Eyes have always interested me. You might remember this photo of a young
woman who’s eyes captivated the world.
What beauty and yet what sorrow.
Those eyes were asking so many questions and yet, her life almost did
not change when that photo was taken until now.
What did she want? Could she even
put the answer into words? In the
Chapter we are looking at today, Luke 18 tells us about the Parable of the
Persistent Widow, the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, The Little Children and
Jesus, the Rich Ruler, Jesus Again Predicts His Death, and then this one~~the Blind
Man Receives His Sight.
Jesus was going to His death and He knew it. Yet He still had some work to be done.
Seeking out FAITHful people.
One such
person was the blind man (seeing early in life). He sought out Jesus. Luke
18:35-43
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to Him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want Me to do for you?”“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
He knew who Jesus was and called Him “Jesus,
Son of David!” Not what He was called but in saying this,
the Blind man KNEW Whom he was talking to!
Have MERCY on me! What a cry!
What need! He was blind and he
KNEW that only the MERCY of God could change that for him!
Jesus stopped. Always
willing to help…but He asked the man: 41 “What do you want Me
to do for you?” "あなたに何をしてほしいのか？"
Note that the crowd was not on the man’s side. BE QUIET!
Rebuked him. He was a blind
man—even though he was well known, he had NO social status at all. He was under them and they wanted to keep him
there.
But—Jesus asked that they bring the man to Him. They became part of it—forced to be active in
this story. Do you need such an
invitation? Come and bring people to
Jesus. When was the last time you
brought a friend to Church? If you felt
that it would be better that they stay away—wake up!
Jesus asked
him a simple question: 41 His answer was simple. “Lord, I want to see,” "私は_____をしたい。"
Jesus said to him, “Receive your
sight; your faith has healed you.” あなたが求めているものを受け取る。 I think it was a little strange
that Jesus asked such a question. “Jesus—look at him!
He is blind! You can see
that! Look at his eyes!” But Jesus needed the
man to tell Him what he wanted.
Same as in our prayers. Oh, I don’t want
to bother Jesus with my needs. He knows
them already, so why even bother saying it? Because Jesus wants us to! 41 “What do you want Me
to do for you?” Well, I want this
and that and that… But what do you REALLY WANT? Deep down inside your heart of hearts, what is it that you really want Him
to do for you? Ask and it
shall be done unto you. We need to be
THAT close to Him so that we can hear Him ask 41 “What do you want Me
to do for you?
Wouldn’t it be great?
~1 Immediately he received his sight
~2 and followed Jesus,
~3 praising God.
He sought out the Lord… He cried out… He
asked… Jesus responded with what he requested… healed… joy… followed/ became a
disciple. Resulting with the crowd who
wanted the blind man to shut up, now joining in with their own praising.
Make application to
our situation today
Need to recognize our need clearly. Identify it. Call on the Lord—even cry out
to Him. Know Whom we are talking
with.
Declare our need. Receive our answer. Follow Him after and forever.
Others will praise God and
the Mercy of God would be seen by others and it will be understood. Others will believe with us when they see the
Living God working in your life.
He followed Jesus—into Jerusalem and saw how men treated
Him: the King had come close enough to be spit on, beaten, and nailed to the
Cross. If He had not come that close to him, He might not have come near enough
to hear a blind man’s cry.
The King’s character never changed. 王の性格を変えたことない Mercy.
The road to entry 入る道は... into the kingdom lies much
tribulations. Acts
14:22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to
remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of
God,” they said. His location: 彼の場所を…Outside city—outside view
His cry: 彼の叫びを...No trouble hearing-cried out to the
Son of David. Have
Mercy on me!
His Faith: 彼の信仰を…Throws away his beggar’s
robe/garment. It was not much but it was all he knew! Phil
3:8 What is
more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them
garbage, that I may gain Christ He sprung up to go with Jesus
His Desire: 彼の欲っするところ…He could see before but he lost
sight. Recovered his sight—once again. Wants to see again!
His Salvation: 彼の救い…Your faith has
saved you. Ps
146:8 the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.
詩篇146:8主は盲人の目をあけ、主はかがんでいる者を起こされる。主は正しい者を愛し、
Isaiah 29:18 In that
day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and
out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
イザヤ29:18その日、耳の聞こえない者が書物のことばを聞き、目の見えない者の目が暗黒とやみから物を見る。
He
could see spiritually before the new sight was given.
His Direction: 彼の方向…He followed Jesus.
Left it all behind—granted-not much but it had been his whole life. Isaiah 6:1 In the
year that King Uzziah died, I saw
the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled
the temple.
Once whatever it was that blocked his vision of God—was out
of the way---so that he AND now you and I
can see Jesus!
Are we any different?
Has He touched us and given us LIFE?
Gave us vigor, intelligence, financial resources? If Jesus has your heart, then He
has everything you are.
Her name is …Gula…Believers, what do you believe? Creed.
Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem when this encounter
happened with the blind man. He was on
His way to be crucified for the sins of all of us—all of mankind. Soon, it will be Palm Sunday. Will you welcome Him as The Son of David or
as a historical figure? Is He really
Lord?
He has indeed called us to follow. And He has called us to remember Him as well.
Matthew 26:17-30
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