After my series on the parables, I found I was drawn to look into the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels. I have never studies the mighty works of Jesus as a focused effort before and am looking forward to finding nuggets of truth that we can be encouraged by.

I have provided a general introduction, with an opportunity to download two files for your reference in my initial post Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus – Introduction. I found that the format I used for the parable posts were useful to keep me on track, and will continue to use them for this series, with some minor tweaks. With that said, let’s take a look at

Jesus Restores Sight to a Blind Man

Luke 18:35-43

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?” 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.

General Observations

Jericho, Jesus and blind men. There seems to be a bit of confusion, at least on my part about how many men were healed of blindness when Jesus was near Jericho. You see, there are three accounts in the gospels about blind men receiving thier sight from Jesus near the city of Jericho. Two of the accounts (Matthew and Mark) seem to be of Jesus healing a single begger by the name of Bartimaeus as He leaves Jericho. Luke’s account of Jesus healing a blind man as He entered the city of Jericho will be discussed in this post.

Note the differences in each gospel account.

Matthew 20:30-34	Mark 10:46-52	Luke 18:35-43
Two Blind Men	One Blind Man	One Blind Man
No names given	Named – Bartimaeus	No name given
Not defined – two men sitting by the roadside	A beggar	In the act of begging
Healed as Jesus left Jericho	Healed as Jesus left Jericho	Healed as Jesus entered Jericho

Both instances of healing provide the Lord performing that which no other prophet of God had ever done in the history of the Old Testament. Granted, there are some similarities, such as both instances, the blind cried out for healing twice, and in both instances, the blind were rebuked of the crowd. Of course, in both instances miracles were performed by the Lord, and He was referred to as Son of David.

In my mind, I see these as two separate instances of Jesus performing His Messianic ministry of healing the blind and giving evidence to the leadership of Israel, His disciples and the general popoulation of His identity

Questions to Consider

Who were the audience?

The audience in the healing of the blind man as Jesus entered Jericho was of course “the crowd”, His disciples and the blind man himself.

When did the Lord perform this mighty work?

See https://www.bibletimelines.net/timelines/jesus-ministry

Where did the Lord perform this mighty work?

See Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus – Introduction for downloadable reference file.

Why did the Lord perform this mighty work?

Notice that the crowd referred to Jesus as of Nazareth, whereas the blind man called out to Him as Jesus Son of David. This change of designation of the Messiah may help us in understanding the thoughts of both the crowd and the blind man, for one was blind and one wasn’t.

Truly Jesus was from Nazareth, though not born there, and His adult life was associated with Nazareth, for that is where Joseph and Mary settled after returning from Egypt with the child. Matthew 2:21-23 speaks of God’s guidance in directing the parents to raise Jesus in Nazareth, and that the Lord’s association with Nazareth stuck. He was Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenters son, from a town that was abhored by the finer Jews. Nazareth was considered a village from which nothing good came (John 1:45-46) , distant from the temple, racially mixed with Samaritans and even Gentiles! What a town!

Yet out of a backwater town of disdain, the blind man called Jesus out as the Son of David. Quite a statement, not only to the Lord Himself, but as a rebuke to the crowd. They assciated Jesus with His worldy, earthly, history whereas the blind man could see that Jesus was much more. He could see that Jesus was the One, the Son of David, who would rule Israel, and the nations.

And Jesus gave this man a blank check. What do you want me to do for you? What an opportunity! Bring in world peace, end all hunger and strife on the earth, a new candy apple red Maserati(?). So many options, yet this blind man who saw who Jesus truly was, requested his sight.

And he got it, due to his faith. And the crowds, when they saw the miracle, gave praise to God.

Yet, has the crowd come to a point where they see Jesus as the Son of David? Something tells me they may still be blind.

What was the message for the original audience?

The message to the blind man was simply life changing, the restoration of sight to a blind man who understood who Jesus is. His position before the Master is seen in his request for mercy, (for he knew he had no rights before the Lord), but he understood that Jesus was a merciful man, the Son of David who was known for His grace to the downtrodden, weak, blind and crippled.

The message for the crowd was, well it was somewhat different, for the next stop on the journey was the city of Jesusalem, and some of the crowd may end up with the disciples facing a week of drama that ultimately ends in “Jesus of Nazareth” hanging on a cross as a criminal. They gave praise to God, yet they seemed to accept this miracle as simply one of many, something to be expected, something that was – oh so ho hum? I may be somewhat exagerating the condition of the crowd, yet if this is the same general crowd that comes out of Jericho and meets more blind men requesting help and healing, thier continued treatment of the blind with disdain, seems to show me that nothing was learned.

What is the message for us today?

How do you see Jesus today?

Is He simply an itinerant preacher from a small town in northern Israel, a man who got caught up in some political turmoil and was a victim of circumstances, eventually being condemned by the Jews and Romans? Is He simply Jesus of Nazareth?

Or is He the Son of David, the One who is reigning over all, providing sight to those who seek Him, understanding to those who look for Him, and life to those who cry out to Him.

Your choice my friend. How do you see Jesus?

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