Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the NET, netbible.org, all rights reserved)

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed them. Two blind men were sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” The crowd scolded them to get them to be quiet. But they shouted even more loudly, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
Matthew 20:29-34 (emphasis added)

This is another instance of multiple reports from multiple sources (quite common among eyewitnesses). For Luke (18:35-43) it was just a blind man by the side of the road. In Mark (10:46-52), Peter distinctly remembered the more vocal of the two men’s name. Matthew simply remembered two men – I wonder if his recollection was focused more on where they were going (the Triumphal Entry happened just after this in Matthew 21). Other than that, this incident is very similar to the one in Matthew 9:27-29. The differences are striking, but the main similarity is this: persistence. In both cases the men involved did not stop. They kept up until they met with Jesus. Persistence reveals faith just as much as giving up reveals unbelief.

Jesus doesn’t test us (James 1:13). Jesus gives us the opportunity to prove the truth of what is in our heart (1 Peter 1:7). A test is something for measuring the skill, knowledge, intelligence, capacities, or aptitudes of an individual or group. Adonai doesn’t do that. Adonai doesn’t NEED to do that. “You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives. You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do” (Psalm 139:2-3). The devil sends trials our way trying to make us fall (1 Corinthians 10:13; Ephesians 6:16). But Adonai knows our hearts and wants US to know them just as well. He lets us stand in His armour, stand on His Word, stand in Jesus, and gives us everything we need to succeed. Not because it does HIM any good, but because He wants US to prove to ourselves the firmness of our trust in Him. He wants us to prove to ourselves the weakness of the devil’s ability to plague us. We are overcomers in Jesus who is THE overcomer (John 16:33).

These men called out to Jesus as soon as they heard that it was in fact Jesus who was walking by. They called Him by His Messianic title Son of David. They were recognising and paying tribute to the fact that the Old Covenant promises about the throne and seed of David were fulfilled in Messiah Jesus. They were trusting in Messiah’s ability to heal them. They were loud and clear. Jesus didn’t answer them the first time. He gave them the opportunity to prove to themselves they really were seeking Him. It was the same kind of opportunity Jesus gave the disciples on the Sea of Galilee. “He saw them straining at the oars because the wind was against them. As the night was ending, he came to them walking on the sea, for he wanted to pass by them” (Mark 6:48). When the disciples cried out Jesus IMMEDIATELY answered them (Mark 6:50). In the same way, Jesus – whether on purpose or because of the noise of the crowd – did not respond right away. The crowd did though.

Back in Matthew 9 the blind men called Jesus the Son of David. They followed Him shouting out. They even followed Him into His home. These blind men here didn’t follow Jesus physically. But they shouted and followed Him with their voice. In the first instance, there is no record of the crowd around Jesus doing anything at all. But here? The crowd shouted them down. Told them to hush up. Now these men were beggars. No way of getting employment or money any other way. The people in the crowd probably knew them. Possibly had given them alms before. Here they were telling them to know their place. Gatekeeping of the first order.

Jesus healed ALL who came to Him with trust that they would receive healing. Period. Full healing. Every time. Nothing partial. Nothing that trickled down. Immediate – or at the most an hour – healing. From fevers to crippled limbs to chronic diseases to leprosy to death. Jesus healed them all. He NEVER left someone sick or debilitated for an object lesson, to teach them something, or to have them prove their worthiness to be healed. If you had trust enough to act on it, you got healed. Done.

I’m not sure what the crowd was thinking. I’m not sure why they were trying to shut the men up. Maybe Jesus was teaching. Maybe it was simply an ‘I can’t hear Him’ thing. I don’t know. I DO know they were wishy-washy. First they say be quiet (vs 31). Then they get excited that Jesus is calling for them (Mark 10:49). In the face of a crowd that was going with the motions, these blind men refused to give up. It didn’t sound like anyone was going to pass on their call. But they did NOT stop calling. They shouted MORE LOUDLY. They doubled down. They refused to stop. Refused to give up. Refused to let doubt and discouragement share space with their belief and trust. These men wanted the Blessing.

We have a world in which elements of the church will take an attitude against you for seeking healing because they feel it has passed away. That it was for bible-times only. We have a world that will think you crazy, not just doctrinally shaky. In some extreme cases they will try and force medical treatment on you. What are you going to do when the crowd tries to shut you up? What are you going to do when the words coming back at you don’t agree with the Word and what it says about you? What are you going to do if you aren’t answered immediately? How strong is your trust.

I am not talking about faking it until you make it. I am talking about taking a firm and rational hold on the things of Adonai. On what He says is so. Maybe it will take some time to understand it. That’s okay. We should be always giving the Word opportunity to retrain our minds in His ways. We should be grabbing hold of Adonai’s promises and NOT letting go no matter WHAT. Not just ourselves, but those around us in the Body of Christ (Gentile AND Jew). “And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy. And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23-25). Adonai’s promises never fail (1 Kings 8:56). Neither should our resolve.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Isaiah 5:1-6

“I will sing to my love—a song to my lover about his vineyard. My love had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He built a hedge around it, removed its stones, and planted a vine. He built a tower in the middle of it and constructed a winepress. He waited for it to produce edible grapes, but it produced sour ones instead. So now, residents of Jerusalem, people of Judah, you decide between me and my vineyard! What more can I do for my vineyard beyond what I have already done? When I waited for it to produce edible grapes, why did it produce sour ones instead? Now I will inform you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. I will make it a wasteland; no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, and thorns and briers will grow there. I will order the clouds not to drop any rain on it.” The Son of God’s vineyard in the Old Covenant is a parable of judgment. But Messiah would take that judgment upon Himself. Messiah would be the suffering servant who paid for sin before He would be the triumphant king returning to establish His eternal kingdom. The vineyard in the New Covenant is a vineyard of Mercy and Grace ““For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. And after agreeing with the workers for the standard wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When it was about nine o’clock in the morning, he went out again and saw others standing around in the marketplace without work. He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and three o’clock that afternoon, he did the same thing. And about five o’clock that afternoon he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go and work in the vineyard too.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages starting with the last hired until the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each received a full day’s pay. And when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each one also received the standard wage. When they received it, they began to complain against the landowner, saying, ‘These last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.’ And the landowner replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Didn’t you agree with me to work for the standard wage? Take what is yours and go. I want to give to this last man the same as I gave to you. Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve aside privately and said to them on the way, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the experts in the law. They will condemn him to death, and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged severely and crucified. Yet on the third day, he will be raised.”” (Matthew 20:1-19). Jesus was paying the price for all so that regardless of WHEN they came to the Father, they would be ABLE to come to the Father. To enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus was the only one who could make that happen because He was the only one who was sinless and therefore able to pay for what He did not deserve to pay for. Jesus IS the Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b