitude, and
went after him to Jerusalem; partly to express their gratitude for such a
wonderful favour bestowedupon them; and partly that they might be
witnesses ofthe power of his deity, and the truth of his Messiahship, as they
went along, and at Jerusalem:and in a spiritual sense;they became his
disciples, they embracedhis doctrines, believed in him as the Messiah,
submitted to his ordinances, imitated him in the exercise of grace, andin the
performance of duty: for, at the same time he restoredtheir bodily sight, he
gave them a spiritual one to look to him, and follow him, the light of the
world, that they might enjoy the light of life in another world.
People's New Testament

Jesus... touchedtheir eyes. The faith of the blind men had saved them.
Compare Mark and Luke. Faith saved. The blind Bartimæus (1) askedabout
Jesus as he passed;(2) cried to him as the Son of David, the Messiah;(3) asked
for mercy; (4) kept on crying when they tried to stop him; (5) when permitted,
sprang up and hurried to Jesus;(6) askedofhim to receive his sight. This is
faith in action.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Touchedtheir eyes (ηπσατο των ομματων — hēpsato tōn ommatōn). A
synonym for οπταλμων— ophthalmōn in Mark 8:23 and here alone in the
N.T. In the lxx and a common poetic word (Euripides) and occurs in the
papyri. In modern Greek ματια μου — matia mou (abbreviation) means
“light of my eye,” “my darling.” The verb απτομαι — haptomai is very
common in the Synoptic Gospels. The touch of Christ‘s hand would sooththe
eyes as they were healed.
The Fourfold Gospel
And Jesus, being moved with compassion, touchedtheir eyes;and straightway
they receivedtheir sight, and followed him1.
And straightwaythey receivedtheir sight, and followed him. See .
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
Matthew 20:34.And followed him. This was an expressionof gratitude, (673)
when the blind men became followers ofChrist; for, though it is uncertain
how long they dischargedthis duty, yet it showeda grateful mind, that they

presentedthemselves to many, in that journey, as mirrors of the grace of
Christ. Luke adds, that the people gave praise to God, which tends to prove
the certainty of the miracle.
Hawker's PoorMan's Commentary
REFLECTIONS
Who can read in this Chapter, the striking Parable of the householderhiring
laborers into his Vineyard, and not feelconviction at the free, sovereign,
purposing, appointing, carrying on, and completing grace ofGod? Is not the
Vineyard of the Lord of hosts, his Church: and every plant in it of the Lord's
right hand planting? What! if Jesus sends his under servants his ministers to
labor in his service;or calls his people to sit down under his shadow, do either
lessenthe right and property of the Almighty owner? Is not the whole his, by
gift, by purchase, by right, by conquest, and by power? And is it not separated
by redeeming grace from the world's wide wilderness, and fencedin with
love? Ye ministers of my God! esteemit the highest honor, to labor within the
sacredinclosure, and be more anxious to win souls than to win kingdoms. Ye
children of the Lord! whether in the early, mid-day, or later calls of his grace;
bless God for the distinguishing mercy. Soonwill the evening of life come;and
the Lord of the Vineyard will callye home, from his courts below to his
heaven above.
Precious Lord Jesus!I behold thee by the eye of faith in thine ascentto
Jerusalem!Yes! truly there thou wastdelivered for our offences and raised
againfor our justification! Grant me dearestLord to be more anxious to be
brought under the continual baptisms of thy spirit, than to arrive at the
highest temporal honors. A door-keeperin thy house, far exceeds the golden
tents of the ungodly.
In the review of my Lord's mercy to those poor blind men, and the grace
imparted to them to be so earnestwith Jesus for bodily sight; teachme, thou
gracious giverof eyes to the blind, to imitate their cries for spiritual
apprehension of my Lord's person, work, and righteousness.Oh! for grace to

see the king in his beauty, and to have my soul so awakenedto desires after
Christ, that I may follow my God and Saviorby faith here, till in open vision I
shall see him as he is, and dwell with him forever!
John Trapp Complete Commentary
34 So Jesus had compassiononthem, and touched their eyes:and immediately
Ver. 34. And Jesus had compassionon them] He made their case his own.
Misericordia Mercysounds as much as misery laid to heart. Christ’s heart
sounded upon the sight and suit of these blind beggars, Isaiah63:15, and this
was beyond all alms, should he have done no more for them. Forwhen one
gives an alms, he gives somewhatwithout himself, but by compassionwe
relieve anotherby somewhatwithin and from ourselves, while we draw out
our soul (not our sheafonly) to the hungry, Isaiah58:10.
And immediately their eyes receivedsight] This is not every blind man’s
happiness, that yet prays for sight. But there is a better eyesightthan that of
the body, which if God vouchsafe to any in bodily blindness (as he did to that
blind boy of Gloucesterthat had suffered imprisonment there for confessing
the truth) it may be said to such surely, as BishopHooper the martyr did to
him, Ah, poor boy, God hath takenfrom thee thy outward sight, but hath
given thee another much more precious, &c. (Acts and Mon.) The like favour
God showedto Didimus Alexandrinus, who though blind from his childhood,
yet was not only an excellentartist, but an able divine; and wrote certain
commentaries on the Psalms, and likewise onthe Gospels;being now (saith
Jerome, who relates it) above 83 years of age. Trithemius and Bozius report
the like things concerning one Nicasius de Voarda, a Dutchman, who being
struck blind at three years old, became nevertheless anexcellentscholar, and

skilful in the laws, which he publicly professedatCollen. Afterwards he
proceededMasterof Arts at Lovain, Licentiate in Divinity at the same
University, and lastly Doctorof the Laws at Cullen; where, after he had
printed his public lectures, he died, and was buried in the Cathedral Church,
A.D. 1491, 17 Calend. September. (August 16.)
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Matthew 20:34. And they followedhim— The blind men travelled along with
Jesus, perhaps all the way to Jerusalem, being deeply affectedwith a sense of
his powerand goodness, andearnestlydesirous to shew their gratitude, by
declaring openly to all the persons they met, what a great miracle Jesus had
performed upon them. Besides by following him in the road without any
guide, they put the truth of the miracle beyond all suspicion. Accordingly St.
Luke tells us, Luke 18:43 that the people, when they saw what was done, were
thankful to God for the mercy of the cure, and acknowledgedthe divine
mission of the prophet who had performed it, and who, before the cure, had
been addressedby the blind men as the Son of David, or the Messiah, The
allegoricalreflectionwhichErasmus makes on this circumstance is beautiful:
"Thus Jesus by his touch cures the mind, which is blinded by worldly lusts,
and gives light for this end, that we may follow his footsteps."
Inferences.—Ofwhatvast meaning and high importance are the concluding
words of our Lord's awakening parable in this chapter! Many are called, but
few are chosen. We ought often to meditate upon them, that we may not
content ourselves with having the offers of the Gospelmade to us, or even with
being admitted into the visible church of God, but may give all diligence to
make our calling and electionsure.
We are summoned to a course of holy labour, even to work in our Lord's
vineyard; or in every station, whether public or private, to do our utmost to
promote the glory of God, and the happiness of mankind. With so many calls,
and so many advantages, shallwe stand all the day idle? No; rather let us be

active and patient, and cheerfully willing to bear all the burden and heat of
the day in so gooda cause;knowing that ere long the evening will come, and
that he who employs us, saith, Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with
me, to give to every man according as his work shall be.
It is an encouraging thought to those who have long neglectedthe great
business of life, that some were calledat the eleventh hour; but it will be
dangerous indeed for any to presume on their having such a call. It will be
delusive and erroneous to strain the parable so far, as to imagine that an equal
reward awaits all, without any regard to their characters orimprovements;
for this is most contrary to the reasonof things, to the word of God, and to the
greatintent of that day, which is to render to every man according to his
works. The Gentiles are indeed now calledto equal privileges with the Jews, to
which this circumstance of the parable refers; and we all see how odious a
temper it was in that favourite nation to be offended with the Gospelon that
account, which should rather have recommended it to their most joyful
acceptance. It should be our care to avoid every degree of envy, whoevermay
be put on a level with, or preferred to us; acknowledging the sovereignright
of God to do what he will with his own, nor suffering our eye to be evil and
malicious, because he is bountiful and good. To prevent this, we should labour
after that unfeigned love to the brethren, which will never allow us to repine
at their advancement, but will engage us to rejoice in their honour and
happiness; so shall we exchange the basestand most uneasypassionof human
nature, for that which is of all others the noblest and most delightful.
He, who had his own time and ours in his hand, foreknew and foretold the
approachof his dissolution; Matthew 20:17-19. When men are near their end,
and ready to make their will, then is it reasonable to sue for legacies. Thus did
the mother of Zebedee's children. It is an uncommon stile which is given to
this woman. It had been as easyto have saidthe wife of Zebedee, or the sister
of Mary, or of Joseph, orplain Salome;but now, by an unusual description;
she is stiled the mother of Zebedee's children. Zebedee was an obscure man;
she, as his wife, was no better: the greatesthonour she ever had, or could
have, was to have two such sons as James and John; those gave a title to both
their parents. Honour ascends as wellas descends;holy children dignify the
loins whence they proceed, no less than they derive honour from their parents.

