The Faith of a Blind Man
As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And 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!” 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. (Luke 18:35-43)
In a quick overview of some interesting aspects to this story, notice this:
- The blind man acknowledged Jesus as Messiah in calling him “Son of David”
- The blind man cried out for mercy regardless of others trying to silence him
- The blind man’s persistence of crying out got Jesus’ attention
- The blind man’s faith in Jesus’ ability to heal his sight was implied as he asked for permission in saying “Lord, let me recover my sight.”
- The blind man’s faith made him well
- Upon the blind man’s healing, he followed Jesus and glorified God
- The very people who were initially rebuking the blind man and trying to silence him, praised God as a result of his faith in Jesus
How We Approach Jesus
Do we cry out to Jesus, our Messiah, with a fully abandoned surrender like this blind man had? Do other’s opinions and actions affect our approach to Jesus, or do we carry on in persistence knowing who we are calling out to?
This goes beyond ailments and healings. What about when we’re in public eating at a restaurant, do we quietly, quickly, and almost ashamedly pray for our food or are we unapologetic in taking the time to thank God for the food He’s blessed us with, no matter who may be watching or saying something against us?
The way the blind man approached Jesus showed his heart posture towards God. In the same way, how we approach God will show our heart posture and help us identify if there are some heart issues we need to address.
When the blind man answered Jesus’ question of what he wanted Jesus to do for him, it was both with boldness and reverence. He was bold enough to say, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” But it also showed a reverence in implying that he knew Jesus could but was asking His permission. If he would have stated it in another way, such as “Lord, recover my sight” or “Lord, can you heal my eye sight?”, that would have been either lacking in reverence or confidence in Jesus’ ability and the man’s initial address of calling Jesus the Son of David would have been undermined as well.
If we truly believe that Jesus is God, our Messiah who has reconciled us to God, then we will approach Him in faith with a bold and confident reverence of Who He is. And if we’re not, we need to check our hearts on what the issue is.
Our Faith’s Effect
The blind man’s faith pushed him to continue pursuing Jesus even when all those around him were trying to silence him. How do we respond when others around us try to silence our faith? If the blind man hadn’t had the faith to continue despite the actions of others, he wouldn’t have had a personal encounter with Jesus and he wouldn’t have been healed in that moment.
Now, this isn’t saying that if we have enough faith, all our ailments will be healed, but we can’t deny nor dismiss that in many miracles, faith is mentioned as an aspect of it. And our faith plays a part in more than just healing, it also can impact those around us.
When we are willing to walk by faith even if that means being seen as a fool in the eyes of the world in order to live in a way that is pleasing to God, we are following Jesus and glorifying God. And in our walking by faith and following Jesus, our example of faith and the things that God does in and through us, it just may silence those who oppose us and help bring them to a place of praising God in witnessing His work; just as it did in this situation… And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Let’s take time to be mindful of how we’re approaching Jesus and resolve to live out our faith in full surrender of God, regardless of how anyone may react to our pursuit of Him.