Crossroads: Crossing His Path

2018-03-04 
Pastor Jonathan Falwell 

Key Verse:
Matthew 15:30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.

Matthew 15:29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

When our paths cross His path, everything can be made whole. Notice the word used in the previous sentence…”can.” It’s critical for us to notice that the greatest hindrance to Christ doing His greatest work, outside of Salvation, in our lives is us, not Him.  Over the next few weeks, leading to Easter, we’re going to take a look at some of the moments found in Scripture where people’s lives crossed with Jesus, some of which were inadvertent, and they were forever changed because of the intersection of their lives with Christ. Our prayer is that these stories of life change will be a catalyst to all of us to remember the power found in Christ and for some of us, that He is the only way to Heaven.

Matthew 20:29-34 (Christian Standard Bible) As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. 30 There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd told them to keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 33 “Lord,” they said to Him, “open our eyes!” 34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed Him.

What they did…

1. They heard…

vs 30b When they heard that Jesus was passing by…

– this indicates that they had already heard of this man Jesus
– they knew of His power- the stories of what Jesus had done had no doubt brought about serious conversations for these men, but they had not acted on it.

2. They called…

vs 30c …they cried out…

3. They knew…

vs 30d …Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!…

– theirs was not a problem of lack of belief, it was a problem of lack of action

4. They persisted…

vs 31a The crowd told them to keep quiet, but they cried out all the more…

– when they finally decided to act, nothing was going to stop them

What He did…

5. Jesus listened…

vs 32 Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?

– in every situation found in Scripture when people called out to Jesus, He listened. Not once did He ignore those calling.

6. Jesus cared…

vs 34a Moved with compassion…

– the constant state of Jesus during His ministry here, and still today

7. Jesus healed…

vs 34b … Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see…

– what Jesus ALWAYS did

8. They followed…

vs 34c …and they followed Him.