Look at 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.

Kent Hughes in his commentary on Luke 18:35 – 43 says, “There is only one thing worse than blindness, and that is not knowing that you are blind. Multitudes are blind to their darkness, blind to their sin, blind to their destiny, blind to their hopelessness, spiritually out of touch.”

Hughes goes on to say, “Human reasoning says that every time a person sins, he or she will see more of his or her sin. But the opposite is true. Every time a man sins he makes himself more blind, less capable of realizing what sin is, less likely of realizing that he is a sinner. For unforgiven sinners, darkness and light are the same – their blindness makes it impossible to see.

What a grace it is to see reality, even when what we see is unpleasant or grotesque. Because when we see what we are, when we cannot escape the truth, when we are surrounded by darkness and know it, we will begin to ask for the light. The blind man’s pitiful cry, ‘Have mercy on me’ came from a profound self-understanding, and it brought grace to his soul. Christ rejoices to engage such reality.”

The questions that are implicit in all of this are, “Can you see? Can you see yourself honestly? Can you see Christ clearly? Can you see your need to call upon Christ to heal you and save you? Can you see the benefit of authentically meeting Jesus? Can you see the opportunity to follow Jesus?”

Question #1: Can You See Yourself Honestly? (35)

Sometimes it’s hard to take an honest look at ourselves. Many of us don’t like the image we see looking back at us in the mirror. We feel dirty and ashamed sometimes because of our sin or because of someone else’s sin against us. Other times we are afraid of what we might see if we take an honest look at ourselves so we try to cover up the messy & painful places of our lives through self-medication, playing the victim or seclusion. We are often blind to our condition because of shame and fear and unrepented sin. But the truth of the gospel bids us to come to Christ fully aware of our helplessness and honestly seeing our disabled state.

The blind man saw himself honestly. Luke tells us that as Jesus “drew near to the city, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.” Can you see him? Can you see him going through his normal morning routine after years of disabling blindness? Can you see him making his way into the public square being careful not to bump into anyone? Can you see him finding his spot on the curb next to the road that leads into the busy city? Can see him begging people passing by for some help? Can you see his loneliness? Can you see his helplessness?

Can you see yourself honestly? Can you see all the years of going through your learned habits and routines? Can you see the people you avoid because you’re ashamed or afraid of what they might think if they saw the real you? Can you see the neat and tidy place you’ve carved out for yourself in this life… the little cocoon or relational bubble of safety you’ve built around yourself? Can you see the secret sins you’ve been blind to for so long? Can you honestly see the lonely places of your heart that you’ve tried to medicate with substances, possessions, habits and relationships? Can you see the helpless places of your heart? Can you see yourself honestly?

Question #2: Can You See Jesus Clearly? (36-37)

Sometimes in the midst of the darkness of our spiritual blindness it sometimes feels like there’s no end in sight. Like there’s no end to the trouble we face in this life. Like there’s no end to the struggle with sin. Like there’s no end to the sting of shame. Like there’s no end to the crippling effect of our greatest fears. It’s almost as though we are stuck in a dark tunnel and we can’t see our way out. It’s tempting in these moments to wonder if Jesus is nearby or not. It’s tempting when the darkness of our spiritual blindness closes in on us to basically retreat further back into the darkness instead of seeing Jesus clearly in our moments of greatest depression and need.

The blind man in the midst of all his helplessness and all his disability sees Jesus clearly. Luke tells us that when the blind man heard “a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. (And) They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Can you see this earth shattering moment? Can you see all the years of hardship, and shame, and pain, and loneliness, and desperation, and depression, and darkness all culminating into this one moment like a small light flickering at the end of a dark tunnel? Can you see the pictures in your mind of the Savior you’ve heard so much about? The Savior who offers complete healing. The Savior who gives you a new life. The Savior who restores sight to the blind. Can you see Jesus clearly at the end of that dark tunnel?

Question #3: Can You See The Need To Call On Jesus? (38-39)

It’s hard to ask for help. We want to be the hero. We want to be self-sustaining. We don’t like depending on other people. We feel ashamed to admit our need for help because when we ask for help we feel weak. But this kind of thinking is opposed to the gospel because in the message of the gospel we learn that we must see our sinful & helpless state of blindness and we must see Jesus clearly as the only one who can heal us and set us free and then we must call upon him for help… for mercy… for healing… for salvation.

