A Blind Man Helps Us See
St. Luke 18:31-43
February 14, 2021 anno Domini
The disciples had ears but did not hear while the blind man saw Jesus. In the Kingdom of God you must be blind to see and deaf to hear.
The disciples were not deaf. They could hear perfectly when Jesus said, (Read vs 31-33)
They heard but they didn’t hear. They were men. You know how men are. They weren’t listening. They were already planning what was going to happen next and it wasn’t the cross. Jesus couldn’t die. Andrew and Simon Peter gave up their fishing business. Matthew left his job with the IRS. Philip and Bartholomew had dragged their families all over Galilee and Judah. They had tasted the miraculous wine at Cana and saw Jesus calm the stormy sea. They ate the bread and fish with the 5000 and got the leftovers for lunch the next day. Peter, James, and John saw Jesus in all His glory on the mountain, along with Elijah and Moses. They heard the Father speak of His beloved Son. Jesus was going places. He was heading for the top because that’s who God is and He was going to take them with Him. They heard. They saw. They knew where they were going.
But they didn’t know because they didn’t hear (Read vs. 34). This was the third time Jesus told them. Wives perhaps you can relate. Three times Jesus had said exactly what would happen – Jerusalem, delivered over to sinful men, mocked, spit upon, flogged, crucified, dead, buried, and on the third day rise.
Hearing you can still be deaf. You hear about the cross week after week and yet you are shocked when Jesus says, “If you want to follow Me here’s a cross for you.” The Government’s going to go after you because you are Christian. You will be accused of hate speech if you say there is only one way to heaven, or two genders, or one definition of marriage. Your family will despise and hate you for believing and confessing one truth. Your church is going to lose its tax-exempt status. Your money will be used for abortions. Your children will be indoctrinated in government run schools by ungodly teachings.
That is what you should expect, but that is not the way you want to go. Wasn’t the United States founded by Christians? Don’t the principles of our Constitution and founding documents secure our freedom to assemble and worship? How can this be? Has God abandoned you? This isn’t the way life should go, is it?
The disciples didn’t want Jesus to go to the cross, but Jesus never promised to make Israel great again. God never mentions the United States in Scripture. He didn’t say it would be a Christian nation and safe haven for the Gospel to be proclaimed. Jesus promised a cross. He will be killed – that’s His way, God’s way, of accomplishing your salvation, of delivering you from sins, of rescuing you from death and bringing you to heaven.
Your problem is not Covid or President Biden. Your future isn’t the economy or herd immunity. Your hope is not the United States of America or a vaccine. Your problem is your sin and the cure, your future and your hope is Christ and Him crucified. You need forgiveness and there is no forgiveness without the cross. There is no life without the death of the Son of God. There is no Christian nation except for the Kingdom of God which is made up of all who believe that the cross of Christ is our forgiveness, our life, and our hope. That is hidden from the disciples until the resurrection. They cannot see death as life or suffering as glory, or a dead God as the living Lord until Jesus rises from the dead.
The disciples had ears but would not hear of the cross. The blind man could not see but saw His Savior. One of the realities of being blind is that you need to rely on others. A blind man doesn’t drive down to Dutch Maid bakery to get a donut with sprinkles. A blind man doesn’t drink something without someone telling him what it is. This blind man outside Jericho heard the clamor of the crowd and asked, “What’s going on?”
Because he could not see someone had to see for him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Then he prays the most amazing prayer, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The blind man didn’t ask for glory. He did not ask for his sight. He asked for mercy, for the loving kindness of the Lord, for a gift, whatever the Lord sees fit to give Him. The blind man sees more than the disciples understand. Some argue that you need to be specific in your prayers. The blind man shows us to pray for what is most important – the mercy of Jesus. If there is anyone who knows what you need it is Jesus. Whatever you are enduring He has endured as true man. Whatever you need He has and can give you as true God.
What are your prayers like? Do you ask for quick fixes when God has already given you eternal life? Do you pray about the problems out there, with those people, that president, that governor, that pandemic, or do you pray for the forgiveness God knows you need and has already purchased for you? Do you pray as if God doesn’t know the problems of your life? He knows the problem. It is you and it is you He would set right. Christ Jesus died for you. Your sins are on Him so His righteousness can be on you. He died so you can live. He rose so you can hope in the resurrection. You don’t need what you think you need. You need to be deaf to your thoughts and blind to your ways. You need Jesus. The blind man saw what he needed. Let us pray like him, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Read vs. 40-43. The word at the end of vs. 42 “made well” can also be translated “saved.” Your faith has saved you. The blind man got more than sight that day – He got Jesus and faith in Jesus, faith that cries out for mercy, faith that saved him, faith to follow Jesus to the cross.
God works in mysterious ways. The good ears of the disciples are bad at hearing, while blindness is good because it helps a man see Jesus. That this story happens at Jericho calls to mind the weird way God worked victory in the Old Testament. Jericho was the first city conquered when God’s people entered the promised land. Joshua (which is the Hebrew name Jesus) led the people. They used no weapons to bring down the walls of Jericho. God told them to march around the city every day with the Ark of God leading the way like the grand marshal of the parade and seven priests blowing their seven trumpets who formed the marching band. This they did for six days. Then on the seventh day – the Lord’s day, they marched the parade route seven times, then with a loud blast of a ram’s horn and the shout of the people, the walls of Jericho fell down and the city was taken. The Lord’s power and might doesn’t work in power and might. He works in foolishness and mystery, hidden behind priests and trumpets. He uses a blind guy to help His disciples see and understand. His glory and power are seen at a cross upon which He dies. As we stand at the doorway of Lent, let us pray that the Lord would make us blind to ourselves so we can see Him and deaf to our thoughts so that we can hear His Word. Let us pray with the blind man, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us. Amen.