Luke 18:35-43
If you are reading this, you do not have understanding of
not having sight, nor does this writer.
So when reading about Jesus coming near to Jericho and a blind man
sitting by the roadside begging, can you imagine what his life is like? His life depends on compassionate people dropping
a few coins in his hand then someone taking him to the roadside and
coming back to guide him to his parent’s home or some place of shelter. He is open to being abused and neglected by
most of the people he encounters and few stop and talk with him or show any
sign of dignity, he is a blind beggar living in an area where the religious
people believe God has cursed him. And
that does not work to his advantage.
I met and heard the testimony of a man who was a counselor
at a high school and for some reason lost his sight. This is what I recall he said, when I had
sight I was not a very good counselor, I made judgments on how a person
dressed, and looked, but now that I am blind I have the ability to listen and
see what my eyes would never allow. I am
now a good high school counselor, and I have thanked God for allowing me to see
what I was blind to before.
Picking up the story of the blind beggar on the road to
Jericho; “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.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him,
glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. (Luke 18:35-43 ESV)
Do you grasp the time we are living in, it’s a time of
blindness, it is spiritual darkness, and the evil One has blinded the eye of
the soul to life now and for eternity.
The blind beggar had a physical blindness, but his soul was not blind to
the teachings of Scripture, He believed Jesus had authority over his physical
blindness and he acted on that belief.
But we have a world of neighbors, family, friends and people we come in
contact with each day, who have no knowledge of the Scripture, and many fill
our churches, but they do not grasp the need to have Jesus as a friend, as
redeemer, as one who can guide them out of darkness into light.
Jesus had this to say to us with sight, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out
and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that
your whole body be thrown into hell.” (Matthew
5:29) Jesus understood the eyes are the lamps
to the soul, and it was not the eyes or the hand that was the problem, it was
the heart. Jesus talked some about heaven,
but to those of you, who want to dismiss hell, Jesus talked a lot more about
hell, it’s a real place, and it was never made for man, but for the devil and
his demons. But many a person is
choosing to ignore Jesus and is going to end-up in hell.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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