Salome might be a good wife, a goodwoman, a goodneighbor, but all these
cannot ennoble her so much as being the mother of Zebedee's children.
The suit was the sons';but by the mouth of their mother. It is not
discommendable in parents to seek the preferment of their children: why may
not Abraham sue for an Ishmael? So it be by lawful means, in a moderate
measure, and in due order, this endeavour cannot be amiss.
He, who knew all their thoughts afar off, yet, as if he had been a strangerto
their purposes, asks, Whatwouldestthou? Our infirmities do then best shame
us, when they are drawn out of our own mouths; like as our prayers also serve
not to acquaint God with our wants, but to make us the more capable of his
mercies.
Our Saviour had said, that his twelve followers should sit upon twelve
thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. This goodwoman would have
her two sons next his person, the prime peers of his kingdom. Every one is apt
to wish the best for his own: worldly honour is neither worth our suit, nor
unworthy our acceptance:yes, Salome, had thy mind been in heaven; hadst
thou intended this desired pre-eminence in that desired state of glory, yet I
know not how to justify thine ambition.
The mother asks,the sons have the answer. To convince them of their
unfitness for glory,—they are sent to their impotency in suffering, Are ye able,
&c.? Matthew 20:22. O Saviour! even thou, who art one with thy Father,
hadst a cup of thine own; never portion was so bitter as that which was mixed
for thee; it is not enough for thee to sip of this cup, thou must drink it up even
to the very dregs. When the vinegarand gall were tendered to thee by men,
thou didst but kiss the cup; but when thy Fathergave into thine hands a
portion infinitely more distasteful; thou for our health didst drink deep of it,
even to the bottom; and saidst, It is finished. And can we repine at those
unpleasing draughts of affliction which are tempered for us sinful men, when
we see thee, the Son of thy Father's love, thus dieted? We pledge thee, O
blessedSaviour! we pledge thee according to our weakness, who hastbegun to
us in thy powerful sufferings: only do thou enable us, after the natural
struggles ofreluctant nature are over, at lastwillingly to pledge thee in our

constantsufferings for thee; for if thou hast not grudged thy precious blood to
us, well mayst thou challenge some worthless drops from us; through many
tribulations must we enter into the kingdom of heaven. Let who will hope to
walk upon roses and violets thither, I will trace thee, O Saviour! by the track
of thy blood, and by thy red steps follow thee to thine eternal rest.
The motion of the two disciples was not more full of infirmity than their
answer:—We are able; out of an eagerdesire of the honour, they are ready to
undertake the condition. The best men may be mistakenin their own powers:
alas, how striking an instance have we in the case ofour Lord's followers!
when it came to the issue, They all forsook him, and fled. It is one thing to
suffer in speculation, anotherin practice. There cannot be a worse sign than
for a man in a carnalpresumption to vaunt of his own abilities: how justly
does God suffer that man to be foiled, on purpose that he may be ashamed of
his ownvain confidence!O God, let me ever be humbled in the sense of my
own insufficiency; let me give all the glory to thee, and take nothing to myself
but my infirmities.
Oh the wonderful mildness of the Son of God! He does not chide the two
disciples, either for their ambition in suing, or their presumption in
undertaking; but, leaving the worst, he takes the best of their answer;and,
omitting their errors, encouragestheir goodintentions. Ye shall drink indeed,
&c. Matthew 20:23. Were it not as high honour to drink of thy cup, O
Saviour, thou hadst not promised it as a favour: I am deceived, if what thou
grantedstwas much less than that which thou deniedst. To pledge thee in
thine own cup, is not much less dignity and familiarity than to sit by thee. If
we suffer with thee, we shall also reign togetherwith thee: what greater
promotion canflesh and blood be capable of, than a conformity to the Lord of
life and glory?—Enable thou me to drink of thy cup, and then seatme where
thou wilt.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, The parable with which this chapter opens, is a
comment on the text which concluded the foregoing chapter, and represents to
us the Gospeldispensation, and this with particular applicationto the Jews
and Gentiles;the former of whom were ever for excluding the latter from all
the blessings ofthe Messiah'skingdom, and could never endure the thoughts

of the heathen being admitted to equal privileges with themselves. But so God
had ordained; and though for their fathers' sakes the first offers of the Gospel
were to be made to them, yet the Gentiles were shortly to be admitted to the
same high privileges, and glorious dispensation. But I have enlargedso fully
on this parable, in the critical notes and the Inferences, that I refer my reader
to them for every thing which I judge it necessaryto advance on this subject.
2nd, To prepare them for that scene of distress and sufferings on which he
was about to enter, our Lord once more took his disciples apart, as they went
up togetherto Jerusalem, and repeatedwhat he had said before, chap.
Matthew 16:21, Matthew 17:22-23 informing them now more particularly
concerning the manner of his sufferings and death, which he had foretold:
that he should not only be betrayed into his enemies'hands, but persecuted
with unrelenting malice, and by a most unrighteous sentence condemnedto
die: that he should be delivered to the Gentiles, the Romans, who alone had
then the powerof life and death in Judaea;and, after enduring the most
shocking and barbarous indignities, should suffer death—tidings that no
doubt filled them with horror and dismay: but he adds, for their comfort and
support, that on the third day he should rise again. Note;In all the troubles
that we feel or fear, it is a comfort to look forward to a resurrection-day.
3rdly, Far from being cured of their national prejudices by all the sufferings
which our Lord had foretold them he should endure, they concluded that
these would be only the prelude to the glorious manifestation of his temporal
powerat his rising again. And therefore,
1. Two of the disciples, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, with their
mother Salome, who is supposed to have been nearly related to Joseph, and
might therefore hope to have a strong interest in Jesus, came to their Master,
and, through her preferring their request, with deep respectshe besoughthim
to grant her a favour; and being ordered to name it, she desiredhim to confer
on her two sons the first honours of that temporal kingdom which they shortly
expectedwould appear.
2. Pitying their ignorance and weakness, insteadof upbraiding their pride and
folly, our Lord turned to the two disciples, and gently admonished them,

saying, Ye know not what ye ask:your notions of the nature of my kingdom
are utterly mistaken: it is not an earthly throne to which I shall be exalted:
and as mistakenare you in the means of attaining the honours that you seek.
You are not aware of the sufferings and trials which must be endured by all
those who would come to reign with me. Through much tribulation lies the
entrance into heaven; and canyou, think ye, drink of my bitter cup, or bear to
be baptized in blood, as I must shortly be? Such sufferings as these they were
not prepared for: their ambition lookedso high, that they saw not the dangers
which were before them, nor knew what manner of spirit they were of. Note;
(1.) They who would reign with Christ, must first suffer with him; and every
Christian should well count the cost, before he begins to take up his cross. (2.)
In all our sufferings it should sweetenour cup to think that Christ has drank
of it before us, and all the bitterness of sin he has takenaway.
3. Their self-confidence is a natural consequenceoftheir pride; and therefore
without hesitationthey boldly engage fortheir own ability and fidelity;
though, alas!they were sad strangers to themselves, and knew not what they
said. Note;Young converts are often very forward, till sad experience has
taught them their own weakness.
4. Christ replies, and assures them that they shall suffer for him, and in a
manner which they probably at that time little apprehended. But though they
did so, still he left their request in suspense. The honour they soughtwas not
to be given, unless to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. See the
notes.
5. The same ambitious spirit which spake in the request of John and James,
equally appearedin the indignation of the other ten againstthem; who each
thought himself as much entitled to the superiority which they desired. They
did not grieve for the sin of their brethren, but were angry at what they
conceivedan affront to themselves;and, while they violently condemned the
ambition of the other disciples, were, like too many, blind to the same spirit in
their own hearts. Note;Desire of pre-eminence is among the most fruitful
sources ofdisputes among brethren. Insteadof being in his own eyes the last
and the least, eachis for assuming a superiority, which the proud heart of his
fellow is very unwilling to admit.

