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As Jesus 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?” 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. (Luke 18:35-43 ESV)
Have you ever been silenced and/or rebuked for seeking the Lord Jesus with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? For seeking after his grace and mercy? For pursuing his love and kindness? For going after his truth and righteousness? For desiring his healing touch upon your life? And by the people in the front? By elders and deacons and pastors of what are called “churches”? This is how I relate this story to my life. Do you identify?
My husband and I had just had a conversation on that topic and then I read this passage of Scripture and immediately I saw how it related to my life and experiences. And I assume that others, like me, have encountered some of the same types of situations which may have discouraged them, but which may not have discouraged them. For they may have continued to pursue the Lord, his truth, and his will for their lives despite those who silenced them.
For we live in a day and age when “the church” at large is very worldly and is following the teachings of man often times over the teachings of the Scriptures taught in full context. Many of them have been trained in following after other men and their marketing schemes for how to grow their “churches” numerically by altering the character of God and of the church and of his gospel to make them more appealing and acceptable to flesh.
So, if you are a seeker of truth and righteousness, who desire the Lord, who want to obey him, who want his healing touch upon your life, you may find yourself in conflict with the marketing schemes and manipulations and tricks that are being used today to “draw in large crowds of people from the world.” And you may find yourself like a fish going against the flow, in the “rare” category, and seemingly all alone on many biblical issues.
And so you may also find yourself being silenced and rebuked for seeking after the Lord and his truth and his righteousness, in earnest, because you do not fit with their marketing schemes for how to “grow their churches.” But I just love the courage of this blind man. He did not let the people “in the front” intimidate him into giving up and running away. He stood his ground and he cried all the more for the Lord to have mercy on him. Love it!!
This is the kind of courage and determination we should all have if we are earnestly seeking the Lord and his touch upon our lives. We should not let the treatment we receive from others and their opinions and their perceptions and beliefs and practices, which they might try to force upon us, hinder our walks of faith. We should not let their abuse, their false judgments, their criticisms, and their hushing of our voices stop us from honoring Jesus with our lives. I admire this man’s determination!
For, you see, this isn’t just a story about Jesus healing a blind man. This story is about a man who was seeking Jesus Christ and his touch upon his life and the opposition that he faced from those “out in front” who wanted to keep him from that relationship with Jesus Christ, who wanted to keep him from being healed, who wanted to put a damper on his faith, to squelch it, to silence him. And this is a story of his courage and determination to keep pursuing the Lord despite those who were trying to silence him.
And because he didn’t give up. And because he would not be silenced. And because of his faith and his courage and his determination to keep calling out to Jesus, Jesus listened to him, and he healed him. Praise the Lord! So we can’t let other people, no matter who they are, determine our destiny for us. We can’t just shut up because they say we must. We must keep speaking the truth, and we must keep calling out to Jesus, and calling for him to heal broken lives and marriages and families, and not give up hope.
We need to keep believing the Lord Jesus for miracles despite what other people do or say. We need to keep believing the Lord in all things and in all situations and even in all the persecutions and opposition that we face along the way. Even in those dark valleys, we need to keep believing the Lord and calling out to him and pursuing him, even when things seem hopeless, and even when we are silenced and rebuked because of our faith in the Lord, and for our earnestness in seeking his face and his truth and righteousness.
For God is not limited by what men do. They have no power over him. So don’t let other people determine your life situation for you. Don’t let them determine for you who you are and who you are to become. Yes, other people can have a certain amount of control over us, depending upon where we live and what those circumstances are, but they can’t determine what is in our hearts and who we are and who we become, by the grace of God. So, we must not let them have that kind of power over us. Love this man’s faith!
Mary, Did You Know?
Songwriters: Greene Lee Rufus / Lowry Mark Alan
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This child that you delivered, will soon deliver you
The blind will see, the deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy
Is heaven's perfect Lamb?
That sleeping child you're
Holding is the great, I Am
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