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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Matthew chapter 20. Matthew chapter 20, our focus 
this morning will be on verses 29 to 34, where Jesus heals two 
blind men. I do want to read it in its larger 
context, beginning in chapter 20 at verse 20. Then the mother of Zebedee's 
sons came to him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something 
from him. And he said to her, what do you 
wish? She said to him, grant that these two sons of mine may 
sit, one on your right hand and the other on the left, in your 
kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, 
you do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup 
that I am about to drink and be baptized with the baptism 
that I am baptized with? They said to him, we are able. So he said to them, you will 
indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized 
with. But to sit on my right hand and 
on my left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom 
it is prepared by my father. And when the ten heard it, they 
were greatly displeased with the two brothers. But Jesus called 
them to himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles 
lord it over them. And those who are great exercise 
authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among 
you. But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your 
servant. And whoever desires to be first 
among you, let him be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not 
come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom 
for many. Now, as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude 
followed him. And behold, two blind men sitting 
by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried 
out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David. And the 
multitude warned them that they should be quiet. But they cried 
out all the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, son of David. So Jesus stood still and called 
them and said, What do you want me to do for you? They said to 
him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion 
and touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight, and 
they followed him. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for the word of God. We thank you that you've 
not left us in this world of lies and deception on our own, 
but you have provided to us the truth of Holy Scripture You have 
given to us as your children the spirit of adoption, and we 
pray that even now that same spirit would guide us and direct 
us as we consider your word. We ask that you would forgive 
us for all of our sins and our transgressions. Help us to see 
in this passage the Messiah, the son of David, the one who 
has pity, the one who has power. to save all those who come unto 
Him. We ask that these things would be clear, that you would 
edify and strengthen your people, and that God this word would 
come as a blessing to those outside of Christ. We pray that today 
would be the day of salvation. We pray that sinners would see 
the one here that does give mercy, and they, by grace, would flee 
to Him in faith and repentance. We thank you for your goodness 
to us. We thank you for your kindness, 
for your love, And we pray now that you would be glorified and 
honored in this gathering together. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well in chapter 21 the 
Lord Jesus will enter into Jerusalem and then there will be what's 
called the Passion Week. So chapters 21 to 28 all take 
place in the span of seven days or thereabouts. Here at the end 
of Jesus ministry in terms of this progression from Galilee 
down into Jerusalem. We see him in Jericho and we 
see him deal with these two men with great mercy and with great 
kindness. This is the last official recorded 
miracle of our Lord in Matthew's Gospel. There is a general statement 
in 2114, and the blind and the lame came to him in the temple 
and he healed them. Specifically here in chapter 
20, we see detailed instruction or detailed narrative concerning 
the healing of these two particular men. As well, what this passage 
demonstrates is that Jesus, the son of David, is going into the 
city of David in order to save his people from their sins in 
accordance with what he's already mentioned in verse 28. He says, 
just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve 
and to give his life a ransom for many. Well, that Davidic 
son goes into that royal city and ultimately gives himself 
up on behalf of his people so that they may indeed have life 
eternal. And then another interesting 
connection that I think is present here, you'll notice that Matthew 
mentions two men. When we compare the other accounts 
in Mark and Luke, they only highlight one man, and I'll get to that 
in just a moment. But there does seem to be something 
of a parallelism in 20 to 34. The apostles, the two apostles 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, approach Christ for privileged position 
within the kingdom. When we come to Jericho, we have 
two men, blind men, beggarly men, and they cry out not for 
a privileged position, but they cry out for mercy from the Lord, 
from the Son of David. So we'll investigate verses 29 
to 34 under three considerations. First, the setting of the miracle 
in verse 29. Secondly, the earnest petition 
of the blind men in verses 30 and 31. And then thirdly, the 
gracious response of the son of David in verses 32 to 34. But note in the first place the 
location, verse 29. Now as they went out of Jericho, 
a great multitude followed him. Jericho was about 16 miles northwest 
of Jerusalem. And essentially anybody who was 
coming down from Galilee or who was on the eastern side of the 
river Jordan When they crossed from Perea into Judah, they would 
have stopped in Jericho. It was a popular city, and I 
think that explains why these two men happened to be there 
begging. You go where the people are. You need money? You don't go 
to an obscure place, but you go where there's a lot of people 
so that you can hold out your hand and get some coin. Now, 
Jesus and his disciples were accompanied by the multitudes, 
because remember, the Passover feast is coming. So it's not 
just Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, but there are great multitudes 
who are now making their way into Jerusalem to be present 
for the Feast of Passover. When we compare, as I said, the 
previous account, there's a couple of healings in the Gospel records. Back in chapter 9 of Matthew, 
In verses 27 to 31, Jesus heals two blind men. Now, we aren't 
to suppose that this is simply a repetition of that or another 
account of that. It is a different account. Those 
two in Matthew 9 took place in Galilee, and here we are in Judah, 
specifically in the city of Jericho. I did mention in Mark 10, 46-52 
and Luke 18, 35-43, both those evangelists record this as one 
man being healed of his blindness. In fact, Mark identifies that 
man with the name Bartimaeus in Mark 10, 46. Avid young people who are readers 
of the read aloud Bible stories will remember blind Bartimaeus 
and that wonderful account how after he was granted vision, 
he saw the hills and he saw the trees and he saw the sky and 
he saw the mommies and he saw the daddies, but best of all, 
he saw Jesus. That's the Bartimaeus in view 
here in Matthew's Gospel as well. We need to understand there's 
no contradiction. If there are two, there is certainly 
one. And Mark and Luke do not tell 
us that it was only one. Most likely, what we have is 
an account of Matthew, who was an eyewitness, who oftentimes 
records numbers very specifically. In Matthew's gospel in chapter 
8, when Jesus heals the demoniac, Matthew tells us there were two 
men there among the tombs who cried out. And Mark and Luke, 
they just highlight the one man. And why Mark indicates the name 
of the one man is probably because he was better known to other 
people. The church subsequent to this 
particular account would have been able to identify with Bartimaeus. He could have been a popular 
fellow in the early church. So there are no contradictions. Matthew indicates there were 
two men, so there was certainly one man. one man, and Mark mentions 
that man by the name of Bartimaeus. So if as I proceed I refer to 
Bartimaeus and you don't see that name in our passage, he 
is at least one of those men in our passage. Now let's move 
to the earnest petition of these blind men. We learn a lot in 
this passage. I know that sometimes we read 
through narratives like this and we say, wow, isn't that special? 
