Bold requests
This week's study is on Matthew 20:29-34:
I like this story about the blind guys getting their sight from Jesus. (There are at least a few stories of blind people getting their sight in the Bible.) Back in Jesus' time, nobody liked blind guys. Their blindness was considered to be due to some moral defect that God was punishing them for. So these guys not only had to deal with being blind, but also with people treating them poorly.
When they heard Jesus was coming, they knew it was their one chance at getting out of the hell of being blind and despised. But even in their cries for freedom, everyone around was like "shut up stupid blind guys!" But when you only have one chance, you only have one chance, so they kept at it.
Their determination paid off and they were heard. When Jesus heard them, he healed their eyes and they could see. Sin or no sin, they got what they wanted and needed. And nobody would talk down to them and take advantage of their disability any more.
From these verses, though, you could misread them as saying that all you have to do is be bold and persistent and you can somehow manipulate Jesus into doing anything you want. Interestingly, these verses come right after the verses where the sons of Zebedee's annoying pushy mother tries to get Jesus to grant her two boys the two highest positions in Jesus' kingdom. If persistence and pushiness got you all the way, those two guys would be at Jesus' right and left hands. Instead, she got denied, and the poor guys had to hear about it from everyone.
So boldness is important, but only if you're asking for something Jesus wants to do. If I want a private jet, for instance, that has to be compatible with God's plan for my life. Maybe I don't need a private jet, and having one would distract me or waste resources I should be using on other things. Maybe if I got one then everyone would want one and the skies would be congested and the earth would be out of oil in a decade. So in that case I could pray and pray and be obnoxiously bold and nothing would happen.
The good news is that the things God wants to do for us are virtually limitless. We can be as bold and obnoxious as we want, and rather than telling us "shut up stupid sinners" he'll listen. He's not a magic genie we can demand to grant us wishes, but if the timing and circumstances are right, he's the only one who can and will help us.
As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
“Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
I like this story about the blind guys getting their sight from Jesus. (There are at least a few stories of blind people getting their sight in the Bible.) Back in Jesus' time, nobody liked blind guys. Their blindness was considered to be due to some moral defect that God was punishing them for. So these guys not only had to deal with being blind, but also with people treating them poorly.
When they heard Jesus was coming, they knew it was their one chance at getting out of the hell of being blind and despised. But even in their cries for freedom, everyone around was like "shut up stupid blind guys!" But when you only have one chance, you only have one chance, so they kept at it.
Their determination paid off and they were heard. When Jesus heard them, he healed their eyes and they could see. Sin or no sin, they got what they wanted and needed. And nobody would talk down to them and take advantage of their disability any more.
From these verses, though, you could misread them as saying that all you have to do is be bold and persistent and you can somehow manipulate Jesus into doing anything you want. Interestingly, these verses come right after the verses where the sons of Zebedee's annoying pushy mother tries to get Jesus to grant her two boys the two highest positions in Jesus' kingdom. If persistence and pushiness got you all the way, those two guys would be at Jesus' right and left hands. Instead, she got denied, and the poor guys had to hear about it from everyone.
So boldness is important, but only if you're asking for something Jesus wants to do. If I want a private jet, for instance, that has to be compatible with God's plan for my life. Maybe I don't need a private jet, and having one would distract me or waste resources I should be using on other things. Maybe if I got one then everyone would want one and the skies would be congested and the earth would be out of oil in a decade. So in that case I could pray and pray and be obnoxiously bold and nothing would happen.
The good news is that the things God wants to do for us are virtually limitless. We can be as bold and obnoxious as we want, and rather than telling us "shut up stupid sinners" he'll listen. He's not a magic genie we can demand to grant us wishes, but if the timing and circumstances are right, he's the only one who can and will help us.
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