Matthew 20: 29 - 34
Two for one
29 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” 31 Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” 32 So Jesus 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 may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
In the field of Marketing crafting a sale that speaks to a specific customer need, or triggers a strong psychological ‘buy’ response, can be successful at any time of the year. It can help set your small business apart from the competition and can help promote customer loyalty that drives repeat full price sales throughout the year for years to come.
Everyone likes to save money, and everyone likes to think they are getting a bargain. So, if you have established a baseline value for your products and services, you can use a discount – whether a sale price, a percentage off, or a set dollar amount off – to lead a customer to believe that they are scooping up a great deal. Of course, when you do that you are sacrificing profit margin. The very best sale is one in which your customer perceives value in a way that does not significantly affect your bottom line. Here are a few ways to make that happen:
. Going out of business sale
Nothing brings in the customers like a ‘Going out of business’ sale. This advertisement can draw in bargain hungry shoppers, who may just perceive regularly priced merchandise as deeply discounted. However, today this technique causes the public to feel betrayed. For example, furniture outlets have abused this sales approach as you see their signs continually.
. Two-fer (two for one) sales
The concept is simple yet brilliant – people hear or see the advertisement ‘two-fer’ and think ‘two for one’ thus believing that they are getting a buy-one-get-one- free offer. However, the offer is just selling two things for one price, which may or may not be discounted.
. Bundle sale
Like the ‘two-fer’ sale, a bundle sale enables you to package multiple products together for a single price, thereby creating the appearance of value. Typically, a bundle is sold for less than it would cost to purchase the individual parts. But, strategically formulated bundles can be used to move expensive less popular products at full price by packaging them with discounted versions of popular products. Bundles can also be used to sell complimentary services to customers who wouldn’t think to purchase them separately, such as packaging outside window cleaning with standard cleaning service.
Our Holy Master and King Jesus Christ spoke about worldly shrewdness which the disciple Luke in chapter 1 of his Gospel, “He also said to His disciples: ‘There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said t him, ‘what is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ Then the steward said within himself, ‘what shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may deceive me into their houses. “so he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the firs,’ How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘a hundred measures of oil.’ So, he said to him, take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation that the sons of light. A” And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in what is another man;s, who will give you what is your won? ‘No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
We all must make a choice one way or the other. Do you choose the Holy Son of God, Jesus Christ, or do you choose the riches of this world -mammon? So, let me advise you to pick the best choice and that is to make you decision to follow Jesus. You see His ‘two for one’ offer is not a sale at all. It is a gift and it has no attachments. Today we are going to review His miracle of giving sight to blind men. He not only gave them physical sight but more importantly spiritual sight.
As we have already seen, Matthew’s Gospel opened with an emphasis on the fact that Jesus was the Son of David (1.1, 17, 20), and He was depicted as coming as ‘the King of the Jews’ (2.2).
In the first two chapters the prophet on whom Matthew focused by name was Jeremiah (2.17), for it was from a background of gloom and judgment that The Messiah would come but then from 3.2 onwards the focus turns on Isaiah, the prophet of deliverance. All scripture reference from this point to chapter 13 are from Isaiah and the coming King becomes also the Servant of Isaiah. It is indeed mainly as the Servant that He now ministers among His people.
We note in this story that follows that two blind men have their eyes opened, in contrast with the fact that Israel’s eyes are not opened (13.15), and they thus see Jesus as the Son of David. It is a call to all to open their eyes in the light of what will follow.
Blind men were a regular feature of Palestine at this time, and they were to be found begging wherever men went. Furthermore, the Jericho Road at Passover time would have its fair share of blind beggars, and we need not doubt that many of them, aware of the special activity when Jesus was passing, would enquire as to what was happening. When they heard that it was the great healing prophet who was widely reputed to relate to Solomon, the son of David, they would naturally cry to Him for healing as ‘the Son of David’.
