Blind Sight - Luke 18:31-43
Take your Bibles with me and turn to Luke 18. Luke 18.
When I was in college, I had this CD from Lester Rolloff. Lester Rolloff was an evangelist who started orphanages and children's homes and who had a radio ministry - and despite the fact that he couldn't sing a lick - he was also a singer.
There was something about the way he sang that helped me spiritually, and I used to listen to his CD over and over until I wore it out.
There was one song on that CD that stood out more than others it was a song called "When Jesus Comes" and it started with Rolloff's terrible bass voice singing:
One sat alone, beside the highway begging. His eyes were blind, the light he could not see. He clutched his old rags and shivered in the shadow, then Jesus came and bad his darkness flee.
When Jesus comes, the old temptor's power is broken. When Jesus comes, all the tears are dried away. He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory. For all is changed, when Jesus comes to stay.
I love that song. And whenever I read the text we are looking at today, I'm reminded of it because today we are going to read about blind Bartimaeus. (Luke doesn't name him, but Mark does).
But before Luke tells us about what this blind man saw in Jesus, he tells us about what the disciples failed to see even though Jesus said it again and again. It's an interesting contrast.
The truth is, you can know things and not see them. You can be told things over and over, and never really understand what you are hearing. This passage reminds us that some people may know the gospel, they may know the verses, but they don't really see it, they don't really understand it, until Jesus opens their eyes.
Let's pray and we'll dive into the message today.
Prayer
I want to start by reading our text and we are going to talk about what the seeing disciples couldn't see, and what the blind man could see today.
Luke 18 - we'll read verses 31-43.
[31] Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
[32] For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
[33] And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
[34] And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
[35] And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:
[36] And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.
[37] And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.
[38] And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
[39] And 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.
[40] And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,
[41] Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
[42] And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
[43] And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
Luke 18:31-43 (KJV)
What we have in these two little stories is an obvious contrast. Look at verse 34.
Jesus was trying to tell his disciples (for the umpteenth time) what was going to happen to him and they still didn't get it. Verse 34 tells us three ways they didn't get it:
They understood none of these things
The saying was hid from them
Neither knew they the things that were spoken
So even though they heard Jesus - they didn't get it, they couldn't see it and it was going in one ear and out the other.
Then in the next story we see a blind man, Bartimaeus, who even though he was blind he saw enough to know who Jesus was.
It's a deliberate contrast.
I want to take a few minutes and look at these verses and talk about:
1. What the disciples didn't see
Because it is interesting. There are three things I want to point out here.
The first thing the disciples didn't see is
They didn't see the meaning of "Son of Man"
Jesus liked to call himself "Son of Man" - no one else called Jesus that. He picked that name for himself. Often, instead of saying "I" He would speak in third person and say "The son of Man" does this or that. Jesus calls himself this 84 times in the gospels and 25 times in the book of Luke.
He does that here in verse 31 where he says "everything that the prophets wrote about the Son of man is going to come to pass."
Wait a minute? The prophets wrote about the son of man? This isn't just some name that Jesus called himself. No. It isn't. It's a specific title that comes from the Old Testament book of Daniel.
I want you to look at this. Daniel 7.
[13] I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
[14] And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:13-14 (KJV)
Do you catch what that verse is saying? Someone called "the son of man" is going to come and God is going to give him a kingdom that lasts forever and all the people and nations and languages are going to serve him.
So when Jesus said "I'm the son of man" he wasn't just giving himself a cute nickname. He was saying that he is the one who God has chosen to rule over all the world forever.
He was the Messiah, but more than the Messiah. He was the son of Man.
A second thing that the disciples missed in these verses is...
They didn't see what was going to happen to Jesus.
Jesus told the disciples pretty clearly and specifically what was coming up:
[32] For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
[33] And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
That's pretty clear. Not a lot of ambiguity there. And do you know what? This isn't even close to the first time Jesus said that.
In Matthew 16, right after Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus tells the disciples he's going to be crucified and rise again the third day and Peter opens his mouth and says "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be done unto thee."
