As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.  There were two blind men sitting by the roadside.  When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!"  The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, "Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!"  Jesus stood still and called them, saying, "What do you want me to do for you?"  They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened."  Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes.  Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.

Once again the crowd is a source of trial for those who try to draw near to Christ and be healed.  What about you, O Christian, have you ever been one of the Christian Crowd, following Jesus yourself but applying rules and criteria for others to adhere to before they can come to Christ?  There is safety in the crowd, anonymity, and it is a comforting place from which we can exercise our prejudices against those who have come by Christ in a very different manner than ourselves.

See the perseverance of the blind men.  Their hearts would not be discouraged by the stern resistance of the many.  They cared nothing about the human respect and propriety being demanded of them by everyone.  Christ was passing by and they cried out all the louder.  How many are in the bonds of societies' demands to propriety!  How many people's hearts seek the true freedom of God's children that these blind men had.  Their ailment was physical, not spiritual, else Christ would have first no doubt forgiven their sins.  Cry out loudly to Christ.  When you meet resistance from others cry out all the more loudly!  Christ is passing by.  Now is the time, the acceptable season, the day of salvation.

"Jesus stood still."  Such is the tender love he showed them.  He could have healed them without ever stopping.  Did he want the first sight of their healed eyes to be their redeemer?

"What do you want me to do for you?"  We must be very specific in our prayers.  This encounter is a lived example of what Jesus preached on the mountain: "Ask, and it will be given you...how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him." (Matthew 7.7-11)  Notice that Jesus is not moved with compassion until the men tell him what they want, even though it was plain to see.  Perhaps there is a movement in our heart when we move from crying "Lord!" to making our specific desire known which draws compassion from our good Lord.

Once again, healed for a purpose.  The men use their sight to follow Christ.  They return the gift of healing to the giver by giving their lives in Christian adherence to him.  They do not abuse their healing, their new eyesight, by putting it to wrong use.  How much more is this an example to us who have never lost it.

I will not set before my eyes

whatever is base. (Psalm 101.3)