In the Old Testament, there is no record of opening the eyes
of blind. However, Jesus Christ opened the eyes of blind in several occasions
as Prophet Isaiah prophesied. The Lord God says, “I, the Lord, have called you
in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make
you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes
that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon
those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:6-7) Jesus came as the Messiah of God to
open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison, and to release from the
dungeon those who sit in darkness. It indicates there is something seriously
wrong in humanity. In fact, man is born blind and captive in prison, sitting in
darkness. How has it happened? It has happened when the first man, Adam,
disobeyed God by listening to his wife. Life is all connected and shared. No
one can live alone in no-man’s island. That is what we are. We’re all in Adam.
It tells us the truth that every man must be opened from blindness, freed from
prison and released from the dungeon of darkness and confusion. Jesus says, “If
you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can
see, your guilt remains.” (John 9:41) This story tells who is qualified to
receive sight and most of all how and why it is possible.
“As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the
roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was
happening. They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’ He called out, ‘Jesus,
Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Those who led the way rebuked him and told him
to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus
stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus
asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Lord, I want to see,’ he
replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.’ Immediately
he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw
it, they also praised God.” (Luke 18:35-43)
The time, the narrator tells, is for our Lord Jesus is
approaching the city of Jericho. It was a historical place, the fortified and
invincible fortress, but was conquered and destroyed by the forefathers led by
Joshua. It was the first warfare the Israelites encountered in the land of
Canaan after crossing the Jordan River on foot. They didn’t use any weapons but
simply and faithfully obeyed the commandments of the Lord God and walked around
the city seven days and on the seventh day they shouted followed by the sound
of trumpet. When they obeyed the Commander in Chief in heaven the fortress city
was crumbled and destroyed completely. They experienced the mighty hand of God
working powerfully right before their eyes and worshipped him. Jericho clearly
set the tone of how the battle would be look like in the land. It’s Jehovah’s
holy war. I am sure that our Lord Jesus must be listening to the cry of victory
of the people, the song of praise and wonder in the heavenly places. In fact,
our Lord was there, overseeing and orchestrating the entire procession of
battle from the beginning to the end as the Commander in Chief.
Actually, he is heard a cry, the cry of blind beggar who is
sitting by the roadside begging. It is not a cry of victory, but a cry of mercy
and begging. The man has been sitting by the roadside begging and heard the
crowd going by he asks what’s happening. Some people reply to him, “Jesus of
Nazareth is passing by.” When he hears the name of Jesus his eyes of mind are
fully awakened and he immediately makes an orphan cry of help, shouting “Jesus,
Son of David, have mercy on me!” All those years of sitting by the roadside
begging he has been waiting for this moment of calling the holy name, “Son of
David.” As soon as he makes a noise, he has faced the counter pressure and
rebuke to be quiet from the anonymous people. However, he doesn’t care the
pressure and opposition and shouts all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on
me!” His cry of help quickly reaches to the heaven, the universe headquarters situation
room, and the Father quickly tells the Son to take care of him. The blind
beggar’s orphan cry of calling the most scared name, Jesus, Son of David is
heard loudly by the Father of mercy and compassion. It has not only been heard
but also an urgent message with top priority has been sent out immediately to
the One sent by the Father in the right spot for delivering the answer of cry.
Though King of kings and Lord of lords, the Blessed Son of
David, Jesus is approaching Jericho, no one shouts of his coming as King and
Lord. But the blind man cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Again, resisting the rebuke of people, shouts, “Son of David, have mercy on
me!” The name, Son of David, is the most scared name in Israel. It indicates
the Blessed Messiah of God. Prophet Isaiah prophesied the Lord God would send a
son born of a virgin and call him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). In another place, the
prophet gives the marvelous vision of the Messiah of the Lord.
“For to us a
child is born,
to us a son
is given,
and the
government will be on his shoulders.
And he will
be called
Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the
greatness of his government and peace
there will
be no end.
He will
reign on David’s throne
and over his
kingdom,
establishing
and upholding it
with justice
and righteousness
from that
time on and forever.
The zeal of
the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Although the man is physically blind, he has known who Jesus
of Nazareth is and has accepted him as Son of David. While he has been sitting by
the roadside begging all along, he has been wanting to see him, Son of David.
