The Greatest and the Least
Matthew 20:29-34
May 6, 2012
This morning we are confronted with a rather short story,
Just a simple miracle, but one that certainly fits the context
Of what Jesus has been teaching us recently.
Here we find Jesus restoring sight to two blind men.
• Mark and Luke reveal only one,
• Mark tells us his name is Bartimaeus.
(no reason to see inconsistency there, Bartimaeus undoubtedly did all the talking)
But we are confronted with what is not a foreign miracle to us.
And as we look at this miracle
You could really study it from two different perspectives.
If we desired we could talk about the perception of these men.
For here we see two blind men
Who saw Jesus when no one else really did.
I actually like how Luke’s gospel puts it.
Luke 18:36-38 “Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
I like how Luke mentions that these two blind men
Heard a crowd and wondered who it was.
The crowd said it was “Jesus of Nazareth”,
But when the blind men called out, they called for “Jesus, Son of David”
The crowd saw Jesus as the Nazarene, the man from that place of contempt, but the blind men saw Him as the Messiah.
Although they were blind, they had greater perception
Than the crowd that traveled with Him.
We could also talk about the endurance of these two men in their faith.
Vs. 30 says that these two men “cried out”
The word there is KRAZO
It is an onomatopoetic word (it sounds what it means)
It means “to squawk, or the cry of a raven” which is what it sounds like.
It was a word used of the cries of an insane person,
Or the cries of a woman in labor.
It is how the Canaanite woman cried at Jesus.
Matthew 15:22 “And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.”
It is how the crowd cried for the crucifixion of Jesus.
Mark 15:13-14 “They shouted back, “Crucify Him!” But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!”
It is how Jesus cried from the cross
Matthew 27:50 “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.”
The point being that these men were desperate and loud,
And were set on being heard by Jesus.
We actually applauded the great faith of that Canaanite woman
Certainly we could applaud these men for the same persistence.
And we could talk about how these men, continued to follow Jesus.
Luke 18:42 “And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”
According to Luke Jesus did more than heal them, He also saved them.
“well” translates SOZO which is the word for salvation.
And so we could really probably focus in on these two men
And their persistence and their dedication and their faith
And even their commitment after the fact.
Certainly they are a good example for us.
In fact that is probably why Mark gives you his name.
Mark 10:46 “Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.”
The only real reason for Mark to have felt the need to share his name
Would be that he must have been known throughout the church.
And so certainly we would not be misguided in simply receiving
Another lesson of great faith and endurance and how that faith paid off.
But as we follow the context and point of Matthew’s gospel
It is probably best not to view this story from the perspective of the men, but rather to view it from the perspective of Jesus.
As you know Jesus has been very focused with His instruction lately
On one hand He has been dedicated in repeatedly pointing out
That His crucifixion is certain and is close.
On the other hand, because of they continually bring it up,
Jesus has been teaching about true greatness in the kingdom.
• When they argued over who was greatest He showed them a child.
• When Peter wanted to know what he would get for following, Jesus taught that the last is first and the first last.
• When James and John asked to sit on the right and left he reminded that the greatest is the servant.
The disciples were definitely mixed up in regard to their ambitions,
So Jesus has been teaching His followers to strive differently
• Strive to be the lowest…
• Strive to be the servant…
• Don’t seek to be first, seek to be last…
And certainly, be like Me who although the High King of Heaven,
Am willing to forsake that and die on a cross to save sinners.
That has been the message that Jesus has been preaching to the twelve,
And it is certainly true that this incident fits right in with that.
So let’s examine our text this morning and see what happened
On the day that the Greatest (Jesus) met the least (these beggars)
And from that we are reminded again
What it means to live like Jesus in this world.
There are four things we see here this morning.
#1 A CROWDED JOURNEY
Matthew 20:29
And I suppose that really a statement like that shouldn’t be noted as one of tremendous importance, but it does help us visualize the scene.
As we mentioned last week Jesus was part of a caravan so to speak
That was traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover.
And most Jews, in order to avoid Samaria,
Would travel down the east side of the Jordan river
And cross over at Jericho, which was at the northern tip of the dead sea.
