Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see
After reading through today’s text, Luke 18:31-43, and thinking on it all day, the song Amazing Grace kept playing in my mind. The words above sum up the meaning of these verses.
Jesus gathers his disciples and once again tells them about what will happen to him. He explains all that he will have to face and what he will have to go through.
But they didn’t understand any of this. The significance of his words was hidden from them, and they failed to grasp what he was talking about.
Luke 18:34
In a sense, they were blind from what he says is going to happen to him. They did not accept this plan for Jesus.
Luke goes on in this text to tell us that Jesus encounters a blind beggar along the side of the road as he approached Jericho. This man knew of Jesus’ mercy and miraculous healings. The blind beggar could not see Jesus but he used his voice to shout above the crowd and beg Jesus to show him mercy. Jesus asks the man, “What do you want me to do for you? The beggar replies, “Lord, I want to see.”
Jesus heard his plea for mercy and immediately restored the man’s sight. He credit the man’s faith as the source of his healing.
And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.
Luke 18:42-43
Here is the ironic part of today’s text…The disciples had physical sight, but were spiritually blind. But, the beggar was physically blind and had spiritual sight.
Are we like the disciples at this moment and not have the ability to understand that Jesus is who He says He is? Or do we have faith like the blind man and have faith that Jesus is who He says He is?