Latest / HBCWestminster / 10.17.21 Luke 18:31-43 Pastor Sam Porges

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10.17.21 Luke 18:31-43 Pastor Sam Porges · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  On July 24th, in the year 1725, a man was born who would later in life refer to his younger self as the old African blasphemer. This is surprising, considering that he became one of the most famous evangelical clergymen by the year 1800, considering that he was loved and trusted by thousands, that young pastors would flock to be mentored by this man.
• 0:29
  and that his influence in the lives of others literally changed the course of the world. The name of this old African blasphemer turned Christian was John Newton. John was born in London to a faithful Christian mother and an irreligious sailor of a father. His mother died when he was just seven, and because his father was often out to sea, he was left to figure out his early childhood years by himself.
• 1:01
  When he finished primary education, Newton, at age 11, went to spend time with his father out at sea, and he was quickly saturated with the immoral lifestyles of those men aboard. Now, one man writes this. He says, the term cuss like a sailor exists for a reason, and John swiftly learned how to compete with the best of them.
• 1:26
  Although the faith instilled in him by his mother never fully left him, but would raise its head when tragedy struck, or when a friend died, or when danger was close, John gave himself over to all kinds of immorality and even caused others to walk away from God.
• 1:46
  John's father repeatedly put in good words with captains of other ships for John's sake, for his employment, but due to his habitual negligence and rabble-rousing, he was traded to a slave ship called the Greyhound that was headed for the western coast of Africa. Now, before long, John found that he was well established in the slave trade.
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  often doing business at what was called a slave factory on the Plantain Islands, just off the coast of Sierra Leone. During this time, Newton's blasphemies sunk to an even greater depth, much to the shock of the older men who were aboard his ship. On March 21st,
• 2:32
  However, in the year 1748, during the Greyhound's journey from Brazil to Newfoundland, a violent storm threatened to sink the ship. Newton awoke from sleep to find that the first crew member had already been washed away in the raging sea. And after bailing water for hours into the wee hours of the night, John thought his life was surely over. He felt like Jonah.
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  much too sinful not to be thrown overboard. And so he cried out for mercy and uttered the first genuine prayer that he had prayed in years. And God, in his grace, heard John Newton's prayer. And by his grace, John survived the night. But unfortunately, his newfound faith did not find its footing for some time. Later, however,
• 3:30
  After Newton experienced an epileptic seizure, he decidedly turned away from the slave trade, set his heart toward God, and became a pastor. And he would go on to influence countless others for ministry and for missions, including William Wilberforce, which, if you know, William Wilberforce played the foremost role in British Parliament for the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire.
• 3:58
  in the early 1800s. One of Newton's timeless legacies, though, sails down to us on the current of history in the form of a song. In 1722, while reflecting on his earlier years of sin, of blasphemy, John Newton expressed his conversion story with this melody. Amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch.
• 4:32
  like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. Amazing Grace is arguably the most well-known Christian hymn in history, is it not? It is profoundly beautiful, not only because of its rich history with this man, John Newton, but also because it describes the experience of every true Christian. I was blind, but now
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  I see. In our passage this morning, we encounter two blindnesses. The first is a blindness of spirit that results from a lack of understanding, and the second is a physical blindness that displays the great glory of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And so, if you are able, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word. Luke 18, starting in verse 31, it says, And taking the twelve, he said to them,
• 5:45
  See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked, and shamefully treated, and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise. But they understood none of these things. The same was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
• 6:09
  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?
• 6:39
  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. I'm going to borrow a prayer this morning from the Valley of Vision. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, I am blind. Be thou my light.
• 7:16
  ignorant, be thou my wisdom. Self-willed, be thou my mind. Open my ear to grasp quickly thy spirit's voice and delightfully run after his beckoning hand. Melt my conscience that no hardness remain. Make it alive to evil's slightest touch. When Satan approaches, may I flee to thy wounds and there cease to tremble at all alarms.
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  Be my good shepherd to lead me into the green pastures of thy word and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts. Fill me with peace that no disquieting worldly gales may ruffle the calm surface of my soul. Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge. Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean. Thy death occurred to give me a surety. Thy name is my property to save me. By thee all heaven is poured into my heart.
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  but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love. I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel, but thy cross has brought me near, has softened my heart, has made me thy father's child, has admitted me to thy family, has made me joint heir with thyself. Oh, that I may love thee as thou lovest me, that I may walk worthy of thee, my Lord, that I may reflect the image of heaven's firstborn.
