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Jesus, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me

Luke 18:31-43

Key Verse 18:38

1.   Think about the message Jesus began teaching to his disciples in verses 31-33. What do the following expressions in verse 34 tell us about the disciples? 1) The disciples did not understand; 2) Its meaning was hidden from them; and 3) they did not know what he was talking about. In what respect are many still like the disciples in the passage? Why is it necessary for everyone to “understand” and “know” its meaning? 

2. Verse 31 says, “Jesus took the Twelve aside and then told them…” What does this expression indicate about the way to help people understand and know the meaning of the gospel? 

3. Read verses 35-39. In what respect was the blind man handicapped in meeting and knowing Jesus? Yet, how did he get Jesus’ attention?

4. Examine the way in which the blind man received sight in verses 40-43. What do the following statements teach us about the way to overcome our [spiritual] blindness? 

1) Jesus stopped… and asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?

2) Lord, I want to see!

3) Your faith has healed you.

Jesus, Son of David, Have Mercy On Me!

(How to see what to see)

Luke 18:31-43

Key Verse 18:38

He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Today we will think about the way to get our spiritual blindness healed, so we could clearly see all the beauties that are true of God. In regard to our spiritual blindness Jesus says in Matthew 6:23, "But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" May the Lord put within us a great light that we would get rid of all the darkness built inside of us and see God’s beauties, especially the love He has for his children.

With this in mind, let us think about the passage in two parts: Part I, they did not know what he was talking about, and Part II receive your sight. 

Part I. They did not know what he was talking about (31-34)

NASA maintains a special telescope called the Hubble. And the Hubble is a satellite which is located about 375 miles above the surface of the earth. It completes an orbit around the earth every 97 minutes. We have physical eyes to see the physical world. Some have two eyes, plus two more. But the capabilities of our physical eyes are so limited, that with them there is not that must to see. But it is not so with the Hubble. It is by far the most sophisticated machine by which we can see the physical universe in-depth. And the Hubble is positioned in a location which is high enough so that it can escape the light distorting effects of earth's atmosphere, but low enough for the crew members to reach it for maintenance purposes. 

Thanks to the Hubble scientists, they were able to see what they were not able to see in the physical universe we are living in. For example, nearly fifty years ago Dr. Hubble after whom the Hubble telescope is named measured the spectroscopic effect known as the "red shift" of the most distant galaxies. This measurement enabled scientists to conclude without a doubt that the universe is continually expanding, which in turn seems to be in support of the Genesis truth that maintains that God created the universe out of nothing.  

In this way the Hubble provides scientists with the vantage point from which to scale even the farthest edges of the universe. 

But what about the spiritual universe? John 6:63a says, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing." Just as there is a physical universe there is a spiritual universe. And knowing what is true of the spiritual universe is a zillion times more important than what is true of the spiritual universe. Why? It is because knowing all the truths of the spiritual world has a direct bearing on man's life. 

In my humble opinion just as the Hubble offers us a vista point to see the world of physics, the Bible serves as the spiritual telescope to scale the spiritual universe in-depth. Through the Hubble one can see clearly a zillion different objects in the universe. Likewise, through the Bible we can see and understand all the delicate bodies of truth in the spiritual universe. But of all that we need to see in the Bible, there is one thing which all of us must see for it is a matter of utmost importance! And we've got this point here in verses 31-33. Let us stop for a moment, and prayerfully read this passage:  

"Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again." Here are three verses which consist of 70 words in total. I would encourage every one to deeply meditate on the meaning of this Bible passage, for if one mastered all the messages the Holy Spirit has loaded up in this short passage, one will be able to see all the beauties that are true of man's life both in this age and in the age to come. And if one understood even a short glimpse of the beauty, your view of [your] life will be transformed. As the vision of your life gets transformed, your life will also be transformed. And life will never look the same. 

I don't know what you have seen in regard to the life that is going on here in this world. Some might have seen what looks beautiful but is in essence really ugly. In this world where values are all distorted, and twisted, it is not easy to see man's life here on earth in this 21st century America as something truly marvelous. On one bright Sunday morning, a pastor I know, read for his congregation to hear a suicide note left by a teenage girl: "I have seen all I wanted to see, and I have done all I wanted to do, and I am sick and tired of it." So she committed a suicide at the age of 16. But is that all there is to life? 

