What does a 1st century middle eastern blind man occupy his time with while sitting beside a dusty road begging men for money and God for sight? Maybe think. There’d be time for that. A lot of time. I’m sure he’d be listening to the conversations of passersby, taking in the latest gossip and local news highlights. Or maybe he’d catch pieces of the stories about the Nazarene miracle-worker and the lives he’d changed. He had time to think, formulate, and imagine. And maybe, as a blind man, he saw things that those with working eyes don’t see. Our sight is often obscured by the overflow of information and distractions that fill our lives and grab our attention.
Luke surrounds this story of the blind beggar with several other stories that join together like friends standing in solidarity, speaking a unified message – a simple message of truth that God wants us to hear: the humble see God in ways that the self-sufficient do not. I’d like to propose something to you. Could it be that this blind man, daily sitting in humble awareness of his condition, wasn’t as unsighted as those who saw him thought he was?
Sitting, hoping, waiting.
Oh, how the blind man’s heart leapt at the news that Jesus of Nazareth was approaching. With child-like abandon and disregard for what others thought, he cried out undignified, “Jesus, Son of David!” Louder and louder. He knew what he wanted. Like Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector, he wanted to see. “Lord, I want to see.” There are two types of blindness: spiritual and physical, and both find their healing in Jesus. This soon-to-be-seeing man knew where his healing would come from.
Have you ever wondered what Jesus thought about? Like, what was Jesus thinking as he neared the blind man on that dusty road to Jericho? Maybe his thoughts went back to the story of his ancestor Rahab who tied a blood-red cord outside the window of her house to save her family before the walls of Jericho came crashing down. Or maybe he thought of the men of Jericho who had helped to rebuild the broken-down walls of Jerusalem during the time of Nehemiah. He might have thought about the sheep gate that the high priest of that time was rebuilding, that the High Priest would one day walk through as the Lamb of God.
“Son of David”, “Lord”. Did you catch that? The blind man saw what the religious leaders had missed: Jesus is both. He is the human descendant of David, robed with an understanding of our plight, fully man. And he is Lord, Christ, Messiah, soon to pass through the sacrificial gate as the Lamb of God, and soon to be the risen Lord. The humble will see and rejoice. He is both man and God, divinity wrapped in humanity, servant and king, Son of David and Lord.
But he (Jesus) said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”
— Luke 20:41-44 (ESV)
I’m not sure that Jesus’ question to the scribes was entirely rhetorical. Jesus often spoke in a way that challenged people’s boxed-in thinking about who he was and who his Father was. He was ever teaching others, even the religious elite. In this scripture, Jesus was not saying that the Christ was not descended from David; he was simply asking the ivory tower scholars of the day how God might work this one out. This reminds me of another question asked by Jesus’ mother to the visiting angel, “How will this be?” The angel certainly answered faith-filled and humble Mary. Do you have any, “How will this be?” questions you’d like to ask?
Are there any mindsets that have you boxed in? Are you willing to allow Jesus to shake those mindsets?
How is Jesus both Lord and man? How did God accomplish such a thing and why?
He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
— Luke 19:3,4 (NIV)
He wanted to see, but he couldn’t see. Zacchaeus’ spiritual blindness was playing out in his inability to see Jesus over the crowd that day. Zacchaeus wasn’t so different from the blind beggar. Both were willing to look foolish to get what they deeply desired. Neither of their respective social statuses (the pitied blind man at the bottom rung of the socio-economic ladder, the hated rich Zacchaeus near the top), stopped Jesus from granting them sight. Both were filled with gratitude for what Jesus did in their lives. And both called him Lord. For he is the Son of David, Son of Man, and Lord.
Have you ever acted foolishly to get something you really wanted? Why were you willing to act that way and what was it you wanted?
How did Zacchaeus express his gratitude towards Jesus? How have you expressed your gratitude towards Jesus for the gift of eternal life?
Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
— John 20:28-29 (ESV)
The vision of Jesus hung on a cross, nail-scarred and pierced, must have burned in Thomas’ mind. Maybe this caused him to sprinkle a little cynicism into his stewing doubt. Maybe he felt some regret mixed in with his brooding and discouragement. What do we say when we feel these things: the abandonment, the disappointment, the regret? Thomas had invested years into following this man and now everything had come crashing down. Ever felt that way? If you have, can I give you some encouragement? Jesus will show up, I can promise you that. But until he does, embrace the warm embers of belief and shun the chill winter whispers of unbelief; for in this you will find an unexpected blessing. He has proven himself to many, you know, and he will continue to do so, even to you.
Has Jesus ever shocked you by something he has done in your life? How have these acts of his power and faithfulness impacted you?
What do you think the blessing is in believing without seeing? What does this say about God?
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.
— 1 Peter 1:8 (NLT)
Are you a believer? Then these words are for you. When you’re going through it, when you feel like you are stumbling blindly through one of life’s dark valleys, these words are to your credit and for your encouragement. You have put on the eyes of faith. Look over your walk with the Lord. You are still here. You have loved him back, even though, yes, even though, you have never seen him. I praise God for the faithfulness of Christ in your life and for your faith expressed through your love for him.
Would you say it is easier to love what you see rather than loving what is not seen? Does your love for Jesus, despite not seeing him, make you feel proud or humbled, or something else?
How has your love for Christ been expressed in your life? Has it always been a perfect expression of love?
Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, take pleasure in Him]; again I will say, rejoice!
— Philippians 4:4 (Amplified Bible)
It is good to delight in the grace of God in our lives — this grace that saves us, this grace that keeps us, this grace that will bring us home. Take a moment and look back on God’s hand, his sovereign hand, in your life. Has he been faithful to you even when you’ve been unfaithful? Has he shown consistency even though you’ve been everything but consistent? Has his grip on your sometimes limp and listless hand remained strong? If your answer is, “Yes!”, then rejoice. I’ll say it again, rejoice!
Do trials mean the absence of God’s grace? Is the favor of God equal to a problem free life? Explain these apparent paradoxes.
Sometimes it’s hard to see the goodness of God amid trouble, but what are we really being encouraged to rejoice in here? And is it possible to rejoice in something that is not yet seen?
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