6. To silence the dispute, and strike at the rootof the evil, Jesus with the
greatesttenderness calledthem to him; and, to beat down that spirit of
ambition, so evil in itself, and so peculiarly unbecoming their holy and humble
profession, he endeavours to undeceive them respecting the nature of his
kingdom, which was purely spiritual. The kings and princes of the Gentiles
indeed thirsted after dominion and despotic sway, and the more potent
exercisedunbounded authority over their weakervassalsand subjects;but
utterly unlike them must their conduct be. Their greatnessmust consist, not in
lording it over God's heritage, but in their abounding labours; not in aspiring
desires to rule, but in humble endeavours to promote the salvationof men's
souls. The only laudable ambition that Jesus canapprove, is the holy strife
who shall be most condescending, and the first in every work and labour of
love to serve the meanestwho bear the Christian name. Nordid he, their
Master, recommendaught to them, of which himself had not setthem an
eminent example, who came not to take state upon himself, and be served with
earthly pomp and grandeur; but humbled himself to the lowestoffices in the
service of men's souls and bodies; and, after living the life of a servant, was
about to die the death of a slave; that by the sacrifice of himself he might give
his life a ransom for many, even for the whole world, but especiallyfor them
that believe and endure to the end; in order to redeem them from the guilt
and powerof their sins, and from the wrath of God which they had provoked:
having him therefore for such a pattern of humility, they were peculiarly
obliged to copy after it. Note;(1.) The affectationof earthly pomp and
splendor is utterly unbecoming those who pretend to be the ministers of the
meek and humble Jesus. (2.)The church of Christ has never suffered greater
injuries than from the tyranny and oppressionof those, who, professing to be
the successors ofthe Apostles, seemto have inherited nothing from them, but
that lordly, ambitious, and domineering spirit, for which Jesus so justly
reprimanded them. (3.) The only allowable ambition among the ministers of
Christ is, who shall be most humble and serviceable to their brethren, and
herein most conform to their blessedMaster's image.
4thly, Advancing still towards Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples passed
through Jericho, attended as usual by a vastmultitude, whom curiosity to
hear him or to see his miracles, desire to learn, or want of his healing

influence, had drawn together; when behold a wondrous instance of his power
and compassionappears.
1. Two blind men, beggars, satby the way-side, and hearing from some of the
multitude, that the famed prophet of Nazareth, who had wrought so many
miracles, was passing by, they immediately concludedit a most providential
circumstance, and with united and loud supplications cried out incessantly,
Have mercy on us, O Lord thou Son of David. Note; (1.) In these blind
beggars we may behold a lively emblem of our own souls in their natural state.
Our understanding is darkness, and we are utterly destitute of all good,
perishing inevitably in want and wretchedness, unless the divine mercy
respectour misery and relieve us. (2.) They who feel their real state, will cry
after Jesus, the only hope of the miserable and the destitute. (3.) Providential
opportunities should be improved; if we neglectthem now, they never may
return.
2. They made so loud a noise, and cried so vehemently, that the multitude
rebuked them as troublesome, and bade them be silent. But this only made
them redouble their prayers, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of
David: thou, who art so able to help us, whose tender mercies have been so
often extended to others, let our pitiable case engagethy notice, and move thy
wonted compassions. And herein they have set us a noble example, (1.) Of
fervent prayer. Their wants were great;they felt them with deep sensibility;
therefore they cried so loud, so perseveringly: so should we do. We may meet
with many discouragements in seeking Christ; but these, instead of silencing
our prayer, should quicken our importunity. (2.) Of confident faith. They
were fully persuaded, that what they asked, he was willing and able to grant
them. His power as the Lord, his office as the Son of David, emboldened their
trust in his mercy. It is by faith that we must thus in every distress honour
Jesus by casting our care upon him, pleading his name as the ground of our
confidence. (3.) Of deep humility. They ask for mercy alone, referring
themselves intirely to him for the manner in which he pleases to dispense it to
them. We have no merit; can claim nothing at God's hands; deserve nothing
but wrath and hell: all our hope is in his boundless grace, to supply all our
poverty and wretchedness, to pardon our guilt, and to bestow the graces ofthe

spirit, and thereby all the great privileges of the gospeldispensation. This
mercy grant, O Sonof David!
3. Christ, who had heard their cries, and knew what rebukes they had met
with, stoodand calledthem to him; for he delights to revive the spirit of the
contrite, and to relieve the wants of the miserable. He bids them therefore
prefer their request, intimating his readiness to grant the mercy they had so
importunately sought. Note;The promises of Christ give an unlimited scope to
our prayers; we can ask nothing really goodfor us, which Jesus is not willing
to borrow.
4. The poor blind men have a ready answer:Lord, that our eyes may be
opened. They ask not for silver or gold, but for a boon far more difficult to be
granted, which yet they are assuredhe can easilybestow. We have need to
prefer the same prayer every day; and would to God we were more deeply
affectedwith our spiritual blindness, that our applications might be more
frequent and fervent.
5. Their cure is immediate. The compassions ofJesus leftthem not in
suspense:he touched their eyes;a flood of day instantly broke upon them; and
joining the company, they joyfully followedhim, testifying their gratitude,
love, and praise. Note; They who are enlightened by the Redeemer's grace,
will from that moment cleave to him in his holy ways, and gratefully labour to
advance his glory.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
Matthew 20:34. σπλαγχνισθεὶς, being moved with compassion)The
compassionof Jesus was arousedby every human misery.— ἠκολούθησαν
αὐτῷ, they followedHim) with the multitudes mentioned in ch. Matthew 21:8,
and without any one to lead them.(898)
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible

Ver. 29-34. Mark repeateththe same story, Mark 10:46-52, with severalmore
circumstances.
1. He mentions only one blind man, and nameth him Bartimaeus, the sonof
Timaeus. He saith, the blind man was begging.
Mark saith, when Christ calledthe blind man, they said unto him, Be of good
comfort, rise; he calleththee. And he, casting awayhis garment, rose, and
came to Jesus. He further adds, that Christ saidunto him, Go thy way; thy
faith hath made thee whole. Luke relates the same, Luke 18:35-43. He saith,
As he was come nigh to Jericho. He mentions but one blind man. In repeating
Christ’s words he saith, Jesus saidunto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath
savedthee. And immediately he receivedhis sight, and followedhim,
glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
Our Lord presently gives his disciples a demonstration of what he had said,
that he came to minister, to serve even the poorestand most despicable
creatures. Jericho was a city not far from Jordan, Joshua 3:16; it was taken,
Joshua 6:1-27, and upon the division of the land fell within the lot of
Benjamin, Joshua 18:21. Our Saviour took it in his way from Galilee to
Jerusalem. Probably these blind men, or Bartimaeus at least, who alone is
mentioned by Mark and Luke, hearing Christ was coming, satfirst on the side
of Jericho next Galilee, and then got him on the other side, as our Saviour was
leaving the town. Which makes Luke say, as he was come nigh; and the two
other evangelists say, as he went out of Jericho, he satbegging. Bartimaeus
being (as it should seem) the most known, and the most famous, is alone
mentioned by Mark and Luke. Matthew (naming none) saith there were two;
which Mark and Luke deny not, but knowing only the name of the one of
them, they mention only one. They speak to our Saviour under the notion of
the Sonof David, by which they owned him as the true Messias;for that was a
title by which the Messiaswas knownamongstthe Jews, according to the
prophecies of him. They ask him for mercy; they continue in their cry, though
the multitudes rebuked them, as possibly thinking they only came to ask some
alms, and were too importunate, seeing our Lord seemednot to regardthem.
God sometimes trieth our faith by delays, how it will hold out, but he never
frustrateth it. This minds us of our duty, to pray without ceasing. Christstops,
calleth them, asks them what they would have. They seemmost sensible of

their bodily wants, and answer, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. Jesus hath
compassiononthem, toucheth their eyes, (Christ sometimes, but not always in
healing, touched the affectedpart), and (as Luke saith) he said, Receive thy
sight. The miracle is wrought; they presently are able to see. Luke addeth,
that Christ said, Thy faith hath savedthee. We have met with the same phrase
before. I have made thee whole, but thy faith in me hath prevailed with me to
do it. Their faith in his power was seen,
1. In their owning him as the true Messiah;so able to do it.
2. In their imploring his mercy, and going on in their cries of that nature,
though they met with a rebuke.
Faith and fervent prayer do greatthings with God, because ofhis compassion.
The prayer of faith shall save the sick, James 5:15. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much, James 5:16. Nor is any man so mean
and contemptible in the world, (these two blind men were beggars), but if they
can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, if they will lie in Christ’s way, if they
will cry unto him, and not give over their cries, they shall obtain at our
Saviour’s hands greaterthings than these. This miracle gains God glory from
the multitude, and from the blind man not only praise, but a resolutionto
follow Christ. This should be the effectof all salvations wrought for us. Mercy
is then duly improved, when it bringeth forth in our hearts glory and praise to
God, and engages us to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Saviour had
wrought his former miracles in Galilee, where the witnesses ofthem were
remote; he hath now two witnessesin the province of Judea, who go along
with him towards Jerusalem, where we shall find him in the next chapter.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
34. Touchedtheir eyes — To show that the miracle was no coincidence or
accident, but the immediate effectof divine power. His finger was the visible
conductor of invisible omnipotence. Mark says that our Lord uttered the
words “Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole.” Some miracles early in
his ministry, our Lord performed before their faith, in order to create faith;

other miracles he performed subsequent to their faith, to reward and thus
increase faith. And they followedhim — He had bidden them “Go thy way;”
but with an affectionate disobedience theyfollowedtheir benefactor. Perhaps
they concluded that their “way” was to follow his footsteps.
We may suppose, that as our Saviour crossedthe Jordan, and came acrossthe
deserttract betweenthe Jordan and Jericho, he walks at the head of his train
of twelve disciples. As he departs from Jericho, his fame and the idea that he
is on his way to Jerusalemattractthe multitude to follow him. Matthew 20:1.
From Jericho he mounts the ascending hills of bleak limestone rocks,
celebratedat that time as a route of danger from robber hordes, and
characterizedfrom that time to this as a scene ofdesertdreariness. It was the
scene ofthe parable of the goodSamaritan. By the same route that the men
went down from Jerusalemto Jericho, and fell among thieves, did our Lord
go up from Jericho to Jerusalem. Some miles he walks, whenBethany appears
in a distant view, a little wide-spreadvillage, perched upon a shelf of the
easternside of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem. He
arrived at Bethany, according to John 12:1, six days before his lastpassover;
the six days of what has been calledin the Church, with true propriety, THE
PASSION WEEK. Of the events of that week Matthew now proceeds to
furnish a narration.
PeterPett's Commentary on the Bible
‘And Jesus, being moved with compassion, touchedtheir eyes, and
immediately they receivedtheir sight, and followedhim.’
For moved with compassionHe touched their eyes and they immediately
receivedtheir sight and followedHim. The personal contactwas very much
part of Jesus’methods (compare Matthew 8:3; Matthew 8:15; Matthew 9:25;
Matthew 9:29), and the compassiona constant feature of His ministry
(Matthew 9:36; Matthew 14:14;Matthew 15:32), while the immediate total
successofthe healing was His trademark. So Jerusalemwas receiving
advancedwarning that the time promised by Isaiahwas here, and that it was
at the hands of the compassionateand powerful ‘Son of David’.

Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Matthew 20:34. Touchedtheir eyes. Peculiarto Matthew: the other Gospels
insert： ‘Thy faith hath savedthee.’ The question of Matthew 20:32 was
designedto call forth an expressionof this faith.—‘Thousands have read this
simple and touching story as a truthful history of their own spiritual
blindness, and its removal through the abounding grace ofJesus Christ’ (J. J.
Owen).
The Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 20:34. σπλαγχνισθεὶς. Note the frequent reference to Christ’s pity in
this gospel(Matthew 9:36, Matthew 14:14, Matthew 15:32, and here).— τῶν
ὀμμάτων, a synonym for ὀφθαλμῶν, as if with some regard to style which the
scribes might have been expectedto appreciate, but have not ( ὀφθ., thrice,
T.R.). ὄμμα is poetic in class. Greek.— ἠκολούθησαν, they followedHim, like
the rest, without guide (sine hodego, Beng.), so showing at once that their eyes
were opened and their hearts grateful.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(34) So Jesus had compassion.—Literally, andJesus. It was not His purpose to
meet the popular demand for signs and wonders, but compassiondrew from
Him the work of powerwhich otherwise He would have shrunk from here.
And then the two followedHim, glorifying God. In St. Luke’s narrative the
incident is followedby the story of Zacchæus and the parable of the Pounds.
Possibly(see Note on Matthew 20:30) they precededit.
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge

So Jesus had compassionon them, and touched their eyes:and immediately
Jesus
9:36; 14:14; 15:32;Psalms 145:8;Luke 7:13; John 11:33-35;Hebrews 2:17;
Hebrews 4:15,16;1 Peter3:8
touched
9:29; Mark 7:33; Luke 22:51;John 9:6,7
and they
8:15; Psalms 119:67,71;Luke 18:43; Acts 26:18
MostRelevantVerses
Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to Me, all who are wearyand heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
"Take Myyoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is
easyand My burden is light."
Hebrews 2:17
Verse Concepts
Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might
become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to
make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Luke 7:13

Verse Concepts
When the Lord saw her, He felt compassionfor her, and said to her, "Do not
weep."
Matthew 15:32
Verse Concepts
And Jesus calledHis disciples to Him, and said, "I feelcompassionfor the
people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing
to eat; and I do not want to send them awayhungry, for they might faint on
the way."
Isaiah40:11
Verse Concepts
Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gatherthe lambs
And carry them in His bosom; He will gently leadthe nursing ewes.
Isaiah42:3
Verse Concepts
"A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not
extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
Isaiah63:9
Verse Concepts
In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved
them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemedthem, And He lifted them
and carried them all the days of old.
Matthew 8:3
Verse Concepts

Jesus stretchedout His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be
cleansed."And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matthew 8:16-17
When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed;
and He castout the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was
to fulfill what was spokenthrough Isaiah the prophet: "HE HIMSELF TOOK
OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES."
Matthew 9:36
Verse Concepts
Seeing the people, He felt compassionfor them, because they were distressed
and dispirited like sheepwithout a shepherd.
Matthew 14:14
Verse Concepts
When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassionfor them
and healedtheir sick.
Matthew 18:11-13
["Forthe Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]"What do you
think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does
he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and searchfor the one
that is straying? "If it turns out that he finds it, truly I sayto you, he rejoices
over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.
Matthew 20:34
Verse Concepts
Moved with compassion, Jesus touchedtheir eyes;and immediately they
regainedtheir sight and followed Him.

Matthew 23:37
Verse Concepts
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent
to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.
Mark 6:34
Verse Concepts
When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassionfor
them because they were like sheepwithout a shepherd; and He beganto teach
them many things.
Mark 8:2-3
"I feel compassionfor the people because theyhave remained with Me now
three days and have nothing to eat. "If I send them awayhungry to their
homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great
distance."
Luke 19:41-42
When He approachedJerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If
you had knownin this day, even you, the things which make for peace!But
now they have been hidden from your eyes.
John 11:34-38
and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and
see." Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, "See how He loved him!"read
more.

John 18:8-9
Jesus answered, "Itold you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their
way," to fulfill the word which He spoke, "Ofthose whom You have given Me
I lost not one."
2 Corinthians 8:9
Verse Concepts
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet
for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become
rich.
Hebrews 4:15
Verse Concepts
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
END OF STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
The Compassionofthe King
Series:Matthew
Sermon by J. Ligon Duncan on Mar 7, 1999
Matthew 20:29-34

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If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Matthew chapter 20.
For the last few chapters Jesus has been teaching His disciples about true
greatness.Jesus has beenemphasizing that kingdom greatness is measuredby
the yardstick of humility. He had taught us that in Matthew chapter 18. He
had taught us that salvation belongs to the little ones and those who are like
them in Matthew 19. That trusting fully in the Lord and denying oneself, and
giving instead of getting, is the mark of His true followers. In Matthew
chapter 19 he had taught that eagernessto labor for the masterwithout
asking the question what's in it for me, is the characteristicofHis true
followers. And it's the characteristic ofthose, who in the final days, though
they are counted by some to be last, they will be found to be first. Larry
Richards says this, “The disciples had askedaboutgreatness in Jesus'present
kingdom. And Jesus had answeredthem fully. Greatness involves humbling
ourselves and taking our place as one of God's little ones. Greatnessinvolves
accepting others as little ones, too. Seeking to restore when they go astray.
Having patience. And always being willing to let forgiveness washawaythe
hurts that sin must bring. Greatnessalso meanrejecting the attractive but

destructive ways in which religious people often seek greatness, to build
themselves up by their works, by their outward acts and by ritual.”
And so Matthew brings us now here at the end of Matthew chapter 20 to the
end of an entire sectionof this gospel. We are about to be ushered into the
final sectionof the gospelof Matthew. And here he gives us a deeply moving
incident which helps us sense the kind of greatness thatJesus has. And so let’s
turn to Matthew chapter 20 verse 29 and hear God's holy word. And as they
were going out from Jericho, a great multitude followedHim.
Matthew 20:29-34
Father, we do thank you for this word, and we ask that by the Spirit our eyes
would be open to understand it and that our hearts would be yielded to
obedience to it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God is teaching us one grand lessonin this passage. He is showing us the
greatness andcompassionofour Lord Jesus Christ as a picture of what true
kingdom greatness is. As the disciples are jostling amongstthemselves to be
counted great, here is Jesus ministering to outcasts. It is a picture of what true
greatness is in His kingdom. But, along the waythere are severalother
important, valuable, relevant issues that are dealt with. And I’d like to look at
those as well as we considerthis passagebefore us today. There are three
parts to the passage, andI’d like you to see two or three things.
I. We cry out to the Lord when we realize we need Him.
First, if I could direct your attention to verses 29 and 30. We see a picture
here of these two blind beggars. And they are a picture of outcasts, those who
are lastin the eyes of the world, those who are nobodies. They are
unimportant as the world counts important. And they are in dire need. Now

that's setting us up for something we're going to learn about Jesus laterin the
passage. Buteven as we see that picture, there's something else we learn. We
see here a striking example of our need and a rather surprising example of
faith where you might not expect it to come from. And we learn from these
two verses that we only cry out to the Lord when realize our need. Let me say
that again. We only cry out to the Lord when we realize our need. It is those
who realize themselves to be needy who cry out to the Lord for mercy.
Let's rehearse this story. Jericho was about 15 miles northeast of Jerusalem.
Why then in the scriptures do we always hear about going down to Jericho? I
mean isn't that like saying I went down to Starkville from Jackson? Well,
Jericho was 3300 feetlowerin altitude than Jerusalem. And so even though it
was northeastof Jerusalem, you literally went down to Jericho. Jericho was
also a very prosperous city in Jesus'day. In some ways it was a resorttown.
Very wealthy and beggars gatheredtheir, because if you were a beggarin
Jericho, you weren't likely to lack for bread. There would be somebody to
show you mercy on the roadside. By the way that road from Jericho to
Jerusalemwas also notorious for robbers and highwaymen. Wealthy people
were on their way from Jericho to Jerusalemand oftentimes they were going
to Jerusalemfor pilgrimage and they'd go that way. And so highwaymen and
robbers would wait to pounce upon you, and so it's no surprise that Jesus
actually went in a rather large group as He went from Jericho to Jerusalem,
because robbers wouldn't be likely to attack sucha large retinue of folks. If
there were just a few of you, you might wind up like that poor man that the
goodSamaritan ministered to. But if there was a very large group the robbers
would leave you alone.
At any rate, let me say before we go on with the story, that there is a little
difficulty in this passage. If you've read aheadand comparedthis passageto
its parallels in mark and in Luke, you know that there is an apparent
discrepancyabout the number of beggars and about where Jesus actually
performed this miracle. Mark and Luke only speak of one man. If you want to
look at those parallel passages,you'll find it in Mark chapter 10 verses 46 to
52, and in Luke chapter 18 verses 35 to 43. Mark and Luke speak ofone man.
In fact, mark names him, Bartimaeus, and tells us who his dad was. Matthew
speaks oftwo. On the other hand, Matthew and Mark saythis miracle

occurredwhile Jesus was leaving Jericho. Luke tells us that it occurredwhen
he was entering. Now those who do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture,
those who discount the authority of God's word, like to pick on little passages
like this and say that the Bible has mistakes. But I want you to understand
that that itself would be a grosslymistakennotion. There are solutions at
hand to these apparent differences. Let me suggesta couple.
For instance, remember that Matthew was an eye witness to this account. And
Matthew had seentwo beggars healedby the Lord. And he was interestedin
us knowing that fact, that the Lord Jesus had, in fact, dealt with both men.
Whereas Luke and Mark were not eye witnessesofthis account. They
depended for their accounton other eye witnesses andapparently wanted to
zero in on Bartimaeus who was very well known amongstthe early Christian
community. He was well knownenough that even though he was a beggar,
they knew his father's name ,which would not have been usual unless you had
been a rich and influential man. And so apparently, Mark and Luke want to
zero in on Bartimaeus, becausehe was better knownamongstearly Christians
than was the other beggarwho was healed.
As to the location, there are various solutions that have been suggested. Some
have suggestedthat perhaps Jesus met both beggars as he was entering,
healed one of them as he entered into the city. And as He was leaving the city
healed the other one, as the other continued to walk with Him. Matthew often
will compactaccounts. He will tell us a lot in few sentences leaving out certain
details in order to zero in on other details. The gospelwriters are selective in
the things that they tell us though they are never ultimately contradictory.
There's another solution that has been suggestedas well. Many of you may
know that there were two Jerichos in Jesus'day. There was the old city which
had been destroyedin the Old Testamentdays, and then a little bit south of it,
there was the new city that had been built up. So it would be entirely possible
for one to be leaving the environs of the old city and entering into the environs
of the new city simultaneously. We'll just have to ask Luke and Matthew
when we getto heaven. But there is no reasonto think that they are
contradictory in the accountthat they give. They simply zero in on different
aspects ofthe one truth that is recorded here in God's inerrant word.

Now let's go back to our story. As Jesus is passing through Jericho, onthe way
to Jerusalem, He is encounteredby two blind men. Now Jesus was being
followedby a greatcrowd. And the blind men perceived that Jesus was
coming. Perhaps, they heard Him. They heard people talking about the fact
that He was in the vicinity. And so they immediately begin to cry out for
mercy. And is it not a picture of those who are the leastfortunate, those who
are the last those who are the outcastthose who are unimportant in the society
around them. And yet the Lord Jesus takestime to minister to them.
Friends, in the description of these beggars, we have a picture of everyone
who stands in need of the grace of Christ. This text is a mirror for us. For
though we may not have physical infirmities, we all have moral and spiritual
infirmities. And the Lord Jesus is the only one who can heal them. We must
cry out to Him for grace if we are going to be helped in our need. These
beggars, yousee, are a picture of you. People need the Lord. All people need
the Lord. But not all people perceive that they need the Lord. The credit to
these beggars is that they knew that they needed Jesus. And the sad thing is
there are many people, even in churches, that don't know that they need
Jesus. Theythink that they're just fine. They think that they're lives are all
right.
But this is a picture, these beggars, blind and infirm, this is a picture of us if
we do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. And by a saving
relationship with Jesus Christ, I don't just mean that we prayed a prayer
sometime. And that we've signed a card. I mean a real saving relationship
with Jesus Christ where we have a right knowledge ofChrist. We know who
He claims to be. We believe who He claims to be in the word. We have
embracedHim and are embracing Him in His claims about Himself. We're
actively trusting in Him to save us from ourselves and from our sin. We're
endeavoring, by His help, by the grace of His Spirit to live like a Christian.
We're growing in a love for Him and a love for His word. We love to hear it
preached. We love to hear it explained. We love to study it. When we disagree
with that word, we repent, because we know it's right and we're wrong. We
live according to that word as our standard submitting to it. We're attracted
to God's people. We're growing in our love, reallove, self-denying love for
God and neighbor and especiallyfor God's people. That's what I mean by a

saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Our lives have been turned upside down
and transformed by His grace. And if we don't have that saving relationship,
then we are just like beggars on the road blind and in dire need.
John Flavel, the old Puritan, once said, “Christ is not sweetuntil sin is made
bitter to us.” And the fact of the matter is there are a lot of people who don't
think they need Christ's grace, becausethey don't see their sin and they don't
see their need. And this passageis a mirror to us. And it's saying to us, if we
are spiritual beggars, thenwe ought to be crying out for mercy to Christ. Do
we realize what we are if we're apart from Him?
You know, a personwho doesn't recognize His need for Christ is sort of like a
husband whose marriage is falling apart and his wife has been trying to tell
him for years that his marriage is falling apart. And he just doesn'tget it. He's
living in denial. He thinks that just a few changes here and there will fix
everything. And he doesn'trealize how dire things are. And you know, there's
a sense in which the day he wakes up and realizes what a mess he's made of it,
is really the most hopeful day of His life. Becauseit means, that at leastat that
point he cancry out for the help that he needs. Until we have gotten to that
point, until we've wokenup to see our need, if we do not have Christ, then we
are worse that these beggars. We're like beggars onthe side of the road proud
of our infirmities, not aware ofwhat they costus. You see, if we don't know
that we need the Lord Jesus Christ, we're just like an alcoholic whose family
is all telling him, “You need help, you've gota problem.” And he's saying, “I
don't have a problem. I've gotthis under control.” You see, the moment of
greatesthope is when you realize that you are in need and you cry out for
mercy to the Lord Jesus Christ. This passageis a picture of how we cry out to
the Lord Jesus whenwe realize we need Him.
II. A healthy prayer life flows from a sense of need and apprehension of the
Savior.
And then if you look at verse 31, we see a picture of the crowd's callous
indifference to the needs of these men. These men are crying out for help, and
the people who are following Jesus are doing their best to make sure that

these people don't getto Jesus. They're doing their best to make sure that
these people are quieted, silenced, castout. And we see the compassionof
Jesus in this verse in bold contrastto the crowd's attitude. We're not told why
the crowdreactedlike this. Maybe the crowd didn't want these two
insignificant individuals bothering Jesus while he talked and walkedand was
on His way with this greatcrowdfollowing Him. We don't know exactly why.
But, for whateverthe reason, they went to these men and they sternly rebuked
them. And they said, ‘You stop crying out to Him.’ But these men refused to
stop crying out. And in the next verses we'll see Jesus'compassionin stark
contrastto the crowd. In fact, Don Carsonputs it this way, “the crowds were
willing to bask in Jesus'presence, but they reflectednone of Jesus'
compassion.”And the longerJesus ministered, the more He stoodout. He
stoodout from those around Him. He stoodout in His mission, in His
attitudes, in His graspof the kingdom, and in His presentation of the freedom
of grace.
But even as the crowdtold these men to be quiet, these men because they
clearly sensedtheir need, they were not deterred from crying out to Jesus.
They perceived who He was. Theyperceived their need. And so they cried out.
And so we not only see in verse 31 the callous indifference of the crowdto
these needs, which again, is setting up this beautiful picture of Jesus'
compassionin verses 32 through 34.
Let me suggestto you that in verse 31 we also see a pattern for persistent
prayer for believers. I know this passageisn't ultimately about prayer. But
don't we see a paradigm for Christian prayer set forth in the attitude of these
men. A healthy prayer life, you see, flows from a sense ofneed and a sight of
the savior. If you sense your need, and you have seenthe savior, you've got the
essentialingredients needed to motivate you to a healthy prayer life. Look at
how these men respond to Jesus Christ. They calledout to Him, “Lord, Sonof
David, have mercy on us.”
Now they may not have fully understood what they were saying. Certainly
they didn't. The disciples didn't even understand the full meaning of those
words at this time. And yet, notice how they had latched on to two essential
components of Jesus'claim. Jesus claimedto be Lord. He was the Son of God.

He was the Lord of God's people. He would rule at the right hand of God. All
authority has been given into His hands he would say in the great commission.
He is Lord. That is the essentialconfessionofa Christian. Jesus is Lord.
That's how you confess Jesusas Savior. Lots of people make a distinction
betweenthose things. But in the Bible, to confess Jesusas Savioris to confess
Him as Lord. But also, notice they callHim out as the sonof David. They're
acknowledging that He is the Messiahthat had been promised by the
prophets. Now howeverdimly they saw those truths, it's apparent that they
knew more about Jesus than many of those people in the crowdthat were
following Him. And they continued to cry out. They saw who He was. They
confessedHis lordship and His messiahship. And that confessionis at the
heart of what it means to be a Christian.
But look at the qualities of their request and what they teach us about prayer.
These men were earnest. They would not be deterred even though the crowd
tried to beat them out of calling out to the Lord Jesus. Theywere earnest.
Now I want to stop and I want to remind you of something. Do you realize
that Jesus nevercame to Jericho again? This was it, friends. This was the last
time Jesus was everin Jericho. And these men were earnest. They didn't put it
off til tomorrow. They knew that this was the day of the Lord's appointment,
and this was their opportunity to cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ and there
might not be a tomorrow. And you know what? There wasn't. For Jesus was
on the way to Jerusalemto be crucified. They were diligent in their means of
grace. We never know when we come into this sanctuary, if it will be the last
time that we will hear the word of God. There is never a time where we can
say, well, we'll put it off til next week. We'llput it off the next week getting
right with the Lord. We'll put it off next week trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord
and Messiah. We'llput it off next week to submitting to His rule, being
transformed by His grace. These menwere earnest. And that's the way
Christian prayer ought to be.
Notice also that these men were humble. They cried out, “Lord, have mercy
on us.” They knew that they were in need. You know, so often, we know we're
in need when we have a physical problem, when we have a relationship
problem, when we have a money problem. But so often we are not aware that
we're in need morally and spiritually. We don't ever realize that the problem

is us. The problem is character. The problem is that we need to be
transformed from the inside out by God's grace. Thesemen knew their need,
and they didn't even tell Jesus how he was supposedto answerthat need.
Notice their first prayer is, “Lord, have mercy on us.” They didn't direct Him
specificallyhow he was supposedto have mercy. It was only when the Lord
Jesus came to them and said, ‘What is it you want Me to do for you.?’ It was
only then that they specifiedtheir request. They humbly said, ‘Lord, we're in
need, have mercy on us.’
Thirdly, not only were they earnestand humble, notice that they were
believing. They specificallycall Him “Lord, Sonof David.” They confess who
He says He was. Christian prayer is not only earnestand humble, it is
believing prayer. It believes who Jesus says He is.
Notice that they persevered. When they were told to stop, they kept going.
They continued to persevere in their prayer. And Christian prayer perseveres.
Notice that their prayer was simple. Their prayer was basically, ‘Lord help
us.’ That's a good, scriptural prayer. Prevailing prayer does not have to be
complex. It doesn't have to be made up of strung out compound sentences.
Prevailing prayer can be very simple. And so their prayer was simple, but it
was real. And it was heartfelt.
And I want you to notice, too, their prayer was scriptural. They had gone to
two important concepts setforth in the Bible, in the Old testament, and of
course, revealedin the gospels as well, that Jesus is Lord and Jesus is Messiah.
That's why we call Him the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus the Messiah.
And they latched on to those two realities about Jesus. And they lifted them
up before His eyes, saying Lord we confess you as Lord and Messiah.
Now there's our pattern for prayer: Earnest. Humble. Believing. Persevering.
Simple. Scriptural. Could you find better qualities of prayer? There they are
right before our eyes. In the urgency of this situation, these men recognize
their need. They saw the savior and they knew he was the only one who could
meet their need. And they cry out to Him. Do we cry out to God in prayer?
Reallycry out to God in prayer. And do we cry out to Him in recognition of
our spiritual needs or is it only our temporary disasters? Whenwe're having