How then did the disciples respond to Jesus' teaching? Look at verse 34. "The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about." The disciples were still blind (spiritually). Thus far Jesus showed them all the wonders of the world of God. But compared with the beauties they needed to see, what they had seen amounted to virtually nothing. In order to help them see the true beauties of God who made man's life to be truly beautiful, Jesus brought them to a grand [spiritual] vista point. But they saw nothing. 

And there are a lot of people who are like the disciples. Some attend church service regularly. Some read the Bible even every day. But still they remain totally blind. To them what Jesus said in Matthew 6:23 is true: "But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Isn't it you? 

Part II. Receive your sight (35-43)

Interestingly enough immediately after making a comment that the disciples understood nothing and knew nothing, Luke introduces to us a blind beggar who received sight which in turn teaches us how we can see what the Lord wants us to see. How did the blind man overcome his blindness? There are seven points for us to remember and these points are critical for overcoming spiritual blindness.  

First, the blind man was handicapped but he did not despair. 

Look at verse 35. "As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging." In order to understand the blind man, particularly, how much he must have been handicapped by his blindness, a man I know tried to close his eyes and walk from his house to the Downey Center, about a 5 minute walk. He quickly realized that it was too difficult. So he gave up. 

Similarly an absolute number of people are handicapped just like the blind beggar. In what respect are they handicapped? They are handicapped mostly because of their spiritual blindness. On June 24^th, at the age of 46, UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Denise Denton died after she jumped from the roof of a 42-story San Francisco Apartment. Police said Denton's partner Gretchen Klonji has an apartment in that building. The building is advertised as San Francisco's tallest luxury rental apartment building. Miss Denton was an intellectual woman with a PhD in electrical engineering. Police determined her death as suicide. Why did such an intelligent woman have to "end" her life in such a tragic way? Obviously she did not "see" the reason to continue on with her life. She had a lot which many are dying to have: a good career, with lots of academic achievements, a position of honor and power, and much more. Yet, why did she end her life that way? 

In the passage the blind beggar was so handicapped that he could not get what others could get. He could not land a good job, so he had to beg. Because he could not see what could he afford? A car? A laptop? A cell phone? But he did not despair. He was handicapped by his blindness but he did not despair. 

Being a blind man he must have bumped into one dead end after another. But still he did not despair. So here is rule no. 1 - do NOT despair. 

Second, to solve the problem he made the most use of what he had (36-37) 

Look at verses 36-37. "When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." It has been said, "Heaven helps those who help themselves." The blind man was limited in many ways. Yet, he could hear and he could talk. So when he heard the crowd, he asked what was happening. Notice the two words: heard and asked. Using his ears he heard. With his mouth he asked. Plus, he was able to walk. So he positioned himself in a spot where he could meet the most number of people. Suppose that that day he woke up too late like two or three p.m., and went out to the spot like 4 or 5 p.m. Most likely he could have missed the opportunity. But using all the best he had, he helped himself so that he could overcome his problem. 

So the rule no. 2 is that we must look for what the Lord God has already blessed us with, and then we must do our best to first help ourselves in solving the problems each of us might have. Some problems are physical some spiritual; some external some internal. Whatever the problems, we must first do our best. Then the Lord God will come to our help. 

Now the summer Bible conference is just around the corner. I pray that all of us who serve the programs must make the most use of all the provisions the Lord God has made available, and do our best to fulfill the prayer topics the Lord God has given us, like inviting students, preparing messages, practicing for the dance program, the play or music programs etc. and so forth.   

Third, prayer to the Lord (38)

When I say the blind man prayed, one might ask, "What? Did the blind man pray?" Yes, he did. Look at verse 38. "He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"" Here the expression "called out" says that he did pray. And calling out to the Lord is what prayer is all about. It is just like a man making a phone call. Notice the word "out". The call went "out". Where did the call go out? It went out toward Jesus, Son of David. The title "Son of David" is an idiom for the Messiah. He directed his prayer to Jesus the Savior of the world. People called Jesus "Jesus of Nazareth". Nazareth is a geographic location referring to Jesus' home town. But Jesus' real hometown is God's kingdom. He came from the Father, who promised to send the Savior from the line of Jesse, the father of King David. Isaiah 11:1 

In offering prayer to the Lord, he then based his prayer on Jesus' mercy not on his own merit. He realized that he did not deserve anything. If he deserves anything, it was only God's wrath and anger, for he was a lost sinner. So he prayed purely based on Jesus' mercy.

This is the kind of prayer Jesus answers the most. This is the kind of prayer Jesus wants us to offer to him. 