Jesus healed these men of their blindness. And then we just sort 
of move on. There's a lot of stuff in this 
particular passage, not only about these blind men, but even 
more importantly about our Lord Jesus Christ. And if you are 
here today and you are not a Christian, you are a blind man or a blind 
woman. or a blind boy or a blind girl. You are in the blindness that 
sin brings as a result of our fallen Adam. And there's only 
one way that that light can shine. There's only one way that that 
vision can be granted, and it is through this Lord, this Son 
of David. Now sometimes people who are 
engaged in this blindness or those who are in this darkness, 
they don't even see their need. They don't even care to think 
about their need when they are reminded in circumstances like 
these that they have need. They want it to be finished and 
they want to be able to get away from these kinds of things. But 
my hope and prayer is that the Spirit today will open your blind 
eyes and will show you this one in whom there is mercy. in whom 
there is forgiveness and in whom there is healing. I mean, Jesus 
is able to touch these men and heal them immediately. Wasn't 
that the experience of everyone here that, by God's grace, has 
believed on the Lord Jesus? That moment you believe, what 
happens? You're forgiven of your sins. You have new eyesight. You see Christ in his glory and 
in his majesty. You see yourself as a desperately 
needful sinner and that Christ alone has what you stand in need 
of. So I would encourage you this 
morning to pay close attention to what we find in this account 
concerning the men and concerning our Lord. Notice, with reference 
to their condition, they were physically blind. They could 
not see. Spurgeon says, mercy needs misery 
to give it an occasion to work. Mercy needs misery to give it 
an occasion to work. We see great distress in these 
two men when we see great mercy in our Lord Jesus Christ. And 
in the providence of God, as he moves from Perea over through 
Jericho down to Jerusalem, he hears these two men in their 
blindness crying out. They were beggars. They were 
not sitting by the road to soak up the sun. They were not chilling 
by the road just to enjoy the day. They were men who begged. That's what you did as a blind 
man. You didn't have a job. You didn't 
have a livelihood, you didn't go to work, you didn't get treated 
fairly and equitably by everyone else. They were outcasts and 
they were men who depended on begging in order to survive. Remember in 1046 in Mark's Gospel, 
Bartimaeus sat there in his blindness begging. Davies and Allison make 
this perceptive point. They say perhaps one should remember 
that Passover probably was a special time for charitable giving. Sort 
of like what happens in December. People get warm and they get 
fuzzy and they get kind and they get nice. Too bad we can't be 
like that from January to November. But at least in that season of 
the month, people have more of a charitable spirit. They indicate 
that Passover was most likely that sort of a thing. It says, 
so the blind men appear to be in the right place at the right 
time. They look, however, not to the crowd, but to Jesus for 
help. And their request is not for 
money. Now notice as well that these 
men are faithful. These men are faithful. How do 
we know that? Well, Bartimaeus, here's the 
words of the Lord Jesus in Mark 10.52, Go your way, your faith 
has made you well. But this passage without that 
appendage indicates that these men were men of faith. How do 
we know that? They called Jesus Lord. They 
call Jesus son of David. They come to Jesus and ask for 
eyesight. Have you ever had anybody beg 
from you? Has anybody ever asked you for 
something? Has anybody ever stopped you 
on the road and say, sir or ma'am, can you spare a whatever? What 
do they typically ask for? They ask for money. I have to 
admit, I have never in my life been approached by a beggar asking 
me to heal them of their blindness. These men knew that in the Son 
of David there was healing. These men knew that in the Son 
of David there was power. These men knew that in the Son 
of David they could actually say to Him, open our eyes, and 
He had the ability, and as we read in the narrative, the compassion, 
He is full of pity, joined with power, as we just sang. These 
men had faith And it is quite intriguing because throughout 
Matthew's Gospel, we get these contrasting views of Christ. 
We get men who oppose Him. We get men who despise Him. We get men who reject Him. And 
then we get men who cry out to Him saying, Son of David, have 
mercy on us. So these blind men, physically 
blind, have a spiritual sight that the religious leaders of 
Israel do not have. When we get to Matthew 23 and 
the Lord Christ starts pronouncing woes and condemnation upon the 
scribes and the Pharisees, how many times does He tell them 
that you are blind men? You are blind guides. You cannot 
see. You have physical eyesight. You 
can see the sun and the hills and the trees and the mommies 
and the daddies, but you can't see Jesus. And yet these men 
who are sitting in darkness and blindness with hands held out, 
they know who He is. They understand something about 
the Christ. They were faithful men. Note 
their petition. I've already mentioned how they 
address Christ. Verse 30, O Lord, Son of David. Verse 31, O Lord, Son of David. Verse 33, Lord. Now Lord in the 
New Testament can also mean Sir. It has that idea that it can 
be a term of respect to a person that is an ordinary fellow but 
maybe a little bit higher station. But because it's coupled with 
this statement, Son of David, I think we ought to embrace the 
full weight of Lord. These men understand something 
of Jesus. Again, these are men in their 
darkness in Jericho that were apparently the least of all or 
the last, and Christ treats them like the first. These men call 
Jesus Lord. They also call him Son of David. 
This is used of Christ in Matthew 1.1, 9.27, 12.23, 15.23, 21.9, 
21.15, and 22.41. to 46. What does son of David 
mean? It harkens back to 2 Samuel 7. 
