Matthew 20

Verses 30-31: Two 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." The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"

These two men need Jesus, so they call out for him, and the they are told to by the crowd to be quiet. They are told by the people who are following Jesus to shut up. The text says that they weren't just told to be quiet, but they were rebuked... They were talked down to. The crowd literally told them that Jesus doesn't care about you, Jesus doesn't have time for you, so shut up and deal with your life.

What does Jesus do? Verse 34: Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Apparently Jesus' followers had know idea what Jesus cares about or what Jesus had time for. I wonder if we have any clue today... Do we rebuke people? Do we tell people to be quiet because "Jesus doesn't care about you"?

THERE IS NO ONE THAT JESUS DOESN'T HAVE TIME FOR. THERE IS NO HUMAN BEING THAT CAN KEEP YOU FROM JESUS. THERE IS NO ONE THAT JESUS LOVES MORE THAN YOU.

What if Jerry Sandusky, the guy from Penn State that allegedly molested a number of children was sitting on a curb while we were walking by with Jesus, and he called out to Jesus for mercy? What would you do if you heard him first? I would have to fight the urge to kick him.

(In no way am I saying that blind people are in the same boat as molestors, but 2,000 years ago people really believed that blindness and other handicaps were the result of sin)

Jesus cares about more people than we can imgine; Jesus has time for the people that we ignore.

I hope that when the two men joined the crowd that they didn't do like the others. I hope that their personal experience with Jesus helped them transform the crowd to more graceful.

I hope that our personal experience with Jesus helps us to be more graceful.