LUKE 18:35-43

Luke 18:35-43

Jesus was an amazing miracle worker. Those miracles, with His teaching, and His fulfillment of OT prophecies concerning the coming Messiah were all undeniable proofs He was, indeed, the Christ, the Son of Man and the Son of God. Of course, He saved the best miracle for last, when He Himself was raised from the dead, right on schedule. Now, it’s intriguing His opponents never denied the miracles – they couldn’t – the lepers healed, the sick made well, the lame walked, the dead lived, the possessed delivered, the deaf heard, the blind saw – they couldn’t deny the miracles, so they simply said what Jesus did, He did by the power of Satan. It was a flimsy argument – easily defeated – a house divided against itself cannot stand.

Well, there are about three dozen miracles recorded in the gospels, which can be sorted into four categories: they demonstrated His power over demons, over disease, over death, and over nature (walking on water, calming storms, feeding thousands). But, the Apostle John tells us in his gospel there were many other signs or miracles Jesus performed which were not written in his book. In fact, he says in the last verse of his gospel there were many other things Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, he supposed even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

Hyperbole? I suppose. And yet we do understand there were many other miracles which Jesus performed we know nothing about. Some rightly suggest Jesus eliminated sickness in Galilee during His three-year ministry there. We read in Matthew 4, “23 Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. 24 The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.”

Can you imagine – no more lepers, no more lame or deaf or blind people. No cripples, no paralytics, no doctors, no insurance. No cancer, no heart disease, no Alzheimer’s, no ALS. For some, like the widow’s son and Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus, no death. For a couple large crowds, no hunger. Five thousand, four thousand – He fed them all. He gave a taste of how things were supposed to be. There were some amazing miracles.

But pause for a moment. What do you suppose some of those unrecorded miracles might have been? The ones that didn’t make the gospels? Speculations, myths, legends, even a current video series have arisen through the years as to what they were. Just make stuff up, because the stories in the Bible aren’t good enough. Supposed lost gospels have appeared, citing some before unknown miracles and teachings. Unknown teachings – that’s a fun one. The lost Gospel of the Holy Twelve discovered in 1870 suggests the reason Jesus cleared the Temple, which we’ll look at in a few weeks, is because He was a strict vegetarian, opposed to blood sacrifices. There is the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of St. Thomas (I doubt it), the Gospel of Judas which I understand leaves you hanging, the Gospel of Philip, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. In these and others, you can read things the inspired gospels left out – probably not. Most of those are Gnostic gospels that weren’t even written until the second or third centuries.

By the way, let me give you one example of a lost miracle. According to the Gospel of Peter, not in your Bibles, when the nails were removed from Jesus’ hands and dropped to the ground, they caused an earthquake.

Listen, there is a more important question than what did Matthew, Mark, Luke and John leave out? The more important question is, why did they choose the ones they did? If there were hundreds, maybe thousands of miracles, why record the ones we have? Were they personal favorites? The most memorable – the ones they talked about around the dinner table? Remember the time Jesus…? And not only that, why did Luke, or the other gospel writers, record the miracles in the places they recorded them – why did Luke position certain miracles with certain stories.

For example – Luke 18. Over the past several months, we’ve seen Jesus wrap up His Galilean ministry and made the six-month journey south to Judea. We’re close to the end – or actually, the beginning. He’s on His way to Jerusalem – we know that. Three specific times, including last Sunday, He told His disciples, I’m going to Jerusalem, where I’ll suffer many things. I’ll be handed over to the chief priests, scribes, elders, and then to the Gentiles. I’ll be tried and condemned to die. I’ll be mocked, mistreated, spit upon, scourged, and killed, by crucifixion. But on the third day, I’ll rise from the dead.

It’s where He’s headed. He’s walking ahead of them, with purpose, remember that? The next chapter contains the story of the Triumphal Entry. That’ll kick off His passion week – an amazing week which includes more teaching, sparring with about every religious group, His arrest and sham trial which will result in His crucifixion, but end with His resurrection. The most important week of all time. But, we’re not quite there yet.

Right after His third passion prediction, and right before His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we have two stories, side by side – the second of which, while of children’s Sunday School fame – is only found in Luke. Why not just proceed to the Triumphal Entry – why did Luke record these two stories? Because – they stand in glorious, powerful proclamation of one of Luke’s favorite themes – that Jesus has a special place in His heart for the marginalized, disenfranchised, overlooked, even despised of society. He has a special love for lepers, the lame and sick; sinners like tax collectors and prostitutes; He takes special notice of women and children.

