Seeing with the Eyes of Faith

SEEING WITH THE EYES OF FAITH
LUKE 18:31-43

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 happening. 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.
In the name of Jesus:

For 51 years Bob Edens was blind. He couldn't see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness. And then, he could see. A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had sight. He found it overwhelming. "I never would have dreamed that yellow is so...yellow," he exclaimed. "I don't have the words. I am amazed by yellow. But red is my favorite color. I just can't believe red. I can see the shape of the moon--and I like nothing better than seeing a jet plane flying across the sky leaving a vapor trail. And of course, sunrises and sunsets. And at night I look at the stars in the sky and the flashing light. You could never know how wonderful everything is."
In our text for today, we have two seemingly unconnected events: the first is Jesus’ proclamation to His disciples (and us) that He was going to Jerusalem to fulfill the Scriptures for our salvation. Jesus would be betrayed, crucified, and yet rise again to save sinners. And yet the Bible records: “But they understood none of these things, This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” They had no idea, no clue as to what Jesus was saying. Their understanding was blinded. Even though they could see with their eyes, their understanding was clouded.
Soon after this, Jesus on the way to Jericho sees a blind man begging by the road. Hearing that Jesus was passing by the blind man cries out in desperation: “Lord have mercy!” Those around him tried to hush him but he cried out all the louder: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus then spoke to the blind man, asking what He could do for him. The blind man said: “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus gave him his sight by saying:” Recover your sight, your faith has made you well.”
What are we to make of this passage, of these two passages, really? Simply this, Jesus is no magic genie. Jesus doesn’t exist to give you your three wishes, nor does He necessarily wish to give you your heart’s desire. This is not why Jesus came down from heaven. To know why Jesus came from heaven, this is why we turn to the first part of the Gospel lesson for today.
This is the third time Jesus told His disciples about what was going to happen to Him. He tells them that He is going to Jerusalem and in doing so EVERYTHING THAT IS WRITTEN ABOUT THE SON OF MAN BY THE PROPHETS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED. This is why Jesus came down from heaven, to fulfill the promises of God in the Old Testament. He came to save sinners who have become God’s enemies since the Fall of humanity into sin. Sinners who are blinded from God’s love, blinded to His will, in the dark as to who God is and what His disposition is toward sinners. Sin’s blindness separates all of humanity from life, from salvation, from God Himself!
So God comes in the person of Christ, to give sight to the blind for Jesus is the Light of the World! The blind beggar turns to Jesus in extreme anxiety as a person would who was without hope. His cry to Jesus is instructive. He calls: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” This blind man sees nothing from a physical point of view, but he sees, very really, through the eyes of faith. He recognizes that Jesus is the Spirit endowed Healer, the Branch from Jesse, the Son of David, the Messiah, upon whom will rest the Spirit of the Lord and who will restore the sight of the blind. This is Jesus, the One promised of long ago, the Savior long awaited.
And so the blind man reveals his faith. He sees by faith without physically seeing that Jesus is the royal King and Messiah a promised by the Old Testament Scriptures. But note what this blind beggar asks for in faith! He asks first NOT for healing. He instead pleads for MERCY. He pleads for and prays that God will show to Him unmerited love and forgiveness. He asks not once but twice for mercy, such is his desperate straits.
And Jesus hears His cry. Jesus, after all, IS merciful. He asks what He could do for this blind beggar and this beggar humbling asks for a restoration of sight. Jesus said to him: Recover your sight, your faith has made you well. The Scriptures state that his sight was restored and he was able to see.
But note these words: “He recovered his sight and followed Him (Jesus), glorifying and praising God” This man, this beggar became a follower of Jesus. He followed Jesus not because he wanted something from Jesus but because Jesus gave Him something that he didn’t already have. As a beggar he had nothing. With Jesus, he had everything.
In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man who had been blind from early childhood. When he was 50, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight. But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing.
Virgil's first experiences with sight were confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was more difficult. Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits--his behaviors--were still those of a blind man.
Dr. Sacks asserts, "One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. It is the interim, the limbo . . . that is so terrible."
To truly see Jesus and means more than just seeing Him with physical eyes. It means that you see Him with the eyes of faith, repenting of your sins and trusting in Christ for the new life He gives. Just as you have received His forgiveness, you in compassion share that forgiveness and life with others. It means a change of identity where the Spirit changes us to be in Christ and to be His people.
Our identity is a people who are in need of God’s mercy. Each of us are beggars We really are. Nothing in our hands we bring. Simply to the cross we cling. Just as I am poor wretched blind, Christ loves us and comes to save us. Even while we are yet sinners, Christ comes, in simple water to wash away our sins (Baptism), through spoken and written words to speak to us and give us life (Scripture), and in, with, and under simple forms of bread and wine to give us Himself that we may feed upon Him who is the very Bread of Life. God has restored our broken relationship with Him in His Son Jesus Christ. He has given sight to our blinded hearts by the power of the Spirit working faith in us. He has given to you sight and has so enlightened your life that you might let your light so shine among men so as to give glory to your Father in heaven. God has shown you mercy in Christ so that you might share the love of Christ with others. Christ has been compassionate to you so that you would show compassion to all. He has showered you with His love so that you might love one another, even as He has loved you. For l“4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.” (I Cor. 13:4-8). God’s love for sinners never ends because of Jesus. Because of Jesus’ love for we who are sinners, He fills us with His love to share with others. Just like the blind beggar who received his sight and followed Jesus, so we too are blind beggars who have been given faith to follow Jesus. And in our following, it is our joyful duty to point other blind beggars to Jesus, for only in Jesus can sinners see the Light of their Salvation.
Amen