Jesus Son of David Have Mercy on Me

We turn back to Luke chapter 18. We're finishing up the book of, or not the book. We've got a ways to go for the book. The chapter today, Luke chapter 18.

We're looking at chapter 18, starting in verse 35. Jesus has been making his trek towards Jerusalem, and we've been seeing how he's ministered to people along the way.

He has spent time particularly talking about the kingdom of God of late, and even essentially in the past few passages, chapter 18, we've seen him deal with how to enter the kingdom of God, and some of the aspects that are there.

He talked about how we need to come as children who simply receive a gift. I was reminded of that this week. We have another grandson born yesterday.

Vicki had a baby yesterday, but in seeing some of the other grandchildren, and even seeing our own little, how helpless they are, and how they just cry out and expect that you'll meet their need.

And like I said in one message, and if you don't meet their need, they have no sense of, well, maybe mom and dad doesn't want to. They just don't hear me, and so they cry louder. And we talked about different aspects of Jesus explaining the faith of one who would come into the kingdom.

And so we come to this situation, starting in verse 35, and we'll look at the healing, Jesus healing a blind beggar. So follow along as I read John chapter 18, verses 35 to 43.

Father, I pray that you would bless your word, and that you would help us to understand it as we look together. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. And 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? And 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.

As we look at this passage, again, as I mentioned, it says in the beginning, he drew near to Jericho. Now, in drawing near to Jericho, he is drawing near to Jerusalem.

We said that Luke says in 951 that he set his face to Jerusalem. He was going there to die. And every pilgrim who had been up north as they traveled south to Jerusalem would end up, almost all of them, would make a trek across the Jordan River into the area of Perea, and then would cross back into the area of Judah just some 25 miles to the east of Jerusalem.

And the first place they would come upon, for the most part, there were small villages, but they would come to the area of Jericho. And every pilgrim making his trek from Jerusalem, or most every pilgrim making his trek from the north country to Jerusalem, would pass through Jericho.

And Jesus is on his way. And this is probably, well, we know it to be just before the Passover. And so, Jesus and his twelve, Jesus and the people who were following, even the great crowds, were not the only people on the way to Jerusalem.

There was probably quite a crowd of people who were on their way to Jerusalem at that time. And so, as they come to what would be considered the final leg, they come near to Jericho.

Now, I have tried hard not to spend a lot of time looking at other Gospels and comparing them to this Gospel. I want to see what Luke is saying here.

But I do want to settle your mind. If you've done some Bible reading, and you've looked at the Gospel of Matthew, and you've seen how there is some differences, and you've looked at the Gospel of Mark and seen how there's some differences, I don't want you to be shaken by that.

One of the big ones is that Matthew talks about how, as Jesus is leaving Jericho, and Mark and Luke both talk about how, as Jesus is coming into Jericho.

And people have wagged their fingers for years and said, See, the Bible doesn't know what it's talking about. Let me rest you assured, this is true.

Even now, there are two Jerichos. Now, there are two ruins of Jerichos, for the most part. But there are two Jerichos. There is the biblical Jericho of Joshua's day.

That was destroyed by Joshua. It was raised back up, but then it had fallen in ruin through the years again. But Herod the Great had built a Jericho.

And the only way you could get to that Jericho was to go through the ruins of the old Jericho, go to that Jericho, come back out by the ruins of that Jericho, and then go on to Jerusalem.

And so probably, if you're reading all three of these accounts, probably the answer is that somewhere between those two Jerichos, this man sat.

Now, there are other discrepancies, but none that cause any issue of doubt. One talks about how there are two men, and probably this man is the man that is most represented, but Luke doesn't deal with him.

And then Mark also talks about how Jesus touched them. And that is not necessarily according to what Luke is sharing with us about this account.

So I didn't want any of those things to throw you as you looked at these accounts. I want you to be comfortable with the Word of God and understand that it is true, and no one can prove it to be wrong.

Now, as I mentioned, this was the last leg of a journey that any pilgrim coming from the north would take up towards Jerusalem. And Jerusalem was a one-day trip away from Jericho.

Now, it's probably considered a one-day trip. It's a little less than 20 miles. But when you went from Jericho, which was right along the Dead Sea, so it was several hundred feet below sea level, and you went up to Jerusalem, which was several thousand feet above sea level, you were climbing 3,400 feet and 16 miles or 18 miles.

