NOTES for Mat 20:29-34
The people's attempts to silence the blind men do not look like concern for quiet and public order. The fact that there were two blind men makes us remember that Jewish law required precisely two witnesses to confirm the truth of anything. By recognising Jesus as the Son of David, the two blind men not only addressed Him with a messianic title but also proclaimed it before all the people. In that case, however, those around them had to decide how to respond to what they had heard. They would now have to choose how to live and act in a changed reality, and they did not want to. Better to evade the choice by plugging their ears, or better still, the mouths that announced such unwelcome news...
When addressing Jesus, the blind men initially ask Him for mercy but make no specific request to be healed. They leave it to Christ Himself to decide how mercy should be shown, and in this their trust in Him is revealed. Only after He Himself addresses the blind men do they ask to receive their sight. And it is given to them—not only physically.
Many of those who asked Jesus for healing returned to their affairs after receiving what they wanted. These two, however, did not follow Christ because they had been healed; they were healed because they had accepted Christ.