What The Blind Man Saw
Luke 18:35-43
George Matheson was a minister and hymn writer who went blind at the age of 20. Matheson believed that God made him blind so he could see clearly in other ways and become a guide to men.One might think that George Matheson was at a disadvantage because of his physical blindness. That is until you read his writings and see what this blind man saw. Listen to an excerpt from one of his hymns:
"O Joy that seekest me through pain,"
"I cannot close my heart to thee;"
"I trace the rainbow through the rain,"
"And feel the promise is not vain,"
"That morn shall tearless be."
"O Cross that liftest up my head,"
"I dare not ask to fly from thee;"
"I lay in dust life’s glory dead,"
"And from the ground there blossoms red"
"Life that shall endless be.
You have heard it said that “There is none so blind as he who will not see” In the recent days of Jesus’ earthy ministry there have been several people encounter Jesus who fit that description. They saw Him. They were intrigued by Him. Some of them came seeking Jesus. On other occasions Jesus came seeking them. Each of these people received an invitation to “follow Jesus” and each of them walked away without Him. They not only walked away from a relationship with Jesus, they made a conscious choice that would impact them for eternity.
There was a man who claimed he would follow Jesus but only “after he buried his father”. There was another who claimed that he would follow Jesus but only “after he went home and told his family goodbye” . Then there was one who seemed to have an intense desire to follow Jesus but when Jesus told him to “go and sell his possession and give to the poor, take up the cross and follow me” he too “went away sorrowful” and without Jesus. All of these men were blinded by the things of this world.
Amid these encounters there was also some blindness in the lives of those who were Disciples of Christ. 3 times Jesus has told them that He was going to die… 3 times they did not understand what He was saying. At this point in their walk with Jesus they were more concerned with Who was the greatest among them? (Mark 9:33-37) What they were going to get for their service? (Matthew 19:27) Where they were going to sit in the Kingdom? (Mark 10:35-40) What the motives were of those around them? (Mark 10:41-45) - Though they were true followers of Christ they could not see some things that were right in front of them.
At this point there was no shortage of spiritual blindness among those who encountered Jesus and those who were following Jesus. But here in Luke 18 we find a very encouraging story about a man who was “physically blind” but he saw some things about Jesus. And after this encounter wit Jesus… HE COULD SEE PHYSICALLY TOO!! Let’s review his story for a while and try to see ”What The Blind Man Saw” . The first thing that I would like to examine is that:
I. He Saw The Seriousness Of His Situation - 35And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: 36And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. 37And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. 38And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Have you ever been in a serious situation? Better yet have you ever been in a devastating situation? This blind man (who is identified in Mark as Bartemaus) was in a devastating situation. He was born blind; this was a common issue during the bible times. Bartemaus’ blindness attributed to other problems in his life. As a result of his blindness he could not work. There was no “Institute for the Blind” in his day. There was no place for him to go to receive any specialized training for a career. There was no social security or welfare in his day. And because he could not work, he could not secure the basic necessities of life.
Like Bartemaus, we were all born with a very serious problem. Though it is much worse than physical blindness… I am referring to the problem of sin. Paul tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”
The lost man is blind as well… SPIRITUALLY BLIND - 2 Corinthians 4:4 …the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Sinners are blind to their lost condition. They are blind concerning their sin and they are blind concerning their eternal destiny. Not only is the lost man blind, he is a beggar. Just like Bartemaus could not work to produce any income, the lost man cannot produce salvation. Before a lost sinner will ever surrender to Jesus, he must realize the seriousness of his situation. He must realize that he is destined for hell. He must also realize that there is nothing he can do to attain salvation on his own.
To the saved person I ask… Have you forgotten the seriousness of your past situation? Do you ever stop and think about where you were before Jesus passed by? Do you remember being a blind beggar? As saved people I think that we need to remember and the REJOICE!!!
If there was anything Bartemaus could have done to help himself, he would have done it. But HE SAW THAT THE ONLY ANSWER WAS JESUS CHRIST!!! The seriousness of his situation was not the only thing Bartemaus saw. Notice in verse 39 that:
II. He Saw The Coldness Of The Crowd - v39And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: But he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Here this man is, desperate, blind and begging for mercy. He is crying out to the master for a miracle And while he is doing this, some people in the crowd began to attempt to prevent him from getting to Jesus. Who were these people who would hinder him from getting to Jesus? Most likely it was other followers of Jesus! It wouldn’t be the first time the Lord’s disciples turned people away - Luke 18:15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
Sadly this is still happening today… Followers of Christ are push lost people away in 2014 just as they tried to do to Bartemaus! The church does much more to hinder converts than the lost world ever will!