And do you know what Jesus calls Peter there? He calls him Satan. He says "Get thee behind me Satan".
Another time, right after Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, He told Peter, James and John that he was going to be crucified and rise again.
But here we see that they just didn't get it. They couldn't see it.
Here is the third time Jesus said exactly what was going to happen to him and for the third time, it went in one ear and out the other.
So they didn't see what "Son of Man" meant, they didn't see what was going to happen to Jesus, and as a consequence...
They didn't see the meaning of the gospel.
Even though the Old Testament talks about the Messiah being bruised for our iniquities and, the chastisement of our peace being upon Him (Isaiah 53) - the Jewish people just couldn't get their head around the idea of a suffering, dying Messiah.
It was a stumbling block to them. The idea of this promised conqueror, this promised ruler of the world, being crucified - that was something they just couldn't grok.
It took them actually seeing Jesus die on the cross and seeing Him rise from the dead, and then Him explaining it all in His resurrected form for them to understand it.
And church, let this be a warning to you. You may know the facts about Jesus. You may know the verses. But there is a difference between knowing something and seeing something. There is a difference between a knowing faith and a trusting faith.
Maybe today you know the facts about Jesus and you can quote John 3:16, but it's never been real to you and it won't be until God opens your eyes.
But don't take understanding this stuff for granted. If you can literally walk with Jesus for three years day and night and still not get the gospel, you definitely can be a member of Bible Baptist and not get the gospel.
So we've talked about what the disciples didn't see. Let's move on and talk about...
2. What the blind man did see.
The second part of our text today shows an interesting scene. Jesus and the disciples were marching to Jerusalem and going through the city of Jericho.
Jericho was a city about 15 miles awyy from Jerusalem. As the pilgrims would go to Jerusalem every year they would go through Jericho. It was kind of the last big stop on the way. So every year before the Passover, the city would swell with people coming to Jerusalem.
Now there is this man, who was born blind. His name is Bartimaeus.
In Bible times, there was no social security. There was ver little a blind man could do besides beg. And Jericho during the passover was a good place to do it. Lots of religious people travelling who would be prone to give alms.
It was pretty common for Rabbis to travel with their followers and teach as they go - so what Jesus was doing wasn't that unusual. But it Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus and he know Jesus was different and when he started to hear the hubbub of the crowd, he knew he had to get in front of Jesus.
So he started crying out. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Louder and louder. People tried to shut him up, but he wouldn't be silenced. Finally, Jesus hears him and bring him to him and asks him what he wants and Bartimaeus says "I want to see." And so Jesus says "Recieve your sight, your faith has saved you."
What's interesting here is that this blind man could see things by faith that the disciples couldn't see by sight. So let me quickly give you three things that the blind man did see.
He saw that he was blind.
Do you know what is worse than being blind? Being blind and not knowing you are blind.
There are many people who are blind, God has never opened their eyes to the truth of the gospel, and they can't even see it. They think they can see just fine. But they are blind.
Bartimaeus had the gift of knowing that he was blind. He knew there was nothing he could to himself to fix his problem. All he could do was beg.
In Matthew 5 Jesus said "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." and then "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
If you want to be healed by God, if you want to have your sins forgiven, then you have to start by knowing the wretched state that you are in.
Jesus said "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
If you think you are righteous and have never seen yourelf as a sinner - then ou are like a blind man who thinks he can see. And God can't help you.
In the pilgrim's progress, the books starts with christian who suddenly realizes he has a burden on his back. Everyone else is in the same fate as he is, but they can't see it. His progress in faith starts with the realization that he was a sinner.
Have you ever realized that you are a sinner? Have you ever felt it?
The second thing this blind man saw was...
He saw that Jesus was Messiah.
He kept crying out "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me."
Now, why did he say "Son of David?" That is no accident. That's a loaded title with massive Old Testament baggage. It was the messianic title.
Go back to 2 Samuel 7. God made a covenant with David, saying "thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever." Every Jewish boy grew up knowing that the Messiah would be a descendant of David — the one who would finally sit on that throne and rule forever.
