Full stop
It has taken three years (and twenty chapters) but finally Jesus is setting out for Jerusalem. He is on a roll at last. Jesus is scarcely out of Jericho but the crowd swarms around him. They sense that this is the time, the moment of destiny, the final showdown between Jesus and the authorities. They press toward him, willing him, cheering him on. At Jerusalem, as we now know, the whole direction of history will change.
Two voices break out, disturbing the cry of the crowds. 'Lord Jesus son of David have mercy on us!' Two blind men. The crowd tries to drown them out, tries to silence them, rebuking them for their audacity. For now, now is the time.
But Jesus stops.
Jesus stops and it is as if for a moment the eternal destiny of the universe is placed on hold. Two blind men - perhaps it's fairly obvious what they want. But Jesus asks anyway and by so doing gives them dignity. The question Jesus asks is massive. 'What do you want me to do for you?' These words echo down through the ages. On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus will do everything that humanity needs, but first he chooses to ask this question of a pair of beggars. By that dusty roadside Jesus performs the last healing miracle recorded in the gospel. He gives two men their sight.
Jesus will never simply be the mascot or figurehead of the crowd, propelled along by their hopes and expectations. Nor does he dispense God's gifts without thought for the one who is asking him. Jesus makes the space for encounter. Orthodox Bishop Anthony Bloom pointed out, 'If you examine the Gospels anew... you will see that apart from encounter there is nothing else in the Gospels. Every tale is an encounter'. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, but here is a reminder: Jesus has come not simply to fulfil a mission, but for the healing of humanity; not for a heaving mass, but for individuals each with their own needs, like you and me.
The two men, now healed, begin to follow Jesus and join the crowd. By making space for this encounter Jesus changes not only these individuals, but the crowd too. When we next hear the crowd at the entry to Jerusalem they are echoing the words of the blind men, hailing Jesus as 'Lord' and 'Son of David'.
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