A Soul-Searching Question

 Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" He asked.  

Matthew 20:32

 

That is an interesting question, isn’t it? Jesus asked this question to two blind men He encountered as He traveled along the road from Jericho. It is a soul-searching question—one all of us need to ponder.

These blind men relied on the mercy of others for survival. They were sitting beside the road, probably begging travelers for money. They apparently had heard about Jesus and His miracles, for when they heard that Jesus was approaching, they began to shout, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us” (Matthew 20:31). By addressing Jesus as “Lord, Son of David”, they were acknowledging Him as the Messiah. They pled for His mercy, asking for His compassion and help in spite of their unworthiness.

Jesus stopped and asked “What do you want me to do for you?” Didn’t He already know what they needed? Of course He did, but Jesus wanted them to ask for sight to deepen their trust in Him. Jesus knows your needs and my needs, but He wants us to ask in faith so that we learn to more fully depend upon Him and trust Him.

What would be your answer to Jesus’ question, “What do you want Me to do for you?” What do you desire most? Perhaps you have a physical need. Perhaps you are facing a major crisis and you would ask Jesus for peace and resolution. Perhaps you are in a difficult relationship, and you would ask Jesus for reconciliation.

The apostle Paul had a ‘thorn in the flesh’ that he asked the Lord to remove three times. Yet, that was not God’s plan. In the midst of his need, Paul learned to fully depend upon Jesus (2 Corinthians 12). Paul came to know Jesus intimately, and he said, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3:8).

Physical, emotional, and relational needs sometimes overshadow our greatest need—the spiritual need to increasingly come to know Jesus and to become like Him. Would you be able to say, “Lord, more than anything else, I want to know You, and I want to become like You”?

Father, You already know our needs, but You want us to voice those needs to You. Help us to desire more than anything else to increasingly know You and increasingly become like You. Amen.


Jan Burkhart