Isaiah picked up the same thread: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots" (Isaiah 11:1).
So when Bartimaeus cries out "Son of David," he is making a confession. A public declaration. He is saying, in front of everybody, "This Jesus is the Messiah. He is the one the prophets talked about. He is the King who is coming to set everything right."
And think about who else is around. The religious leaders, the Pharisees, the scribes — they are all watching Jesus, and most of them have already decided He isn't the Messiah. They see His miracles and say He does them by Beelzebub. They hear His teaching and call it blasphemy. They have eyes, but they are blind to who He really is.
But this blind beggar, this man who has never seen a single sunrise, sees clearly with the eyes of faith what the experts cannot see.
This man saw who Jesus was. Church, the most imortant thing for you to see in this life is who Jesus is. He is the Messiah, He is the one who came and lived the perfect life you couldn't live and died for your sins. He rose again the third day and God accepted His sacrifice as payment for our sins.
You need to see that and you need to see it for yourself.
There is a third thing this blind man saw and that was...
He saw how urgent the time was.
He knew this was his only chance. So he cried out and wound't be silenced. People tried to shut him up and He cried even louder.. Why? Because he was desperate and he knew this was his chance.
Here's a suggested ending that matches the tone, style, and structure of the sermon:
He kept crying until Jesus stopped and came to him. And Jesus gave him his sight.
Church, I want you to think about that for a moment. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He was on his way to the cross. He had a mission and a timeline and a crowd pressing in around Him. And yet — one desperate cry from one blind beggar stopped Him in His tracks.
That tells you something about Jesus. He is never too busy for a desperate soul.
But here's my question for you today: do you have that kind of desperation?
We live in a world of a thousand distractions and a thousand tomorrows. People hear the gospel and they say "someday." Someday I'll get serious about God. Someday I'll deal with that. Someday when things settle down.
Bartimaeus didn't have the luxury of someday. He knew Jesus was passing by right now. And he also knew — Jesus might not pass this way again.
The Bible says "now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation." Not someday. Now.
So let me bring this all together.
We started today with the disciples — men who walked with Jesus, who watched His miracles, who heard His teaching day after day — and they still couldn't see the gospel. They couldn't see what was really happening right in front of them.
And then we met a blind man sitting in the dirt on the side of the road who had never seen Jesus with his physical eyes — and he saw more clearly than all of them.
What made the difference?
The blind man knew he was blind. He didn't pretend he could handle things on his own. He didn't think his religious connections were going to get him through. He sat in his need and he begged.
The blind man knew who Jesus was. Son of David. Messiah. The one the prophets said was coming. He staked everything on that.
And the blind man knew the moment mattered. So he cried out and he wouldn't stop until Jesus answered.
And what did Jesus say to him? "Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you."
Not your works. Not your credentials. Not your pedigree. Your faith. Your desperate, crying, won't-be-silenced faith.
And the very next thing we read is this: "And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God."
He followed Him. Right then. Right there.
He didn't go home first. He didn't make arrangements. He had been sitting by that roadside his whole life, and the moment Jesus gave him eyes to see, he used them to follow Jesus.
I want to close with that song I mentioned at the beginning.
When Jesus comes, the old tempter's power is broken. When Jesus comes, all the tears are dried away. He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory. For all is changed, when Jesus comes to stay.
Friend, all is changed when Jesus comes.
That's what happened to Bartimaeus. He was blind and then he could see. He was begging on the side of the road, and then he was following the King of Kings down the road to Jerusalem.
My question today is simple: Can you see?
Not with your physical eyes. But can you see — really see — who Jesus is? Have you ever seen yourself for what you really are without Him? Have you ever cried out in desperation and faith, "Son of David, have mercy on me"?
If you have, then praise God — follow Him the way Bartimaeus did, every day, glorifying God.
And if you haven't — if you've been sitting in the church pew the way Bartimaeus sat by that roadside, knowing something is missing but not quite sure what — then I want to tell you: Jesus is passing by today.
Don't let Him pass without calling out to Him.
Let's pray.
