Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl - Monday Easter VII: Luke 18:35-43

Sunday Easter VII

Daily Lectionary Readings: Numbers 14:26-45; Luke 15:35-19:10; (Numbers 15:1-41)

Luke 18:35-43

[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. (ESV)

“As [Jesus] drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.”1 “We are beggars, this is true.”2 This morning’s Gospel is about two things, two seemingly very different and unrelated stories. This is the beauty of Luke as a Gospel narrative, weaving together the actions and teachings of Jesus and connecting them theologically to teach us something about ourselves and, more importantly, about our salvation in our Lord.

Jesus once more predicts His death upon the cross and Jesus healing a blind beggar. But these two things are very much connected. The first is about faith, faith that Jesus knows what He is talking about. Faith to believe in what Christ has done for each of us on the cross, or, in the case of the blind beggar, faith in who Jesus is and what He is about to accomplish for him. The second is love, Jesus' love for the blind beggar and for the whole of the created world, especially us humans. The cross is the highest and most torturous death, but Jesus moves with divine purpose toward it nonetheless because He considers our eternal deaths to be the highest and most severe to Him, including this blind beggar. Before Him, we are all beggars on the side of the road, looking for some mercy upon our sinful, condemned condition.

Now we see faith and love in action in the forms of Jesus loving the blind beggar and the man's faith in who Christ is and what He can do for him. The man hears Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. This man has heard of Jesus. He has heard that Jesus helps everyone who calls on Him. Because of what he has heard, his faith and confidence in Christ grow. He has no doubt whatsoever that Jesus can help him, too. It would not have been possible for this poor beggar to have such faith without first hearing about Jesus. As it is written: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”3 Now the word of Christ, indeed, Christ Himself, is walking right past him! Even though he does not know Jesus personally, nor can he see if Jesus has the heart to help him, nevertheless, he believes exactly what he has heard about Him. His confidence is based on Christ's reputation and the word of others.

In accord with his faith, the blind beggar, therefore, calls out to Jesus and prays, again as St. Paul explains: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”4 Without fear and without shame, the beggar confesses Jesus as the Christ. Because of his desperate need, he does not call upon anyone else. This is true faith. Faith is true when it confesses Christ as the One who can help and the One who will help. Those without true faith are afraid of the judgment of the world and are ashamed of Christ.

The world sits in judgment of the beggar when he calls out to Jesus. This is where beggars like us come to identify with the blind man in our Gospel. The crowd wants to burden the blind beggar’s conscience, to make him afraid. The beggar would then look at his own unworthiness juxtaposed with Christ’s perfect worthiness and despair of any help forthcoming from the Lord. Is this not the way our faith stumbles every day? Bombarded by messages from a world that simultaneously tells you you are special and unique but also broken, undesirable, and the cause of all the world’s problems, we lose faith, lose hope, and fall into despair. We begin to listen to these messages and start to believe them. We begin to think we really are unworthy. A just and righteous God certainly does not want to help a worm like me. Then Satan goes and whispers in your ear, “No, He doesn’t. Listen to your inner voice. It’s telling you the same thing.”

We need to learn to be like the blind beggar in our story. Despite the pressure from the world and the devil and his own personal doubts, he stands firm. By faith, he prevails over the devil and world and wins. And the winning itself is a gift. "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.”5 All of us who hold firm to the Word of God see God's grace in the same way. Our eyes are opened to faith and trust in Christ and closed to the devil and the world. Our foolish conscience is silenced when it tries to lie to us.

Here is the thing about the beggar's physical healing, repairing his flesh and blood eyes: Jesus said to the man, "Your faith has healed you." But the word He used, σέσωκέν – sesoken – Has the far richer meaning, "Your faith has saved you." The restoration of the man's eyes is merely the physical manifestation, the visual evidence, of the inward, spiritual reality. Jesus is the source of all healing, physical and spiritual. He rebuilds and purifies what sin has toppled and corrupted. The impact of Jesus' words to this man is not that his sight was restored because he had faith but that his eternal salvation was assured by the Lord and Giver of Life, the Holy Spirit, who created that faith within him. The physical correction of the man's blindness was for the benefit of the spiritually blind crowd surrounding him, rebuking him, telling him not to bother Jesus.

We complain about the state of the world. We lament the decline of values and morals in our society. We think that if more people just went to church to hear about Jesus, the world would be a much better place, and our position in it far more secure and tolerable. While that is very true, just saying it does not actually change anything. What does change things is a bold public confession of Christ as the Way, Truth, and Life. Confession like that of the once-blind beggar. He confessed Jesus so clearly that others in that surrounding crowd which had previously been hostile to him, now saw his faith in actions and its result – then they began to praise God as well.

This is precisely what we need so desperately today. Faith lived out so clearly, publicly, and steadfastly that those who encounter us can make no mistake what we are about. The message can be so clear that the Holy Spirit can work through it to bring others to faith. Faith trusts in God every minute of every day, depends on Him, and seeks Him out where He promises to be, in His Word and Sacraments. Yet the whispers of the world, devil, and conscience will continue to tell us we are not worthy, and our faith is far from perfect. But Christ tells us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”6 So call upon Him, our perfect strength when we are weak. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

1Luke 18:35 (ESV).

2The last words of Martin Luther found on a scrap of paper at his bedside upon his death.

3Romans 10:17 (ESV).

4Romans 10:13, 14 (ESV).

5Luke 18:40-43 (ESV).

62 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV).