[The following devotional is a part of our 2015 Easter Season Devotional Book “Passion Road.” We will be posting a devotional each day on this blog between February 18 – April 5, 2014.]
Two Blind Men by Jonathan Holmes
Read: Matthew 9:27-31
As Jesus continued to travel, two blind men began to follow Him and cried aloud to Him on the basis that He was the Son of David. This title occurs many times in the Gospel of Matthew in conjunction with the miraculous accounts of healing. The two blind men were indicating their faith that Jesus was truly the Messiah through the line of David and Jesus tests their faith with the question, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Their faith is proven by their response, “Yes, Lord.”
Imagine for a moment that you have been born blind. You have never seen the rainbow of colors, the beauty of a sunrise, or the breadth of the ocean. In one moment though, your sight is restored. The brokenness of your vision has been made whole and for the first time you see the faces of your friends and the face of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. What is going to be your response? Do leaps of excitement and shouts of joy sound about right? Jesus’ command to keep the healing quiet was asking a lot, but it was more than likely given so that the multitudes don’t surround him for the purpose of physical healing. Jesus’ ministry was marked with many healing of physical diseases, but the purpose of these miracles were to authenticate His claims. The physical healing miracles were the proof that the spiritual healing miracles He shared were true and available to all.
Apparently the joy and excitement of the miraculous healing was too much for the two “seeing men” that they didn’t even try to keep quiet. They left the home and went out into the streets spreading the joy they experienced through the miraculous power of God. Can you blame them though? Sometimes the greatness of something is impossible to keep to yourself. Matt Chandler explained it roughly like the moment you eat something great for the first time. The greatness of the food surprises you with it’s satisfaction so much that you let out an audible, “Mmmmm now that is good stuff!” Sometimes that is still not enough though. If the food is extra tasty then the “Mmm…” may not be enough. You may feel the urge to share it with someone else, “Oh man, you HAVE to try this! Just give it one bite! It’s going to change your life!” In this extra tasty moment your joy is not complete until you share it with someone else. You can imagine how true this is of us when we experience the power of God. It’s contagious and you can’t help but share it with others.
Questions:
- What is one situation in your life that if Jesus were to ask, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” your answer would be, “No”? How can you work to change your answer to “Yes, Lord!”?
- How have you suppressed your desire to share your joy in Christ with others?
Prayers for Lent
- Thank God for the beautiful display of His power through miracles.
- Ask God to help you find so much joy in Him that you can’t help but share with others what He is doing in your life.