Matthew 9:27–31 (NKJV)
27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” 28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.” 31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.
In the beginning of Matthew’s 9th chapter Jesus healed a paralytic man and forgave his sins—all with simply a word. Jesus’ Word always does what it says. Later in the chapter Jesus raised from the dead a ruler’s daughter and healed a woman with a twelve-year flow of blood—all with simply a word. Jesus’ Word always does what it says.
Leaving that scene, two blind men follow Jesus. It is quite possible that they had heard of the Lord’s miraculous deeds. They seem to know at least this much: that He can do something about their situation. They cry out to Jesus. They don’t ask Him to heal them; they ask simply that He have mercy on them. They express their belief in His ability, and they put themselves in the Lord’s hands.
Mercy and compassion go hand in hand with Jesus, for He is the very embodiment of both; He is mercy in the flesh. And He bids us do as the two blind men did—to place our God-given faith in His ability to deal with whatever beleaguers us. Like the blind men, we do not even have to ask our Lord or inform Him of our need because, in His omniscience, He knows this in advance. However, it is always good to ask the Lord to address our needs for our sake, in order that we continue to learn to come to Him for all things—to praise Him when things go well and to cry out when they don’t.
“Have mercy on us!” That’s the cry of faith. That’s the cry of the Christian. We sing this prayer in the Divine Liturgy. We pray that God not give us what we deserve for our sins, but that He bless us for the sake of His Son who took our sins into His body and paid for them on the tree of the cross.
“Kyrie eleison; Lord have mercy.” And He has done so.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, strengthen our faith so that we never fail to cry out to You in all things. Amen.
