To answer your good question, let’s read Matthew 20:29-34, “And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.”  There is so much to be learned from this account of these two blind beggars who called out to the Lord in spite of the ‘great multitude’ around the Lord.  Although this multitude told the men to ‘hold their peace’, they refused and continued to cry out to the Lord for mercy.

We notice that these men called Jesus, Lord and the Son of David.  Both of these terms reflect great understanding and reverence from these men.  Obviously God had already begun working in the hearts of these men, revealing to them the true person of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We learn in 1 Corinthians 12:3 that, “…no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”  When Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Lord replied in Matthew 16:17, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”  This truth cannot be ascertained by human reasoning or intelligence.  It is revealed to us by the Lord Himself.

Upon hearing them call His name, the Lord stood still and asked the men, “What will ye that I should do unto you?”  That seems like an odd question.  Wasn’t it obvious that these men were blind?  Did not Jesus know their hearts and know exactly what they wanted?  The answer to both of these questions is: YES.  Their answer to the Lord’s question would reveal so much about the condition of their hearts and it would also reveal if there was true faith in their hearts.  Mark 10 and Luke 18 also give this account in the Lord’s life.  There we learn that these men were beggars.  Did they simply want Jesus to give them some money, or in faith, did they want the Son of David, the true king, to give them their sight?  With His question, the Lord allowed these men to express their faith in Him and in His power to heal them.  To their direct request, the Lord gave a direct response.  He touched them and they received their sight!

I’m reminded of the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda in John, chapter 5.  When the Lord saw this man, he asked him directly in John 5:6, “Wilt thou be made whole?”  He was asking this man, who was hopelessly waiting there at the pool if he really wanted to be healed.  When he expressed his hopelessness and helplessness, the Lord said to him in verse 8, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”

Both of these instances are there for us to learn.  Without Christ, we are spiritually blind.  Without Christ, we are helplessly crippled and without hope.  All of these people realized their terrible physical infirmities.  Do you realize your terrible spiritual condition?  Do you realize that without Christ you are blind, you are helpless, and you are hopeless?  Ephesians 2:12 tells us that without Christ, we are in the condition of, “…having no hope, and without God in the world.”  But the Lord stands before you.  He is asking you, “What will ye that I should do unto you?”  He is asking you, “Wilt thou be made whole?”  If you are not saved, won’t you come to the Lord in faith and receive everlasting life?  The Lord asks these questions.  The answer is yours to give.  The Lord Jesus promises us in John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (175.4)