SON OF MAN, SON OF DAVID
S1> Luke 18:31-43
Key Verse: 18:31 – “Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.’”
We thank God for the gift of sight. We are able to see and appreciate the beauty of God’s creation (people, places, animals, things). We are able to look in the mirror/phone-selfie, and see that beautiful and amazing person staring back at us. We agree it is a blessing to see physically. And it is more blessed for us to see spiritually and appreciate the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ – The Son of Man, The Son of David.
In today’s passage, we find two kinds of blind people. One is a blind beggar. The other was the disciples, who were spiritually blind. When Jesus talked about his suffering, death and resurrection, they did not understand, even though he was telling them for the third time. They failed to see how he would fulfill Scripture as the promised Messiah through his suffering, death and resurrection. Yet this is the essence of the gospel.
Luke uses two titles for the Messiah: Son of Man, and Son of David. These titles reveal the saving truth about Jesus our Savior. Jesus heals the blind, both physically and spiritually. Let us learn what we need in order to experience Jesus The Messiah.
PART 1 – Jesus The Son Of Man (31-34)
[vs.31] – “Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.”
There are many prophecies about the Son of Man in the Old Testament:
S3> He would be born of a woman and crush the serpent’s head (Gen 3:15);
He would carry the government on His shoulders (Isa 9:7);
He would be given authority, glory, and sovereign power in the everlasting kingdom (Dan 7:13-14).
It is easy to accept that these prophecies of victory by the Messiah would be fulfilled. Yes, those prophecies were part of Christ’s ministry.
The prophets also foretold that He would suffer and die. Isaiah prophesied that Christ would be so disfigured by unjust treatment that people would be appalled at him (Isa 52:14), and that he would die for the sins of many (Isa 53:10). These prophecies were misunderstood or ignored by many of Israel’s teachers and also by the disciples, but Jesus said that “everything” must be fulfilled.
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God which He would establish through His suffering, death, and resurrection. This is the core gospel that Jesus wanted His disciples to understand. We must accept the gospel that The Son of Man will suffer to pay for our sins, and He will rise again, giving us hope of eternal life..
Jesus revealed His love and power through His words, and miracles. And He asked S4> the disciples, (Lk.9:20) “Who do you say I am?” Peter said, “You are God’s Messiah.” After Peter’s confession, Jesus explained what He would do as Messiah. Three times, He told them He would suffer and be killed. (Lk.9:22,44, 18:33)
S5> Look at vs.31b-33 – ..everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.
The term ‘Son of Man’ is an expression for Jesus The Messiah. Jesus stated the fact that the Messiah would suffer, be rejected, die and rise again. This is the complete gospel which the disciples and all Bible teachers today need to see, master it, and teach it with faith and confidence, because that is salvation gospel. In 1Cor.15:1-4, S6> Paul reminds us; By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.. that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
But what was the disciples’ reaction?
S7> Vs.34 – The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
The disciples had a hard time accepting Jesus’ teaching because it was so different from their expectation. They wanted a conquering king who would defeat their enemies, provide national security, and grow their economy.
A lot of people are like the disciples; blind to the core gospel of Christ, spiritually blinded by physical expectations and worries about things and blessings Christ can give, but fail to see the beautiful salvation gift that Jesus The Son of Man brings. When we read in the Bible about God’s provision and protection we get excited, but when we read about the suffering Son of God, it looks like a sad story. I want to remind you today that it is a victory story. We have the victory over sin through Jesus Son of Man – Our Messiah. Remember what the elder told John in Revelation 5:5 – S8> “..one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.”
In the past I did not understand the finished work of Christ for me. I only saw Jesus as a superhero warrior that fights all devils around me. One day when I read from Isaiah 53:4-7, I could see Jesus as my Savior, who took my place on the cross and gave me victory. I felt His deep love and mercy through the words in Isa.53:6; ‘We S9> all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.’ and my life was changed and filled with the confidence of salvation.
Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection is precisely God’s will and the fulfillment of everything written in prophecy. Jesus’ suffering and death looked like a failure. But He rose again victorious over satan, sin and death. The same victory He has given to all who believe. Paul wrote, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that S10> in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21).
May our eyes be opened to accept by faith, salvation through Jesus The Son of Man.
PART 2 – “What Do You Want Me To Do For You?” (35-43)
If you are given a blank check, 100% assurance, to write what you want, what would you write? From an economic point, human want is insatiable. That means human wants are so many that we cannot satisfy them all. Hence, economists made a distinction between ‘want’ and ‘need.’ This is one of the strong financial education you can get in life – the ability to differentiate your needs from your wants.
In this section of the message, we would see one man who knew exactly what he needed amongst many possibilities of what to ask from Jesus.