The stories? The healing of a blind man named Bartimaeus, and the salvation of a tax collector, a wee little man named Zacheus. Again, you say? Yes, a blind beggar and a despised tax collector. Jesus never seemed to tire of the neediest. Oh, and Zacheus was also rich, and stands in stark contrast to the rich, young, religious (I’ve kept all the commandments) ruler from week before last.

Not only that – you should also know the miracle in the story today is the last miracle in Luke’s gospel, well, not counting the greatest of all – the resurrection. Oh sure, Jesus put Malchus’ ear back on after Peter cut it off in Gethsemane – but that was to correct Peter’s attempt to keep Jesus from the cross. Two great stories – side by side. Read the first one with me, Luke 18:35-43.

Why is this here in Luke’s gospel? To demonstrate that Jesus really did come not to be served, but to serve. He is on His way to Jerusalem, to do something big, don’t you think? Nothing less than the culmination of redemptive history, and He takes time out to heal, by societal standards as we listen to the crowd, a no-count blind beggar. It should come as an encouragement to anyone here who often feels overlooked by the crowds – even if that crowd is a church. Think about it, who were the ones yelling at Bartimaeus to keep quiet? Those leading the Jesus parade. How long had they been with Jesus? Let me give you outline of the text:

I. First, we see Bartimaeus’ Obnoxious Request (35-39)
II. Second, Jesus’ Compassionate Response (40-42)
III. Third, Bartimaeus and the Crowd’s Response to Jesus (43)

Jesus and His disciples were approaching Jericho, stop right there. There is a little challenge, because Matthew and Mark say they were leaving Jericho. A contradiction, an error in the Bible? Not so fast. While I can’t give a definitive answer, there are reasonable explanations, like there were two Jerichos close to each other – the OT one and the one Herod the Great built; or, as Jesus was approaching the region of Jericho; or, Matthew notes there were two blind guys healed that day – perhaps one on the way in, the other on the way out. Take your pick – the point is, there is a plausible explanation – don’t let those trying to destroy the reliability of the Bible dissuade you.

Now, we know they were on their way to Jerusalem. The typical route for the observant Jew from Galilee down to Jerusalem was to cross the Jordan up north, travel down through the Decapolis and Perea in order to bypass Samaria, and cross the Jordan back into Judea in the region of Jericho. Then, making their way to Jerusalem, about 17 miles away. Jericho had fertile soil – it was known as the city of palms and provided succulent date palms, for example.

John’s gospel also tells us Jesus stops on the way in Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. That story seems to take place right before this story. But, it’s safe to say at this point, we’re only a few days from the Triumphal Entry. The trip from Jericho to Jerusalem was a day’s arduous journey – from almost 1000 feet below sea level to 2500 feet above sea level. But remember, Jesus was walking with a purpose.

He’s accompanied by His disciples and a large crowd, Matthew tells us. They were either a large group of His followers, or just pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover. They would have their lambs for sacrifice – not realizing they were with the Lamb of God who would be sacrificed for the sins of the world.

Now, there were lots of blind people at this time. There were several causes leading to blindness – to include the birth process itself, which is why doctors today put an antiseptic in a newborn baby’s eyes. At this time, Jericho had an abundance of the balsam bush, from which a medicine came used to treat blindness. As a result, many blind people congregated in Jericho – to include Bartimaeus. Some things to note about him. First, he was a beggar. That’s what blind or disabled people did. It was their only hope for survival. Second, he was sitting by the road. That’s all he could do. He couldn’t walk to Jerusalem for the Passover. No, because of his ailment, he was barred from religious activity.

Third, it is Mark who notes his name was Bartimaeus. Think about that. Did you know this is the only person in all the Synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – where the one healed is named? Oh, we know about Peter’s mother-in-law, Jairus’ daughter, but we don’t know their names. We know them as the leper, the paralytic, the blind, the deaf, the lame. But this one – we know his name. Why? We’ll come back to that.

Now, while there were a lot of blind people, they were still considered riff-raff, the broken people of society. Remember in John 9 when Jesus and the disciples came across the blind man in an earlier trip to Jerusalem. The man was born blind, so the disciples asked Jesus – who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? You see, the thinking was, this man sinned in some grievous way to deserve his blindness. They were therefore seen as objects of God’s special disfavor – even divine wrath.

There wasn’t a lot for them to do – most made their living on the paltry alms they might receive from begging. So, see this wretched man – ragged, poverty-stricken, blind, broken beggar who simply made it from day to day as people took pity on him and threw him a few coins. And if the crowds, obviously compassionate as this story clearly demonstrates – if they didn’t show pity, he’d go hungry – as he had no doubt many times before. But really, what difference does it make – he’s just a beggar.

