“JESUS CHRIST - A MAN APPROVED OF GOD” (Acts 2:22)
Miracle #35-
Luke 18:35-38,39-42,43
A Calvin free zone
THE TEXT:
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.
Dear Reader, while
there are many lessons and
insights from this miracle, the following are only a few points to
consider:
1. A brief history of
Jericho
Dear Reader … a
city of
contrasts … with healings, death, violence, salvations and so on … let
us be
reminded of some … just out of interests … as a general introduction …
(a)
In absolute contrast to its
desert surroundings, Jericho thrived as a fertile, spring-fed oasis. In
the Old
Testament, it was often called the “City of Palms” for its
abundance of
palm trees (Deuteronomy 34:3;
Judges 1:16; 3:13; 2 Chronicles 28:15).
(b) After the destruction of Jericho, Joshua
placed a curse on anyone who might rebuild the city (Joshua
6:26).
(c) Jericho remained unoccupied until the time
of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, about 500 years
later.
(d) Jericho is mentioned briefly in the book
of Judges, which says that Jericho served as a provincial outpost for
Eglon the
King of Moab who held Israel under tribute for 18 years (Judges
3:13).
(e) In 1 Chronicles 19:5, King David sent word
for his mistreated delegates to remain in Jericho until their
beards regrew.
(f) In 2 Kings 2:4-18, Jericho appears to have
been the home of a “school of the prophets.” (g) Reported at
Jericho was
Elisha’s miraculous purifying of a spring (2 Kings 2:19-22).
(h) During the reign of Ahaz, a group of
prisoners was spared, clothed, fed, and cared for at Jericho (2
Chronicles
28:15).
(i)The final Old Testament mention of events
in Jericho was the capture of King Zedekiah after fleeing the
Chaldean
army (2 Kings 25:2-5,6-7; Jeremiah 39:5; 52:8).
(j) Ezra 2:34 and Nehemiah
7:36
report that the number of Jericho’s inhabitants after the return from
exile
under Zerubbabel was 345.
(k) The
good Samaritan “went down from Jerusalem to Jericho” (Luke
10:30).
2. Jericho is the
city with the most blindness
miracles.
Jericho totally ‘blind’ and destroyed except
for Rahab the harlot (Joshua 2:1)
Zacchaeus (Luke
19:1-4,5-8,9-10) … he was ‘blind’ then saw Christ
Bartimaeus (Mark
10:46-52)
Blind
man (Luke18:35-38,39-42,43)
Two
blind men near the city of
Jericho (Matthew 20:29-34)
3. Blindness in
the Bible is a figure of man’s
ignorance and darkness.
For example …. Isaiah 42:7, 18; 2 Corinthians
4:4; Ephesians 4:18; Revelation 3:17; Romans 11:25; Luke 6:39; Matthew
23:26
Furthermore, this
applies not only to the
unsaved … but also to the saved, secure and comfortable saints sitting
in
churches willingly ignorant with unsound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:3) …
refusing to
rightly study the word (2 Timothy 2:15).
4. His persistence
and perseverance
The Lord often waited for time when people
called on him. He desired to test the reality of their desire.
Perseverance and
a refusal to be daunted are marks of true faith.
5. Christ often
asked question of those he
healed
He likes the sinner to tell him his need and
express his belief and faith in his own words.
“Wilt thou be made
whole?” (John 5:6)
“Believe ye that I am able to do this?”
(Matthew 9:28)
“Whom say ye that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)
“What wilt thou?” (Mark 10:51)
“Lovest thou me?” (John 21:15)
“Where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17)
“Will ye also go away?” (John 6:67)
6. Jesus never to
pass that way again
Bartimaeus had his last opportunity and made
good use of it … however he did not know this at the time. Today … if
people
only knew that they were hearing the gospel for the last time.
As one evangelist
said to an unsaved man “If
you knew that this was the last time you could accept the Lord, what
would you
do?”
7. Those around
the blind beggar were blind
Gatekeepers can assume importance beyond their
station. Those around the blind man needed to be cured of their
blindness.
8. This man
knowledge and belief was the
foundation of his faith
(a) Bartimaeus knew who Jesus was … and
if he didn’t know, he would have also asked who is Jesus of Nazareth.
(b) Bartimaeus believed Jesus was the
promised Messiah … he acknowledged him as the Son of David in
accordance with
Bible prophecy (Isaiah 9:7).
(c) Bartimaeus knew that Jesus could
heal him … he asked Jesus to have mercy on him.
As Christ had not
gone to the cross, it had to
be the blind beggar’s faith that saved him (Habakkuk 2:4) … compared
with today
… our salvation is based on our free will belief … and it is the faith
of Jesus
Christ that saves us (Galatians 2:16, 20)
9. The way side
beggar
Generally, the gospel seed cast on the way
side was quickly eaten (Matthew 13:4) … but not this time … this blind
beggar
had it in his heart … and that it could not be stolen.
10.
Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.
There were many men called
Jesus but only one Jesus of Nazareth … the Son of David.
11.
Persistence pays off …
This blind man cried so much
the more … thou Son of David … twice. There are no
coincidences
in the Bible Dear Reader, Jesus as the 2nd in the Godhead has two
appeals for help.
Indeed
we are reminded of two
cases of people who never gave up … the man at midnight asking
a friend
with importunity (Luke 11:8) with persistence to the point of annoyance
… and
the woman with judge (Luke 18:2-3).
12.
This miracle was a Calvin
free zone
Look Dear Reader, if this
blind beggar was selected to be healed by Christ there would
have been
no need to go on and on about it.
Firstly,
Christ would have
heard him the first time the man cried out … I mean … Christ, being
pressed in
the crowd, knew instantly about the woman with an issue of blood … she
didn’t
have to cry out and so on.
Secondly,
Christ wouldn’t be
asking the man … What WILT thou that I shall do unto thee?
(Luke
18:41) … thereby signifying a free will choice.
Conclusion:
Jericho … a city of blindness
and destruction … destroyed by Joshua, but remembered with accounts of free
will healings by Christ.
Truly,
all … without
exception … may have the blindness of sin washed away … immediately
… and to the glory of the Lord (Luke 18:43; Revelation
1:5)
“JESUS CHRIST - A
MAN APPROVED OF GOD (Acts 2:22)”
Matt 20:29-32,33-34 Column #1
In
these four cases of blindness,
there are twelve
similarities …
can you find them?
