By Apostle André Pelser
When two blind men cried out to Jesus to have mercy on them, they teach us a few lessons in mercy.
- They did not even ask Jesus to heal their blindness.
- They called Him Son of David acknowledging He is the Messiah
- They had confidence in Him
- They did not care what people thought as they cried out for help
- They knew His mercy was sufficient to change their condition
- The two blind men did not even ask Jesus to heal their blindness. Although their blindness was their major concern, they did not emphasize their need, but appealed for mercy. Hebrews tells us to approach the throne of grace boldly to obtain mercy to help us in the time of need. Mercy cancels the judgement given. When a judge shows mercy, he overlooks the guilt of the guilty and lets them go free. It is undeserved and gracious. Do not focus on the problem, but put your attention on the Lord.
- They called Him Son of David acknowledging He is the Messiah.
The Jews were expecting the Messiah to come and knew He was in the lineage of David. Although the religious Pharisees and Sadducees did not accept the fact that Jesus was the promised Messiah, these two poor blind beggars did. When we acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, He becomes our Savior. We have to know who He is, before He can do anything for us.
- They had confidence in Him. Faith is a confident assurance in Jesus that He will do what He promised to do. He is our healer, Jehovah Rapha, and we can put our trust in Him to live up to His redemptive Name. He is also our Provider, Jehovah Jireh and our righteousness, Jehovah Tsidkinu. He is our Shepherd, our Savior and our King. If you know who someone is, you can have confidence in them to live up to their reputation.
- They did not care what people thought as they cried out for help. You cannot expect Jesus to do something for you without letting others know about it. The lady with the issue of blood did not what to be detected. She came secretly from behind to tug at Jesus’ garment. She believed and confessed her faith that if she touched the hem of His garment, she would be made whole. When Jesus felt virtue leave Him, He asked: ‘who touched Me?’ Her act of faith could not remain hidden. She had to acknowledge why she came to Him for healing. Her faith made her whole and it was displayed publicly.
- They knew His mercy was sufficient to change their condition. When Nola was very ill on our way to a tent campaign, she lay in the back of the car and Aje, a small boy at that time, sat in front. We prayed and confessed our faith and did all we knew, but she just got worse. Then when we stopped in Smithfield, where my grandfather was born, to put in some petrol, I went across the street to buy something to drink. When I got back to the car, she sat in front putting on make-up! I asked what happened and she said, ‘I said, Lord, have mercy on me!’ and He healed her completely, in a moment!
Today is the day of salvation. If you cry out to the Lord Jesus for mercy, He will have mercy on you and change your situation. Acknowledge your need for mercy and put your confidence in Him. Tell Him you will testify about His mercy and His goodness, and He will show His mercy to you. Receive His mercy today and glorify Him.