“What do you want me to do for you”?

 “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

Matthew 20:29-34

 

Wouldn’t you say that Jesus was pretty observant? He had an uncanny ability to know what people were really thinking. He was able to see behind the masks that people wear to hide their true self, and understood what was actually motivating them. He could look into your soul, and know what your greatest need was.

 

So then, why did he ask the two blind men, “What do you want me to do for you”?

 

Was he preoccupied with what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem? Maybe he was distracted by the large crowd around him? Or, was he still upset that two of his closest disciples had just asked the most self-centered question possible right after he had told them he was going to be crucified? I don’t think so.

 

I believe that he was making a point. It was obvious that these men were blind, and despite their handicap, they knew who Jesus was. By calling him the “Son of David”, they were using a title that referred to the anticipated Messiah. It would have been easy for Jesus to just walk up to them and heal them; but he didn’t.

 

The passage tells us that “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes”. Jesus always had a personal touch when he ministered or healed. He interacted with the woman at the well; with Nicodemus; with the woman who dried her tears on his feet. In other words, he had a personal relationship with them.

 

The same is true for us. Jesus desires to know us personally. He wants to interact with us. He wants us to admit our need; to recognize who he is and to approach him, not like he is a celestial genie in a bottle, but as our Lord and Savior.

 

There is a booklet titled “My Heart, Christ’s Home” by Robert Boyd Munger. In it, he compares our life to the rooms of a house. He suggests that Jesus wants to interact with us in every room; but mainly that he wants to fellowship with us.

 

Revelation 3:20 states, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends”. Jesus is constantly standing at the door of your heart and knocking, not just as your Savior, but also as your Lord. Will you open the door for him?

 

He asks us every day, “What do you want me to do for you”. What will your answer be? Will you ultimately respond like the blind men who once Jesus touched their eyes, “immediately they received their sight and followed him”?

 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2020%3A29-34&version=NIV;NLT

https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Matt.20.29-Matt.20.34

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matthew 9:9-13

"As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth.“Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him." (Matthew 9:9)

This verse is a testimony to me of how I want to see other people; how I want to accept others no matter what their life may be cluttered with.  There is a note I wrote in the margin of my Bible from a previous study.  I have the word "man" in verse nine circled.  There is a comment "not a tax collector" right next to it.  The teacher from that study was emphasizing the fact Jesus saw and called a man.  He did not see someone who was hated and whose integrity was questionable.  Jesus saw a man with potential; a man who could be taught and who could be loved.  What vision.

The truly amazing thing is Jesus still calls people in this fashion.  When Jesus called me into ministry I felt unworthy and inadequate for the work set before me.  I questioned, "Who am I?  I am unschooled and a believer new to the concept of building a personal relationship with Jesus."  That ministry ended up being the exact place Jesus wanted me to be.  As I mentioned a week ago, He doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called.

It is equally amazing that Matthew followed Jesus without hesitation or hedging. Jesus said, "Follow me," and Matthew got up and followed. I want to be like Matthew, and respond willingly to a call to serve. Jesus saw something in Matthew, and knew he would be an asset. When Jesus calls us for a given area of service it is because He sees something in us too.  

Read the text here.

Listen to the text here.

Matthew 4:18-22

When my sister and I were kids we were known in the neighborhood for the way our father called us in for supper.  He would whistle loudly and we would come running.  I always wanted to learn how to whistle like that, real loud, but never mastered that art.  But, when I would hear the shrill sound over the back yards I knew better than to tarry.

Often we would go home, but once there we would attempt to negotiate and see if we couldn't convert our reasoning into some more playing time. It usually didn't work.

"Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him." (Matthew 11:22)

The scripture today is talking about a different type of call.  Jesus is calling His disciples, not by a whistle, but by love and trust and faith.  Jesus called them and they immediately followed.  Wow, immediately they followed Him.  What does that say; what does that tell us about the character of Jesus and of the men he selected.  I have no doubt but that Jesus spent time praying over the men He was to call.

I love the word 'call' and the context it is used.  Many do not believe in being called, but if you have ever had a job you loved and felt so content, happy, equipped and satisfied you know what that is.  When you get up in the morning anticipating the joy you will experience on your job; sensing that you are exactly where God wants you to be, you my friend have been called.

Read Matthew 4:18-22 here.  Listen to Matthew 4:18-22 here.

Call of Matthew - Matthew 9:9-17

Do you remember when you first sensed Jesus saying to you, "Follow me?"  Did you listen to the call?  I don't think I listened very well.  I know that Jesus was after me for a long time before I even paid him any attention.  Of course, at the time I did not recognize the call, I didn't know what was going on.  I thank God that he kept after me.

He used other people, especially my grandparents.  He used difficult situations like grief, financial struggles, self-image issues as well as heart break but I still kept on handling it all by myself.  Then, wouldn't you know it, He used a child and a Vacation Bible School program to get my attention.

If only I had been like Matthew, and got right up and followed Jesus. "As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him." (Matthew 9:9)  How much more fulfilling and fruitful would my life had been.  But, it is important that I acknowledge how God kept after me.  He still keeps after me.  Just because I now know and love and follow Him, He still keeps after me.

I am writing these devotionals because He is still saying, "Follow me."  He is still after my best interests and wanting me to follow Him to glory.  What's your story?

To read the text for today go here.