Luke 18:31–43
And taking the twelve, [Jesus] said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging Him, they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise.”
But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
As He drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he came near, He asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.”
And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. (ESV)
Prayer: O Lord, open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, our Savior from sin, death, and hell, who can and will help us in our time of need. Amen.
The Blind Man Sees
Dear Fellow Redeemed,
It takes a blind man to see Jesus.
Jesus says to his disciples, “see,” we are going up to Jerusalem to accomplish what the prophets foretold. He would be handed over to the Romans, wrongfully condemned, beaten, and spit upon. He would be killed on the cross, but he would rise from the dead on the third day. Jesus didn’t leave the future up for debate. He made it abundantly clear what he was going to accomplish. But the disciples didn’t see. St. Luke records, “But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” Even after three years of being Jesus disciples, they still struggled to see Jesus’ true mission. They struggled to see how Jesus would establish his kingdom and who he truly was.
Not coincidentally, Luke immediately follows this confusion with the interaction between a blind beggar, Jesus, and the disciples. When the blind man heared the commotion of the crowd going by outside of Jericho, he was wondering what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he immediately cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd said “Jesus of Nazareth,” but the blind man says, “Jesus, Son of David.” That’s significant. To say, “Jesus of Nazareth,” is not much more than saying, Tom from Waukon or John from Calmar. When the blind man called Jesus the “Son of David,” he was identifying him as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus was no mere man from Nazareth. He was both true God and true man. The blind man saw in the man Jesus his God and Savior, so he cried out for mercy to the one who could show him mercy. And no matter how hard some tried to prevent him, he would not be stopped.
The blind man sees who Jesus is before he recovered his sight. He saw him as his Lord and Savior. He believed that Jesus could and would help him. He was right and Jesus healed him.
As we think about the faith of this blind beggar, I want us to take a moment and think about what life would have been like for him before he met Jesus. To say being blind in Jesus’ day was hard is an understatement. They didn’t have societal mechanisms in place to serve and help someone with blindness. There was no braille. There was no tactile paving at crosswalks or pedestrian signals. It was dangerous and would likely relegate someone to a beggar’s life, like the man in our lesson. Beyond this, there was the social stigma for being blind. It was common at this time for people to think of blindness and things of that nature as a punishment from God for a particular sin. And so, they were often looked down upon.
Of course, we should never blame God for our troubles or the evil in this world. Yet, we could all likely sympathize with this blind beggar if he would have been angry with God for his troubles. To be a blind beggar was a heavy cross to bear. It’s a lonely cross. But the blind beggar, often known as blind Bartimaeus, didn’t blame or hate God. He didn’t let his outward conditions cause him to think that God didn’t love or care about him. Even if he was tempted to doubt God’s goodness, he didn’t let it prevent him from calling out to Jesus for help. He had heard about Jesus. Perhaps, he knew well the verse from Isaiah foretelling of the Messiah’s ability to heal and make well. Bartimaeus didn’t let his suffering blind him from seeing God’s love and mercy. And what a wonderful example that is for us.
Every one of us will go through our own trials in life. As Christians, we refer to these challenges as our crosses. Our crosses come in all different shapes and forms and at different times. They are normally unexpected and not anything we could have predicted. And it can be hard to bear them. One of the temptations we face as we bear our own individual crosses is to think that God is far from us, that he doesn’t care, or that we are helpless. We can be tempted to give up as Job was by his wife, who said to him after they lost their children and possessions, “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9).
This was part of the disciples’ confusion with Jesus’ words about his suffering and death. They knew Jesus was perfect. He was holy. He was the epitome of love. They couldn’t understand why he had to suffer and die. They were flummoxed. In a similar way, we can face confusion when we are going through our own suffering and be left wondering, “why?” When we see evil in this world or a person going through severe pain, we ask, “why?”