When the blind man saw his helplessness and he saw Jesus clearly as the Savior he’d heard so much about, he called on Jesus to help him. Luke tells us that “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!’” This blind man didn’t shrink back in shame. He didn’t hide himself behind his blindness and he didn’t use his blindness as an excuse not to call upon God but instead he cried out to Jesus. He saw his need to call on Jesus and he didn’t let anything detour him from doing so. He was persistent even though everyone around him thought he was a nuisance and tried to silence his cries. Nothing was gonna stop this blind man from calling upon Jesus for healing because he knew his desperate situation and he knew for sure that Jesus was the only remedy for his blindness.

Can you see your need to call upon Jesus to heal you? Can you see the foolishness of not crying out to Jesus for mercy & help? Can you see the shackles of shame and self-reliance falling to the ground around you? Can you see that you must come to Christ confessing your weakness? Can you see that only when you come to Jesus in weakness will the strength of the Lord course through your renewed inner being? Can you see the need to call on Jesus?

Question #4: Can You See The Benefit Of Meeting Jesus? (40-42)

Meeting someone new can be intimidating enough not to mention the fear factor of standing alongside the road fan-boying over a famous and powerful person with an entourage. If you’re tracking the narrative of this story properly then you should see the image in your mind of a blind man on a street corner shouting at the top of his lungs while trying to get the attention of the famed Jesus as his massive entourage rolls into town. This is quite the scene to see. It’s quite a spectacle to observe. But just let me ask… in our conservative little box of American Christianity… when was the last time you made a fool of yourself because you came face to face with your own image in the mirror and in those moments you came to grips with your blindness and you beheld the beauty of the message of the gospel and for one shining moment, Christ became the answer to your greatest questions, the release from your longest struggles, and the satisfaction for your deepest desires… when was the last time in these moments that you fanatically cried out to Jesus in front of everyone in such a way that you made a public spectacle of yourself all because you could see the benefits of actually meeting Jesus authentically?

You see!! That’s exactly what the blind man does in this story when he sees himself honestly, and sees Jesus clearly, he can’t help but to make a total public fool of himself as he cries out to Jesus hysterically for mercy. What does Jesus do? Jesus responds to the blind man beautifully and as he does we see the benefits of actually meeting Jesus. Luke tells us that in response to the blind man’s hysterical yelling, “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?’ (And) He (The blind man) said ‘Lord, let me recover my sight.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.’” Notice that even though Jesus’ face is set towards Jerusalem where he will die horribly for the salvation of sinners… he still takes time for the broken and the needy who call upon him for mercy. Jesus isn’t too busy for you. Jesus is waiting for you to call upon him so that he can help you recover what’s been lost because of the fallen and broken nature of the world we live in. Can you see the benefit of authentically meeting Jesus?

Question #5: Can You See The Opportunity To Follow Jesus? (43)

Every Sunday I get the opportunity to preach the gospel in front of our growing little church family and admittedly I sometimes arrive at this opportunity with a heavy heart because I feel burdened with the weight of wanting to see people walk in freedom with their eyes focused on seeing Jesus. Every week I look out upon the faces of people I love dearly and I sometimes see the look of despair & heaviness in your faces. It should not be this way unless you haven’t seen the opportunity to follow Jesus and acted upon it. If you’ve seen the opportunity to follow Jesus and acted upon it then joy, and praise, and glorifying God should be what is written all over the reflection in the mirror that we look into. Why? Because if you have acted upon the opportunity to follow Jesus then he has given you new life, he has restored your spiritual eyesight and you are looking upon your life of following him with a fresh revelation of the glory of God in Christ Jesus at the cross.

Luke tells us that the man, who once was blind but now could see, “immediately recovered his sight and followed him (Jesus), glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.” Can you see the opportunity to follow Jesus with your eyes wide open for the very first time? Can you see the opportunity to follow Jesus by glorifying God in all that you think, say and do? Can you see the opportunity to follow Jesus while praising him with the new life and the new eyesight he’s given you? Can you see the opportunity for others to join you in this newfound life of seeing everything with your eyes wide open? Can you see the opportunity to follow Jesus?

Final Thoughts…

A few years back I received my first set of glasses after years of not knowing that I had a vision problem. I could suddenly see things very differently and from that moment forward I never desired to go back to my old life without glasses. When the eyeglass doctor fitted me for the glasses and made final adjustments he asked me one question… “Can you see?” It’s the same question I leave you with tonight… “Can you see? Can you see yourself honestly? Can you see Christ clearly? Can you see your need to call upon Christ to heal you and save you? Can you see the benefit of authentically meeting Jesus? Can you see the opportunity to follow Jesus? Can you see?”