Luke 18:31-43 (ESV)

³¹ And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³² For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. ³³ And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” ³⁴ But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. 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.

Luke records the account of another man who crossed paths with Jesus. Unlike the rich young ruler in verses 18-23, this time Jesus met a poor, blind beggar. These men were complete opposites of one another. The rich and powerful man was dependent upon no one and trusted only in his wealth for security. The poor and destitute man lived his life dependent upon others and couldn’t survive without help. The blind man heard the noise of the crowd that accompanied Jesus, and he asked those near him what was going on. They told him Jesus was passing. When the blind man heard this, he began to shout out to Jesus, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Although he was blind, he “saw” what so many others missed. Jesus was the Son of David, the promised Messiah of Israel. Many of those present told the blind man to be quiet after he cried out to Jesus for help. But that didn’t stop him. Instead, he went on to shout even more, again calling out to Jesus as the “Son of David” for mercy. This guy didn’t care what anyone else thought. Jesus was passing by, and the man was determined to get his attention. He was successful! Jesus ordered that the man be brought to him. Then he asked the blind beggar what he wanted Jesus to do. The blind man replied that he wanted to see. Jesus healed him, publicly noting that his faith had made him well

After the blind man was healed, he went on to follow Jesus and give glory to God. The poor, sightless beggar ended up seeing, praising God, and gaining riches in the life to come. Jesus is not looking for health or wealth or social status in those he calls to be his disciples. Instead, he is looking for people who recognize their need for God’s mercy and humbly respond to who he is in faith. It is interesting to see how those who realize their inability to save or help themselves are the ones who end up seeing Jesus, while those who think they have everything in and through themselves end up blind to the Lord. If you are a follower of Jesus today, your spiritual sight proves you have an inheritance that will never be taken from you. The Christian has everything she needs in Jesus. What a reason for rejoicing!