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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.
Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar
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 18: 31-43 ESV
Luke 18: 31-43
…6I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle. 7Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame. 8The One who vindicates Me is near. Who will dare to contend with Me? Let us confront each other! Who has a case against Me? Let him approach Me!… Isaiah 50: 6-8
See, we are going up to Jerusalem - Jesus first advent is set in the shadow of the cross, as the Passover Lamb, and Jerusalem is His destiny. It will take place during the traditional Passover feast. This teaching is as old as the Garden when Adam and Eve sinned. It is the doctrine of Atonement, of Substitution, a life for a life.
20Then He admonished the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ. 21From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”…
23But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” 24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.… Matthew 16: 20-25
…19By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” 20And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.
21And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them. Genesis 3: 19-21
And everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished - The whole of the OT is about Jesus, and it is remarkable how little time people spend in the books that foretell His coming, outline His ministry and predict His death on the cross. Books like Isaiah have become a huge point of contention. Many Jewish synagogues have dropped Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 from the daily reading. Why? Because it describes perfectly one individual in all of history, Jesus Christ, and when those that refuse Him see that the Messiah was slated to suffer, scheduled to become a curse for us, dying upon a tree, rejected by His own, it's just too much, too painful. They were taught to view Jesus as a false prophet, but the writings of the Isaiah, who lived some 700 years before Jesus' ministry, said all of this, that He would be despised and rejected of men. The clarity of Isaiah became a point of contention with those outside of Judaism and Christianity as well. Why? Because the prophecies are so clear that they prove the reliability of Scripture, even after thousands of years, even after being translated into many other languages, the message remains the same. Those who don't like the message went so far as to question the time of it's original authorship. They held that Isaiah was written by Jesus' disciples shortly after His death, which would explain the crisp clarity and exact fulfillment of the prophecies. Many held to this, that Isaiah wasn't as old as it claimed, but then came the Dead Sea Scrolls, with copies of Isaiah that even the most cynical and liberal historians had to date as being written some 200 years before Christ came. Nothing has received more scrutiny than the Bible, but seeing isn't always seeing, and it isn't believing like they say. The Jews choose not to read it at synagogue, and the atheists, who said it was written shortly after Christ's death, that was their issue, well that went from being a big deal to not such a big thing. When the evidence went against them then the evidence was no longer critical.
For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
17 I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots. Psalm 22: 16-18
…2He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him. 3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted.…
…5But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 6We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. 7He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.… Isaiah 53: 2-7
But they understood none of these things - We have looked at their eschatology before and in the minds of many of Jesus' own followers they are thinking, "if you are the King, then where's the Kingdom, aren't you supposed to set up your rule now that you are here?" He keeps telling them that He is going to be mocked and tried according to the Scriptures. He is their Ram in the thicket, and this has to happen in order for them to be made right with God. Nevertheless, as high as the mound of evidence, yet it is not men who find God, yet God Who makes Himself known to men.
…12The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.” 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.… Galatians 3: 12-14
…16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.… Matthew 16: 16-18
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me - The beggar uses a Messianic reference in calling to Jesus. It is interesting that the story of his physical blindness follows the spiritual and mental blindness from verse 34.
…2the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.… Romans 1: 2-4
…15But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.” 17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.… Revelation 22: 15-17
Jesus, Son of David - He uses the Name Jesus, which means Jehovah Saves. Using the title Son of David (found most often in Matthew) he is clearly addressing Jesus with a known Messianic title, one which describes Him as the heir of David's throne and the One Who would fulfill the Covenant God made with David. This would suggest that this man had an element of faith, for he is in essence confessing Jesus as the Messiah, the Anointed One (cf the confession in Romans 10:9-10+). Notice he calls Jesus "Lord" in Lk 18:41 which seems to reflect more than his respect, but his faith, which Jesus affirms (Lk 18:42). It is also worth noting that in the Gospel of Luke it is only this blind man who acknowledges Jesus as Son of David (Jesus used this term Himself in Lk 20:41), reflecting the fact that while physically blind, he had the more important vision which was spiritual!
Constable - “Son of David” was a messianic title that expressed the man’s faith in Jesus as Israel’s Messiah (cf. Lk 1:27, 32; 2 Sa 7:8–16; Isa. 11:1, 10; Jer. 23:5–6; Ezek. 34:23–24). Like the tax collector (v. 13), he called out for mercy without claiming any merit. His insistence reflected his belief that Jesus could help him and his hope that Jesus would help him. Opposition only made him more adamant in his desire. - Precept Austin
Lord, let me recover my sight - Jesus had been healing many, but the blind man calls Him, Lord, and I don't think it's like those who call Him Lord, but don't do the will of His Father either. I think something more remarkable than physical sight has been given here.
…4Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.” 5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.… Isaiah 35: 4-6
…8But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.… Romans 10: 8-10
Your faith has made you well - His was the right kind of faith.
Your faith (pistis) has made you well (sozo) - Your personal faith, the faith you possess. His faith was instrumental in his healing. It is worth noting that this is the last miracle recorded by Luke and other than causing a fig tree to wither, is the last miracle before the Cross and before the greatest miracle, His resurrection from the dead.
Leon Morris on Your faith has made you well - This does not mean that the man’s faith created the cure, but that it was the means by which he received it. (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries –The Gospel According to St. Luke: An Introduction and Commentary - borrow) - Precept Austin
…16But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. 18But I ask, did they not hear? Indeed they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”… Romans 10: 16-18
…8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.… Ephesians 2: 8-10
Followed Him glorifying God - This was the blind man's response to being touched by Jesus, healed, set free. He followed.
And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God - It was infectious. It's not about me, I couldn't even see, praise God, I can see. He points people to God, and he could have waxed on about the greenness of the grass, the blueness of the sky or the magic of the light, but He gives glory to God, and that should be the real, true testimony of everyone who comes to believe. If you have truly believed then you were given sight.
…17Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. 18Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law. 19I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.… Psalm 119: 17-19
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