Luke 18:31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
Perhaps you have seen the video. It is what we call a viral video. It is the video of a child, perhaps eleven months old, who is nearly blind and is given a pair of glasses. All of a sudden she can see the world for the first time, including her mother. It is a moving video. You can see a blank look that changes into a startled expression, which changes into recognition and then into sheer joy. Without a word there are a series of emotions that pass across the face of that child as she can see her mother for the first time.
Imagine what the video would be like if this happened after decades of blindness. We read a story very much like this starting in Luke 18:35. The Bible tells about a blind man who sat by the side of the highway begging. He was begging because that was the only occupation available to such a person at that time.
Verse 36 begins with the two words, “And hearing.” That is what the Bible emphasizes because that is what this man could do. He could hear the multitude, but he could not see them. He could hear Jesus, but he could not see Jesus. Twice he cried out to Jesus, “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.” He recognized that Jesus was the Messiah.
People told the blind man to be quiet, but he would not be quiet. He was singularly possessed with the need to see. Jesus calls him graciously over and asks, “What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?” What did he want specifically? Well, he had already said what he wanted. He wanted mercy. Now we all need mercy, but the kind of mercy he needed was sight. The Bible tells us that Jesus gave just that. Jesus said, “Receive thy sight.”
That is a wonderful story, but it is not the first story of the blind in this chapter. In fact, the previous story, two verses in length, is a similar story though you might not think so at first. Verse 31 says, “Then he [Jesus] took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold.” “Behold” means “see” or “look.” Jesus is giving a command. He says, “Look! I want you to see this.” He continues, “We go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.”
One would think that this did not sneak up on the disciples. For seven hundred years the prophets had prophesied of this One, Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus indicates briefly what would become of Him in Jerusalem, but verse 34 says, “And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things that were spoken.” Notice the words “none,” “hid,” and “knew.” I am reminded by reading these two stories coupled together that it is God who gives the power to see.
Today, you may have 20/20 vision as to your eyes, but do you have that when it comes to your perception of life. The blind man stood right before Jesus, yet he could not see Jesus. And likewise, the disciples, good men who loved the Lord Jesus, stood right before him and they did not see Him or understand.
Friend, sometimes we know what it is that we do not understand. Maybe we don’t understand a circumstance in life, a rule under which we are laboring, or a relationship, and we know that we need to ask God for sight about that. But other times, we don’t even know what it is we don’t know. A blind person does not see what it is that he does not see. The blind man could not say, “Lord, help me to see that tree over there,” because he did not know there was a tree over there.
Whether or not you know what it is that you do not know, we need to look to God. This means we need to ask, just as the blind beggar did. This indicates humility.
One of the good things about the bad circumstances in which this blind beggar found himself is that being a blind beggar demands honesty. A beggar knows he needs something he does not have. On the other hand, if one is wealthy and virtuous, that becomes difficult. If you think you know everything, you are not as apt to ask the Lord for light.
Let me urge you today to ask God to help you see what it is that you do not see, and have the humility to ask as you should. One of the first prayers I pray every morning is, “Lord, help me to see what you want me to see today.” I don’t know what it is that I need to see, but I know the One Who knows what it is that I need to see. When I ask Him, He shows me.
Whatever it is today in life, remember that God gives the power to see to those who ask and have the humility to accept the answer.