You remember the occasion of 2 Samuel 7. David is sitting 
in his house of cedar. And David says, I want to build 
a house for my God because I dwell in a cedar mansion, a palace, 
a royal place. And God is dwelling in a tent. 
And the Lord God says to David, I'm not going to let you build 
a house for me, David, but rather I'm going to build a house out 
of you. There will be a Davidic dynasty. I will raise up from 
your seed one man, one son, that will sit upon the throne of David. 
And that one son will orchestrate a rule of righteousness. and 
justice, and equity, and blessedness, and wonderful things. Jesus Christ 
is the Davidic Son. Jesus Christ is the promised 
Messiah. Jesus is the one charged by God 
to come into this world to liberate, to save, to vindicate, to bring 
salvation and redemption to the house of Israel. When we come 
to the New Testament, the house of Israel is the church of the 
Lord Jesus, for whom he died and rose again. So these men 
call upon Jesus as the son of David, who is entering into the 
city of David, and he is going to bring salvation. Now notice 
their particular petition. Have mercy on us. Doesn't great 
distress cry out for great mercy? I mean, what are these guys supposed 
to ask for? Have mercy on us. Lord, take notice of us. Have 
you come to that place? Have you learned the reality 
that you're a sinner against a holy God? Again, physically 
sighted, but spiritually blind. You come and you sit under preaching 
and it just sounds like somebody's reading a Chinese phone book 
to you. You come to contact with the 
word of the living God and you might read through it and it 
makes as much sense to you as that same phone book? Have you 
ever noticed and sensed and seen the reality that you're dead 
to spiritual things? You know what the response ought 
to be? Lord, have mercy on me. I don't want to sit in darkness. I don't want to sit contrary 
to you. I don't want to continue in rebellion. I don't want to 
continue with this animosity or this enmity. Jesus, our Lord, 
Son of David, have mercy on us. That's the petition that these 
men offer up. And as well, when they offer 
up this particular petition, again, I think it reflects their 
understanding of who Messiah was. The prophet Isaiah in chapter 
35, verse 5, tells of the Messiah of God. Then the eyes of the 
blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. You see, as far as they understand, 
this Messiah is walking through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem. They're in the right place at 
the right time. Not simply to beg for money from 
a lot of multitudes, but they're in the path of Jesus. Where you 
need to be is in the path of Jesus. You need to be by the 
wayside. You need to be by this street. You need to be where Christ is 
going to pass. That's where mercy comes. Now, 
thankfully, he sits enthroned at the right hand of God Most 
High. So wherever you happen to be, whatever street you're 
on, whatever road you're on, whatever hole you may find yourself 
in, Christ is near. And that same cry, Son of David, 
have mercy on me, will reach the ears of this blessed Messiah. They would have had the Psalter 
in their minds. They would have understood Psalm 
72. A psalm, as it says, of Solomon, but we know a greater than Solomon. 
says concerning Messiah, for he will deliver the needy when 
he cries. He will deliver the needy when 
he cries, the poor also and him who has no helper. As Spurgeon 
says concerning this passage, believing cries can hold the 
Son of God by the feet. Isn't that beautiful? Believing cries can hold the 
Son of God by the feet. Remember, this is a mob. This 
is a multitude heading down to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. These are two outcast men and 
they are crying to the son of David to have mercy on them. 
Notice their importunity. Now, kids, that's a word that 
simply means what Jesus tells us to do in Matthew's gospel. We are to ask We are to seek 
and we are to not. We are to be importunate. We 
are not to let the Lord go unless he bless us. That's importunity. That importunate widow in Luke's 
gospel, in Luke chapter 18. that woman who wanted the judge 
to render a particular verdict. And she kept coming to him, and 
coming to him, and coming to him. And sooner or later, this 
judge, who didn't fear God, who didn't regard men, said, I'm 
going to give her her verdict, lest she weary me by her constant 
coming. And Jesus' implication from that 
is, shall not God avenge his own elect who cry unto him day 
or night? Be importunate about your souls. Be concerned about the fact that 
you're in darkness. Be concerned about the fact that 
you are spiritually dead. Be concerned about the fact that 
the Bible does come to you and it sounds like a phone book being 
read of one you're not interested in. Be concerned about that and 
be importunate. When Jesus tells us, ask, seek, 
and knock, the tense of the verb is keep asking, keep seeking, 
keep knocking. If you don't have salvation for 
your soul, don't stop. If you're going to go home today 
under the wrath and fury of God Most High, come to the Son of 
David. You see, that's what's at stake. 
For these men, it was physical. For us, it's spiritual. You continue 
on in this blindness. You continue on in this darkness. 
You continue on in this rebellion and rejection of the God who 
made you so that you would worship and serve and glorify Him. If you continue to reject the 
Creator, He will ultimately reject you. You see, the stakes in this 
particular contest are huge. It's about heaven and it's about 
hell. It's about life and it's about 
death. It's about eternal bliss or eternal damnation. There ought 
to be importunity. Some of you young people and 
children, you come and you sit under the preaching of the word. 
Are you saved? Have you come to the Savior? 
