Tom Logue - March 15th 2025

Desperation gets God’s attention—because Jesus is deeply compassionate and powerful to heal.

This week, Tom continues our King & His Kingdom series in Matthew 20:29–34, where Jesus encounters two blind men sitting along the road as He leaves Jericho on His way to Jerusalem. These men—beggars and social outcasts—cry out repeatedly, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” Even when the crowd tries to silence them, their desperation only grows louder. Their story reveals a powerful truth: even imperfect faith, when placed in Jesus, can bring us into contact with His grace.

Tom contrasts the desperate faith of the blind men with the crowd following Jesus. While the blind men cry out for mercy in their affliction, the crowd attempts to quiet them. It’s a reminder that followers of Jesus aren’t perfect—sometimes we get in the way of what God wants to do. Instead of silencing desperation, Tom challenges the church to support it, recognizing that many people among us are carrying deep afflictions and need the freedom to cry out to God.

The sermon presses into an uncomfortable reality: when we face pain or unmet needs, we often try to hide our afflictions or medicate them—through distraction, entertainment, substances, or busyness—instead of bringing them honestly to Jesus. The blind men model a better response. They refuse to stay silent and cry out for mercy until Jesus stops. And when He does, the text says He is moved with compassion, a deep gut-level response that leads Him to act.

Jesus touches their eyes, heals them, and immediately they follow Him. Tom closes with a defining statement about what it means to be a Christian: followers of Jesus are people who have been touched by Jesus. They’re not just people who believe certain ideas about Him—they’re people whose lives have been changed by His mercy and who now follow Him because they’ve experienced His grace.

The invitation of this message is simple and powerful: bring your afflictions to Jesus. Cry out for mercy. He is compassionate, He is King, and one touch from Him can change everything.

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