Wednesday October 21, 2020

Today’s Reading: Mark 10:46-52

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Mark 10:52

Reflection: As Jesus and His disciples are leaving the city of Jericho, they pass a blind beggar who calls after Jesus, asking for His mercy. Although some rebuke the man for shouting after Jesus, Jesus stops for the man and asks what he wants. The blind man asks to see, and so Jesus heals him. With new sight, the man follows Jesus on His journey toward Jerusalem. Jesus makes note of the man’s faith when healing him. The faith with which the blind man goes to Jesus is a faith that we all can benefit from cultivating in our own interactions with our Savior.

The blind man calls after Jesus boldly. He cannot see Him, but he has heard that Jesus is the Messiah in prophecy, the man of Nazareth and the Son of David. By the man’s request, we also know that he has heard of Jesus’ miraculous healing signs. This is how we must approach Jesus: in faith with the knowledge of Who He is, and the recollection of what He has done. Also like the man, we do well to realize that while we are not entitled to Jesus’ nearness, we can certainly express our need for Him and our desire to be called by Him. We can and should persistently seek after Jesus. The faith of the blind man also causes him to follow after Jesus. When Jesus tells the blind man to go his own way, the man after being healed instead follows after Jesus, making Jesus’ way his own way. Faith causes us to not only receive Jesus’ great love and mercy, but also to follow after Him. After healing the blind man, Jesus will make His final journey to Jerusalem, where He will crucified. We must not fail to follow Jesus in faith even when it leads us to where we do not want to go.

Faith like that of the blind man not only draws us to Jesus, but keeps us near Him and moves us to follow Him. Do you have the faith of the blind man?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You deserve all praise and glory, for You are the Son of David, the Messiah. Thank You for the reminder of Your great mercy and Your grace. Thank You for granting me faith to trust and believe in You. Please, Lord, when even when I cannot see where You are leading, help me to have the faith of the blind man in Your Gospel, who did not hesitate to call on You. I pray all of these things in Your Precious Name, AMEN.

Thru the Bible in a year (credit: Biblestudytools.com: Mark 10:32-52; 2 Samuel 24; Hosea 4:1-11a