"Jesus stopped and called them, 'What do you want me to do for you?' He asked." (Matthew 20:32, NIV)
I have heard some suggestions over the years as to why Jesus w0uld ask such a question 0f persons with such an obvious malady. The thought which occurred to me today was that He enjoys fellowship, encounter, and a personal relationship, perhaps we could call it the dialogue of friendship.
Our King and Savior Jesus Christ looks into the heart of humanity. We see in the Gospel accounts that Jesus did not go around as some Greek god with holy water, or saying the same thing to everybody. For example, He did not say to Nicodemus what He said to the blind men, nor did He say to the blind men what He said to Nicodemus, or the Samaritan woman, or Zacchaeus. Every encounter in the Gospels reveals Jesus' desire for a unique personal relationship, no platitudes, cliches.
Jesus tells us, "I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me...." The Word for, "know," here means, "to know through personal experience." Our Good Shepherd desires spiritual intimacy, aka, fellowship with each one of us. I suggest that Jesus asked, "What do you want Me to do for you?" because He desires, "to know through personal experience."
Father, in Jesus' Name, help me to be such. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
