“And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed Jesus. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, ‘Lord have mercy on us, Son of David.’ The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, ‘Lord have mercy on us, Son of David.'”
– Matthew 20:29–31
I love this passage, this picture of two blind men crying out on the side of the road, “Have mercy on us.” And even when a crowd of people rebukes them and tells them to be silent, they cried out all the more, “Lord have mercy on us.”
Matthew 20:29–31 Shows God’s People cry for Mercy
This is the cry of God’s people, followers of Jesus throughout the ages. In a world of suffering, we find ourselves crying out for mercy in our own lives, on behalf of others’ lives. I trust we all feel this, see this, experience this cry for mercy.
I think about my friend and brother Clint Clifton, who is one of the greatest husbands and dads and most zealous church planters I’ve ever been around. And just last week he died in a plane crash and is now with the Lord. And just found myself crying out in a fresh way for mercy in this world of suffering. For mercy over his precious wife, Jennifer, over their incredible kids, over their church family, and over so many people who’ve been impacted by his life.
We hate suffering and death in this world. We long for the day when it will be no more, yet here in these moments, don’t we find ourselves crying out for mercy? And that’s just one example. I think about all the different people who are listening to this and all the different things you’ve experienced or are walking through right now in your life.
Matthew 20:29–31 Encourages Us to cry for Mercy
So can we just cry out with these blind men on the roadside? God have mercy. God, we pray for Your help. We pray for Your strength and Your peace and Your comfort. Lord praise You for Your hope. We praise You that mercy is available in You.
God, I pray and want to lead others to pray right now for Jennifer and for the Clifton kids and their church family. Lord for Your mercy over them and over all who are hurting in light of that news, and God over all who are hurting in light of so many other sorrows and tragedies and hurts and pains. God, we need Your mercy and we praise You for it. We praise You that You stand ready to give mercy to all who call out to You. And we praise you for the privilege we have of crying out for Your mercy on others.
Praying for the Malay People
God, we pray today for the Malay people, spread out across not just Malaysia, but many different nations. God, we pray for Your mercy on the Malay. They are unreached. They don’t know Your love for them in Jesus. They’re walking through a world of suffering without the hope that’s found in Jesus. God, we pray, have mercy on the Malay. Cause the gospel to spread to and throughout the Malay people.
God, we ask for that, for the peoples of the world. We ask for that for people around us. And we pray You would help us to faithfully step up in a world of sin and suffering and death and proclaim, “Mercy is available in Jesus, even as we find ourselves crying out for Your mercy in our lives.” And Jesus, we pray all of this in Your name according to this picture of men crying out to You in Matthew 20:29–31. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
