Grace In The Valley By Heath AdamsonSample

Day 2

We Cry for Mercy

Matthew 20:19-24

Seeing the miracles in mystery does not come to us easily.

Matthew 20:19-24 tells the story of two blind men who called out to Jesus as he passed by them. They cried out not fully sure that Jesus was there. How could they really know? But just because we can’t see him doesn’t mean he isn’t near. They cried out, not for healing or money but for mercy. 

The crowd told the men to shut up. But the beggars cried out even louder. The word we translate “cry out” means to scream and shriek. They were far from dignified. They were desperate. They obviously didn’t allow their reputation or embarrassment or what others thought keep them from asking God for mercy.

There is a place of vulnerability we must arrive at in our need. If the blind men had remained silent, Jesus very well could have walked out of that city and they would have spent the rest of their lives begging and blind. Remaining silent when you are by the road of life, begging, can prevent you from encountering the very One who is near you.

But when we get to the place where we see no one else around but God, our priorities change. Sometimes we cry out to God once and, when we don’t think we get his attention, we make excuses and stop. Sometimes we use God’s sovereignty as an excuse to quit. Sometimes we build a theology around why God didn’t respond the first time. It’s okay to cry out more than once. Jesus didn’t correct them for crying out a second time. 

He stopped. He looked. He asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Their response? They wanted to see. In the Greek New Testament, the blind men asked Jesus to heal their ophthalmoi (meaning biological eyes). Jesus touched their ommata, a word Plato used poetically to describe the eyes of the soul. Jesus touched their ommata first, and then their ophthalmoi worked properly. The eyes of their soul were opened. 

Grace stands before you, like Jesus did the blind men, under the warm Jericho sun. Love stops in Person when you cry out to him. Love meets a spiritual need as the eyes of your soul are opened by God himself. 

What do you want God to do for you? How might you turn this request into a relentless cry?