Have you believed? Have you said, Son of David, 
have mercy on me? Have you been with that other 
man in Luke's gospel who cries, God, be merciful to me, the sinner? You see, importunity. When we 
want something, we seek it, don't we? When we want something, we 
have to have it, don't we? When we see that image in the 
newspaper, on the internet, telling us that the newest, bestest, 
latest thing will make us so happy, we do everything we can 
to obtain that. People line up for hours to buy 
new phones. People are already ordering tickets 
for a movie that's coming out in two months. People are importunate 
when it's something that they desire and that they crave. And yet, some of you will go 
away from here once again saying, yes, we've heard the gospel, 
yes, I understand that I'm a sinner, yes, I realize that it wouldn't 
go well with me if I were to die right now, but I'm going 
to continue on in my path, I'm going to continue on in my rejection, 
I'm going to continue on in my rebellion and in my darkness, 
and I'm not going to seek, I'm not going to ask, I'm not going 
to strive to enter in at that narrow way. That's foolish. These men couldn't see, so they 
wouldn't stop until they could. Notice, their importunity is 
seen by the way the crowd deals with them. Man, we can be terrible, 
can't we? I don't mean... Yeah, I do. I 
think all of us are in this text. Then the multitude warned them 
that they should be quiet. It's just like when Jesus bid 
Zacchaeus to come down out of the tree. How does the multitude 
respond? Praise God that Jesus has conquered 
another wretch by sovereign grace. No. Praise God that Zacchaeus 
has passed from death unto life and he's going to sit at the 
master's table for supper. No. They grumbled and they complained. And what about those Pharisees 
in Luke's Gospel, in Luke 15, when all the sinners and the 
tax collectors draw near to Jesus to hear Him? Do they say, praise 
God, we disagree with some of His methodology, we disagree 
with some of His emphases, but in the fact that He is preaching 
the Kingdom of God, we're glad that all these multitudes are 
drawn. No, they grumble and they complain and they murmur. They 
carry on like little children who do not get their way. It's 
the same thing here. The multitude warned them that 
they should be quiet. We don't know why. Perhaps they 
thought that Jesus, excuse me, needed to carry on with his journey 
and could not be deterred. Could be the fact that they thought 
that Jesus couldn't be bothered with such low life. I mean, two 
beggars in Jericho. Some have suggested, at least 
one of the commentators said, there was a particular product, 
a particular balm that was in Jericho, so there were lots of 
blind people in this particular city seeking a particular cure. 
I mean, they were a dime a dozen, right? Why should Jesus stop 
in the midst of his busy schedule to listen to you two wretches? 
They're marginalized, they're outcasts, they are not part of 
the particular group. Notice what they do in response. They cried out all the more, 
saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David. Bruner says the 
followers' resistance doubled the blind men's cries, a mark 
of the reality of their faith. You see, if anyone ever tells 
you, no, you don't go to Jesus, might happen with teenagers because 
you might run with a particular group of people that say, well, 
Jesus, that's for fools or it's for, I don't know if they say 
sissies anymore, whatever it is they use to put you down. 
Oh, that's just for those kinds of people that, you know, you 
don't want to be one of those religious wackos. You don't want to be 
one of those wing nuts. You don't want Jesus. Do you succumb to 
that? You say, well, you're right, 
I don't want the one who can save me from my sins. I don't 
want the Lord of Glory, Son of David, who has the power to bring 
me into everlasting life. Do you succumb to societal pressure? Would you actually listen to 
someone who said, don't go to that person who can give you 
life? Don't go to that person who can give you everything? 
Don't go to that person who can give you forgiveness? If those 
are your friends, you need new ones. You need to get away from 
people that try to keep you from the Lord of glory. You need to 
get away from those influences that will throw up obstacles 
in your path. You need to get away from those 
persons that would rather do drugs or get drunk or engage 
in sex before they would ever have saving dealings with God 
through Christ. That drunk, sexual, drug-induced 
stupor will ultimately lead them to the pit of hell. unless by 
the grace of God they repent and believe on the gospel of 
the Lord Jesus. The point is that when you tell 
somebody, you know, I'm thinking about what Jesus said in the 
gospel records. I'm thinking about the reality 
that I'm sitting in blindness and in darkness. I'm thinking 
about the reality that this son of David has mercy upon wretched 
sinners. And I'm a wretched sinner and 
I want to go to him. If you have the sorts of friends 
that say, no, you don't want to do that. You want to continue 
with us down this path of destruction. Go to Christ and then find new 
friends. Go to Christ and then to His 
church, where hopefully you will find a people that want to facilitate 
your access to the Savior instead of deny it, instead of throw 
up obstacles. This crowd demonstrates something 
that is native in the hearts of men. Not only do we love our 
own sin, but we love the fact that others sin too. It's almost 
the summit of all evil, as Calvin comments on Romans 1.32. It's 
not only that we love it, but it's we see others who love it 
and corrupt themselves as well. If anyone, kids, ever tells you, 
you don't want Jesus, you don't need Jesus, stay away from Jesus, 
stay away from them. That is hellish, devilish, wicked 
talk. Anything that keeps a man, a 
woman, a boy or girl from Christ is something that ought to be 
avoided at all costs. Notice. I love the scene. I see it in my mind's eye. Hush 
up. Be quiet. He doesn't want to 
hear from you. He has no time for you. They 
don't just kowtow and say, oh yeah, I guess you're right. You 
see, I suppose it's easy for men who have their sight to minimize 
the plight of someone who doesn't. Perhaps if this crowd sat for 
a moment in darkness of their own, they would understand something 
of these blind men's cries. So that's another indicator. 
Men haven't thought through sin. They haven't considered the reality. They haven't understood the gravity 
of this darkness that we find ourselves in. These men understood. These men knew and said they 
cry out all the more. Lord, Son of David, have mercy 
on us. The blind man thankfully did 
not listen to the crowd. I mean, can't you in your life 
at this point as a redeemed man or woman say, I'm thankful I 
didn't listen to so and so in my life. I'm thankful that by 
God's grace, I managed to resist that tempter. They didn't listen 
to the crowd. There's a good sort of corollary 
here. Don't listen to the crowd when the crowd's opposed to Christ. 