His inner eyes have been opened by grace and mercy from the heaven above to know
and believe in Jesus, and he puts his hope in Son of David. He has received the
gift of faith to put his whole trust in Jesus of Nazareth. It’s not known how
long he has been sitting there begging, but must be quite a long. Is it
possible for him to miss Jesus passing by? Not possible! Although the
multitudes of people who can see physically miss to identify Jesus, it is not
possible to this man who cannot see physically because the heaven watches over
him. See how he is told. The crowd tell him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
He doesn’t ask back who Jesus of Nazareth is. Rather, he immediately calls out
loudly the name that he has been waiting to call all along since he has been
known the most blessed One by grace and mercy. He doesn’t call out the name
aimlessly and pointlessly in the air. Probably, the people around think that he
is going nowhere, so they rebuke him to be quiet. Both the crowd and the man
are in the same space and time where our Lord Jesus is approaching the city of
history, but only the blind man knows what to say, how to say, and why to say
such a heaven-opening words, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
How can our Lord Jesus miss to hear this orphan’s cry for
mercy? It is impossible! What a comfort and blessing for the believers in God!
Not a single cry for mercy will not be missed to reach out to the heaven where
our Father is watching over with eyes like blazing fire. Prophet Isaiah so aptly
says about his compassionate heart, saying “A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring
forth justice.” (Isaiah 42:3) So, Jesus stops and orders man to be brought to
him. When the man approaches to him, Jesus says, “What do you want me to do for
you?” It sounds like a simple and easily answerable question, but it is truly not.
This question is spoken from none other than the One who has all power in
heaven and on earth. It is very difficult to answer because we’ve been blinded
to ask one thing so crucial and significant in our lives when asked suddenly
and unexpectedly. Although it seems so obvious to know what is in want for the
man, Jesus asks him because he wants to know what the man really wants him to
do. Jesus knows already what he is in want. Jesus says, “Do not be like them,
for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8)
The man says to Jesus, “Lord, I want to see.” These five words are the ones the Lord wants
to hear. What does he mean by “Lord, I want to see.” First of all, he admits
that he is blind, so he doesn’t see. This is so significant to admit the fact
that he is blind and does not see. King David, a man after God’s own heart, was
completely blinded and deceived by the devil that he committed the twin sins of
evil—adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, Uriah. Until King
admitted his blindness and evil when Prophet Nathan uncovered the sins he was
being tormented and haunted day and night by the evil. He was blind and locked
in prison, sitting in darkness until the delivery of cure arrived from the Lord
God in heaven through the hand of Prophet Nathan. It was a painful procedure to
release him from dungeon because the evil should be exposed. It’s entirely on
God’s grace and mercy only that can reach to the dungeon of evil forces and
rescue and deliver the victims. His grace and mercy is based on the priceless and
incomparable sacrifice of Son of David, Jesus Christ. King David knew that no
other sacrifices could reach to the victim like him except repentance through a
contrite and broken heart before God.
“You do not
delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not
take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My
sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and
contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.” (Psalm 51:16-17)
Secondly, beyond he wants to see his parents, nature, scenery,
and himself, I believe he means to see the incarnate God, Jesus, Son of David
with his own eyes. He has already been given inner sight to see and believe in
Son of David. He has put his whole trust in the Blessed One to come since he
was given the gift of faith from the heaven above. So, when he says he wants to
see means to see the Blessed Lord of glory with his own eyes, whom God sent
according to the promises given to the forefathers. He has already believed in
Son of David and now he wants to see clearly who Son of David is. His vision is
not yet clear to see the Messiah’s full picture, because he is blind under the
powerful grip of evil. It tells a great truth that although evil is forcefully
working in humanity not to see clearly the mighty presence of God in their
midst it never can prevail over it. “What is impossible with man is possible
with God,” says our Lord Jesus (Luke 18:27). As long as we live in this life on
earth we cannot get over evil, lurking behind invisibly to devour us like a
roaring hungry lion. Darkness, boredom, emptiness, depression, anger, hatred,
frustration, distress, tiredness, complaints are the manifestations of evil
force in the midst of daily routines. No one is free from such powers of evil
and must face it moment by moment. How deeply are we thirsty and hungry for
excitement, enthusiasm, vigor, zest, strength, and even in the fullest? Apostle
Paul so aptly describes the deepest desire of humanity in the Epistle to the
Romans the Eighth Chapter.
“Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the
redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen
is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for
what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Romans 8:23-25)
However, this is not the end of story. There is a good news.
It is that evil is not out of the boundary of the Lord God but under the full
control of the Sovereign God. In fact, the devil is one of God’s made who
rebelled against the Maker and Master of the universe. He is more cunning and
shrewd than any other creatures God made. He is ever formidable and impenetrable
than any other animals God made. But it doesn’t mean that he is out of control
or beyond the Creator because he is in full submission to the Lord. God reveals
the deep mysteries of the serpent and how he handles it in the Book of Job.
“Can you
pull in Leviathan with a fishhook
or tie down
its tongue with a rope?
Can you put
a cord through its nose
or pierce
its jaw with a hook?
Will it keep
begging you for mercy?
Will it speak to you with gentle words?” (Job 41:1-3)
Genesis Chapter 3 records the most decisive and tragic incident
in human history. The devil deceived the woman and she ate God-forbidden tree
and gave to Adam and he ate it. It’s called the fatal fall of race as Paul puts
it in Romans Chapter 5, saying “Therefore, just as sin entered the world
through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all
people, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12) Since the fall of man, the powerful
forces of evil of darkness and confusion has been overshadowing and even trying
to wreck the human lives like through wars, drug overdoses, pornographies. But
the evil never shapes and controls the human race. God solemnly pronounced the
destiny of the devil in Genesis Chapter 3 that he is always in humiliation and
frustration and will be destroyed forever by the hand of God.
“So the Lord
God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,
“Cursed are
you above all livestock
and all wild
animals!
You will
crawl on your belly
and you will
eat dust
all the days
of your life.
And I will
put enmity
between you
and the woman,
and between
your offspring and hers;
he will
crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15)
The forces of evils must be destroyed and will be done as
our Lord promised. There will be the Day of the Lord when Satan will be
punished and judged and thrown into the fiery furnace, the blackest dungeon of
darkness forever. But in order to save the elect, God is allowing the dark
forces of evil in our midst not because he is not able to punish him but
because he is gracious and faithful to reach out the lost ones, being deceived
and blinded by the evil forces. We’re all the victims of the evil. We’ve been
delivered by the power of God through the blood of Christ. So, in Christ, we
don’t have to choose to sin but oftentimes we do sin. It will be continuing until
the redemption of our body which is the seat of sin, the flesh. However, the Scripture
says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) There is no sin
which cannot be forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ if we confess.
Our Lord Jesus hears what the blind man wants to do and thus
delivers the message of the Father in heaven, saying “Receive your sight; your
faith has healed you.” (Luke 18:42) The compassionate Father heals the blind
man by giving him sight to see clearly the incarnate God, Son of David with his
own eyes. God has given him the gift of faith to believe in Son of David and so
he has acted his faith by calling the most holy name in heaven and on earth, “Son
of David.” Also, he begs him for mercy. When asked what he wants him to do, he
clearly answers him that he wants to see. This tells that beyond what he sees,
he wants to praise and thank and worship God in heaven who sent the Blessed Messiah
in keeping his promises faithfully. Beyond what he sees, he wants to follow the
Lord of glory and obey him as token of many thanks. As soon as Jesus speaks to
him, “Receive your sight,” immediately, he has received his sight and follows
Jesus, praising God. When all the people see it, they also praise God. It
proves that his faith is genuine and authentic because he doesn’t go his own
way but follows Jesus, praising God. It means he continually lives by faith in
Son of David, even after he has received his sight. Surely, God will bless this
man to see continually what God is acting and doing in the midst, following
Jesus Christ the Lord.
Prayer: Our Blessed Father in heaven, thank you for blessing
the blind man who admits that he is blind and doesn’t see, answering his orphan
cry for mercy to Son of David, the Blessed Messiah of God. Thank you Father for
your compassion and mercy for those who earnestly ask for mercy and pity by
faith. May God bless us to be like this blind man, admitting that we are blind
and don’t see clearly and so crying to Jesus for mercy to give sight. In Jesus’
name. Amen.
September 25, 2016
© 2015-2016 David
Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.
