- Lesson 13 in the BaptistWay Press Connect360 unit “Miracles: The Transforming Power of Jesus” focuses on Matthew 20:29-34.
What a fantastic offer Jesus made! “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. The two blind men were ready with their request. From deep inside their hearts they replied, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” A compassionate Jesus touched their eyes, and they received their sight. Matthew related the miracle story matter-of-factly, as if he were telling us about the weather for the day. “With God all things are possible!” Indeed.
If Jesus were to ask, “What do you want me to do for you?” what would you say? I think I know how Jesus wants us to answer that question. He wants us to believe in him. Jesus wants us to desire him more than anything and anyone else in this life. Why? Because Jesus knows when our hearts are most satisfied in him, everything else will fall into place. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” Jesus said (Matt. 6:33).
Value God supremely
God showed his people in the earliest days of their covenant relationship just how important it was that they value him above all things and above all people. The Ten Commandments begin like this: “You shall have no other gods before me.” With this commandment, God was doing the most loving thing he can do for his people. God, who made us and knows us intimately, knows that our supreme joy and happiness will always be found when we value him supremely. When our relationship with God is right, everything else can be. If our relationship with God is not right, all else is affected. When Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” he is delighted most when we ask that he help us believe and perfect our relationship with him.
The blind men asked for their sight, and Jesus gave them their sight. God worked a miracle for them! How did they respond? Look carefully at Matthew 20:34. It says, “they recovered their sight and followed him.” Don’t miss the “followed him,” because that might be the biggest takeaway from this passage. Jesus performed a miracle. He interrupted his day for two blind beggars. Crowds were pressing in on Jesus because he was so immensely popular. But the most important words from this passage are these: “and they followed him.”
We all pray passionately about the things in this life that drive our hearts. Some of those things include family, health, security, and our relationship with God. Perhaps the thing we need most—the miracle we need most—is the courage to follow Jesus in faith.
Compiled by Stan Granberry, marketing coordinator for BaptistWay Press.
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