Right? I mean, the crowd is increasingly 
growing. It's growing more and more of 
a concern to believers. The crowd, as they continue further 
away from God, Embracing things that are unrighteous and unholy 
and ungodly, they become more of a threat to the people of 
God. We don't listen to them. We don't 
kowtow to them. We maintain biblical fidelity 
in the midst of a crowd that has apostatized from God. The 
blind men had great need, so they cried out for great relief. Jesus, or Lord, Son of David, 
have mercy on me. Notice that the blind men would 
have continued in their blindness had they listened to the crowd 
and Jesus passed by. Praise God. He put it in the 
hearts of these men who had faith that Jesus was a man joined with 
pity, full of power, that was able to save them. He was Israel's 
Messiah. He was the Son of David in accordance 
with 2 Samuel 7. The rest of the prophets and 
the Psalter itself. These men understood that He 
alone is the one that can bring light to our dark eyes. I don't care if the crowd tells 
me to be silent. I don't care if the crowd doesn't 
like it. I don't care if the crowd actually thinks I'm foolish. I'm blind and I need mercy. You 
see, that's where you need to come. It doesn't matter what 
your friends think. It doesn't matter what your friends 
say. It doesn't matter what the general conception of Christianity 
happens to be out there. In here, with open Bibles, under 
the eye of a holy God, you are a sinner. And you stand in need 
of Christ. And Jesus is a Christ who stands 
to bless those in need Because as we move to the third point, 
the gracious response of the son of David, he stops in his 
tracks. It's beautiful. Look at verse 
32. So Jesus stood still and called 
them. Those are amazing words. Do you 
ever come across words in your Bible you stop? Wow. One of those 
in 1 Samuel 36b we considered on Wednesday night. David comes 
back to Ziklag and what's happened? Ziklag has been burned by fire. Their wives are gone. Their children 
are gone. Now mind you, David and his men 
had just marched 60 miles back to Ziklag for probably some R&R. They wanted the comfort of family. 
They wanted their own beds. They wanted their own food. They 
had come close to having been put into a compromised position. 
So they come back to Ziklag, and instead of finding homes, 
instead of finding wives, instead of finding children, they find 
a city that has been ransacked by the Amalekites. And so what 
happens? They cry. It's a good response, 
isn't it? They cry. They weep. Verse 4, they wept till they 
couldn't weep anymore. Then what? David's men wanted 
to stone him. He's the source of all this. 
He's the problem behind the Ziklag Caper. He's the one that if we 
destroy, well, we still won't get our houses back and we still 
won't get our wives and our kids back, but it'll make us feel 
better just to stone him. So David's got this mess. But 
6b says, but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. Isn't that beautiful? Is that 
what you do in the midst of a zig-zag? Strengthen yourself in the Lord 
your God? This is another one of those 
sorts of verses. So Jesus stood still. He's too busy for you. He's got a mission. He's got 
a journey. There's necessity laid upon Him from the Father 
in heaven. But He stood still. You see, 
sometimes actually, I think people actually get it in their heads, 
you know, I understand what you're saying. I am a sinner. I understand 
what you're saying, that I've offended a holy God. I understand 
what you're saying, that the holy God is going to ultimately 
cut me off and cast me off and throw me into hell forever, because 
that's the way a holy and eternal God functions in a moral universe. I understand all this, but I 
don't believe Jesus would save me. I don't believe Jesus would 
have me. I don't believe Jesus would stop 
on a crowded road in Jericho and ask me what I want. There's 
nothing more about these two men that would provoke the mercy 
and the grace of Jesus than there is in us. You see, we're dealing 
with grace and mercy. We're not dealing with payment 
and recompense. We're dealing with grace and 
mercy. So you ought to conclude that 
if Jesus, on the way to Jerusalem, in the midst of a busy city, 
hears two wretches say, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us, 
and he comes to a stop, and He calls for these men, then you 
ought to reckon there is grace and mercy for a wretch like me. 
I'm going to call on Him too. I'm going to cry out to Him too. 
I'm going to say, Son of David, have mercy on me too. You see, 
you ought never to conclude that this same Jesus doesn't extend 
mercy today. I think that's one of the points 
of the passage. I think that's what's going on. 
He's made this glorious statement in 2028. Just as the Son of Man 
did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life 
a ransom for many, He's about to enter into the city of David 
to do the function of David's son. And on the way, He shows 
us something about gospel light. He shows us something about opening 
the eyes of men dead. He shows us something of His 
pity and of His power. It's almost as if Matthew is 
saying to us, as you enter into Jerusalem, in this horrific week 
of suffering for the Son of Man, never forget His purpose, 2028. It is to give His life as a ransom 
for many, and never forget His mercy. These two wretched men 
in Jericho, that were outcast beggars, that were sinning, marginalized. Christ stood still. It's not the glory of our Savior. 
He stands still for us. Do you ever understand that sometimes? 
You're just aching and agonizing and you've got a zick-lag situation 
yourself, though not the same, and you cry out to God and what 
do you find? He listens. He's there. This is why the psalmist praises 
God. According to Psalm, I believe 
it's 116. I love the Lord because he heard 
the voice of my supplications. You know, on the one hand, we're 
supposed to love the Lord because he's the creator and we're the 
creature, and that's our moral obligation. We're not supposed 
to offer up reasons. Well, the Bible does. I love 
the Lord because he has heard the voice of my supplication. 
Can you testify of that? Has it been the case for you 
at points? Have you been able to come away from the throne 
of grace saying, by God's grace, I've laid hold of him. And even 
better, he's laid hold of me. Jesus stood still in a busy city 
on a busy mission. And he asks these men, what do 
you want me to do for you? R.T. France indicates that this 
is a characteristic of the kingdom that we just learned about. Chapters 
19 and 20. What is a characteristic of the 
kingdom? The first shall be last and the last shall be first. 
