18:35 ¶ And it came to
pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way
side begging: 36 And hearing the
multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. 37
And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. 38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son
of David, have mercy on me. 39 And they
which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so
much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 40 And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be
brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, 41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto
thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. 42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight:
thy faith hath saved thee. 43 And
immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all
the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
Here is a man, blind
AND poor physically, much as the unsaved man or woman is spiritually. He has
nothing with which to commend Himself to Christ but His physical misery and His
poverty. That’s how we come to Christ if we come to Him at all. Christ responds
to us in the depth of our despair, not requiring us to “get right” before He’ll
deal with us. In regard to sin, David pleaded with God for forgiveness not
because of the lightness of his sin, but because of the greatness of it.
Psalm 25:11 For thy name’s
sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it
is great.
A sick person does not
make his case before a doctor on account of how trifling his or her sickness is
but based on their sickness being significant and distressing. This man only
cried out for mercy acknowledging who Christ was. He called out for mercy from one
whom he knew had the power to have mercy on his weakness.
He wanted to see and
knew that Christ, had faith that Christ, could make it happen. Here is Christ,
on the way to His divine appointment, who stops to deal with this seemingly
insignificant person’s handicap. Christ came to give sight to the blind. We
would not see the truth were it not for Christ who is the truth.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The world that rejects
Him as Messiah, Saviour, Lord, and God-in-the-flesh is blind. Satan, the god of
this world, keeps as many of them in that condition for as long as he can.
2Corinthians 4:4 In whom
the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine unto them.
They have but to cry
out to Him to be saved from the darkness.
Romans 10:8 But what saith
it? The word is nigh thee, even
in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. 10 For with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. 11 For the scripture
saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 ¶ For there is no difference between the Jew
and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved.
When a great change
comes over a person’s life because Christ has entered into it often times even
those around them marvel and are amazed at the change. Of course, they might
become annoyed at the change if the person simply becomes an annoying pain in
the neck. But a reformed life after an encounter with Christ is a wonder to behold
if genuine and sincere. God’s mercy is apparent when a person sees the light of
Christ and becomes one of His. It is also apparent for the believer in his or
her everyday life, in the grace that is shed on our time here on earth. What we
need, every day, is mercy, is to repeat the cry of this blind beggar; have mercy on me. Open my eyes and let
me see.
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