• 8:45
  May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye of faith and feel the power of thy spirit in my heart, for unless he move mightily in me, no inward fire will be kindled. Yes, Jesus, that is our prayer. Be in us and with us, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated.
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  So like I said in this morning's passage, we're going to look at blind spirits and blind eyes. Now since Luke chapter 9 verse 51, Jesus has been making his way from the north in Galilee down to Jerusalem for the Passover and for the final week of his life. At this point, he and the crew have made their way down into Perea, which is on the eastern side of the Jordan River, and they're going to cross the Jordan River and start
• 9:38
  their way to Jerusalem through Judea. Now on this route, one of the major cities that you would come across was Jericho, right? That ancient city whose walls fell down before Joshua and the people of God in Joshua chapter six. And so on the way, Jesus speaks a striking prophecy about his future. Look again with me at verse 31. It says, see, we are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written about the son of man by the prophets will be accomplished.
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  For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him. And on the third day, he will rise. I find it so interesting that in Luke's gospel, he places this prophecy immediately after verses 28 to 30 from last week. If you look at those verses, Peter says to Jesus, Lord, look at how much we've given up to follow you.
• 10:39
  Look at the houses and the jobs and the family that we've left to be with you. Look at our sacrifice. It's interesting that immediately after Peter telling Jesus the sacrifice they've made for him, Jesus tells the disciples the sacrifice he's going to make for them. Jesus begins with a reference to the prophets, right? He begins speaking about what have the prophets said about the Son of Man that are going to be accomplished in Jerusalem. And what did the prophets say?
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  For the disciples, they probably initially thought of Daniel chapter 7, verses 13 to 14, where Daniel writes this. He says, I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man. And he came to the ancient of days, that's God, right? And was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
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  His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. The disciples' theology of this Son of Man was deeply rooted in this idea. And so when Jesus says all that the prophets talked about regarding the Son of Man is about to be accomplished, they expected a display of, I mean, shocking omnipotence. They expected vindication for Israel.
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  They expected eschatological judgment and the establishment of geopolitical peace, righteousness, and glory for the sake of Israel. Their expectations, however, were swiftly confused by Jesus because instead of their earthly vision of glory, the Son of Man would be treated, as Jesus says, disloyally, shamefully, unjustly, and that he would be killed.
• 12:41
  Now, the sufferings of this Messiah were well established in the Old Testament. Look at this list of prophecies. Psalm 2 says that the enemies of God would rage against his anointed. Psalm 1610 says God would not abandon his anointed to Sheol or the grave or let him see corruption, right? That's talking about the resurrection. Psalm 22 is quoted by Jesus while he's hanging on the cross. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
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  It says that Jesus would be mocked, tortured, have his hands and feet pierced, and his clothing divided amongst those who cast lots for them. And yet it says that none of his bones would be broken. That's fascinating, right? It's very specific. Psalm 69 verse 21 says that he would be given vinegar to drink. Isaiah 53, which we know well, right, says that this Messiah would be crushed for our iniquities. He would be pierced for our transgressions.
• 13:39
  Zechariah 9.9 says the humble king would come to Jerusalem on a donkey. Zechariah 11.12, he would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. 12.10, Israel would look on the one whom they have pierced and mourn. And then Zechariah 13.7, he would be deserted by his friends. And honestly, on and on and on we could go. Time precludes me from listing out all of the prophecies and all of...
• 14:05
  the images, and all of the foreshadowings of this one who is to come. But church, the extensive and detailed prophetic fulfillment of Jesus's sufferings shows that they were planned and purposeful according to the providential will of God. Jesus on the cross was no accident. In fact, Acts chapter 2 verse 23 says that Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge.
• 14:37
  of God. Jesus knew what was coming. And regarding these prophecies, I will just say this. Skeptics of the Bible have to do something with this. The common way to get around it is to say, well, the Bible was written much, much, much later. But historically, that's just inaccurate. You have to do something with the fact that hundreds of years before these prophecies are ever fulfilled, they are prophesied in detail and fulfilled in detail. It's not these kind of vague prophecies, like things are going to be good, you know? Like,
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  it's like he's gonna come into the city riding on a donkey, and he's gonna be born in Bethlehem, and he's gonna be born of a virgin. Like, you gotta do something with that, right? And when we look at these words of Jesus about what would happen to him, they were indeed fulfilled, weren't they? Was Jesus not handed over to the Romans by the chief priests and the elders? Was he not mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon? Was he not flogged, and then was he not
• 15:41
  killed, and then praise God, was he not raised on the third day. What Jesus says happens. I love it, right? I love it. Jesus omnisciently knew about his pending death and resurrection, and he knew that the glory of God would not be displayed in a hostile takeover of earth for Israel's sake, but rather that the great glory of God will be displayed in his crucifixion.