problems in the family, of course you cry out to God. When you're having
trouble with the children, of course you cry out to God. When the check book
is not balancing and the bill collectors are calling, of course you cry out to
God. But do we see ourselves spiritually impoverished and cry out to God?
How often do we do that? Do we commune with Him in prayer? This passage
reminds us that a healthy prayer life flows from a sense of need. And you
know there's never a time in this life when we're not going to need the Lord
Jesus Christ. There's never a point where you get, ‘OK, I've gotten enough
grace and I don't need the Lord Jesus anymore.’We always needthe Lord
Jesus. And so we always needto have that sense of need and that sight of the
Savior.
III. Jesus'compassionandpower canmake us whole.
One last thing I’d like you to see in verses 32 and 33. Here, of course, we see
this picture of the compassionofJesus in stark contrastto the crowds that
were following Him. But we also see something else. In verses 32 through 34,
not only do we see this contrastbetweenthe humble greatness ofJesus who
has time to minister to these outcasts evenwhile the crowdis saying, go away.
We also learn something else. That it is only Jesus'compassionand power
that can make us whole. Yes, this was a physical healing. But is this not a
reminder that it is only the mercy and the powerof Jesus that can heal our
hearts, our souls? Look at the passagewith me. Jesus in the midst of His own
responsibility and strain. He's on the way from Jericho to Jerusalem. He's
going to be tried. He's going to be prosecuted. He's going to be persecutedand
mockedand scourgedand finally crucified, dead and buried, and even under
the strain of that responsibility, He stops to take time to listen to these men.
To heal these men who were so insignificant to their contemporaries. They
were beggars. The lowestpart of the socio-economic class. Imean you can
almost hear some of the followers in the crowdsaying, ‘Jesus, couldn't you
heal a mayor or something? I mean, couldn't you heal somebody who's
influential who's going to have an impact on society? These menare beggars.
Who are they?’ And yet Jesus is going to build His kingdom with such as
these. These are the little ones about whom he has been talking for the lasttwo

chapters. Jesus, Larry Richards says, “Jesus was onHis way to Jerusalem
toward His trial and crucifixion. He was burdened by greatcrowds who did
not care, and by disciples who did not understand. But Jesus sets aside His
own burdens and need to respond to this call for help. Jesus stoppedfor these
individuals in the crowd, and he caredfor these outcasts whomthe crowd
consideredworthless. This is greatness.”
Now, have we even begun to have an inkling in our own lives, of that kind of
greatness forthe Savior, where we see spiritually the needs of people? We
don't care where they're from. We don't care what they cando for us. We
simply care that they come to meet Jesus and find the wholeness thatonly He
can give. Jesus in His compassiondoesn'tjust listen and pity these people.
Jesus does something about their circumstance. When we go to a therapist, we
don't want someone who is just going to feelour pain, we want someone who
can do us some good. And the Lord Jesus doesn'tjust come along side these
men and have compassionupon them; He does something for them. He
transformed them right at the central issue of their lives. Think about it,
friends. These men were blind, and that blindness was at the center of their
socialexperience. It meant that they couldn't hold a job. It meant that they
had to beg. It meant that they could not provide for their families. They
couldn't take a significant role in their community. Their blindness meant
everything to them. They were beggars in the streets. And He goes right for
the issue that was affecting their lives, and He changes it. He does the same
thing for us when we cry out to Him. The issue, the one necessarything he
tells us, is what? That we would be in living, eternal relationship with the one
true God. That's the one need that we have in life. And when we come to Him
and we cry out, “Lord have mercy on us.” When we have perceivedthat that's
our realneed. You see, it's not just that we're coming, “Lord, my marriage is
falling apart, and I need your help.” That's important, but that's not the one
thing. “Lord, my kids, I can't do anything with them. They're going crazy.
Help me, Lord.” That's important, but that's not the one thing. “Lord, I'm in
debt up to my elbows. I don't know where to turn. The bill collectorsare on
my heels. Lord, could You provide me $50,000real quick?” That's important,
but it's not the one thing. When we stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, and
we see that the deepestneed of our life is to be in a living relationship with

Him where we glorify and enjoy Him forever, and we cry out, “Lord, have
mercy on me.” I promise you on the authority of a herald of God, that the
Lord Jesus will hear that cry. The Lord will come. And the Lord will heal us
and make us whole.
I want you to see that these men immediately followedthe Lord Jesus Christ
after He changedthem. So often earlierin His ministry, Jesus would send
people back into their villages. But now Jesus is literally weeks fromthe day
He would die on the cross. And so He just tells these men, ‘You come on and
you follow Me. You be part of that crowdthat comes with Me to Jerusalem
and you witness the things that are to come.’
Now Jesus in this passageshows us that he is not the kind of king that that
crowdwas expecting. And His kingdom isn't the kind of kingdom that that
crowdwas expecting. They might think of His kingdom as being peopled with
influential and important people. But it wasn't. It was peopled with outcasts
those who were beggars in need of His grace. And by golly, He was going to
conquer the world with that kingdom. And conquer the world with that
gospel.
Jesus is standing before us today. And He is saying, “What do you want Me to
do for you?” And your answerhas to do with the first thing. He's speaking
about the central issue of your life as He stands before you saying, “What do
you want me to do for you?” The centralproblem of our life is moral. There is
no circumstance. There's no situation that we are in, ever, which isn't an
opportunity for God to conform us to Christ and to bless us by drawing us
into an ever-closerrelationshipwith Him. That's why Alec Motyer cansay
that “There is no sorrow and joy in life that shouldn't be deflected at once,
upwards, into the presence of God. There is no experience that comes into our
experience which God does not intend for His people's upbuilding.” The
central problem of our experience is moral. And only Jesus canaddress it.
Have you realized that today? Do you realize that you are a beggarbefore
God apart from Christ? Thomas Brooks, the old Puritan, said, “No man can
feel sin except by grace.”

Have you by grace felt your sin and realized your need, and cried, out casting
yourself upon the Lord, saying, “Lord have mercy?” If you have, you have
known the healing powerof the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you haven't, today
is the day of salvation. Embrace the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only hope. If
you don't know how to do that, you come see me, or you come see an elder
after this service. And we'll deal with the Lord Jesus Christ. You pray,
confessing thatHe is your Lord and your Savior. You embrace Him, trusting
in Him alone for your salvation. And you will find that He will heal that
central issue of life out of which everything else flows. May the Lord bless His
word. Let's pray.
O Lord and God, we pray today that You would remind us againhow needy
and dependent we are upon Your grace. And then by our awareness ofour
own need, and by the apprehension of your mercy, give us the grace to flee to
Christ, we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.
Did Jesus healtwo blind men (Matthew 20:29-34)or one blind man (Mark
10:46-52;Luke 18:35-43)?
Question:"Matthew 20:29-34 says Jesus healedtwo blind men as He left
Jericho. Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43 sayHe healed one man as He
entered Jericho. Is this a contradiction?"
Answer: In spite of apparent discrepancies,these three passagesdo refer to
the same incident. The Matthew accountcites two men healedas Jesus left
Jericho. Mark and Luke refer to only one blind man healed, but Luke says it
happened as Jesus was entering Jericho while Mark records it happening as
He left Jericho. There are legitimate explanations for the apparent

discrepancies. Let’s look atthem rather than deciding this is a contradiction
and the Bible is in error.
That this is the same incident is seenin the similarity of the accounts,
beginning with the two beggars sitting on the roadside. They call out to Jesus,
referring to Him as “Sonof David” (Matthew 20:30; Mark 10:48;Luke
18:38), and in all three accounts, theyare rebuked by those nearby and told to
be quiet but continue to shout out to Jesus (Matthew 20:31;Mark 10:48; Luke
18:39). The three accounts describe nearly identical conversations between
Jesus and the beggars andthe conclusions ofthe stories are also identical. The
beggars receive their sight immediately and follow Jesus.
Only Mark choses to identify one of the beggars as Bartimaeus, perhaps
because Bartimaeus was knownto Mark’s readers, orthey knew
Bartimaeus’s father, Timaeus, whereas the other blind man was a strangerto
them. In any case, the fact that Mark and Luke only mention one beggardoes
not contradictMatthew’s account. Mark and Luke never say there was only
one beggar. Theysimply focus on the one, Bartimaeus, who was probably the
more vocalof the two. Matthew refers to both of the blind men calling out to
Jesus, clearlyindicating there were two.
The other issue in question is whether Jesus was entering Jericho or leaving it.
Bible commentators cite the fact that at that time there were two Jerichos—
one the mound of the ancient city (still existing today) and the other the
inhabited city of Jericho. Therefore, Jesus couldhave healedthe two men as
He was leaving the ancientcity of Jericho and entering the new city of Jericho.
In any case, to focus on these minor details to the exclusion of all else is to miss
the point of the story—Jesushealedthe blind men, proving that He was
indeed the Son of God with powers beyond anything a mortal man could have.

