Matthew 20:29-34 I was blind, but now I see.
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: June 5, 2019 Matthew 20:29-34
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
(Understanding the Text) This account disagrees with Mark’s account. “And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ And Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.’ And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ And the blind man said to him, ‘Rabbi, let me recover my sight.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way” (Mark 10:46-52). In Matthew, there are two blind men while in Mark there is only one. In Matthew, Jesus touched their eyes while in Mark the blind man receives his sight after speaking. Who is right? I think that there were probably two blind men. Mark (or Peter) probably knew Bartimaeus and simply repeated his story. There are details in the story that seem firsthand. Thus, for Mark this was the story of Bartimaeus, and he may not have ever listened to the other blind man’s testimony. On the other hand, Matthew was a witness and may not have known either man personally. Thus, Matthew just recounts the story from his perspective, which was that there were two unknown blind men. Matthew remembered the detail of Jesus touching the eyes while Bartimaeus in his joy of being healed from blindness didn’t differentiate the feeling of Jesus touching him from the feeling of healing. He didn’t see the touch, but he heard the words and felt the healing. There is no contradiction, just a difference in perspective of the witnesses and the ones telling the story.
(Revelation of God) Both gospels record that this actually took place on the road as Jesus was leaving Jericho. This is the last miracle before the triumphal entry, and it begins the last week of Jesus’ life. Did Jesus realize that this would be the last healing before the end, or did He not think about it because He was so focused on the goal? They were about to begin the journey up to Jerusalem and death. This was really the last “normal” interaction. Everything from here on out would be different and fraught with prophetic significance. Jesus was entering the last stage of His earthly ministry before His death.
(Application / Prayer) It says that the blind men followed Jesus after the healing. Why? Was it that they were drawn to Him, or was it because they thought that He was about to be crowned king? Why do I follow Jesus? Is it because I am drawn to Him, or is it to gain a prize? Is it a sense of duty or is it a sense of need? I pray that my emptiness will be filled with You and that I will draw closer and closer to You.