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  for the world's sake. The cross shows the great glory of God. Look at how John, in his gospel, describes it. John 3, verses 14 to 16 says, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. And then, you know this, for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
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  And then later in John, in chapter 12, verses 24 and 32, Jesus says, This long-awaited salvation and victory.
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  And the display of God's glory is shown in Jesus hanging on the cross. And church, the cross is central to the Christian faith. As one commentator writes, the cross is the primary event in redemptive history and therefore it is the primary event in all of history. The cross alone is the hope for the world because it is the only means of reconciliation between us.
• 17:38
  and God. There is no other way to the Father except by faith in Jesus's cross and resurrection, and it's such good news. Man, it's good news. This is our salvation. This is our justification. This is how poor sinners like us can come back to the Lord and have a relationship and a hope and a future, and our entire eternal destiny is changed. It's through this what Jesus is talking about right here.
• 18:08
  Right? Man, despite this being the third blatant prophecy of Jesus to his disciples, with the other two being in Luke chapter 9, the disciples were blind to it because a suffering Savior was outside of their salvific paradigm. There was no room for that concept in their hearts and their minds. John MacArthur writes this, they were looking for a coronation, not a crucifixion.
• 18:40
  For a Messiah who killed his enemies, not one who was killed by his own people, the idea of a crucified Messiah was an absurdity to them. It was so ridiculous that they could not even comprehend it. You know, I wonder sometimes if we miss out on what God is doing because of our faulty expectations. If we expect God to work according to our timetable, or according to our plan, or if we expect him to work
• 19:16
  how we want him to work, and then we just completely miss him. I wonder if we're blind to that sometimes. You know, God had not yet opened the eyes of these disciples. Notice it says, that saying was hidden from them. They would only get it after the resurrection, but Hyland, the disciples needed the same exact thing that we need, which is the eye-opening
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  Grace of God. They would not get it until God opened their eyes. And the same is true of us. We cannot see. We cannot see what God is doing in the world now unless our eyes are opened because of the gospel and because of God's grace. Our eyes cannot be open to the beauty of Jesus unless the grace of God through the Holy Spirit makes us alive. We need what they needed.
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  Otherwise, we are blind. The disciples had blind spirits. And for this time being, it would remain that way. So Jesus not only addresses their blind spirits, but also, on his way to Jericho, he addresses a physical pair of blind eyes. So we've got blind spirits and blind eyes. Look at verse 35 with me.
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  It says, 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?
• 21:20
  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. And so as Jesus is on his way to Jericho, he's approaching the city with his disciples, and a crowd begins to form around him. I mean, you can imagine the fame of this Nazarene, this miracle worker, had spread. So there's a crowd around him going into
• 21:51
  Jericho, and on the side of this road, there's a blind beggar. And he begins to hear all this commotion, and he knows that this has got to be something more than just your average number of travelers to Jerusalem. So he asks, what's happening? And they tell him, this Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. And he begins to cry out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. This blind man apparently knew of this Jesus and knew that he was more than a mere Nazarene.
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  Undoubtedly, he had longed to meet this miracle worker who could change his life, but he probably did not expect that he would actually ever get to meet Jesus. Just some blind guy sitting on the side of the road in Jericho. He's never going to meet this guy. And then, on this day, all of his dreams come true. He cries out to the Son of David for mercy. Now, that title, Son of David, denotes more than just a mere biological lineage from King David, right?
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  It talks about the one who would fulfill God's covenant promise to David that one of David's greater descendants would sit on his throne and rule over an eternal kingdom. And so for the blind man to shout out, son of David, showed that he understood Jesus to be the promised Messiah, the one who could heal him. I love what one commentator writes about this man. He says, ironically,
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  While many struggle to see who Jesus is, a blind man has full clarity of vision. He knew. He knew, right? He was unlike the rich man from last week's passage who possessed everything and yet possessed nothing. This man possessed nothing and yet cries out for everything. And those at the front of this crowd begin to rebuke him, right? Tell him to move aside. The master's got to be on his way to...