Sister Self-Righteous – A preacher tells a story of his most prominent church member, “Sister Self-Righteous. Some time ago his church had a communion service. Sister Self-Righteous was extremely upset! She had observed some people who were not church members partake in the Lord’s Supper. She called the pastor to inform him that she had “handled” the situation. “You did?” Said the pastor. Yes sir! I told them that if they weren’t Christians they were going to go to hell for partaking in communion! The annoyed pastor took a moment to compose himself and simply said “ Sister Self-Righteous, um they are not going to go to hell because they took communion, they are going to hell because they are not Christians! And now we will not have the opportunity to minister to them because they will most likely not come back to church!” Instead of reflecting on the Lord’s sacrifice at Calvary, Sister Self-Righteous was focused on others. As a result she pushed others away!
This happens every week in churches all over the world. People are looking for hope… they are looking for answers and we have a tendency to push them away! Bartemaus was not deterred by the criticizing crowd. If you are here today and have never met Jesus, don’t let the crowd keep you away! Do like this man did and CRY OUT TO JESUS!!!
How heartbreaking it must have been for this man who had endured so mush pain and shame throughout his life to basically be told to “shut up and don’t bother Jesus” But thankfully, even when the followers of Christ get in the way, JESUS STILL WORKS MIRACLES! That is what happened here… notice the 3rd thing that this blind man saw:
III. He Saw The Compassion Of The Christ - v40And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, 41Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. 42And Jesus said unto him, receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
In spite of the crowd, Bartemaus cried loud enough to get Jesus’ attention. Even with this vast multitude of people Jesus heard his plea. What did Jesus hear? - He heard Bartemaus say - “Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”
Bartemaus did not feel entitled. He did not even believe that he “deserved” his sight. What he was really seeking was “mercy”, In the Greek text this literally means - “to bring help to the wretched” - That is what Jesus is still doing today! He is bringing help to the wretched! I think it is important to understand the timeline here. Jesus is headed to Jerusalem… He is going to the cross. He knows what is waiting in Jerusalem; even still He had time for this poor ol beggar!
I am glad He had time for me one day! If you are lost, HE HAS TIME FOR YOU TODAY!! Jesus called for him to be brought to Him. Then Jesus asked what He could do for him! Bartemaus said “Lord, give me my sight”
I would imagine that Bartemaus was overwhelmed, For years he had sat by this roadside asking for alms. He has been ignored, neglected and abandoned for most of his life. Now he has encountered the very Son of God. Somehow, somewhere some one told Him of Jesus and the great things He had done. Now, though others would pass him by and ignore him, Jesus didn’t pass by. Jesus stopped and showed compassion on this blind beggar.
You may be here and you have been abandoned, neglected and ignored. You may feel that you don’t have a friend in the world. You may feel hopeless. You may need some compassion today. Don’t put your faith in the crowd… you see what they did for Bartemaus. Don’t put your faith in church… we will let you down! Put your faith, hope and trust in the Lord, JESUS CHRIST!
Like Bartemaus, you can see the compassionate Christ! What an amazing miracle! A man who has been blind from birth now has 20/20 vision. Receiving his physical sight is not all that happened in this miracle. Notice in verse 43 on more thing that the blind man saw:
IV. He Saw The Magnitude Of His Miracle - v43And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
At the very moment Jesus spoke the words of healing… HE WAS HEALED! And something else happened immediately… Bartemaus began to follow Jesus! And he began to PRAISE GOD! And he had an impact on the others in the crowd! - “and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God”
You know what? I don’t think he ever got over this miracle! I would hope that he spent the rest of his life as a witness of Christ’s power. But unfortunately there are many saved people who have gotten over the miracle that Jesus has performed in their life. Friend, if you are lost there is a miracle possible for you today. It is even more amazing that someone blind from birth receiving their sight. It is a miracle that can bring you from death unto life. I am referring to the miracle of salvation through Jesus Christ. If you will trust in Him today, you can “see what the blind man saw”