These are two last men. These are two wretched men. to two men we'd walk by or perhaps 
take a securitist route so that we wouldn't have to hear them 
begging. I gotta say, brethren, you don't know this, but oftentimes 
on a Tuesday morning when I drive around that, you know, I open 
the gate and I come driving around, I'm always just expecting what 
I oftentimes find. Persons have been there and they 
party and they leave a nice mess for me to pick up and I just 
do it willingly as unto the Lord and I don't. I grumble and I 
whine and I complain. Sometimes I come back and there's 
people here. A little threatening. I don't 
want to throw down or get in a fight or have them beat me 
up or anything like that. But you know, there's a part 
of me that doesn't want to have to deal with it. There's a part 
of me that says, you know, I just hope no one's there because they're 
going to ask me for money. Not like we have some petty cash 
fund here. It's not like I can say, oh, 
you know, I'll chip off a few gold, from the gold blocks and, 
you know, hand it over to you. But there is that resistance 
in my soul. You know, I just don't want to 
deal with it. I think that was probably something in this crowd's 
soul. He doesn't want to deal with it. And certainly, he doesn't 
want to deal with it. He's the son of David. What's 
the son of David going to do with guys like you? He's got 
bigger, better, more important things to do. And yet the son 
of David stood still. He calls for the man, and he 
says, what would you have me do? France says that Jesus stopped 
among such a large, moving crowd to respond to the request of 
two insignificant individuals illustrates again the unconventional 
values of the kingdom of heaven in which the good of a little 
one takes precedence and in which compassion triumphs over the 
expectations of the many. You see, brethren, a part of 
this great multitude, I don't know if Matthew wants us to understand 
it this way, but we need to understand that Matthew and the other 11 
are part of this selfsame multitude. Now, whether they voice this 
to Bartimaeus, whether they said this to Bartimaeus and his companion, 
I'm not sure. I don't know. But they were part 
of this crowd. You see, there are times when 
we are not like the master. We will not stand still. We will 
not hand things out. Praise God for the master. I'm 
not saying that so we'll go out and be slobs and not deal with 
people, but praise God Almighty that this one gave his life a 
ransom for many. Do you understand the point of 
the gospel? Do you understand the glory of 
the atonement? Do you understand the blessing 
of verse 28 in the blood of Jesus? It's because we don't do what 
Jesus did. It's because we don't care about insignificant people. 
Because we don't restrain our passions, and we don't restrain 
our wickedness, and we don't restrain our evil, and our inclinations, 
and our corruptions. That's why Jesus came, to die 
for us and to rise again, so that sinners, by God's grace, 
can look to Him and live. Praise the Lord Almighty. Notice, 
the Lord questions them, what do you want me to do for you? 
Certainly Jesus would know what a blind man wants, doesn't he? 
I mean, we're not Jesus, but we would know what a blind man 
would want, don't we? Again, it's to confirm, to demonstrate, 
and to evidence their faith. If they say to Jesus, we want 
money, we want a burger, we want a bag of potatoes. It's actually 
better to buy a bag of potatoes than a burger. If you buy a bag 
of potatoes, the brother can eat or the man can eat for all 
week. You get him a burger and it's not going to last very long. 
You see, if they ask for ordinary alms, they believe Him to be 
an ordinary man. They ask for ten bucks, they 
think that Jesus is just like everybody else in the crowd. 
But here is an evidence, here is a demonstration, here is a 
confirmation that these men have faith in the Son of David, the 
Lord of all, because they say, open our eyes. That's faith, brethren. They 
knew who they were dealing with. They knew he was a man with power. They knew it was recorded concerning 
Messiah and the prophet and what Pastor Cam read as well concerning 
Isaiah chapter 11. What does Messiah do when he 
comes to Israel? He heals blind men. He hears 
the cry of the needy. He stops in the midst of a crowded 
city and he walks over to them or he has them brought to him 
and he says to them, what would you have me to do? And these 
men say, open our eyes and notice Jesus compassion. They said in 
verse 33, Lord, that our eyes may be open. So Jesus had compassion. This has been mentioned several 
times in Matthew's gospel up to this point. Jesus has compassion. 
Isn't that great? Remember I said earlier, there 
are those who hear the fact that they're sinners, they're under 
the wrath and fury of God. They say, but I don't know if 
Jesus will accept me. Jesus had compassion on these 
men. Jesus has compassion demonstrated throughout the gospel narratives. 
Compassion, again, speaks to the reality of mercy and grace. 
It's not dessert. It's not what you've earned. 
It's not what you're indebted to or God's indebted to you in 
some sense or other. It's about compassion. This is 
the heart of the Savior. This is what He loves to do. 
Healing these blind men affirms and demonstrates and confirms 
the reality. Yes, that He is the Son of David, 
but it shows us something of this Messiah's heart. And so 
is the case when any sinner comes to Him. What did you find when, 
by God's grace, you believe the gospel? Did you find blows and 
kicks and reproofs? Or did you find welcoming arms 
from the Savior? If you wonder about this compassion, 
you can turn to Luke's gospel in chapter 15, where you see 
it displayed. You remember the father, he had 
two sons, and the one son says, Father, give me my share of the 
loot. I want to go out and live. Now realize what that son is 
saying to his father. When do you get an inheritance? 
You get the inheritance when your parent dies. So this son 
essentially says to his father, you're better off to me dead 
than alive. But you know, I'm going to proffer this deal. Give 
me my share of the inheritance now so I can go out and do what 
I want to do. So what does he do? He goes out and he does what 
he wants to do. He goes out and he sins. He goes out and he rebels. He goes out and he squanders 
that money. He ends up in a hog pen. lost staying after and craving 
the food that the pigs are eating. I mean, talk about a glorious 
or a wondrous word picture that our Lord Jesus gives. Pigs will 
eat anything. And that was looking tasty to 
this boy in the hog pen. So what happens? He comes to 
his senses. He says, I know what I'll do. 