And so it was quite an ascent. That's why it was the last stop for many people as they went up to Jerusalem. And so Jesus has come near Jericho, and he's continuing towards Jerusalem.

And it's interesting to note that he's continuing, and as we mentioned earlier, he set his face towards Jerusalem, and nothing would stop him. And nothing is going to stop him in getting to his destination.

But here is a man who causes Jesus to stop. Not to stop his trek, but to stop and to minister to him. And so there was a blind man sitting by the roadside begging.

This man, he had this desperate need, and the most obvious, plain as the nose on your face need was that this man was blind. It meant that he couldn't work.

He had to beg. His blindness made him unable also to worship in the temple. All these people were going up to Jerusalem for the Passover. They would pass through the temple in worship.

They were all on this trek to Jerusalem. And he couldn't go because the blind, according to Leviticus, were not allowed in the temple. It was an uncleanness that kept them from worshiping God.

And so blindness, as often is given in the Old Testament, was considered to be a judgment from God. We believe that this man had probably not been born blind, because he asked for his sight to be recovered.

Was he under the judgment of God? We have no idea, no clue. We just know that he's blind, but he was considered by people around him to be under the judgment of God.

And so he's sitting by the roadside begging. And where he was, you know that famous saying about real estate?

The three important things about real estate are location, location, location. Well, this man picked the prime spot to be begging.

There were a lot of priests who would minister Jerusalem, would make the less than 20 mile trip down to Jericho to live. Many priests lived there.

Many wealthy men lived in that area. It was a great place to beg. And there were probably many beggars there. In God's providence, Jesus would come by there.

And he is, in this man's time, he is walking by there. And he is coming along. And there are a great crowd of people with him.

And this man thinks this sounds like an opportunity. Beggar, prime location, I hear a noise, great crowd of people.

It's time to start my craft. It's time to start begging. It's time to start crying out, alms for the blind, alms for the blind. Or however he went about it. But this was a big crowd.

And so the man says, what's going on? I can't see. What's going on? And he's probably just thinking it's a fresh batch of pilgrims or an opportunity to beg.

But someone says, Jesus of Nazareth is going by. And that identifies to this man who is causing this crowd.

It's Jesus of Nazareth. Now, sometimes you hear it said of him, Jesus the Nazarene. That just means he's from Nazareth.

Doesn't mean he's a Nazarite. Sometimes the pictures have long hair. Because people confuse Nazarite and Nazarene. Or Nazarite and Nazarene.

And that's not the case. He didn't have long hair because he took a Nazarite vow. He was Jesus of Nazareth. He was from the town of Nazareth. And so he's passing by.

These people identify him as Jesus of Nazareth. But notice what the blind man sees. Though Jesus is from Nazareth.

This man's response is not. Jesus of Nazareth. Have mercy on me. The blind man sees who Jesus really is.

And he says. Jesus. Jesus. Son of David. Have mercy on me. Did he know the Old Testament prophecies?

That would speak of the Messiah? Did he know of Isaiah 61. 1 and 2. The spirit of the Lord is upon me. Because the Lord has anointed me. To bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted. To proclaim liberty to the captives. And the opening of the prison. To those who are bound. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Did he know that? Did he know that John's disciples. As John sat in Herod Antipas' prison. Were sent by John.

Because John's saying. I'm still in prison. Why am I still here? This is not going the way I thought. Did he know that as Jesus sent these. These disciples of John. To Jesus.

And asked. Are you the one? Or should we wait for another? Did he. Did this man hear? That news was sent back. Tell him. The lame walk.

The dead are raised. The blind. Receive their sight. Did they know? Did he know that? This Jesus of Nazareth.

Did he know that Jesus had quoted. That Isaiah 61. 1 and 2 passage. When Jesus started his ministry. In Nazareth. In Luke 4.

Verses 18 to 21. Did this man know. That Jesus said. That he would do these things. And reports. That's been given to him. And maybe he's heard of John's disciples.

Hearing. That Jesus has done. Exactly these things. Things that the Messiah would do. Did he know. This man from Nazareth. Had done what he said.

He would do. How much. Living in Jericho. People going through. All the time. I'm sure Jesus. Had been through.

At least. At least four times. Or three times. As he went up to the Passover. Other years. And even before he was known. He was going by this spot. Because he went up to Jerusalem.

For every Passover. Had. Had this man heard of Jesus. Before. Before his ministry. Had this man heard. The many things that had gone on. Had he heard news from the travelers.

