(About 50 Days until Easter)
Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1-13 | 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 | Luke 18:31-43
Text: Luke 18:31-43
This text is sandwiched in between the Rich Young Ruler and Rich Zacchaeus (Luke 18:18-30; Luke 19:1-10). These provide a helpful juxtaposition to the announcement of Jesus’ suffering and His being recognized by the blind man.
This Gospel lesson plants us right in the midst of the undesirable and grotesque—the Lord’s passion and a poor, blind beggar—to illustrate that God exalts the lowly by humbling himself. After all, who would seek either position: suffering or poverty? Who doesn’t want to be well-off? You have everything you need, and for reassurance, even God’s good pleasure which the young ruler sought. Who doesn’t want to have a cushy, secure job working for the government that has lots of perks, like Zacchaeus had?
But both of these men began to recognize the emptiness in their pursuits. One comes in fear of not inheriting life when all of this passes away (Luke 18:18). The other, in spite of his shrewd and selfish ways, finds himself drawn within earshot of the Lord (Luke 19:4).
In contrast, the blind man is one who is completely the opposite in material standards to the other two. His bankruptcy both material and spiritual is plain to him. So, upon hearing that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he pursues the Lord with the same zeal and vigor that the well-to-do show when it comes to their status and pleasures.
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!”
How unsightly! A man who has lost his sight (whether to disease or injury, we don’t know) is chasing after our Lord. He’s reminding us of how unpleasant this life can be, and it’s painful to behold him because it reminds us how fragile our comforts are—our homes, our family who support us, our bodily health. These could all disappear in a series of tragedies akin to what Job suffered. And then what would we have? We would be left with nothing but our God, and would that be enough? We fear it wouldn’t be.
The supposed “wealth” that the rich man and Zacchaeus had meant nothing before the Lord, because He has something greater. This is a wealth that can’t be flaunted before others: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) What kind of poverty is this?
31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”
It’s a poverty that few desire to behold. Even the majority of Christians prefer not to think that deeply on it. We prefer a bright and lovely empty cross over one that pictures the suffering Savior upon it. Yet, without that great humbling, none of us rich or poor would have any hope. So, we see in the willing suffering and death of Jesus, what our Creator would have us know:
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.
He wants us to see that salvation has come, and that it is received by those who believe His Word. It’s a salvation that isn’t just about our present condition; it’s more foundational than that. The rich young ruler, when he asked a similar question, wanted a salvation that would also include life on his terms. Our Lord has something better. It comes even to the humble, the poor, to those who have been hated by the world. And for those who have enjoyed the best this world has to offer, their faith comes first! They now, with Zacchaeus say, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” (Luke 19:8) As we sing, “What is the world to me With all its vaunted pleasure When You and You alone, Lord Jesus, are my treasure!” (LSB 730:1)
This is the salvation that has been announced here in our midst. And what a mix of people we have gathered here! Young and old, rich and poor, vibrant and ill—all gathered to Jesus and seeking the riches which do not pass away, the life that does not end with a funeral, and joys that do not wear off when the guests go home. To put the words of our Lord from the Gospel literally, “Your faith has saved you.”[1]
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
[1] Σῴζω means to save, but many English translators choose to apply it in the context of the man’s sight being restored.
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