The dead sea is over 1,000ft. below sea level and even though Jerusalem is only 14 miles west of there it is 2500ft. above sea level.
So it was a serious and intense travel.
It was also a dangerous road with many rocks and crags commonly a hiding place for bandits, which is of course the setting for “The Good Samaritan”
On His way to Jericho he had pulled the disciples aside
And reminded them again of His coming execution
Matthew 20:17-19 “As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”
Of course it was then that He had to deal with the request of Salome and her two boys.
While in Jericho he had visited with Zaccheus
And now He has departed and is traveling up the path to Jerusalem.
But the point to be made is that
Jesus is only 14 miles away from His fate.
Certainly the journey will take a couple of days,
But on Sunday He will arrive to Jerusalem where the biggest display of hypocrisy ever seen will occur as Jesus will be heralded as King.
By next Friday evening He will be dead.
One would suppose that at this time
Jesus would be getting into “crucifixion mode”.
Time to really focus on what is coming, or at least time to keep His mind occupied so He doesn’t have to think too much about it.
Beyond that, He is traveling in the presence of a crowd.
A crowd that is said to be following Him.
Thanks to the gospels we know that some follow for loaves,
Some follow for miracles, some follow out of love,
And some (like the disciples) follow after glory.
• This is the same crowd that is about to call Him king…
• This is the same crowd that is about to call for His crucifixion…
One can only imagine what is going on in Jesus’ mind at this point.
The point is, none of us could blame Him
If He determined to be a little stand-off-ish.
A Crowded Journey
#2 COMMON BEGGARS
Matthew 20:30
And so while Jesus is making the journey out of Jericho the crowd comes upon “two blind men sitting by the road”
I call them common beggars because that is exactly what they are.
Beggars were everywhere in Israel and commonly
• Beggars either sat along a well-traveled road (because travelers had more money than town people)
• Or they sat outside the temple gate, like the man who was crippled that Peter and John healed. (there expecting to play on people’s piety)
Another common thing was blindness.
• The blind were common because of infection babies would receive from their mothers during childbirth.
• Also because of lack of medical care for things like poor eyesight or glaucoma or cataracts, etc.
And blind beggars were even more common at Jericho.
Jericho was called “the city of palms”,
It was literally a desert oasis.
The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that while Jerusalem might have snow, just 15 miles away Jericho would be warm and pleasant.
Furthermore the balsam bush grew near Jericho
Which was used to make a medicine that treated blindness.
So you throw all that together:
• A pleasant city
• With medicine for the blind
• A common traveling route
These men were not an uncommon sight.
No doubt the crowd expected to run into
A fair share of blind beggars along the way.
And naturally as they heard that Jesus was coming they “cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
As I mentioned earlier, this was a Messianic title,
They are calling Jesus the Messiah.
Furthermore they are doing so in humility as they ask for mercy.
But again, following the scene,
One could hardly have blamed Jesus if He just kept on walking.
I mean seriously, He has bigger fish to fry at this point,
And it’s not exactly like there won’t be plenty more blind beggars to deal with later.
Could anyone blame Jesus if He just kept on walking?
Crowded journey Common beggars
#3 CALLOUS CROWD
Matthew 20:31
And if Jesus wasn’t tempted in and of Himself to pass these guys by,
Certainly the crowd gave Him all the enablement that He needed.
For the crowd is fed up with these guys.
“The crowd sternly told them to be quiet…”
• This is why we call these men the least.
• They were the recipients of the scorn of the world.
You know why the crowd thought they were blind.
Remember John 9?
John 9:1-2 “As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”
Even later after Jesus healed the man
And he gave witness to the Pharisees, they said to him:
John 9:34 “They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.”
It was no mystery as to why the crowds thought these men were blind.
• They were blind because they were sinful.
• They were under the curse and judgment of God.
• They were being punished.
And so when these men cry out for Jesus, the crowd felt no qualms at all
Telling them to be quiet and telling them in a stern manner.
These were just some insignificant, dirty beggars.
The crowd didn’t have time for them, so certainly Jesus shouldn’t.
But that doesn’t stop them from continuing.
