Healing Two Blind Men of Jericho
Jesus heals two blind men from Jericho
These blind men were sitting by the road and heard Jesus passing by, and to attract his attention they began to cry out. And Jesus, moved with pity, touched their eyes; and instantly their eyes recovered their sight and followed him.
Jesus accepted their heartfelt prayer of supplication: Have mercy on us.
These, although they were poor, asked for neither gold nor silver, but mercy and were heard. This is a great lesson for us too.
Unisciti a noi
Gospel - Matthew [20:29-34]
With these six verses ends Chapter 20 of the Gospel of Matthew, which is a short chapter, consisting of three parts. In the first part there is the parable of the master who goes out to call the workers in the vineyard for the day, while in the second part is described the request to Jesus of the mother of James and John, that her children sit one on the right hand and one on the left in his kingdom and, while he says these things, the others are indignant against the two brothers: the discussion revolves around who is the greatest and Jesus does not miss an opportunity to entrust his disciples with another teaching, reiterating that "whoever wants to be in the first place among you will become your slave, like the Son of Man who came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many".
(Mt 20:27-28).
Now Matthew, at the end of the Chapter, presents us with the healing of two blind men: this parable, placed precisely at the conclusion of the previous teachings, seems to want to make us reflect on the blindness described above, that of the day laborers and that of the apostles who have not yet fully understood the plan of the coming of the Messiah. In the first blindness, we find the protesting workers, who do not agree with the boss's choice to pay the last who have worked only one hour in the same way as they who have worked all day. These workers represent those who belong to the Jewish tradition and who will not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. In the second blindness are placed the apostles: they themselves, who left everything to follow Jesus, demonstrate, with the discussion of who was the first, their limitations; they have not yet understood the mystery of Jesus.
Matthew, after these two reminders, now reveals to us how to heal from such blindness: As they left Jericho, a great crowd followed Jesus. And behold, two blind men sitting by the roadside, hearing that he was passing, began to cry out, "Lord, have mercy on us, O son of David!" These blind people are not people following him, they are sitting along the road and, perhaps, it is the first time they hear him pass: this is the most shocking thing, they who cannot see him with their eyes, they are able to understand his mystery and reveal him in that cry "Lord, have mercy on us, son of David!". Son of David! They recognize, even though they are blind, the Messiah! And in this cry is contained the proclamation of lordship, which means to affirm forcefully "you are truly the Son of God".
This truth will be proclaimed to the people only after the resurrection of Jesus, when Peter will say: "He has ascended into heaven, he is at the right hand of God, where angels, principalities and powers are subject to him" (1 Peter 3:22). But the two blind men of Jericho anticipate the revelation that will later be known to future Christians and, imploring Jesus, it is as if they were saying "since you are the Son of God, we entrust ourselves to you, you alone can heal us!". And Jesus was moved, touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. These blind men, in short, retrace Jesus' call to the apostles; in fact, when Jesus passes by the shore of the lake, what do the apostles do? Without asking too many questions, without any hesitation or doubt, they leave everything and follow him.
Matthew also tells us that while the blind shouted their request to the Lord, the crowd rebuked them so that they would be silent; but in return they shouted even louder. This passage is wonderful because those blind people, heedless of the warnings, insist and reaffirm their certainties. Where do they get this strength from? Jesus answers us when he says: "No one can come to me unless the Father draws him" (Jn 6:44). Here Matthew does not say it explicitly, but he makes it clear: these two blind men are the indisputable proof that they are guided by God; we can then understand what Jesus wanted to teach his disciples when he proclaimed: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God".
(Mt 5:8)
The two blind men see God in Jesus in their physical blindness. But how do you heal from blindness? The answer lies in the experience of these two blind men, who, having purity in their hearts, seek God because they know that only in Him can they be healed and that only in Him can they obtain the light of their souls.
Let us sincerely seek God, and He will make Himself known: this is healing! We must have the same insistence as these two blind men despite the opposition: there will always be someone who wants to instill doubt in you and take away hope, but when you heal from blindness, you will have peace in your heart, you will have conquered sin, and you will have reached that knowledge that God reveals to you. His voice will resound "What do you want me to do for you?", "that my eyes open" and you will recover the sight that will lead you to follow him without reservation.
This is the most beautiful miracle, because it is the passage from darkness to light, it is that miracle that takes place in us when, understanding the light of everything and in everything, we rediscover the infinite love that God has for us. Jesus will hear our cry in the night, a cry that cries out for mercy, so that our lives may have meaning. Our faith, that small flame of our heart, will reach the heart of Jesus, and then He will act in us as in the two blind men: we will regain sight and that light indispensable for following Him.