I'll go back home. I don't believe the kids converted at this point 
whatsoever. I believe he's functioning in 
the capacity of a mercenary. I know what I'll do. I'll go 
back to my father's house because my father's servants at least 
get a square meal a day. I'll go back. I'll say I've sinned 
against heaven. I've sinned in your sight. I 
mean, that all sounds really good, but his motivation is to 
fill his belly each and every day. He wants to use the father 
to make sure that he doesn't have to eat big food. So he goes 
back to the father, and if that is indeed the case, what the 
father does even is more glorious a display. Because if you see 
when that kid comes back smelling of pig, reeking of hog, desiring 
only to be counted a servant in his father's house so he can 
make his daily bread. If there's not been genuine repentance, 
if there's not been genuine conversion, again, good men differ on this 
particular interpretation. But when the father sees him 
from a long way off, the father runs to him, the father falls 
on him, the father kisses him, the father puts a ring on his 
finger, and he puts a robe on his back. That's compassion. That's grace. That's mercy. That's what we're dealing with 
in the Christian gospel. For someone to say, I don't deserve 
Jesus. You're right. No one deserves 
Jesus. We've all offended God. We've 
all sinned against God. We deserve damnation and hell 
and wrath. But the glory of the Christian 
message is that Jesus stood still. That Jesus says, what do you 
want me to do for you? and Jesus had compassion. That's what we preach. Not go 
out and do better or try harder, but flee to the one who has compassion. Flee to the Lord who has pity 
joined with power. Flee to the Lord alone who is 
able to wash you from your sins and give you a righteousness 
that will avail with His Father. You see that picture of the prodigal, 
the ring on the finger, the robe on his back. Isn't that a blessed, 
blessed emblem of justification? God in the gospel takes off our 
old filthy pig stinking garments and he casts them aside and he 
takes that glorious gospel robe of Jesus Christ's righteousness 
and He puts it on us, and He accepts us into His home, and 
He calls for a feast, and a party, and a celebration. That's the 
heart of our God. Never conclude that I've been 
such a mess, and such a wretch, and such a sinner, that Jesus 
will never have me. That is the wrong conclusion 
with an open Bible. The reality is, is because you've 
been such a wretch, because you've been such a mess, because you've 
been such a sinner, Flee now to Christ. Go to the one who 
has compassion for sinners. He is full of pity. But as the 
hymn we sang continues, joined with power. What would it be 
if they said, Lord, son of David, have mercy on us. And he has 
this move or this wave of compassion come over him. But he says, you 
know, I'm not really the son of David. I don't have the power 
to heal you. You see, sinners, you know, don't 
only need pity. You need power. And that's what 
Jesus has. I might pity you, I hope I do 
pity you if you're unconverted, but I don't have the power to 
save you. Imagine power, raw power with no pity or compassion. 
That'd be kind of difficult to deal with as well. But both these 
things are joined in our beloved Savior. He's got pity and power 
for sinners, and that's what the text indicates. So Jesus 
had compassion and touched their eyes. The Lord of Glory touches 
their eyes. The Son of David does what the 
prophet spoke of. The Son of David hears the cries 
of the needy and He comes to their aid. And will He not do 
that now? Has He stopped this blessed activity 
of saving His people? Has He come to the place where 
He's retired? Where it's over? He's no longer 
engaged in this particular business? Why do you think every Lord's 
Day we bring this to bear on your hearts and minds? Every 
Lord's Day, children, we try and plead with you and tell you 
the Christian gospel. Why? Because he sits enthroned 
at the right hand of his father, where he has pity joined with 
power, such that any who come to him in faith will have everlasting 
life. They will pass from darkness. 
They will pass from death into that blessed, blissful position 
of the sons of God. Notice He heals them immediately. If I don't shake your hand on 
your way out, it's because I have a cold and I don't want to get 
you sick. And I'm not Jesus in the sense 
that if I touched you, you'd get healthy. If I touch you, 
you're going to get sick. That's just always the way it's 
going to be. But notice, he reaches out, he 
touches their eyes, and immediately their eyes receive sight and 
they followed him. Think back to that. Read aloud 
Bible stories. Now they saw the mountains. Now they saw the trees. 
Now they saw the sky. Now they saw the mommies and 
the daddies and the friends and the relatives and the people 
in the city. But best of all, now they saw Jesus. And what 
do they do? They follow him. That's what 
people do when they receive mercy and compassion from the one who 
has power. They follow him. Carson makes this perceptive 
statement. He says, the two healed men joined the crowds following 
Jesus, pressing on to the Passover they expected and the cross they 
did not. They don't understand what the 
demands of discipleship are going to reveal to them in just about 
a week's time when they see the Son of God, not enthroned upon 
a throne, but enthroned upon a cross. I mentioned earlier 
that Bartimaeus is commended by Jesus in Mark's Gospel for 
his faith. Go, your faith has saved you 
or your faith has made you well. John Calvin makes this note, 
by the word faith has meant not only a confident hope of recovering 
sight, but a loftier conviction, which was that this blind man 
had acknowledged Jesus to be the Messiah whom God had promised. You see, there's something more 
significant here than the reality that these men got their physical 
sight restored. They laid hold of the son of 
David. They saw the one prophesied. They saw the one promised. They 
saw the one that the prophets and the rest of Scripture testified 
and pointed to. Gil points out with reference 
to this faith, because it can be messed with. You know, you 
get these health, wealth, prosperity guys saying, well, you still 
got cancer because you didn't have faith. I mean, look at over 
here, God said, or Jesus said to Bartimaeus, go, your faith 
has made you well. If you haven't gone well, it's 
because you don't have faith. That's wicked perversion of Holy 
Scripture. Gill qualifies, Gill nuances 
what faith in that context means. Not that the virtue of healing 
came from the act of faith, but from the object of it. Our faith 
is only as good as the object. If someone ever says to you, 
it doesn't matter what we believe, it's just that we do believe. 
That is hogwash. That is the stuff they feed to 
pigs. That is the stuff you do not 
need. It's not about the fact that you have faith, it's about 
the person that faith is rooted in. It is the object of faith. You can believe in Iraq and end 
up in hell. You believe in the Lord Jesus, 
you end up in heaven by the grace of God. Gil says not that the 
virtue of healing came from the act of faith, but from the object 
of it. His faith was not the cause of, 
nor the reason why, but the way and means in and by which he 
receives the cure. It's the instrument, just like 
the apostle affirms everywhere. It's not the reason, it's not 
the condition, it's not because you have faith, I'm going to 
make you well. No, that's the hand, the empty 
hand by which we hold to the blessed promise of God. This 
is a glorious account of two miserable men that find the son 
of David. In conclusion, let us rehearse 
what the condition was. They were blind beggars and social 
outcasts. Not a lot of status to have as 
a blind person in the first century. I mean, there's lots of programs 
now. There's a lot of good things. People get treated very well. 
