The Heart of a Servant

Scripture: John 9:35-41

C.I.: The Lord and the Blind

Today we are going to conclude our “Heart of a Servant” series from Matthew 20.

So far we have seen…. In today's lesson we will see our Lord's encounter with the Blind!

•  An Encounter with the Blind, (Matthew 20:29-34)

•  The False Security Provided by “a great multitude,” (v. 29)

•  And as they were going out from Jericho, a great multitude was following Him.”

a. Jesus seems to constantly be surrounded by “followers”- who all had different motives…

1) Those who want Him to run the government – ( Jn. 6:15 ), “Jesus perceiving they were
wanting to come & take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew to the Mt. By Himself….”

2) Those who want Him take care of their physical needs - ( Jn. 6:26 ), “Truly, truly, I say to
you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate loaves & were filled.”

3) Those who wanted to see a miracle (curious) – ( Jn. 6:30 ), “What do You do for a sign, that
we may see and believe You? - What work do you perform?”

•  Jesus challenges us to ask ourselves, “Why am I a follower of Him?” – ( II Cor. 13:5 )

•  Are we here today because of what we hope to receive – or something we desire to give?

•  Are we here because what we want Him to do for us – or for the love we have for Him?

•  Jesus warns us about the false security of the multitude – ( quote Matt. 7:13-14, 21 )!!!

•  A Desperate Need, (vs. 30-31)

•  “And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, ‘Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!'” ( v. 29 ).

•  These men had never seen Jesus, or even a miracle - yet they believed in all of these things!

•  To some degree – all us today are like these blind men – because of what we haven't seen!!!

•  ( Jn. 20:29 ), “Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? – Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed!'”

•  ( I Pt. 1:8 ), “…though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.”

•  The blind have one thing (a very important thing) – that the multitude lacked – FAITH!!!

1) ( Heb. 11:1 ), “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things….”

2) So God calls us – to have the faith of a blind man…

3) They had faith that Jesus was “LORD” – ( Rom. 10:9 ), “If you confess with your mouth….”

4) They had faith Jesus would grant “MERCY” – ( Tit. 3:5 ), “He saved us, not on the basis….”

5) They had faith that Jesus was the “SON OF DAVID” – ( Matt. 1:1 ), “The book of the
genealogy of Jesus Christ , the son of David , the son of Abraham.”

•  Their faith is sharply contrast with that of the multitude - “And the multitude sternly told them to be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, ‘Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!'”

•  There are always hindrances – for those want to come to Jesus…

•  Others (friends/family/etc.) can keep us from Jesus – ( Matt. 10:37 ), “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me...

•  Fear of living for Jesus - can hinder people from Jesus– “What if He refuses?” – ( Matt. 10:38 ), “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me, is not worthy of Me.”

•  The pleasures of this life – can hinder us from coming to Jesus – ( Matt. 10:39 ), “He who has found his life shall lose it, - and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it.”

•  Who was more blind; the multitude who demanded silence – or the blind beside the road?!!

•  Yet these men were desperate! – They would not allow anyone/thing – to stand in their way!!!

1) Blindness leads to desperation – and desperation leads to dependence.

2) Are we desperate/dependent enough – or have we grown complacent, ( Rev. 3:17, 20 ),
“Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,' yet you
do not know that you are wretched…” - “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone
hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he….”

3) So again, Jesus challenges us… Are we desperate enough to be dependent upon Him???!!!

•  The Loving Response of The Servant of God, (vs. 32-34)

•  “And Jesus stopped”

•  He was on His way to Jerusalem, to a cross – yet the cries who call out to Him in faith will always cause our Lord to “stop” – even when He is going to “give His life a ransom for many.”

•  “…and called them, and said, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?'” ( v. 32 ).

•  When the Lord wants to know what we desire – do we ask for GREAT or small things??

•  Material things are temporary – the greatest money, mansion, car, etc. – will go away!

•  So if we are going to ask God for anything – lets ask Him for something incredible!!!

•  ( I Jn. 5:14 ), “And this is the confidence we have before Him, that if we ask ANYTHING according to His will, He hears us.”

•  “And they said to Him, ‘Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.'”

•  The amazing thing – is that the eyes already were opened – so Jesus gave them their sight!!!

•  ( Jn. 9:39 ), “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”

b. “And moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their
sight and followed Him .”

1) Today we are being called - to have the faith of a blind man!

2) God is not looking for a multitude of followers – He wants this congregation – and each one
of us individually - to be desperate enough to totally depend on Him.

3) If you are one of our guests today – are you ready to make Jesus “Lord” of your life – do
you believe He will be “Merciful” to you? ( Titus 3:5 ).