FAITH TAKES GOD AT HIS WORD
Luke 18:31–43 (CSB)
31 Then he took the Twelve aside and told them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked, insulted, spit on; 33 and after they flog him, they will kill him, and he will rise on the third day.” 34 They understood none of these things. The meaning of the saying, was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. 35 As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening. 37 “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.
38 So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Then those in front told him to keep quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to him. When he came closer, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see.” 42 “Receive your sight.” Jesus told him. “Your faith has saved you.” 43 Instantly he could see,
and he began to follow him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Dear fellow redeemed: The world in which we live, including many Christian denominations, have this view: God speaks; we will think about it. No doubt Time and Newsweek and the documentary channels on TV will vent their skepticism – their unbelief – again this Lent & Easter season. That’s nothing new: God speaks; we will think about it. The Gospel lesson that we read from Luke is recorded in Matthew and Mark also. All three gospel records relate the same events. First there is Jesus’ clear declaration that He would soon be arrested, killed, and rise again, followed by the blindness of the disciples. Next is the restoration of the blind man’s sight and a completely different view: God speaks; we believe.
FAITH TAKES GOD AT HIS WORD
I. God’s Word Proclaims the Truth
The gospels clearly lay out the absolute validity of God’s word and its claim on absolute truth. Jesus made it clear that Everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked, insulted, spit on; 33 and after they flog him, they will kill him, and he will rise on the third day.” The Bible is in fact the truth. “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17, CSB)
• It is the truth about everything that it foretells in the future.
• It is the truth about everything that it relates about the past.
• It is the truth when it speaks about the nature of man.
• It is the truth when it reveals the hidden things of God.
Jesus was repeating what the prophets had written before: “Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we, in turn, regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.” (Isaiah 53:4–5, CSB) And that is just scratching the surface. The prophets and even the Psalms revealed all that Christ would do to redeem the world.
What they said was TRUE. What Jesus said was TRUE. Nevertheless, it was “unthinkable” to the disciples. Just on an emotional level it was something they didn’t want to hear – their friend, the One whom they hoped would establish a kingdom, would suffer? Die? Then on a theological level – how could God’s will be accomplished through suffering and death? But His words were true, as the angels reminded them later, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. “He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you …? (Luke 24:5–7, CSB) You see then, as God’s creatures we must simply ask, “What does God say? What is written in the Bible?” For it is the truth. It is the truth whether it makes us comfortable or not, whether it makes
sense to us or not, whether it is popular or not. Whatever God says to us in His word is true.
II. Doubt Is Blind to the Truth
The problem is not that God’s word is unclear, or that it is just a matter of opinion. When God has chosen to speak to us, it is clear. Look at what Jesus said here: “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that is
written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked, insulted, spit on; 33 and after they flog him, they will kill him, and he will rise on the third day.” What is unclear about that? But His disciples didn’t believe: 34 They understood none of these things. The meaning of the saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. This wasn’t the first time, after all. It wasn’t that He was unclear! Remember his exchange with Peter when He foretold His death and resurrection? “…Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”” (Mark 8:31–33, CSB) What is showing there is unbelief and doubt. It is no wonder that Jesus rebuked Peter. It is no wonder that on the way to Emmaus Jesus, hidden from His disciples, rebuked them. “He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Wasn’t it
necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:25–27, CSB)
In this week’s Bible class, we talked about the desire in the church to speak what people want to hear rather than the truth. But only the truth brings faith.
III. Faith Sees when Eyes Cannot
And it is faith that we see in the second part of the lesson, 35 As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening. 37 “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him. 38 So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Then those in front told him to keep quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to him. When he came closer, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord,” he said, “I want to see.”
42 “Receive your sight.” Jesus told him. “Your faith has saved you.” 43 Instantly he could see, and he began to follow him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Here we see a man who had believed the reports of who Jesus is. He spoke of Him with the terms one used of the Messiah. 38 So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He kept it up, even when some wanted him to be quiet. But then 40 Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to him. When he came closer, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see.” You can’t miss the irony. Even though the disciples heard the clear word of God, they were blind. Yet this man who was blind heard and believed the word of God, believing that the One before Him is the Son of David whom David himself called “Lord!” He didn’t have a promise of renewed sight until Jesus spoke with him, but then He believed the promise and by faith He received the gift of sight. So how about us, shall we hear the word of God and think about it, or shall we hear the word of God and believe it? I hope the latter! We hear about our own sins, and that’s easy to believe, though the world denies there is such a thing: “Don’t tell me about sin! It’s a sin to say there is such a thing as sin.” The world reeks of faithlessness, greed, hate, violence, envy, dishonest, and all the rest.
But then there is this truth: Your sins are forgiven. The righteousness of Christ is from God and is yours by faith. His death has destroyed death, and life awaits. That means that the time is coming when age becomes meaningless, when there will be no weakness, no sorrow, not pain. The time is coming when justice is done to all who despise Christ and the church. The time is coming when death itself is destroyed. God has spoken; we believe.
Amen
This is most certainly true.