From Galilee. Up to the temple. Did you hear what Jesus did? Was he a person. Who was hearing. Gossip after gossip. Account after account.

Of who Jesus was. And what he had done. And was he putting. Two and two together. And not seeing. Jesus of Nazareth. But seeing Jesus. The son of David.

He had to know. At least some of that. Because this man. Saw that Jesus. Was. The son of David. When he said.

The son of David. What was he meaning? Well of course. He was meaning. An heir. A relative of David. Of course. He was meaning. An heir. To the throne of David. But that phrase.

Especially amongst. Those priests. Who lived in Jericho. Who would travel up to Jerusalem. Especially amongst them. The Messiah. Would be called.

The son of David. They use the term. All the time. That's why. In just a day or so. After this. As Jesus. Gets to Jerusalem. And he begins to walk. In the.

City of Jerusalem. Sitting on. The foal. The colt of an ass. And he's coming into the city. And they're laying palms down. And they're saying. Hosanna.

To the son of David. Now you won't see. Son of David. In Luke. This is the only time. Jesus is called. Son of David. In the book of Luke.

It's by a blind beggar. Who appears to have put it together. But to finish my account. They would go up to Jerusalem. And these. And these palms would be laid down.

And people would be saying. Hosanna to the son of David. And what do the priests. And the scribes. And the Pharisees do. They told the disciples. To shut these people up. Because they didn't see Jesus.

As the son of David. They didn't see Jesus. As the Messiah. But here is this man. Who has apparently put all this together.

Who has understood. Who this one really is. And of course. He's a man in need. He's a man who's blind.

Who cannot work. Who feels as if. Those around him. Consider him under the judgment of God. Who can't worship God in the temple. Who can't carry out responsibilities.

Of Jews. Who would want to serve God. This man has a desperate need. He's outside of the favor of God. He is outside. Of a relationship with God.

He is desperate. His blindness is just. Not just. That he can't see. He's outside of a relationship with God. And so when he hears.

That Jesus is coming by. He cries out. Jesus. Son of David. Have mercy. On me. What was he expecting?

In faith. He cried out. That Jesus. The son of David. Would have mercy. What proof. Or what basis. Could he base that cry.

It was based. On these prophecies. That he had to connect. To be able to call him. The son of David. It was based on the prophecies. That the Messiah. Among other things.

Would heal the blind. And so in this desperate situation. Outside of a relationship with God. This man. Is crying out. Jesus.

Son of David. Have mercy. And he believed. That Jesus would do it. This one. Could meet his need.

It is exactly. One of the things. The Messiah was prophesied to do. Jesus. Jesus could meet that need. And so he cried out. For mercy. But there were people.

Between him. And Jesus. We don't know who they were. Whoever they were. Who were between. This beggar.

And Jesus. This blind man. And Jesus. They began to rebuke him. And tell him. To be silent. Now it doesn't say. Exactly why. They were telling him. To be silent. Maybe they thought.

Jesus couldn't be. Bothered by the. Undeserving. Of society. Maybe they thought. We can't. Keep Jesus. From going to Jerusalem. He's going now.

We can't stop. Maybe they didn't want. Jesus to be interrupted. Maybe he was teaching something. And it was really good. You know. Sit on the edge of your seat. Can't wait till he gets to.

To the main point of this. I'm just eating this up. No. Stop. Stop asking him. We've. He's. He's walking in his teaching. Which would have been. Normal for him. This man had a need.

And this man knew. That he fit in a position. Where his need could be met. And he knew. That he fit in a situation. Because Jesus was the.

Meter of that need. And all he had to do. Was get Jesus's attention. And ask for mercy. And he would not be deterred. So instead of.

Jesus son of David. Have mercy on me. And I can picture people. Even maybe even wrestling. And so they're. Jesus son of David. Have mercy on me.

And they continue to. Quiet. Quiet. And louder. And the cries kept coming. He wouldn't stop. He had a need. And there's only one person. Person in the universe.

Who could meet that need. And he wanted it. And he was asking for it. And so he shouted louder. And he continued to shout. And he would shout.

Until his need was met. His need was great. And he needed mercy. But he knew that Jesus. Was the one who could give it. And in response to this man's cry for mercy.

Jesus stopped. You ever been busy. And you have one thing on your mind. And it's not.

It's not about going and sitting under the shade. With an iced tea. You're thinking about the pressure. Of all the things that got to go on. Before this thing happens.

