Roadside Assistance by Eddie Turner

All of us are familiar with the term “roadside assistance”.  I have had a couple of experiences with calling for roadside assistance. On one occasion, I had a flat so I called for assistance and was told that due to my location there was no assistance for me.

In Matthew 20:29-34 we read the story of two blind beggars on the side of the road calling for assistance. They are sitting beside the road waiting for Jesus to come down the road. I like to think that they probably had been sitting by the gates of Jericho begging for money and they overheard that Jesus was in the city.

 When they heard the clamor of the crowd and knew that Jesus was getting close they started to yell out to Him to get his attention.  Jesus finally made his way toward them with the crowd all around him. They could not see the crowd but they could hear them. They could taste the dust that was being stirred up by this large crowd. So they yelled out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David”.

As the beggars yelled they began to interfere with the crowd’s ability to hear Jesus. We see in Vs. 31 the crowd began to sternly rebuke them. So picture this disturbance. The two beggars were standing on the side of the road yelling for Jesus and the crowd yelling at them to be quite. But they were very determined. So they just kept yelling, “Lord, Lord, have mercy, have mercy on us…Lord have mercy, Son of David”

In my mind I can visualize this becoming almost a riot. These two men were disrupting the meeting that was going on as Jesus walked down the road. Then in the mist of all this yelling Jesus responds to the beggar’s pleas in Vs. 32 and says “What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus has spoken, the crowd has settled down and I am sure it has become very quiet on the side of that dusty road as everyone waits and listens. What will these men request of Jesus? What will Jesus say?

Trembling, hearts racing and out of breath said to Jesus “Lord we want our eyes to be opened.” Jesus was moved with compassion and touched their eyes and they immediately regained their sight. If you are blinded by life's troubles, just go to the side of the road and cry out to Jesus. He will answer.