Open our eyes, Lord
We want to see Jesus
To reach out and touch Him
And say that we love Him
Open our ears, Lord
And help us to listen
Open our eyes, Lord
We want to see Jesus…

(Written by Bob Cull)

This chorus of my youth returns to play in the background of my mind as I read this passage this morning.  Two blind men know that Jesus is near from hearing the chatter of the crowds.  They hear what He is doing among the people; but their sight prevents them from physically seeing Him and knowing Him personally.  How do we know they know who He is?  They cry out to Jesus, telling world—”Son of David” “Master”!  They know He is the Merciful Messiah who was promised to come.  They know He is Messiah come, but they want to be able to see Jesus—really SEE Jesus in all His glory.

Matthew 20, The Message

^29-31 As they were leaving Jericho, a huge crowd followed. Suddenly they came upon two blind men sitting alongside the road. When they heard it was Jesus passing, they cried out, “Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!” The crowd tried to hush them up, but they got all the louder, crying, “Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!”

³² Jesus stopped and called over, “What do you want from me?”

³³ They said, “Master, we want our eyes opened. We want to see!”

³⁴ Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant, and joined the procession.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The world blinds us at times to the power of Jesus within us.  We are easily overwhelmed by unexpected circumstances.  Our sight is blocked from our view of the One who can save us and help us through all situations of life.  We suddenly lose sight of hope, trust, and faith in the One who can change everything with a just one word.  And then we remember, nothing, absolutely nothing is impossible with God.  When God is for us, who can be against us? —No one. 

Son of David, have mercy on us!   

Our faith moves the heart of God!  “Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes.”  Instantly these now fully sighted men who wanted to see Jesus could now join Jesus in His work to seek and to save the world.  As a result:

• Eyes open to the work ahead. 
• Eyes open to the power of God at work in His Son. 
• Eyes open to His compassion and love expressed throug healing. 
• Eyes open to the Messiah who would soon demonstrate His love for all who believe by enduring torture, being nailed to a cross for all the sins of the world, laying His life down for the punishment we deserve. 
• Eyes open to the watching Jesus defeat death and in a final victory, rise again for all to see! 
• Eyes open to seeing Jesus after resurrection to hear their assignment command from Him to “go and tell and make disciples, teaching them…”
• Eyes open to the Hope of Glory.  They saw Him in all His glory which validated what they knew and believed.  Jesus was, is and is to come our Savior and Lord of all.  God ordained His Son in the Highest place of honor in His Kingdom as King of kings and Lord of lords.  (Philippians 2)

How’s our eyesight?  Do we need a checkup?  We all do!  Sometimes our eyesight is blurred by circumstances that challenge our faith in God who knows exactly what we are going through.  We must realize that nothing escapes His notice!  So, call out to Him as the once blind men did.  Pray in Jesus Name for what we really need—to see, really see Jesus at work in our lives.  Pray for ears to be opened to hear His voice above the useless chatter of the world that distracts us.

I’m reminded of the story of Elisha who prayed for his servant who was in a panic over what was about to happen in battle.  All his servant could see was the enemy with great numbers on the horizon about to descend on them.  “Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” – (2 Kings 6:17) 

WOW!  This is the glory of the Lord always at work in our lives, too!  We need to pray for opened eyes to see Him at work! 

“’Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet (Elisha) answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them'” (2 Kings 6:16).  Realizing his servant could only see what was happening in the natural, Elisha asked God to open his servant’s eyes so he could see what was really going on in the spiritual.

We can also prayer that pray for help in trouble!  Jesus told us this truth… “Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 16:23-24

“Son of David, have mercy on us!”  “We want to see!”

For many of us, it’s easier to become distracted and caught up in what the enemy is doing around us than to keep our eyes steadily focused on the Lord.  Sadly, some believers in difficult situations believe they have to fight their battles on their own, leading many to turn to worldly tactics rather than applying spiritual principles.  But like Elisha requested for his servant, rather than thinking we’re all on our own in the conflict, we can ask God to open our eyes to see Him in the midst of our circumstances.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”—Jesus

Son of David, Son of God, have mercy on us—we want to see!

Lord,

Open our spiritual eyes to all that you are while realizing what you are doing even today.  May we see your glory at work all around us and give you praise the moment we realize that it is you all along.  How great are you, Lord! You never leave us, you never sleep, you are for us not against us, you love us beyond human understanding and fight all our battles as we fall to our knees in humble gratitude.  There is no one like you!  You are my Hope.  You are Life!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I once was blind, but now I see.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Open our eyes, Lord
We want to see Jesus…