And you're dreading that thing. With all your might. And you know how bad. That thing is going to be. And you're going on.

Because it's your responsibility. You're going to your job. You're going to do your job. And you're not going to let anything get in the way. How hard would it be for Jesus. To stop.

Well it wasn't hard at all. But you get me busy. You get me under pressure. You get me facing something. That I'm not looking forward to doing.

And I don't want to be bothered. I want to go where I'm going. I want to get done what I got to get done. But Jesus stops. And he commands the man to come to him.

And he says to the man. What do you want me to do for you? He's cried out for mercy. Jesus knows he wants mercy.

And I think you don't watch a blind man walk up to you without realizing his number one need. This man was to ask for it.

This man was to say it out of his own mouth. And Jesus says, What do you want me to do for you? And this man does not reply.

Jesus, I thank you that I'm not like other men. Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week. And I give tithes of all that I get.

He doesn't answer that way. He doesn't try to impress Jesus to get the one thing that he wants. And he doesn't answer, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

I've kept the law. What do I need yet? I've kept them for my youth. No. This man doesn't come to Jesus this way.

He knows he needs mercy. He knows he has nothing to offer for it. He has nothing to trade for it. He has no basis of himself in which to come to him for this.

He comes based on the prophecies that he knows. He comes based on the character of the God he serves. The God of Micah 7, 18 and 19.

He comes asking for mercy. Lord, that my sight would be recovered. That's the mercy he desired from Jesus.

And Jesus met his need. Jesus delights to show mercy. This man didn't have to argue further.

This man had gotten Jesus' attention. This man had told Jesus what he wants. Jesus' mercy to those who know they need mercy and look to him in faith.

To the sinful woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed his feet, and anointed his feet with oil.

He said to that woman, your faith has saved you. Go in peace. To the woman with the issue of blood, who said, if I can just touch the hem of his garment, I will be made whole.

He said to her daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. To the tax collector who said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

He said, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

This blind man was shown mercy because Jesus is overflowing with mercy. Jesus is wanting.

He delights to show mercy. This man received mercy because of his faith. He believed who Jesus was, and he trusted that Jesus would do what he said he would do.

He believed that Jesus would do the things that he as Messiah said himself that he would do. This man believed what Jesus said, even though it was written in the Old Testament.

But it was repeated by him in Luke 4. He believed what Jesus said. He cried out to God for mercy and believed what Jesus said.

That's the writer of the book of Hebrews makes the same point in Hebrews 11, 6. But without faith, it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

And then the writer of the book of Hebrews goes and lists a half a chapter. It's a long chapter. A half a chapter full of people who received mercy because they trusted in this God.

Who delights to show mercy. So Jesus turns to this man and says, Your faith has made you well. Now the interesting thing is, that word made you well can be described two ways.

And most often, if you know any Greek, my pronunciation may not be great. It's the word sozo. Sozo. And if you know anything about that, that's the word for salvation.

Now sometimes, most times it's translated salvation. Sometimes it means just made well or whole. That word, Your faith has saved you, Was said of the sinful woman.

In Luke 7, 50. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. It's said of the man we'll see in the next, The first paragraph of chapter 19 of Zacchaeus.

Your faith has saved you. In neither place did we hear of any physical issue healed.

So how you say, Pastor, this man was blind. Why do you think that his faith didn't just give him sight? I think it gave him salvation because of the way he reacted.

I think because he believed he received physical healing and was saved. Now this is tradition. You can't go a lot on this. Some say the reason that Mark reveals this man's name is Bartimaeus.

Son of Timnas is what his name means. That Mark reveals this man's name because those in Jerusalem knew him as a man who was saved at this point and was known to faithfully serve Jesus in Jerusalem for all his life.

Now that's tradition. We can't put any stock in tradition. We don't have real evidence. But the response to Jesus' healing, I think, is evidence that he was saved.

He gave the proper response to mercy. It says in Luke 18.28 that he followed Jesus.

He went with Jesus. He did what Jesus instructed. He didn't become one of the twelve, but he became one of the disciples, it appears. He did what Jesus instructed.

Question. You who claim to be Christians, do you follow Christ? In Matthew 28.19 and 20, Jesus does not say, go out and get people to pray a prayer.

Sign a card. Repeat these verses. Go into all the nations and make disciples. You claim to know Christ.