Today, beggars position themselves at traffic lights – because you have to stop. In Jesus’ day, they most often positioned themselves near the gates of the cities, hoping to beg from travelers who were more likely to have some money with them. On this day, the Passover was approaching. There would have been thousands of travelers on the road. This blind beggar had sat there for who knows how many days, how long that day, eking out his pitiful existence. Hoping that since these pilgrims were going to a religious festival, maybe they’d be generous. It’s why beggars often position themselves at the end of our street on Sunday, by the light, thinking people coming from church would be most generous. And perhaps we should be.

But on this particular day, something extraordinary happened which would change the rest of his life, indeed, I will suggest, his eternity. As he sat there that day, he noticed an unusual stir, an excitement in the air. He asked, what’s going on? They told him, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. While Jesus was a common name, this was a way to identify which one – Jesus – the one from Nazareth. You know, no count, can any good thing come out of Nazareth, Nazareth.

No wonder there was a stir. Jesus – why, that’s the guy from Galilee known all over the country for healing people. Causing the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, the lepers made whole, the dead to rise, and yes, even the blind to see. Bartimaeus had heard the stories, could it be Jesus of Nazareth would show him mercy? And so, he called out to Jesus. He began crying out loudly, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Stop right there. They had said, Jesus of Nazareth was passing by – but he called Jesus, Son of David. This is hugely significant. He’s the first one in the gospels to use this title, and the only place someone uses it in Luke. In the other gospels, it paves the way for the crowds to use it at the Triumphal Entry.

Understand, by this time, Son of David was a Messianic title. It was used of the promised Messiah to come. They understood from 2 Samuel 7 that a descendent of David, the Son of David, would sit forever on David’s throne. Again, no one had used this title of Jesus yet. Of course, we know from the birth narrative back in chapters 1 and 2 that Jesus was of the line of David. But so were many others. To use this title for Jesus – from a blind man? Extraordinary.

You see, he realized Jesus was more than just a healer. Maybe, just maybe, this blind guy could see after all. “Jesus,” he was saying, “I’ve heard the stories of what You’ve have done, what You can do, and I know who You are. Have mercy on me, too.” Bartimaeus realized Jesus was his last hope, his only hope to meet his desperate need for healing. So he cried out – loudly – obnoxiously for help.

I’m sure it wasn’t pretty. A blind, motley beggar, ignoring any sense of decorum, crying out for mercy. Stumbling, stammering, crying, flailing his arms about. Dirty, unsightly, unseemly, unrespectable. The crowd thought so. Get the drama unfolding here. This man was in desperate straits – he needed the help only Jesus could give. This broken man began crying out for mercy. And the crowd – those enamored with Jesus but without a similar need – without similar brokenness – told the beggar sternly to be quiet. See that – it’s strong, they told him to shut up.

Why? Because no-count beggars were just an interruption. They were needy. They couldn’t add to the festive procession – to all the good things going on – if anything, he was taking away from the celebration – from the parade. We’re on our way to Jerusalem, the Passover, with Jesus, sit there and be quiet – you’re taking away from the movement – Jesus doesn’t have time for you – we don’t have time for you – we’re busy following Jesus.

And I wonder how many people in churches across this town, around the world, don’t have time for broken people. They’re too busy with programs. Blind people get in the way of all the good God is doing – the wonderful worship, the great teaching, the wonderful church life we’ve come to experience. We don’t have time for blind beggars, for drunks and prostitutes and sinners and needy people. We’ve got a movement going on here. Be quiet – we don’t want to hear about your pathetic needs. Think of it this way – is it possible, when you walk through those doors, there’s only one answer to the question, “how are you doing?” And the answer is “Fine,” and if isn’t, we don’t want to hear it.

I wonder, to how many churches can broken people come, and find grace and healing? Find a place where people will care for them, pray for healing – their emotional, spiritual, and even physical healing. I want us to be that kind of place. Not where needy people come and we tell them to be quiet. Oh, we would never be so crass as to say those words – but are we just as effective when we turn away from the less desirables – when we ask, how’s it going, and they start to give us an answer besides fine, and we don’t care? When people take off their masks at the door, and we turn away from the messiness, from the unsightliness. When we fail to go after broken people or straying sheep. I don’t have time for that. Listen, it takes time and sacrifice to care for people. If we don’t have time, if we don’t take time, then we don’t have time for the work of the kingdom. We don’t have time to be Christ’s followers, because that’s what He did – it’s what He’s called us to. He didn’t come, you see, to be served, but to serve broken, blind beggars.

They told him sternly to be quiet. Which caused Bartimaeus to cry out all the more – that is, all the louder, all the more irritating. The word is crazo and speaks of loud screams – it was used of the screams of insane people and women giving birth. He began crying out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” You see, when desperate people sense Jesus is their only hope, they will not be turned away.

