Matthew 20:29-34

Matthew 20:29-34

Jesus’s comments about first and last are not mere rhetoric; but rather, the pattern of His life. As they leave Jericho the next city will be Jerusalem where Jesus will face the horrors that mark the path that will end at the cross. At such a moment we could well expect that Jesus would be preoccupied. We might expect Him to be thinking of how to keep His Messiah-ship from being used as a call for revolt. We might expect Him to be deep in thought about the nature of sacrifice, atonement or other sacred meditations. We would not be surprised if in knowing His end is near He would become pensive about his family and friends.

Jesus hears the cries of two nobodies. Their calling Him Son of David may indicate that they were Gentiles. As blind beggars they would have been on the lowest rung of every social ladder. It is not surprising that the crowds try to shout them down. Their Messiah is far too busy and important to be troubled by two people who have nothing to offer except distraction and bother. They wanted to protect Jesus and in so doing they would protect their agenda for Jesus. How often have people in the name of protecting the church, orthodoxy or something else actually been protecting their agenda that they had for those things? It is best that we not look to see how others do this; but rather, how we do so.

Matthew points out that Jesus stopped and in that progressing throng of pilgrims, stopping may have been easier said than done. Jesus takes the trouble (and it was trouble) to ask them what they wanted. Rather than give advice, a lecture or ignore them, He took time to listen to the most useless people in Jericho that day. It is amazing that Jesus never acted “big”, never acted hurried, never seemed to have any agenda other that the Father’s.

The greatest person, moving toward the greatest event, to do the greatest service stops and listens to and then serves two nobodies. The dictum that the first shall be last and the last first is no hollow cliche it is the ethic of the Lord and it is the expectation of all His followers.

"Lord, help me to hear the call of those I might easily ignore. AMEN"