10/4/2024

Faith
Luke 18:35-41 ESV
“As He drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 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!” And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he came near, He asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.”

This account has so much imagery in it, but I will concentrate on two things. First the blind man’s words and actions and second Jesus’s listening ears and healing power at the words of the blind man.

A blind man is in the right place to receive alms from the people entering and leaving Jerusalem. He notices by sound that the crowd is bigger than usual, so he asks someone what is going on. When the blind man hears that Jesus is passing by, he begins to cry out loudly Jesus’s Messianic name, (showing that he believed that Jesus was the Messiah) Jesus, Son of David. The crowd begins to try and quiet the man but he will not be silent, as a matter of fact, he gets louder.

Jesus, hearing His Messianic name, and the cry for mercy, turns and looks for the man. Jesus asks for the man to be brought to Him. When the gentleman gets to Jesus, Jesus asks what the man wanted Him to do. Understand, Jesus already knew what the man wanted, but He wanted to hear the man verbalize what he wanted. Then Jesus says to the man, “Recover your sight, your faith has made you well” (Luke 18:42).

The blind man BELIEVED in Jesus, he VERBALIZED who Jesus was openly, and then he TOLD Jesus what he needed, Then he TRUSTED Jesus for the results.

Jesus HEARD a voice of believing FAITH, He HEARD a cry for MERCY, He HEARD the DESIRE of the man of what he wanted and He HEALED the man according to HIS FAITH.

Prayer:
Lord, we believe in You, we confess You openly and we are not ashamed to call You our Lord, Savior, and Master. We desperately need You! Hear our hearts cry and have mercy on us and our nation. Bring healing of our hearts, minds, spirits and bodies. In Your name Lord Jesus we seek You with hearts of faith, Amen!