Bible Study series: Matthew 20:29-34: “Moved with compassion, he touched their eyes, and instantly they recovered their sight and followed him.”
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In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Matthew 20:29-34
29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Then look! Two blind men sitting by the road; hearing that Jesus was going by, they cried out, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us, son of David!” 31 But the crowd rebuked them, to be quiet. But they cried out even louder, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us!” 32 And he stood still and called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, that our eyes might be opened!” 34 Moved with compassion, he touched their eyes, and instantly they recovered their sight and followed him. (Matt. 20:29-34)
Comments:
Why does Matthew mention two blind men instead of one? This is one of the times when he is not Matthew the Trimmer. But the simplest explanation is that there were two and Mark focuses on the one who was known in his original community in Israel: Bartimaeus. Yet Matthew is the Trimmer in other details of this pericope. You can look them up and place them side by side.
Mark identifies the blind beggar as Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus. Why did Mark know his name, while Luke and Matthew do not mention it? It is likely that (healed) Bartimaeus was known in the early Christian community with whom Mark or Peter (or both) was associated. Neither Luke nor Matthew knew him or anyone who did. And if he got this story from Mark’s Gospel which was based on Peter’s preaching, Matthew fills in another detail; there were two blind beggars. In fact, such “Expendables” often gathered in groups or at least pairs. (I now question how much Matthew really borrowed from Mark, but went his own way, but it would take too much work to assemble the evidence.)
Let me expand this explanation of Matthew’s use of two blind men. The commentators I often refer to give their explanation about the two Gadarene demoniacs (Matt. 8:28-34), and their explanation there works here.
The short answer is that Matthew knew by independent knowledge that there were two, and Mark and Luke knew of one. Or Mark and Luke merely trimmed one, to remove extra details. Example: you say, “I saw John in town today, and I had not seen him in years!” But John and Mary were together, yet you name only John. There is nothing problematic here (Carson). France, after listing the possible reasons for Matthew’s doubling (it takes two or three witnesses for a fact to be established; cf. Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6; 19:15), says that in the end it is matter of “speculation.” Keener says the doubling is an acceptable literary practice. Osborne says that Matthew doubles up often: two blind men (9:27-31; 20:29-34); two donkeys (21:2); two in the field and at the mill (24:40-41); two servants (24:45-51). Osborne also says Matthew didn’t make things up.
My take: I like Carson’s traditional explanation. France’s may be the safer one (speculation without a firm answer).
However, as I already noted, we must stop the foolishness of a brittle position on Scripture. “If there are disagreements or differences, then the brittle Bible breaks into pieces, and so does my brittle faith! I quit!” No. Don’t allow sneering skeptics to get under your skin (I no longer do). The main point of the passage is clear and has been accomplished in all three versions. Jesus healed two blind men, which proves he is the son of David. See v. 20 for more explanation.
29:
Jesus was leaving the hill country east of the Jordan River and heading toward Jerusalem. Jericho is along that main road, and he was leaving it.
Luke says Jesus was entering Jericho and Matthew here says that he was leaving. This is not clear why, but the best explanation is that there were two Jerichos: one was the old town made up partially of ruins, and the other one was nearby and built up. Matthew, under Jewish influence, refers to the old town Jesus was leaving, while Luke, under Hellenistic influence, refers to the new town Jesus was entering. I like this explanation (Carson).
The more important point is that it just does not matter. We must stop imposing our post-Enlightenment and Postmodern demands on to these ancient texts, written about two thousand years ago. The main point is clear: Jesus healed a blind man or two blind men, whether towards or after Jericho.
Jericho was a busy town on a busy road, so the two blind men chose a good spot.
30:
The two men heard the commotion that was beyond the ordinary. It was a bigger crowd, for the pilgrimage to Jerusalem leading up to Passover. Excitement filled the air. The two men naturally asked what all of the noise meant. Someone in the crowd must have informed the them that Jesus was passing by. They had had heard about him. Healers / teachers who get results get attention.
As I noted in my comments at Matt. 9:27-31, these men were desperate, and they showed it by making a scene. They cried out even more loudly. It’s not accurate to say they were pestering him, but they wanted their healing, and they went for it. They cried out or shouted their need for mercy, which meant their healing. In Greek the word mercy can be a verb, so it could be translated as “Pity us!” Or we could invent a verb: “mercify us!” The Greek implies that they cried out with a loud voice. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The phrase “have mercy” is one verb in Greek. In English we can’t properly say, “Compassion me!” or “Mercy me!” Instead we have to say, “Show me mercy!” or Have mercy on me!” But in Greek you could. Mercy is a verb. It takes action. However, we can say, “Pity me!” And some translations go for it.
Son of David was a popular Messianic title; it reflects the future age when the eyes of the blind would be opened and the ears of the deaf would be unstopped and the lame would leap like a deer (Is. 35:5:5-6). Jesus was ushering it in right now, in part. Later in his ministry he will correct the popular view and say that if the Messiah really was David’s son, then why does David call him Lord (Matt. 22:41-46)? Son of Man can rightly be translated as “Son of Man.”
4. Titles of Jesus: The Son of Man
31:
The crowd rebuked them. The verb is epitimaō (pronounced eh-pea-tee-mah-oh), and it could be translated as “scolded,” “warned,” “censure.” The crowd probably said something like: “Quiet, you! The Lord is in a big hurry! He doesn’t have time for the likes of you two!” They were the self-appointed watchdogs of Jesus’s ministry, telling people to schedule an appointment.
But the two men were having none of it. They cried out even much louder. Their need was greater than their unjust censure. What about you? Is your need greater than social decorum? Are you willing to break down society’s walls to get to Jesus?
32-33:
Thankfully, Jesus stopped, ignoring the self-appointed watchdogs of his ministry schedule. Then he asked a question that was so obvious that it seems absurd to us today and probably to the crowd back then. “What do you want me to do for you?” So what does this mean? The question is open-ended. Did they want money? Jesus sometimes has to know that people mean business. Recall that in John 5:2-9, Jesus healed only one man by the pool of Bethesda, when it was crowded with people. Jesus asked a similar question: “Do you want to be healed?” The man made an excuse and did not answer him instantly. Believe it or not, people sometimes like their illness. They get attention. But not these men. They instantly answered Jesus. Very moving to me.
34:
“moved with compassion”: “It describes the compassion Jesus had for those he saw in difficulty” (Mounce, New Expository Dictionary, p. 128). BDAG defines the verb simply: “have pity, feel sympathy.”
BDAG further says the noun splanchnon (pronounced splankh-non) is related to the inward part of the body, especially the viscera, inward parts, entrails. But some update their translation with the noun as “heart.” So the verb is also related to the inward parts of a person. It could be translated as “He felt compassion in the depths of his heart.”
As an important side note, in Hebrew the verb raḥam (pronounced rakh-am, and used 47 times) means “to have compassion on, show mercy, take pity on and show love.” The noun raḥamim (39 times) (pronounced rach’meem) means “compassion, mercy, pity.” Both words are related to the word for “womb,” when a woman feels close to and love for the human life growing there. It’s deep in God, too.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Compassionate and Merciful
“recovered their sight”: the verb could be translated, depending on the context, as follows: “Look up” (the main meaning), “regain one’s sight,” “receive sight,” or “become able to see.” Or here I chose “recovered their sight.”
I like Matthew’s streamlined account of their response. They followed him. Perfect.
The members in the crowd who rebuked them must have slinked back into the crowd out of embarrassment.
GrowApp for Matt. 20:29-34
1. Has anyone tried to stop you from receiving all of God’s blessing? How did you respond? Did you press in or give up?
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1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
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