Do you follow him? Do you obey him? This man's second response was to glorify God.

I mean, I'd be shouting if I was blind and now I could see. I think if it was just his blindness, he would have shouted and went home.

But he shouted and followed Jesus. when you are shown mercy, the natural reaction is to glorify God.

Speak of who he is and what he's done. Christian, do you glorify God for who he is and what he's done? Do you tell others of what he's done for you?

Do you gather with his people to worship him? There are a lot of people who claim to be Christians who don't feel the need to join with God's people and sing God's praise.

This man did. This man did. I'm going to step to a touchy application.

Many don't see the importance of being gathered to hear God call us to worship. I want to encourage you. If God's been merciful to you, join with God's people in giving praise to him.

And set it in your mind to give him the kind of praise he deserves. Have you received mercy? Is God not worthy of your earnest praise?

Why do you think it's a light thing to consistently miss the opportunity to sing God's praise, to respond to his call to worship? This man's reaction showed that he was not only his sight was recovered, but his heart was changed.

And those who saw what this man had just gone through, that he was healed and changed, glorify God. How does the world react to your life?

Would they see your faith? See you glorifying God? If they did, how would they react? Would they be glad for the way God had changed a sinner?

Would they give glory to him? Christian, in your need, how do you approach God? Do you see him for who he is? Do you believe that he can and will meet your needs?

Do you approach him as one in need of mercy? Oh, I don't have any merit on my own. He has to show me mercy or I won't have my need met.

Is that the attitude that you come to Christ with in your everyday life? Do you come to him for your needs? Or do you let discouragement stop you?

Do you let the ridicule of others stop you? Cry out to him for your need. Oh, but I cried out to him for my need X number of years ago when I trusted Christ as Savior.

Yes. Do you still have need? Are you able to fill that need on your own? Do you have the power to fill your own spiritual needs?

then you ought to be saying Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me and not be stopped by your own tiredness, by your own sinfulness or anything like that.

Not be stopped by the crowd. Not be stopped by what your neighbor thinks or anyone else. Come to Christ. Cry out to him for your need. Go to him crying for mercy. Believe that he will answer you.

Believe that he will answer your cry for mercy. Be sure to follow him and glorify him all your days. Friend, if you're here and don't know Christ, I hope you see the God that's here.

This man didn't have to twist Jesus' arm at all. Jesus was delighted to show him mercy. mercy. You may have great needs.

But if you don't know that your sins are paid for, you need a Savior. If you see that you're a sinner and that there's nothing you can do to fix your situation, you're ready to cry out to Jesus for mercy.

And so, if you're in that situation, cry out to Jesus for mercy. the rich ruler wasn't ready. The Pharisee wasn't ready.

The tax collector was. The sinful woman was. The blind man was. Why? Because they knew they had a need they couldn't meet on their own.

Jesus was the only one who could meet it, and they cried out to him. If you're here and don't know what you're going to do because of your sins when it comes to the end of your life, cry out for mercy.

It's the reason he was on the road not to Jericho, but to Jerusalem. He was on that road to show mercy to all who will cry out to him because he will give his life to pay for the sins of his people.

He will give himself so that the father is satisfied. Not only satisfied, pleased because, pleased because he will offer up his own righteousness so that you can not only have your sins paid for, but he will, God will be able to be as pleased with you as he was with his son because when God looks at people who have cried out for mercy and have trusted Christ as Savior, he does not see our weakness, he does not see our frailty.

Sure he sees it and can minister, but in the legal standing, he sees you as beautiful as his son. He was going to Jerusalem for that.

If you need that, cry out for mercy. Tell him you need payment of your sins. Lord Jesus, have mercy and as he called you close, what would you have that I do for you?

I'm a sinner. I need a Savior. Call out to him. Trust him. And he will be that merciful Savior to you that you need.

Let's pray. Thank you, Father, for your word. I pray that you would be with us. Father, open our eyes to show where we are people who fail to see our helplessness.

Open our eyes to be people where we fail to see that we need mercy. And Lord, make us to be people, your people, who cry out to you. It wasn't a once and done thing.

And then Lord, help us to respond as this man did, following you all of our days and glorifying you. And Lord, if there's one here who's beginning to understand the weight of carrying sins that are not paid for, I pray that you would help them to see that as Jesus walked this road to Jerusalem, he was going to pay for those sins and I pray that they would call out to you asking for mercy and that you would meet that need in Jesus' name.

Amen.