Good morning! I’m glad to welcome you to worship today at Hillcrest Baptist Church.

As we conclude Matthew 20, Jesus is entering the final week of His earthly ministry. He’s on His way to Jerusalem and will soon be betrayed, arrested, and crucified. The crowds will clamor for His blood and cry “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Before he arrives in Jerusalem for his Triumphal Entry, Jesus makes His last trip to the ancient city of Jericho. About one day’s journey from Jerusalem, Jericho had been the scene of Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land. In the doorway of the land of promise, Jesus encounters two blind men who live in desperation. They sit in the doorway and ask for alms from travelers heading to Jerusalem for the festival.

Even as He was on His way to Jerusalem to suffer and die, and with images of the cross in His mind, we find that Jesus lives what He has taught His disciples: “Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:27-28).

God is teaching us one grand lesson in this passage. He is showing us the greatness and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ as a picture of what true kingdom greatness is. As the disciples are jostling amongst themselves to be counted great, here is Jesus ministering to outcasts. Matthew 20:29-34 is a picture of what true greatness is in His kingdom.

The Bible says these two blind men, with their eyes now opened, followed Jesus, apparently to Jerusalem. We never heard from these two men again, but don’t be surprised to get to heaven and discover they were part of the group of 120 believers who were gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.

From the example of Jesus and the two blind men, we will SEE today what it means to follow Jesus.