This connection of the title ‘Son of David’ with Solomon may well explain why Jesus never tries to dampen down its use, as He does the title Messiah. It was a title regularly found on the lips of those who sought healing and deliverance. Thus, this scene may in fact have been repeated a number of times in the course of that day. It may be remarkable to us, but the disciples no doubt witnessed such scenes again and again, and the people who genuinely followed Jesus probably included among them their fair share of blind men who had been healed. Strictly speaking there is no reason why this should not have been a different healing from those mentioned in Mark and Luke, although performed around the same time. If Matthew was present at this healing Mark’s words may well have brought this particular event into his mind whether or not it was the same as Mark’s (as remembered by Peter). A hundred such healings which occurred over Jesus’ ministry could probably have been described in the same or similar words.
For this healing is not described here because it was a particularly remarkable healing, but because it illustrated a point that the evangelists wanted to bring out, that while the Jerusalem that awaited Jesus was blind, those who were open to Jesus’ words, especially the humble and needy, would see.
29 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.
‘As they went out from Jericho’ let’s us know that the next stop was Jerusalem. To accomplish this journey, they had to climb a a hill three thousand feet up the winding Jericho Road for about sixteen miles. The great crowd would be of pilgrims flocking to Jerusalem, many from Galilee, and many of whom had attached themselves to Jesus’ party because of their respect and love for Jesus. Like many today they followed Him in a haphazard but generally benevolent way, in contrast with those who were against Him, but they were not genuine followers in the fullest sense (John 2.23-25).
30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
There would be many blind men begging outside Jericho, and these were but two of them, for this was a favorite spot for beggars at Passover time, for pilgrims approaching Jerusalem would be feeling generous. One of these blind men mentioned here may well have been the one mentioned by Mark. But it should cause no surprise that there was more than one, for even beggars get lonely, and Matthew’s constant indication of companions for needy people whom they met (which would be perfectly natural) suggests an eyewitness, and possibly one with a deep awareness of what it had meant to be excluded (as a public servant) from the company of others. Jericho at Passover time, being on the Jerusalem Road for those who came from Peraea and the Jordan Rift, would be a prime begging site, and those who were begging there would tend to seek companionship.
Luke describes the healing of a blind man in similar circumstances prior to reaching Jericho. This may have been because there were in fact two Jericho’s, old Jericho and new Jericho, and he was thinking of the modern one. Leaving behind the old Jericho would be especially significant to Matthew, for it was from Jericho that the conquest fanned out after the Exodus. Or alternately it may have been a different blind man, for with the beggars gathered on the Jericho Road there would no doubt be many healings that day. Jesus never refused any who called on Him.
‘They heard that Jesus was passing by.’ No doubt they had become aware of the huge procession and had asked what was causing it. They had probably long hoped that they would come across Jesus. And now that time had come! So they cried out persistently, as those who would not be denied, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David.”’ It was a deferential request, probably made to someone whom they knew was descended from Solomon, the son of David. It was probably this rather than its Messianic significance that they mainly had in mind. Son of David was, however, also a Messianic Thus their thoughts may have included both, for Passover was the week when the title of the coming Son of David was one on everyone’s lips (21.9), and Matthew almost certainly sees it as preparing for His welcome into Jerusalem. That is why he reminds us that the words were repeated more than once.
31 Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
The two blind men were clearly causing some uproar because the crowds told them to keep quiet. The respectable pilgrims accompanied in many cases by their families would not want beggars mixing with the crowds. But the more the crowd tried to shush them, so the more they cried out “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David.” They recognized that this was the opportunity of a lifetime, and they were not going to miss it.
32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
Jesus was the One present Who was never too busy to hear the cry of distress, and He stopped on His journey and called them to Him, asking them what He could do for them. He could have had little doubt about what they wanted, but it was His practice to make people face up to what they were asking, and to make them express at least some faith.
33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”
Their request was simple, that their eyes might be opened. The idea of the ‘opening of the eyes’ has a double meaning. It could signify the making of a blind man to see, especially as a Messianic sign, but it could also signify the opening of spiritually blind eyes to the truth. They were asking the easier option, but Jesus gave them both.
34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
The personal contact was very much part of Jesus’ methods and the compassion a constant feature of His ministry while the immediate total success of the healing was His mark. So, Jerusalem was receiving advanced warning that the time promised by Isaiah was here, and that it was at the hands of the compassionate and powerful ‘Son of David’. The One Who could open blind eyes was now approaching the capital for all to see.