But God doesn’t cause evil. He doesn’t want pain for us. He truly wants good for us. When he created the world, it was perfect! Mankind was very good. All the evil, the pain, and sin we see in this world is a result of our sin. The problem is with us, not God. But here is the great wonder—God made our problem, his problem. Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, became bone of our bones, and flesh of our flesh, so that he might restore his perfect creation. He came to bear our pains and infirmities, our sins and weaknesses, by going to the cross where he atoned for the sins of the world, so that he could restore us to the beauty that God intended. By Jesus healing the blind man, he is showing that he was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. He was the Messiah who came to save us. But even better, Jesus’ miracles of healing foreshadow the healing that he will grant to all people in the end.
Right now, we don’t see God. But we will. Yet, until then, Scripture is recorded for us so that, “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). “We walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor 5:7). Jesus is your Lord and Savior who came to save you. He doesn’t pass by the helpless and needy, he stands ready to listen and help. He doesn’t blame us for our condition but saves us from our sin. He tells you to cast all your care upon him, because he cares for you.
Blind Bartimaeus knew who Jesus was which is why nothing could stop him from calling out to Jesus for help despite everything that was against him. We also should never be prevented from going to Jesus for forgiveness and help, because we know who he is and how he thinks about us. We have the greatest proof of his love—not a heart shaped candy or flowery bouquet. No, we have the cross, which is the greatest symbol of love in this world. On the cross, Jesus made our problem his problem. He paid for our sins. He opened wide the gate of heaven. But he is no longer on the cross. He rose from the dead triumphant over sin, death, and hell. He sits at the Father’s right hand working all for our good. That’s the God we have. This is the God we want. And so, we go to him! He forgives us, he helps us in our need, and he will bring us to heaven one day where we will experience no pain or sadness, but joy and gladness.
But it’s easy for us to forget this. Even Martin Luther, one of the boldest confessors of the faith, sometimes fell into periods of depression that could last for days. During one of these periods, it’s said that Luther was so depressed that none of his wife’s words would help. And so, his wife, Katie, decided to dress in black mourning clothes. When Luther finally noticed he asked, “Are you going to a funeral?” She replied, “No, but since you act as though God is dead, I wanted to join you in mourning.” Luther got the message and recovered.
There might be things going on in your life that cause you to go around as if God was dead. Maybe its family tensions, a health diagnosis, or frustration over the events going on in our world and country. Katie Luther taught her Martin an important lesson that day. Our hope for the future and confidence in times of trouble are not based on our feelings. Our confidence is in knowing that no matter what happens in this world or the troubles we face, God is still in control. We have a Savior who loves you and who promises to be with us always. He is not going to leave. He is going to be with you. And one day, he is going to bring you to your eternal home of rest and peace.
There are times when we forget to go to God, when we doubt his goodness, when we feel like all hope is lost, when we get angry. Of course, this is sin. And we need to repent of it. However, we have great comfort, that God doesn’t abandon us. He has made our problems his. He wants us to believe in him. To trust him.
When we talk about faith, we normally ascribe three parts to it: knowledge, assent, and trust. You can remember it through these three parts of the body: mind, lips, and heart. The first part of faith is knowledge—to know in your mind who God is and what he has done. We learn this knowledge through Scripture. The second part of faith is assent, confessing and acknowledging God’s word as true with our lips. The final part of faith is trust—the faith in our heart—where we learn to trust and believe that God’s promises are for you and me personally. To know with your whole being, that Jesus came into this world for you. That he died on the cross for you. That rose again from the dead for you. That he promises you eternal life. And that nothing, not even death, can separate you from his love. It’s a confidence so great that you would stake your life on it a thousand times over. Our faith may not always be strong, it may be weak, but that is not the point. The greatness of faith is its object, which is Jesus. This is why faith in Jesus will never disappoint!
Blind Bartimaeus had this trust. He didn’t see Jesus, but he trusted in him. And then he truly did see him. Right now, we don’t see God, but for those who trust in him, they will see him one day face to face. We will join him in heaven where the beating heart of love never ends. And what a day that will be! Amen.