The Blind Beggar and Blessed Faith
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Luke 18:35–43
35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 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!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
INTRO:
A good story not the same as a biblical story since it is intimately not just about God and original character but you
FAITH: The focus is not what God does in faith as we see in other scriptures which is helpful and good, but this text is about how faith should operate in us and through us.
The fact is there is a dead faith and a living faith. The former will be of no value against the flesh, the latter will vanquish it as a means used by the all powerful God
Thus here, we get a visual in the story of Bartimaeus how faith should look not only in him in which Jesus said his faith made him well, but how it should look in us as well.
Your faith has made you well:
Understand their terrible condition
Understanding Jesus as Messiah and able
Vocalizing their need for him
Vocalizing their conviction he could do the work
Cried out all the more: the same cry
We are not to grow discouraged if God does not appear to answer our plea right away and instead allow protesters to tempt us to discouragement.
35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 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!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
The main verse of this passage is verse 42 in which Jesus commends him for his faith. God delights in our active faith. He does not need it, it does not add to him or give him useful or needed information, it is simply delightful to him to see our faith active in us.
Example of things not necessarily needed but pleasant:
Flowers—drink—music—....
It’s not only delightful for him but good for us to express our faith in him.
Thus since it is good and right, God will allow certain circumstances in our lives for the sake that we would express our faith: and sometimes in very powerful and colorful ways, like the blind beggar in Jericho.
35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem for the final time before he dies on the cross, and he is traveling the typical route that the Jews would take to get to Jersualem for the Passover Feast.
Mark 10:46 “46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.”
Notice there are two things presently wrong with Bartimaeus, one thing probably lead to another:
Became blind sometime in his life, and now he is a poor beggar.
36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.
He had lost his sight but not his hearing, and with it he can tell a huge commotion is about him. And he asks what is the reason for it.
37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
By now, Jesus of Nazareth is a household name. He had done enough miracles to be a regional celebrity.
Luke 23:8 “8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.”
And Jesus knowing this gave him no reply
Luke 23:9 “9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer.”
Similar to what he tells the crowd after he gave them free dinner:
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
Bartimaeus reveals a different heart than Herod or the free loaders in that when he heard this local celebrity who could offer such creature comforts, he responds this way:
Luke 18:38 (ESV)
38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Notice they call him Jesus of Nazareth, he cries Jesus, Son of David
This became the title of the coming messiah that would bring blessings to Israel
2 Samuel 7:12–13 “12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
Isaiah 61:1 “1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;”
Isaiah 35:5 “5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;”
With this title Bartimaeus is revealing he is understanding something about Jesus that is higher than the mass of people around him.
Luke 18:38 (ESV)
38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Is a deeper cry than the hungry Jews in John 6. It sounds more like the Psalmists who consistently cry for mercy and grace from God above:
Psalm 30:10 “10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!””
Psalm 27:7 “7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!”
Luke 18:39
39 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!”
We are not told exactly why the people by Bartimaeus tried to silence him. Perhaps:
They were offended that he would use such a lofty title for him like the Pharisees would be later when he entered in Jerusalem
Luke 19:39–40 “39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.””
Or maybe they were still in awe of Jesus’ determination to get to Jerusalem and they didn’t want too many interruptions
Right before this event:
Mark 10:32–34 “32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.””
Jesus is far too important on too vital of a mission to be messing around with the local beggar.
And indeed, I could see how this man would talk himself into believing them and thinking to make such a big deal of this is not appropriate.
But since he was driven by a clear understanding of his terrible condition, and the power of Jesus he is not silenced:
Luke 18:39 “39 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!””
All the more. It’s almost like their negative peer pressure only fueled his conviction of his need, and Jesus’ great ability and makes a larger scene.
To have such conviction, there must have been something more driving him, not only understanding his great need, and Jesus great ability, but Jesus’ good will towards him to take notice. And he was right on all three accounts:
Luke 18:40
40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him,
Jesus at one moment was bound determined to get to Jerusalem, now he has matters to attend to that the men around him would be wondering why he would waste his time.
He commands that the people bring Bartimaeus to him—the same people perhaps who were just hushing him
But perhaps more pertinent is it would have been clear to everyone that this man was blind as he is being lead by the hand to Jesus.
Luke 18:40–41
40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.”
Might seem like a strange question at first:
Bartimaeus had the privileged of sight for a time in his life but then lost it. You can imagine a day probably had not gone by where he did not long to have use of his eyes again.
Also, Bartimaeus had to be lead to Jesus by the hand because of his blindness
The crowd around as they saw him having to be lead to Jesus because of his blindness had a good idea too.
And Jesus of Nazareth is known for healing such problems.
Yet, Jesus asks him what he would like.
Some commentators say Jesus is asking, “do you want me to give you alms or heal you?”
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
This man was blind and begging. So this could perhaps be what Jesus is referring to. But nevertheless, Jesus is not seriously wondering what this man wanted. Jesus was known as a healer not an alms giver
And this man knew what Jesus was capable of as well as the crowd around, I don’t think anyone else is actually wondering either.
So why did Jesus ask him this question?
So that this man would be forced to vocalize what it is he wanted in faith
Luke 18:41
41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.”
What do you want me to do for you? Is it alms or a healing?
Jesus knew but wanted him to open wide his mouth and receive by vocalizing what he wanted:
10 I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
IMPLICATIONS:
The law of God informs us that we indeed are blind beggars outside the gate.
Truly there are people who don’t realize their need, their dire circumstance and fool themselves into thinking they are not in need of Jesus
But the best place to be in is to realize just how bad our circumstance is
God gives us ways to hear of Jesus despite being in the blinded state we are