Luke 18:31-43

Jesus, Son of David, Have Mercy On Me

Quinquagesima Sunday

February 26, 2017

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

In our Gospel reading today, we hear our Lord’s third and final prediction of His coming crucifixion. Everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.  He could hardly be any clearer. But the disciples don’t get it. They remain blind as to who He really is and what He is really doing.

But as they make their way through Jericho, and as a crowd gathers, a blind man, Bartimaeus by name, reveals his sight. As Jesus passes by, he calls out not for money, not for medical assistance, not for pity, but for mercy from the Son of David. When the blind man calls out to Christ he would not be hushed or shamed into silence. We cry out “Lord, have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy” at the beginning of the Divine Service for the same reason. Christ is coming to us here today as we wait for Him as beggars. It is the first prayer we pray together, a plea for God’s grace and mercy. And it will not fall on silent ears.

Jesus calls this man to Himself “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus 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.”

We are blind beggars we cry, “have mercy on me.” But what do we want the Lord to do for us? “Let me receive my sight.” We are prepared to follow him in the coming weeks to Jerusalem, to go with Him all the way to the cross, and rise with Him on Easter. But to follow Him as He bears the cross will require much love for Him. To follow Him means more than sympathy. To follow Him means to share His cross, to be crucified with Him. We must carry our own cross after Him. This cross is self-denial.  To follow Him means to practice this self-denial, to strive for greater efficiency, to be more proficient in cross-bearing.

Bartimaeus’ faith made him well because his faith received that which the Lord had to give.  The man follows Jesus and glorifies God.  This blind man sees more clearly than the disciples. He recognizes this Jesus as the long foretold Son of David. He knows the cost of following Jesus, but he also sees the value. So he gives up his way of life as a blind man, everything that he had known, and he follows Jesus, glorifying God.

To follow Christ through a life of self-denial requires seeing eyes.   This Wednesday we begin again the Christian season of Lent, the purpose of Lent is renewal in the life of grace. With eyes of faith opened in answer to our prayers, in order that we see the Savior on His way of sorrows but also in His resurrection glory. Holy Week and Easter stand before our eyes. We beggars by the wayside cry as we enter into Lent: Let me receive sight. Sight to see Your great love. Sight to see the cross and the empty tomb. Sight to love You more and more so that we might pick up our cross and follow you. Sight to see the needy around us and to tell other blind beggars. Having received our sight, we follow the Savior, glorifying God. When the people have seen what grace and love has done for us, they will give praise to God.

Talk about an evangelism method!  In faith, receiving God’s grace in Christ and glorifying God.  That’s it.  It really is that simple.  If we return again and again to our Lord to receive His gifts of life and salvation and forgivingness given in Word and Sacrament, and then walked around our community, if we went to our jobs and our schools and our neighbors and our friends and family and glorified God wherever we went, if we told others that at Zion Lutheran Church God has mercy on sinners and is giving away everything freely, hope and peace and comfort and joy and purpose and direction and meaning and belonging and eternal life and forgiveness of sins; if we told others that Zion Lutheran School is the best school in town where our children receive a quality classical and Christian education; if we told people that at our Daycare our children are taken care of in a safe and loving environment; people will notice. Eyes will be opened. And people will see. People will see Christ.

But this is done only in following Jesus with our eyes of faith open, and that is something we struggle with. Sure, it is fine in theory, but it is easier said than done. We have been selfish and greedy, impatient and angry, hushing others who would cry out too loudly for Jesus because of how it might make us look. We have failed to help and serve and love our neighbors. We have been too afraid to leave behind the dark, false comfort of blindness. Repent today, cry out for the Lord’s mercy, and turn your face toward Jerusalem. For we are in desperate need of a Savior’s mercy.  Let us be like the cured blind man, following Jesus at all cost, glorifying God along the way, and leaving behind our sin.

And so we come before the Lord today called and gathered by His Holy Spirit, to hear His Word, to see Him by faith, and to receive life and salvation and forgiveness of our sins, and strength to bear the burdens of the cross.  With seeing eyes, we follow Him to Jerusalem, not by some imagination or sentimentality, but in faith looking to the cross where the Savior of the world bore the sin of the world. Let us go out of this place, having received that sight and knowing of His victory over sin, death and the devil to give glory to God through a life of self-denial, living not for ourselves but for Him who for our sake died and was raised.