Fourth, he overcame all the obstacles of prayer with prayer which is more fervent than ever (39)

It has been observed that prayer is just like waging war against an enemy nation. And each time we start praying, almost without an exception we will run into all kinds of obstacles. And a lot of them are not just spiritual but physical. The same thing happened to the blind beggar. Look at verse 39, "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!"" As soon as he started praying, almost instantaneously opposition arose, and it came from people who stood right next to the man. Yet the man overcame by shouting all the more. Here "shouted all the more" means he prayed all the more. And shouting does not mean shouting audibly. Of course if necessary you can do that. But on many occasions it is very difficult to pray shouting audibly. A pastor I know had to deliver a message on one of the most difficult subjects. Yet that weekend, all of a sudden the general director at the head office level called a senior staff meeting in the east coast. On hearing the news for the meeting, immediately he said to himself, "Oh, no." And that weekend he had a lot to do for the Summer Bible conference which was due the following week. So what did he do? As he flew out to the East Coast and back to the West coast, all the while he cried out to the Lord, but not audibly, but in a way to be heard by the Lord alone, and he did it every where.  

Last Saturday there was a beautiful wedding between Dr. Sarah Wang and Shepherd Phillip Brown in Washington D.C. A couple of days before the day of the wedding the two met together to prepare themselves for the wedding. At first, Dr. Sarah had reservations about getting married to Phillip, and since her body was aching all over especially her back, she said to Phillip, "I am afraid that if I marry you I might be a great burden to you." But Phillip said, "Sarah. When I met you in China and proposed to you, I did not do it lightly. I made a commitment to God first and then to you. So even if you die tomorrow, I would still marry you tonight." All the coworkers in Maryland UBF heard this beautiful story. All of Dr. Sarah Wang's fellowship members prayed the whole night. Then the next day the Lord healed her miraculously. On the wedding day, she came out making bright smile. After the wedding following the reception, and after the reception followed a senior staff meeting. After the staff meeting, before going out on their honeymoon, she came to see all of us. And as I shook her hand, I could see her smiling just like a teenage girl, as bright and healthy as a sun flower.

Fifth, a clear prayer topic (40-41)

Rule no. 5 is to come to the seat of prayer with a clear prayer topic. Look at verses 40-41. "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." It was obvious to everyone that this man wanted to see. Yet, Jesus bothered to ask the man, "What do you want me to do for you?" Why? It was because the man's prayer topic saying, "Lord, have mercy on me" was too general. It was only when the man made his prayer topic specific that the Lord was able to answer his prayer request. 

A friend of mine has a mother who has been widowed for a long period of time. Yet, being a warrior of prayer, she never lacked anything. One day then I heard her saying, "Oh, I need a pair of light blue slacks." Then she prayed to the Lord for exactly the kind she liked. Then the next day one of her friends brought a gift to her which is exactly the kind of slacks she prayed for.

Most importantly though, we need to pray to the Lord to help us open our spiritual eyes, so we would be able to see the beauty of the gospel of Jesus as described in verses 31-33.  

Sixth, we must pray expecting a result (42-43a)

A lot of people pray, but do not necessarily expect a result. Some people pray to just get hard feelings off their chest, or some pray just for the sake of praying. But when they look at the way little children cry out to their parents, they always have a specific need to address, and they cry out expecting a result from their parents. 

But on many occasions we pray without expecting a result. Why? Mostly it is because we think that we are asking Jesus too much. But nothing is too difficult for Jesus. 

Just think about what the man did and what Jesus said to the man. When the blind man prayed, he did expect a result. The request was "daring". It was too difficult for anyone to accomplish. But he did not doubt that Jesus would heal him. Then what did Jesus say? Look at verse 42. "Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."" What was the result? Look at verse 43. "Immediately he received his sight."  

Seventh, follow Jesus all the way (43b)

It has been said that to ask for a blessing is one thing, to receive it is another, and to bear it is still another. And many people turn away from Jesus as soon as they get what they want. But the blind man was different. Look at verse 43b. "...and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God." Following Jesus praising God is the final and yet the most important step we need to take in order for us to truly see the true beauties of God, especially the kind of love he has for his children. 

In conclusion, we learned what we need to see, that is, the true beauty of the gospel Jesus came to fulfill. We also learned how to see what we need to see, that is, the true beauty of the gospel. May the Lord bless all of us to follow the example of the blind beggar, and see the true beauty of the gospel and participate in the beauty of the resurrected life in Jesus. 

One word: I want to see