The merciful Son of David

Luke 18:35-43

Today we study a story about a person with a disability—a disability that has forced him to resort to begging. That’s probably not very surprising, considering that there were no structures in place such as we have today to assist persons with disabilities.

Nonetheless, we find that this blind man is not afraid to speak up, raise his voice, ask questions, and insist on a response. He first uses his voice to make an inquiry: “Hey, what’s this hubbub about?” The crowd tells him that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.

At this point we notice that, though this man is blind, he has knowledge and insight. He doesn’t merely mimic the crowd when he begins calling out; he doesn’t just shout, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He calls, “Jesus, Son of David.” This man knows who Jesus is.

Interestingly, he doesn’t shout to Jesus about his blindness, but about the need for mercy. He has no name in this narrative. But he has a voice and uses it to express a need and to give a title to Jesus that the people in the crowd do not. He sees Jesus as a source of mercy and compassion, as a person from whom love will flow forth. Jesus is someone who will care enough to address his need.

What would mercy coming from Jesus look like in this situation? Would there be touch? An embrace? Mud applied to the man’s eyes—mud made from Jesus’ spittle as in another Gospel story in John 9:6-7? None of that!

In this case Jesus’ response is just words—words with a significant acknowledgment that this man’s faith was open enough to receive what Jesus had to say: “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” It wasn’t that the man could have healed himself. It was that Jesus had mercy to give and the blind man was open to receiving it.

Spiritual understanding

The story that comes just before today’s text gives an interesting contrast. Jesus is (for the third time) trying to explain to the disciples about his impending death and resurrection. Like us sometimes, these close friends of his just did not get it! They simply didn’t understand, and in a sense, they were blind to what Jesus was trying to convey.

The NRSVue says it clearly in Luke 18:34: “But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” That’s quite a contrast to the man in our story who is blind physically but understands more than the crowd around him. He identifies Jesus as the “Son of David” when the crowd told him only that it’s Jesus from Nazareth.

Fred Craddock, in his commentary on Luke, reminds the reader that Jesus began his ministry announcing he would give sight to the blind (Luke 4:18). He writes, “It is striking that in the story before us, Jesus opens the eyes of a man who can already see. The blind beggar calls Jesus ‘Son of David,’ that is Messiah. In this sense he can see what the crowd around cannot, for the crowd, in its rebuke of him (v. 39) revealed its own blindness” (p. 217).

Craddock also points out that the story is about more than physical healing. “Jesus is hailed as Messiah; the beggar is declared to be ‘well’ (v. 42) or saved. The beggar becomes a disciple; the beggar glorifies God. Thus, it’s a healing story and a salvation story” (p. 217). The praises of the beggar-turned-disciple anticipate Jesus entering Jerusalem, which Luke records in the very next chapter (19:28-40). Here a crowd of people begins praising God and hails Jesus as Messiah. I guess the blind man beat them to it!

To what do our experiences of salvation and healing point? When baptized or joining the Church of the Brethren, we are invited to make a public proclamation of what we believe. We’re asked questions about our commitment to receiving and following Jesus, our Savior. We’re also asked about our intention to leave behind our old life and commit to a new life in the community of faith.

If we make such a commitment as a young person, as is common in some churches, do we have some sense of what it will mean to follow this Jesus, our Savior and healer and reconciler? What meaning do our words have for us in those moments and afterward? And what does it mean for us who listen and observe this ordinance? Do we reflect on our own vows of committing our lives to follow Jesus who heals and who saves?

In Luke and Acts: Turning the World Upside Down, Bucher and Neff note that a healing story is about more than the physical body. They point out that in Luke and Acts we have stories of both Jesus and the early disciples being directly engaged in many kinds of healing ministries. They write, “Healing is more than the curing of disease; it is a return to wholeness within the community and with God” (p. 60).

We know that both in biblical times and in the modern world, illness of body, mind, or spirit can create a barrier to full participation in the human community. Or perhaps it’s the human community that creates the barriers and not the illness. Ponder that for a minute! Bucher and Neff say that “healing is not only physical cure but reconciliation at the deepest parts of our being!” (p. 72).

Wholeness and healing

Encounters with Jesus, the Son of David, the Messiah can truly bring us to reconciliation or healing in very deep ways. I have seen instances of this in my spiritual direction ministry from time to time. A directee comes for a session and brings a long-held emotional or spiritual pain. Through the session that pain may come to a resolution through a deep encounter with Christ. Sometimes that comes about in part through my guidance. But often it is because in retreat time the person had been praying with scripture and had come to a moment of openness. With that openness, Jesus could reach out to touch the person in their very depths.

As a result, there is a sense of peace, greater spiritual freedom, a sense of renewal, a resolution of some struggle, a sense of relief—one or all of those may be present. The person has more energy and is more able to participate fully in life and community. And always there is a deep gratitude for the way they had come to experience Jesus in their life. For me there is a sense of awe in witnessing this transformation of sorts—a rebirth—and I, too, am grateful and give praise to God.

In this healing story in Luke 18, like so many others, we see an immediate response of gratitude. We also notice that the healing prompts an action: the now-sighted man follows Jesus. That seems to be what happens when there is healing and the acknowledgment of healing.

Gratitude and action. I’ve noticed it in the people I’ve accompanied in spiritual direction. Once people have been healed, once they’ve found resolution of the condition that kept them crippled spiritually or psychologically or physically, there’s a sense of release along with energy to engage with the world in a new way. They are no longer bound, but free. Praise God!