Read Vs.35-37 – As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem began in Luke 9:51, which says, “When the days drew near for him to be taken, he set his face to Jerusalem.” And now Jesus was finally at Jericho, only 15 miles northeast of Jerusalem. Jericho had deep historical meaning to the Jews. 1,400 years earlier, when Joshua and the Israelites entered Canaan to conquer the promised land, they first had to defeat the great and impenetrable walled city of Jericho. Now Jesus, which in Hebrew is Yeshua/Joshua– meaning, “God saves,” was coming with his band of disciples to claim the promised land! How excited the disciples and crowd must have been!
In Jesus’ time, Jericho was no longer a heavily fortified city. It was an oasis, the “City of Palm Trees.” Herod the Great built his winter palace near here because of its warmth and fresh springs. Since Jericho had the rich and powerful visiting often, many beggars stayed along the road because it was a good place to encounter wealthy traders/visitors.
Look at verse 35b. “…a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.” As Jesus approached Jericho, he did not encounter a formidable physical wall. Rather, Jesus, the Savior, encountered a blind beggar. This blind man was known as Bartimaeus (Son of Timaeus) in Mark10:46b. He was unable to see, living in perpetual darkness.
Have you tried to walk around for 2 minutes with your eyes closed? (someone drove with sleepy eyes – dangerous). One Shepherd tried to make a 5 minute walk from his home to the Church building, but he could not complete the mission. When you try walking with closed eyes, you will know how difficult and precarious it is to be blind even for one day. That was the dangerous life this blind man was living in beautiful Jericho city. This blind man could not see all the beautiful creations around him. Especially, he could not see Jesus’ face.
But he could hear and talk at least! So he overcame his despair. With his ears he heard about Jesus. He heard the Word of God which Jesus did everywhere, and he believed strongly that Jesus is The Son of David. Jesus is the powerful King that can do all things, with him there is no impossibilities. Next, with his mouth he asked, and later shouted for Jesus to help him.
Vs.39 – Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
When people tried to stop him, he did not stop crying out; “Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me..” He made loud persistent prayer like the widow in Luke18:1-8. This tells us that in life there are many physical and spiritual obstacles that stand in the way of our salvation/deliverance/healing, etc. We should learn from this man how to overcome obstacles to our deliverance through faith and persistent prayer – Son of Man, Son of David, have mercy on me!
Let us join the blind beggar to sing this hymn as loud as you can:
Hymn346 –
Pass me not O Gentle Savior… hear my humble cry…
while on others Thou art calling… do not pass me by..
Savior!.. Savior!.. Hear my humble cry..
while on others Thou art calling… do not pass me by..
When he heard that Jesus was in town, it felt to him like a blank check opportunity. He was a blind beggar. But he knew what was most important for him. As a human he had many wants of life, but he could differentiate his needs from his many wants. He (the blind man) knew what he wanted.
In vs.41-42, when Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see!” he replied. Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”
There are so many things men want to have. But there are not many people who want to have one thing. We need to come to Jesus with our clear prayer topics and faith that He is Jesus The Everlasting King – The Son of David.
vs.43 – Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
In the past, the blind beggar could not see. But now he could see. This is a blessing! We learn what he did with his new blessing of brand new eyes. As soon as he received his sight he followed Jesus. For some people, God’s blessings become a distraction from spiritual focus. They use God’s blessing as opportunity for indulging in their desire, and blessing then becomes an excuse to be too busy for fellowship and serving God’s mission. For the healed man, the blessing led him into a relationship with Jesus. Though he was a blind beggar, he had all the desires a human being could have had. But he was not directed by sinful human feeling. As soon as he received sight, he followed Jesus, making friends with the other disciples. When we get God’s blessings, we can show more gratitude by our deep relationship with Him.
I thank God for blessing my family with a baby boy – Ezra. It gives me so much joy to be a father. It is like waking from an amazing sweet dream to reality with a blush (like the dawning of a beautiful day). I can finally touch my baby, hold and share some warmth. My wife Shps. Angela is always looking at the baby, so many times in one day, even with her sleepy eyes. Our joy for baby Ezra is so real/tangible.
Right when we welcomed our baby, we also welcomed many fears about our family survival. I always read Psalm 23 – The Lord is my Shepherd – to shift my focus away from my fears.
Like the blind man, fear blinded our eyes, and we could not see the many angels that surround us in the form of brethren with loving hearts and family that God has blessed us with. Everyday we make many loud silent cries to Jesus The Son of David, our Everlasting and Powerful King and Provider. God has been faithful to us beyond what we could have done for ourselves and baby. Ezra means “God is my helper.” Baby Ezra has enjoyed many blessings through many brothers and sisters, family and friends. And we are so grateful. Thank you Church! Thank you family! Through my experience this season, I realized that what we truly need is faith in God. Faith that conquers worries. Faith to see Jesus as the promised Son of David that can do all things.
May God bless us with faith to see and accept the finished work of Jesus Christ The Son of David. Amen.