Unlike the Pharisees who refusedto see what was before their eyes, our
response to Jesus should be the same as that of the blind men—call on Him to
give us eyes to see spiritual truth, recognize Him for who He is, and follow
Him.
https://www.gotquestions.org/one-two-blind-men.html
Dr. S. Lewis Johnsondicusses Jesus'visit through Jericho on his way to
Jerusalem, explaining the importance of the healings of the blind men in that
city.
SLJ Institute > Gospelof Matthew > Jesus as the Messiah> The Second
Joshua Working Miracles in Jericho Again
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The expositionof the word of God os the exposition of Matthew chapter 20
verse 29 through verse 34, but since what I am going to say is also built upon
the parallelaccountin Mark chapter 10, I want to read both of these passages
for our Scripture reading. So let’s turn first to Matthew chapter 20, and I
want to read verses 29 through 34, and then we’ll turn to the Markanpassage
in chapter 10 of that Gospel. Rememberthe context. The Lord Jesus is now on
his wayto the city of Jerusalemwhere he will offer himself as a sacrifice for
sinners. And Matthew writes in verse 29 of chapter 20:
“And as they departed from Jericho, a greatmultitude followedhim. And,
behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus
passedby, cried out, saying, ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David’.
And the multitude rebuked them, that they should hold their peace:but they
cried the more, saying, ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.’ And
Jesus stoodstill, and calledthem, and said, ‘What will ye that I shall do unto
you?’ They say unto him, ‘Lord, that our eyes may be opened.’ So Jesus had
compassiononthem, and touched their eyes:and immediately their eyes
receivedsight, and they followed him.”
Let’s turn now to Mark chapter 10 and verse 46. Mark chapter 10 and verse
46, and read the accountin the Gospelof Mark.
“And they came to Jericho:and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples
and a greatnumber of people, blind Bartimaeus, the sonof Timaeus, satby
the wayside begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus ofNazareth, he
beganto cry out, and say, ‘Jesus, Thouson of David, have mercy on me’. And
many chargedhim that he should hold his peace:but he cried the more a
greatdeal, ‘Thou son of David, have mercy on me.’ And Jesus stoodstill and
commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying unto
him,’ Be of goodcomfort, rise; he calleth thee.’ And he, casting awayhis
garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answeredand saidunto him,

‘What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?’The blind man said unto him,
Lord, that I may receive my sight. Jesus saidunto him, ‘Go thy way; thy faith
hath made thee whole.’And immediately he receivedhis sight, and followed
Jesus on the way.”
Luke in his accountcomments that he followedthe Lord Jesus glorifying God,
and that the people gave praise to God as a result of what had happened. May
the Lord bless this reading of his word.
You may have overlookedthe fact in your study of the New Testamentthat
the name of our Lord Jesus Jesus is the same as the name for Joshua in the
Old Testament. The word Iesous in the Greek of the New Testamentis the
equivalent of Y’hoshua or Joshua, in the Old Testament. So what we have in
this accountthat we are looking at is an appearance ofthe secondJoshua
before Jericho, and so the title this morning for the message is “The Second
Joshua Working Miracles atJericho Again.”
The biblical critics have had a happy time studying this passageofScripture
which has to do with the healing of the blind men, as our Lord was at Jericho
on his last visit to the city of Jerusalemwhile in the flesh. And it contains
problems that lend some credence to their view that the Bible is after all only
an ordinary book. Confidently, they intone in details and many important
points, the gospels do not agree.
Then they go on to say, somewhatcondescendingly, that the differences in
these accounts do not really make a whole lot of difference, except insofaras
they give instruction to those who believe that the Bible is true in all of its
statements. So they tell us that these differences in the accounts don’t mean
anything, but they at leastshould instruct those simple-minded people – they
mean you and me – who think that the words of holy Scripture are inerrant.
What are the difficulties which give the detractors of the Bible such relish in
these accounts of the healing of the blind men?
There are two particularly. In the first place, Matthew speaks oftwo men who
are healed, while Mark and Luke speak only of one. Now of course you should
notice immediately if you have any facility for thinking logically, that when
Matthew says that there are two, and Mark and Luke speak only of one,

Mark and Luke do not say that there was only one blind man. Now that is
very important. All that Luke and Mark sayis that the Lord healed a blind
man. Mark gives his name as Bartimaeus. They do not sayhe healedonly one
man. So there is really no contradiction betweenthe accounts in that respect.
But there is something else that is of probably of greaterdifficulty. Mark and
Matthew place the healing after the Lord Jesus leaves Jericho, while Luke
appears to place the healing before the Lord Jesus enters Jericho.
Now that might be a serious problem for those who believe that the Bible is
inerrant in the statements that it makes. We must of course remember that so
far as the Scriptures are concerned, we do not have all of the details
surrounding the incidents of the Bible, and so we have to think in our own
minds of situations in which the words of Scripture may find their significance
and relevance. But there have been a number of suggestionsby individuals in
attempts to harmonize this fact that Mark and Matthew place the healing
after Jericho whereas Luke suggeststhat the healing occurredbefore the Lord
entered Jericho.
One Bible teacher, who has been a very prominent Bible teacher, has taught
that really we have two different healings. Now of course we have already had
the healing of two blind men in the Gospelof Matthew in chapter9 and since
it was the Messianic office ofthe Lord Jesus to healblind men, it’s certainly
true that he did heal many blind men through the three years or so of his
ministry. And so it has been suggestedthat what we have in Luke is one
accountwhereas whatwe have in Mark and Matthew is another account, and
if that is so that would of course solve all of our difficulties.
Still others have said, for example ProfessorA. T. Robertson, the well known
New Testamentprofessor, formany years in the last generationor so at
Southern Baptist TheologicalSeminary in Louisville, Kentucky, that there
were really two Jerichos. Thatis, an old or ancient city and a new modern
Jericho, which was new and modern in our Lord’s day. We know that this is
generallytrue, and it is ProfessorRobertson’s contentionthat in one of the
accounts, the author looks atit from the standpoint of the old city of Jericho
and thus the healing was as he came out of the city of Jericho, and as he was to

enter the new Jericho, and the other accountis written from that standpoint.
So if there were two Jerichos it would be very easyto harmonize these
accounts. The healing took place betweenthe leaving of one and the entering
of another.
Another ancient commentator, the PietistcommentatorAlbrecht Bengel,
whose writings have been readby countless thousands of students of the
Scripture, not only in the original Latin in the which he wrote them, but in
other of in other translations of them. Bengelhas made the suggestionthat
what happened really was that the blind men met the Lord Jesus as he was
entering Jericho, and since Jericho was a relatively small city, they followed
the greatcrowdseeking to get to him as he made his way through Jericho, and
then finally came into touch with him as they were leaving the city and thus
both of the accounts couldbe true: one written from the standpoint of the
entrance and the other written from the standpoint of the exit where the
healing really took place.
There are some modern interpretations, too. One of the modern interpreters
has suggestedthat really what happened was something like this: the two
blind men were seatedright near the outskirts of the city, but when they
heard the crowdwhich precededthe Lord Jesus, andthey heard word that
Jesus was coming, they began to shout, and so they beganto shout as the Lord
Jesus enteredthe city, and Luke writes his accountfrom that standpoint. But
finally as he came to leave the city, they came into contactwith him and were
healed as he left the city.
Still another has suggestedthis explanation. He has said that it’s shortly after
this that the Lord Jesus sees Zacchaeusin the in the tree, and he calls down
Zacchaeus, andremember, says that he was going to lodge with him that
night. Now since Zacchaeus lived in Jericho, and since he wantedto see the
Lord Jesus, he had racedoutside the city so he could catcha goodview of him
and when the Lord Jesus saw him with the multitude looking at the little man
up in the tree, he calledout to Zacchaeus as he came out of the city and said
Zacchaeus come downI must lodge with you tonight. And the incident
involving Zacchaeus took place ,and then he went back into the city and spent
the night with Zacchaeus.And so one of the accounts is written from the

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