The disciples didn’t know it yet, but this was the last week of Jesus’ life, the last journey they would take together.

In Matthew 20, we find that they were beginning a fifteen-mile journey from Jericho to Jerusalem. As they approached city gates, the crowd around them grew exponentially. Everyone was crowding the road to try and get a glimpse of Jesus.

As Jesus walked, his closest disciples noticed he seemed distracted. He was quieter than normal. Just a few verses before, Jesus had told his disciples that the Son of Man was going to Jerusalem, where suffering and death waited for him. The thought of this journey and what waited for them at the end weighed on every disciple.

As they neared the gate, they heard some shouting over the sound of the crowd. The disciples looked around, trying to figure out who was causing the commotion. They noticed a group of people in the crowd turning toward two men.

“Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” they shouted. Their eyes were unfocused and the disciples quickly realized these two men were blind.

The crowd gave them dirty looks and one even said, “Shut up! He has more important things to worry about.”

But these two blind men realized this was their chance. They had heard about Jesus and they knew he could heal them. So they shouted even louder.

Jesus stopped in front of the crowd. Pausing his journey, he called out to them.

“What do you want me to do for you?” he said.

Both men visibly relaxed at his voice and responded, “Lord, let our eyes be opened. We want to see!”

Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched their eyes. Both men blinked as a world of darkness changed to one of color and light. They were so ecstatic that they immediately joined the group following Jesus to Jerusalem. They joined him on his final journey.

In this story, I can only imagine the weight Jesus carried as he knew what waited for him. However, he did not let it stop him from making time to heal these two men. The journey to Jerusalem was the journey to the cross, to suffering, pain, and betrayal. But Jesus saw the chance to give these two men hope.

As you journey this week, be on the lookout for people who need hope. Let’s be like Jesus, pausing to show compassion and share hope, even as we’re on our individual journeys. Let’s share this amazing hope that we have with a world that is in desperate need of it.