My friend and I, blind men, passed by Herod the Great’s 10-acre, 3-palace garden oasis to the west exit of Jericho. There we waited for Jesus of Nazareth and the exuberant crowd we encountered at the east gate. We had a second chance to receive our sight. We were determined to yell for mercy so Jesus could hear us.
“What is taking them so long? Did we take too long to make it here? Perhaps we missed them,” my friend stated.
Just then, a pair of Pharisees stated as they walked to Jerusalem, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner’, a chief tax collector. No righteous man would do that.”
I told my friend, “John baptised anyone who repented, even soldiers. Pay no attention to those religious bigots. Jesus is still in Jericho, eating as most pilgrims do.”
Then we heard the crowd again. “He is coming! Shout with me, friend. Be loud. Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Jesus stopped and ordered that we be brought to him. Some came to us and said, “Cheer up! On your feet!. He’s calling you.” We obeyed. I was so full of anticipation, I threw my cloak aside, jumped to my feet, and came to Jesus (40; Matthew 20:32; Mark 10:49-50).
I didn’t think about it then, but now I realize Jesus asked an obvious question: “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” I said.
“Yes, Rabbi, we want to see,” my friend added.
Jesus touched our eyes and said, “Receive your sight. Go, your faith has healed you.” (42; Matthew 20:34; Mark 10:52) Immediately, we received our sight and followed Jesus, praising God all the way to Jerusalem. The greatest day of my life. Surely, the Messiah has come and now he is in his city, Jerusalem. We all expect him to do great things this Passover.