Which brings us to our second point – Jesus’ Compassionate Response. Notice, Jesus stopped. Don’t miss that. In the midst of the clamor of the crowds, the important trip to Jerusalem to fulfill His purpose, He stopped. While the crowds were saying be quiet, Jesus stopped…He always hears the cries of the needy. And He called him. I love the way Mark says it – “So they [that is, the crowds] called the blind man saying, ‘Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” While everyone else ignored him, in fact, abused him, Jesus called for him.

If you don’t hear anything else today, hear this – even though the crowd may not give a rip about you, even though they may tell you to be quiet – we don’t care about your needs – there is One who cares. Sometimes, the crowd is the church. And maybe you’ve been in a place where you haven’t felt cared for – in fact, when you shared your problems, you felt shunned. I want to say to you – not here. We are not, we will not be that kind of church. And I want to say there is One who always hears, and always responds. It may not be a response we want to hear – but Jesus always hears – and always has our best in mind. And we want to be a church, a crowd of followers of Jesus, that is safe, who care – where you can come and share your hurts, your pains, your struggles, and you’ll find not condemnation, but grace. And you’ll find people willing to bind up your wounds and care for you.

Why? Because as fully devoted followers of Jesus – we want to be like Jesus. What did He say? “What do you want Me to do for you?” Bartimaeus simply asked for mercy. His blind eyes were on Jesus, and His ability and willingness to heal. “Lord, I want to regain my sight.” Now, Lord can simply mean master, but when coupled with Son of David, it carries divine implications. Maybe this blind guy could see more than the rest. Lord, he says, I want to regain my sight, which implies he wasn’t born blind, but he had lost it at some point. But understand, he had a need only Jesus could meet. I wonder if we have anyone like that here this morning? Someone who desperately needs a touch from Jesus.

Now, think about Jesus’ question. What do you want Me to do for you? Bartimaeus had a decision. He could ask for money. That’s what he’s done maybe for years. Jesus, give me enough money so I don’t have to beg anymore. But in the end…leave me in my miserable life. I wonder how many people approach Jesus that way today. Jesus, give me what I want. Not even necessarily prosperity – but meet this want, even need I have, and leave me in my misery. Bartimaeus didn’t ask for temporary relief. For something that would have made him like the rich young ruler – clinging to riches, but losing life. No, he asked for sight. The same thing we ask Jesus for today. Spiritual life, spiritual sight, spiritual healing.

Matthew tells us Jesus was moved with compassion – that’s a Christ-like quality – not turning away from needs, but turning toward needs, moved with compassion, Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” One commentator suggests when Jesus said the words, receive your sight, his sight was restored before Jesus finished the sentence. That’s why Jesus asked the question, by the way. He knew Bartimaeus’ need – He was drawing out faith.

Which brings us to our last point and our conclusion, verse 43, Immediately he regained his sight. You see, healing the blind is something only Jesus did, and something it was prophesied He would do when He came. Remember, Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 in His hometown back in Luke 4, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind.”

But now notice, when Jesus healed Bartimaeus, he began following Jesus. Of course he did – wouldn’t you? In Matthew, we read Jesus said go, your faith has made you well. Jesus said go, but Bartimaeus stayed – and followed. You see, this is probably why Mark, and we know this blind beggar’s name. He became a follower. He was probably there in Jerusalem. He was there or nearby when Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. It’s not too much to suggest he was there in the upper room with the rest of the church when the Spirit came. They knew his name.

Broken people, having received grace, follow Jesus. He went from the side of the road to the middle of the road, with joy, following His Savior. You see, when Jesus said, your faith has made you well – the word is sozo. Your faith has saved you. Everyone agrees – Jesus provided physical and spiritual healing – because Bartimaeus followed Jesus. We’ve seen it time and time again in Luke, when Jesus makes you whole, your only response is to become a full devoted follower. And further, don’t miss it, all the people who were telling him to be quiet, joined him in giving praise to God. That’s what you do when you see the work of God in your life, or another’s life.

As we close today, I want you to remember – Jesus was on His way to be crucified – He was on His way to the climax of history, and He took time to stop, and serve a blind beggar. The fact is, Jesus, the God of this universe, takes time for broken people who realize their need and who seek Him for help.

So, I say to you this morning that Jesus is in the business of meeting the needs of broken, humble people. Of providing grace and healing for people with physical, spiritual and emotional needs – for people willing to admit their need, their brokenness, and come in faith to Christ. Let me ask a question – do you ever feel in a crowd this large, in a universe so big where God is taking care of planets and stars – that you’re too insignificant for Him to notice? I tell you from this story, Jesus will stop for you. Just like He knows the names of all the stars, He knows your name. He cares for you, and wants to meet your needs.