The Healing of Two Blind Men (Mt. 20:29-34)

As they left Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “[Lord,] Son of David, have pity on us!” 31 The crowd warned them to be silent, but they called out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!” 32 Jesus stopped and called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They answered him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 Moved with pity, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight, and followed him.

The healing of two blind men takes place as Jesus is leaving Jerico, a city 15 miles from Jerusalem.  This is Jesus’ final miracle before his crucifixion.  The blind men cry out, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!”  They address Jesus as the Messiah just before he enters Jerusalem and is proclaimed the Davidic Messianic king by the crowds who are following him.  The blind men address Jesus as “Lord” three times.  The acclaim “Lord have mercy” has been used in liturgy from the time of the early Christian Church.  Jesus asked the blind men what they wanted from him and their response “Lord, let our eyes be opened” suggested they wanted more than a physical healing.  They also wanted faith, to understand his teaching.  Moved with compassion, Jesus healed the blind men physically and spiritually and they became disciples.  Healings of Jesus usually led to faith and discipleship.  Jesus can overcome the spiritual blindness of his disciples and strengthen them so that they are willing to follow him even to the cross (Mt. 16:24). 

Almighty God, have mercy on us and open our eyes so that we may see what is true, and right, and lasting.  Grant us the faith to follow your Son wherever he leads no matter the sacrifice we are asked to make.  This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!

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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.