“but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Crowded Journey, Common Beggars, Callous Crowd
#4 A COMPASSIONATE SAVIOR
Matthew 20:32-34
And there He goes again, giving attention to those who don’t deserve it.
Are we surprised?
No
We remember the woman at the well
John 4:27 “At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?”
We remember the sinful woman
Luke 7:39 “Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”
We remember Zaccheus
Luke 19:7 “When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
We remember Matthew and his friends
Matthew 9:11 “When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?”
At this point we are not shocked.
Jesus had a definite love for “The Least of These”
And so despite all that Jesus had going on in His life at this time,
We aren’t surprised that “Jesus stopped” or that He “called them”
That is classic Jesus.
And then Jesus asked, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
Some have thought that to be a strange question, but it isn’t.
These men begged on this road all the time.
WHAT DID THEY USUALLY ASK FOR?
Money
And if they ask Jesus for money it says a great deal about their faith.
It would indicate that all this “Son of David” talk
Was mere flattery to get Him to give them some money.
But they didn’t ask for money.
They asked Him for something
They had never asked anyone else for before.
“Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.”
You don’t even ask a question like that
Unless you believe Jesus is different.
And then we read it.
That phrase that is so common.
“Moved with compassion…”
• Not motivated by selfishness…
• Not aggravated by their screaming…
• Not turning the other way…
“Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.”
It was a miracle, no doubt about it.
Luke 18:43 “Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.”
The crowd knew it was a miracle.
This may have been a real decisive moment in the minds of the crowds.
Prior to this, this crowd was calling Him “Jesus of Nazareth”, but in a couple of days they will be throwing palm leaves on the ground heralding Him as the Messiah.
This was an eye-opening miracle for more than just the blind men.
But the point of the story was not just another miracle,
There were always plenty of those to share.
The POINT of the story is that on this day
The Greatest, took time for the Least.
On this day the First, made Himself last.
The Lord of the universe became the servant of a common beggar.
Jesus was the King.
• He had every right to send His disciples ahead of Him and tell the people to clean up this filthy road.
• He had every right to have Peter and John clear all beggars off the premises so they don’t bother the king.
• He had every right to be surrounded by His secret service to keep Him off limits from such nuisances.
After all, that is what worldly rulers do.
They give orders to make sure the surroundings the way they want it,
And the only time they rub shoulders with people like this is
When television cameras are on and they want the world to see a softer side.
Modern day leaders don’t commonly take orders from beggars.
But Jesus is different.
Matthew 20:25-28 “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Jesus had a different perspective about this sort of thing.
• He wasn’t here to be served,
• He was here for that blind beggar.
• He was here for the least of these.
And on this day the Greatest served the Least
To prove why He is the greatest.
And for us it only reiterates what He taught us
About A Christian’s true ambition.
We are not those who are constantly looking for someone
To go before us and make our lives easier,
We are those who are looking to invest our lives into someone else.
This past week we had another one of our pastor unity meetings.
Benevolence came up, and the concept of having one centralized place of taking care of benevolent needs. A place where we can send someone.
But church I have to tell you, I UN-volunteered you for that.
Not that I am opposed to any type of ministry to help.
But I told them we continue to do benevolence through our church,
Because I think it is important for both me and you
To get our hands a little dirty in these types of ministries.
• Jesus never sent the dirty away…
• Jesus never guided the inconvenient down the street…
• Jesus always made time for the nuisance…
• Jesus always gave Himself to the least of these…
And that is what we are called to do.
We aren’t here to be served, we are here to serve.
We aren’t here to chase greatness, we’re here to give ourselves to others.
In fact, this is one of those things that separates us from the world.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 25:31-46
It’s not that we earn righteousness by helping the poor we don’t.
Paul said if I give all my food to feed the poor,
but have not love it profits me nothing.
The point is If want to pretend to be genuine followers of Jesus, Then at times we have to get our hands a little dirty
And deal with the blind beggar
That the world is telling to be quiet and get out of the way.
We have to serve, that is our ambition.
Let me encourage you and
At the same time you encourage me
So that together we can look more and more like the body of Christ.
Luke 10:25-37 “And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.” But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
