Blind No More Series

A Study of the Book of Luke

Sermon # 51

Blind No More!

Luke 18: 35-43

The journey that is recorded for us is very important. Jericho marked the last stage of the journey to Jerusalem for Jesus (12:51). Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where he knew He was to die. It is the last stage of the journey for Jesus but it was the first stage of a new journey of another man. As Jesus travels near Jericho, a blind man is begging by the side of the road and hears a commotion. He asks what is going on. They tell him that ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. Luke’s record of the healing of a blind man in this section is supported by accounts in Mark (10:46-52) where we are told that the blind man’s name was Bartimaeus and in Matthew (20:29-34) where we are told that there two blind men who were healed on this occasion.

Now look with me at verse thirty-five, “Then it happened, that as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. (36) And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. (37) So they told him that Jesus of Nazereth was passing by.”

Jesus would soon pass him by. This man at least knew he was blind, in perpetual darkness. He knew what his condition was. He not only knew his condition but he believed Jesus was the Messiah and he knew that he must do something. One man broke the rules of polite society and created a scene.

Our Lord was going up to Jerusalem to die and he had weighty matters on his mind, but he found the time to be concerned over one poor suffering soul. For verse thirty-eight reveals that the blind man, “…cried out, saying, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Sometimes those who see the most clearly are not those who stand out in our society, the rich, the famous or the powerful. In fact this blind man stands in stark contrast to the rich young ruler that we looked at in verses 18-24.

In his choice of word, “Jesus, Son of David” the blind man is recognizing who Jesus was, he is the Messiah, the promised seed of the line of David. The recognition of who Jesus was is the basis of everything else that happens. Luke never stops making the person of Jesus the issue of the Gospel. Even today, what you believe about the person of Jesus is the single most important thing in your life. It is on that question alone that all of eternity rests. “Who is this man they call Jesus?”

I would like to share with you this morning Three Abiding Spiritual Truths -

First, Reason will offer You Many Excuses For Why You Can Wait On Getting Right With God.

That day when Jesus passed by, Bartimaeus was suddenly faced with the biggest decision of his life. Would he continue to be dependent upon others where he felt safe, or would he assume responsibility for himself. He chose to cry out.

Think for a moment about whatever rut you may be in. Yes, you can continue to blame your parents or society or your nationality or your rotten luck in life or your lack of self discipline or the bad genes you inherited from your parents or the weather or whatever. You’re certainly free to do so. But there is a price for that dubious "freedom."

But I don’t want you to miss the truth that

we don’t know that Jesus ever passed through Jericho again!!! Don’t miss this! Do you know that the average person does not have all that many good chances to be saved? It could be that you had some narrow escapes in your life, times when you have said to yourself, “I could have died.” Maybe you have experienced a illness or had some other brush with death, that really got your attention. It may be that at that time you thought, “I don’t know that I am really ready to meet my maker.” Perhaps you even intended to do something about it, but once the pressure was gone, you didn’t do anything about it. It may be that you have sat in the church in service after service when you have felt the tug of the Holy Spirit at your heart but you didn’t do anything about it. Consider with me, Jesus never passed that way again.

You need to understand that if you allow salvation to pass you by this morning, you may never have the opportunity to be saved again. When you know you are lost and you know that you have no claim on heaven and you want to change the direction of your life, then it is time to come to the Lord. The prophet Isaiah’s (55:6) warning is still relevant today, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.”