Matthew 20:29-34

Matthew 20:29-34
At the beginning of chapter 19 Jesus departed from Galilee and began His final journey south through Perea on the east side of the Jordan. Luke covers the approximately six-month Perean ministry in great detail (Luke 9:51 – 19:57). Since the Passover Feast was near, great multitudes would have filled the roads that led to Jerusalem. The presence of Jesus would have created an even greater crowd as they followed Him through Jericho and then on the final ascent to the great city.
There were two Jericho’s in Jesus day, the mound of the old Jericho that had been destroyed by the Israelites as they entered Canaan, and a new Jericho about a mile south that had been built by Herod the Great. Therefore, Matthew’s account speaks of the blind beggars sitting at the exit of the old Jericho while Luke’s account speaks of them at the entrance of the new Jericho (Luke 18:35), thus solving what some have believed to be a contradiction.
These beggars are impressive. When they realized that Jesus was passing by, they yelled, “Lord, having mercy on us, Son of David!” They had no intention of losing the opportunity before them. Notice that even though they had never seen Jesus, and obviously had never seen any of His miracles, they still believed that He was both the Lord and the Messiah (”Son of David”). They had come to believe in the same way any of us would believe: based on the testimony of eyewitnesses. Notice also that they appealed to Jesus for mercy and would not be silenced by the crowd. In fact, the text says that they cried out all the more. The Greek indicates that they screamed.
Note one other important point. In the previous paragraph Jesus taught the disciples about greatness. “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” In stopping His journey and having mercy on these beggars, Jesus illustrates the previous lesson. The crowds had the same attitude as the disciples – these beggars must not be allowed to interrupt the journey of such an important man as Jesus. But Jesus stopped and healed them. Our lives must reflect the same attitude. We must not think of ourselves as important and thus ignore opportunities with those who are considered lesser in society.
Berry Kercheville