You know, in societies like these, brethren, it's just not that 
way. In times like these, it just wasn't that way. I mean, if you were a widow or 
you were an outcast, life was tough. You went to Jericho near 
the Passover because you knew a lot of people were going to 
be coming through the city and that would be the time you could 
beg best. They were blind beggars, social 
outcasts. They were rebuked and rebuffed 
by the crowd. They're warned sternly by the 
crowd, be quiet, he doesn't want to hear from you. They were importunate 
in their approach to Jesus. I hope you learn what that means. 
I hope I made it clear. Ask, seek, knock and don't stop. You need to say with Peter, when 
the Lord Jesus says, are you going to are you going to leave 
me now? And Peter says, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have 
the words of eternal life. I need to be under that word. 
I need to be where the word is. I need to be by the wayside. 
I need to be by that street. Where Jesus passes by, I need 
to be there, because it's there that I'm going to meet the Lord 
of glory, the Son of David, that is able to save me from my sins. They were men of faith who, devoid 
of physical sight, saw with the eye of faith that Jesus was the 
Lord, the Son of David, promised in the scriptures, passing through 
Jericho, and they would not take no for an answer. That's importunate. We see in this passage, secondly, 
the glorious identity of Jesus Christ. He is the Lord of all. 
These men were absolutely right in their address to him. Lord. 
Again, it means sir in certain contexts and in certain situations. But Matthew tells us, his faithful 
readers, that when you see Lord combined with son of David, these 
men are speaking a truth that we need to pay attention to. 
He is Lord and he is the son of David. I've mentioned several 
times in the sermon that hymn that we just sang, 393, he is 
full of pity, joined with power. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that 
the conception of the picture, rather the demonstration that 
scripture gives us of our Lord? He is full of pity and joined 
with power. That same hymn goes toward the 
end. I forget which stanza, but it 
says, he is able, he is able, he is able, he is willing, doubt 
no more. He's got power joined with pity. He is able. He is able. He is able. He has all power. 
And he is willing. Don't continue to sit in darkness. Don't continue to listen to the 
crowd. Don't continue to resist this 
one who has pity and power and has demonstrated it in this room 
with wretches like us. If you ever doubt for a moment 
that there's mercy to be had in the Lord Jesus, talk to me 
for a few minutes. Talk to some of the other brethren. 
Was there something good about us that commended ourselves to 
the Lord? No! We were running from God. We 
were going away from God. Paul the Apostle tells us in 
Romans 3, there is none who seeks after God. There is no fear of 
God before their eyes. That was my place. I wasn't coming 
to church. I didn't want to hear gospel 
preaching. I didn't want to sit under the Word. I wanted to get 
away from it. Christ is full of pity joined 
with power. He is able. He is able. He is able. He is willing. Doubt no more. If you are succumbing to pressure, 
maybe it is friends. Maybe it is the buddies at high 
school or middle school or whatever school you happen to be in. Maybe 
it's kids on your block. Maybe it's the Facebook site 
or whatever it may be. Perhaps there's some pressure 
upon you that you really shouldn't go to the Lord Jesus. Ryle draws 
this practical lesson from this passage. He says, let us mark 
the value of pains and perseverance in seeking Christ. Friends, relatives, 
and neighbors may say unkind things and reprove our earnestness. We may meet with coldness and 
want of sympathy where we might have looked for help. But let 
none of these things move us. If we feel our diseases and want 
to find Jesus, the great physician, if we know our sins and desire 
to have the pardon, let us press on. May I encourage you today, 
first and foremost, that you flee now by faith. And what happens 
when the Son of God touches you, He heals you immediately. Isn't 
that beautiful? Armenians teach that you have 
to come forward, or you have to sign a card, or you have to 
bow your head, raise your hand, when every eye is bowed. Jesus 
doesn't need you to do that. Jesus says, write where you are. Believe. Believe and you will 
be healed. Believe and you will be forgiven. Believe and you will receive 
a righteousness that will avail with the Father in heaven. It 
is immediate. It is right now. But if it is 
the case that you resist, you reject, and you say, you know, 
I want to think more about it, then think. Don't listen to the 
crowd. Don't listen to the God-haters. 
Don't listen to those who reject the Lord of glory and the Son 
of David. Rather, listen to the Word of truth that bids you come 
to the Savior. And I think one final thing that 
this text does in this particular passage. You know, I always try 
to understand connection. Why is a text where it is? Back in Matthew chapter four, 
when the Lord Jesus starts his gospel ministry, Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah, 
as Matthew does very often. Notice in four, 14, that it might 
be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, 
the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the 
sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who 
sat in darkness have seen a great light. And upon those who sat 
in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned. I think Matthew, maybe he hasn't, 
but this is something I think, Matthew's reminding us of this. 
Matthew using the emblematic blind man to show us the messianic 
age has come. And that light that dawns for 
the good of Gentile and Jew alike emanates from the cross. It comes 
from the place where the Son of Man gave Himself for His people. That's where light is found. 
That's where truth is found. That's where joy and everlasting 
life are found. It's at the cross. Well, let 
us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for the Word of God. We thank you for the pity and 
the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly, God, as your people, 
we have tasted that pity and power for ourselves. And we want 
others to hear of it. We want others to know of it. 
We want others, by your grace, to believe it. God, today I pray 
that there would be men, women, boys, and girls that would go 
home and have dealings with you. that they would not throw these 
things off, that they would not reject these things, but they 
with the blind men would say, Lord, Son of David, have mercy 
on me. If anything opposes or anything 
resists or anything even in their own hearts would suggest otherwise, 
may they cry all the louder, Lord, Son of David, have mercy 
on me. I pray that you would go with 
us now, help us to consider these things, help us to be encouraged 
with the Word of God. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord, amen.