The phrase, “blind faith,” is a contradiction in terms. So it seems appropriate that the Bible would show an example of true faith in the lives of two blind men. Matthew 20:29-34 describes what happened:
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.
Several things jump out from this text regarding faith:
1) Jesus responds to faith. The Bible points out the fact that great crowds were following Christ. I’m sure it would have been easy to pass by the two blind men without giving them a second thought. Surely the crowds were demanding His attention. Yet, He refused to be distracted from these men of faith.
God has always been eager to respond to faith. Jesus said in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” No matter what else has God’s attention (word wars, terrorism, etc), nothing can distract Him from a simple plea of faith. Aren’t you glad that God always responds to the faith-filled cry of His people?
2) Faith requires effort yet has no merit. Be careful to understand, faith is not a work that merits (earns) the favor of God. Rather, it is the anti-work in which we admit our desperate need of Christ and cast ourselves upon His mercy. That’s why these men call out “Lord, have mercy on us.” They had nothing to offer so they appealed to Christ’s mercy. Faith always comes to God with empty hands, open to receive His mercy.
But this does not mean that Faith is passive. In fact, I Timothy 6:12 instruct believers to “Fight the good fight of the faith.” Certainly that requires active effort.
In this case, While the two blind men had nothing to bring Christ meriting His mercy, it did not stop them from pleading. Most likely, because of the large crowds that followed Christ, these men had to plead loudly. The Bible even says that the crowd rebuked them and told them to be silent. But that just caused them to cry out “all the more.” I imagine their faces were red from all of their shouting.
We must not be guilty of saying, “If we cannot earn God’s grace, I will not make an effort at faith.” The life of faith is a battle requiring all our strength to be poured into our reliance upon Christ. It takes more effort to trust Christ than to trust ourselves
3) Faith is evidenced by following. Isn’t it interesting that the last detail the Bible provides about these men is that after Christ restored their sight they immediately followed Him? It might be easy to think this is merely a cause-and-effect relationship (ie. Jesus healed them and out of thankfulness, they followed Him).
But while thankfulness is certainly a wonderful byproduct of receiving mercy, I don’t believe that is the core explanation for why they followed Jesus. Instead, I think it’s the other way around. I believe that they desired to follow Christ before they were ever healed. Why do I think that?
Faith is following. In John 10:27 Jesus explains, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”If you aren’t following Christ, you’re not living by faith. The fact that they followed was merely evidence of the faith they exercised. In other words, if a person claims to have faith in Christ, yet never follows Him, something is wrong.
While thankfulness is right and good, it is not explicitly associated with faith. For instance, a person may be thankful that someone recognized their accomplishment. That would be a result of merit –not faith.
The act of following, however, by definition puts the leader first. It admits dependence upon Him. That’s the essence of faith in Christ.
4) Faith is not really blind. While the two men were physically blind, they were not uninformed. In fact, they called Jesus the “Son of David,” indicating their understanding and belief that He was the Messiah. That required spiritual insight from God. Faith responds to the Spirit’s illumination of God’s Word to our hearts. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). In this way, it is never blind. That’s why I love this story. By opening their physical eyes, Jesus symbolically reveals what has already occurred spiritually within these men!
- Have your eyes been opened? Have you exercised faith in Jesus Christ alone for gift of salvation?
- Are you following Him –even in the midst of life’s rebuking crowds?
- Are you continuing to study and rely on His Word for the increase of your faith?
- What life event is competing for your faith today?