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  the city, but he cries out all the more. I love it. Now, where have we heard this before? Where have we heard of disciples telling others to move out of the way so that Jesus can get about his business? The children, right? In verses 15 to 17 of this chapter. This is just a couple weeks ago. All these parents are sending their kids to Jesus, and the disciples are like, no, no, no, the master doesn't have time, right? And Jesus says, no, no, no, let the little children come to me.
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  You guys, the crowds and Jesus' own disciples misunderstood the mission of Jesus. They didn't get it. It's stated in Luke chapter 19, verse 10, which we're going to study next week. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. And then again, Mark chapter 2, verse 17. Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.
• 24:50
  The very people that the disciples saw as inconveniences were welcomed by Jesus. And I love, this is a beautiful part of this passage. In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, we hear that this guy's name was Bartimaeus. And the name Bartimaeus means son of honor. And in this passage, we see that while the world and the crowds treated him with dishonor, Jesus honors him.
• 25:16
  I mean, you can see, like, the kindness and the care and the consideration of Jesus toward this man. You know, I wonder if there are groups of people that we exclude from our Christian love because maybe we see them as inconvenient. The disciples saw the lowly, right, kids, and then the hurting, this blind man, and told him to get out of the way so that Jesus could keep going on.
• 25:58
  I am afraid that in affluent Westminster, homeless people, people in the LGBTQ plus community, and our political opponents don't experience the love and grace of God because the people of God aren't willing to give it. Like we tell them to get out of the way because, you know, the gospel's got other things to do. As if Jesus didn't come for those very people. As if we aren't those very people. Church, God help us.
• 26:35
  If someone lowly or hurting walks through our doors and we do not welcome them, what are we doing if that's the case? This is all a game. If when someone like that comes in and we can't sit next to them or we don't want to talk to them, we're like the crowds telling this blind man, now be quiet. Stop calling out for mercy, right? The mission of Jesus was to the lowly and the hurting. That's who he cares about. And if we are to be faithful, then we must care about them as well.
• 27:18
  So this crowd seeks to quiet this man, but I love his determination. I love his determination. They're saying, yeah, be quiet, be quiet. And he cries out all the louder above the noise of the crowd, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. He would not let this opportunity slip by. And so Jesus calls him forward and he asks this simple question, what do you want me to do for you? Now, upon first read, it's kind of like,
• 27:46
  What do you think he wants him to do for you? Like he's blind, you know what I'm saying? Like heal him, right? But I think the reason Jesus asked that question is for two things. Number one, he wants the man to publicly verbalize his desire. But then number two, he wants to draw out the faith of this man. And his reply is simple, Lord, let me recover my sight. His need drew him to Jesus. Now, I don't know what it was for you guys.
• 28:16
  what that first thing that drew you to Jesus was. Maybe you just heard the preaching of God's word and you just believed. Maybe there was some sort of addiction in your life that broke you and drove you to the feet of Jesus. Maybe it was relational trouble or mistakes from the past. Do you remember what that was for you? I heard a funny story about why the British Isles accepted the gospels or the gospel, right? Way back when.
• 28:51
  One person writes, the British Isles accepted the gospels for different reasons. The Welsh liked it because they could sing about it. The Irish liked it because they could fight about it. The English liked it because they could talk about it. And the Scottish liked it because it was free. You know, for me, the thing that drew me to Jesus was, I think, my hypocrisy. I grew up in the church. I grew up around the Bible. But I didn't love God.
• 29:28
  When I would think about the cross or about the glory of God, it did nothing. It stirred nothing in my heart. And I knew what the Bible, I knew how the Bible described disciples of Jesus, and I knew that I wasn't one. And so in my teenage years, God just broke me and opened my eyes to the truth so that I could see. And so this man's need drives him to Jesus, and he is met with the kindness of Jesus.
• 30:01
  Jesus responds to his need and heals him with the word instantly. Now, you guys, this was a really, really big deal because opening the eyes of the blind was a miracle that the Old Testament said only the Messiah could do. Before Jesus, no blind person ever had their eyes opened. This, like, this is it, right? And so for Jesus to open this man's eyes is to show everyone, I am the one that is prophesied about.
• 30:30
  If you remember in John chapter 9, where the blind man's eyes are opened, right? And the disciples ask, well, why was he born blind? Was it because of his sin or was it because of his parents' sin? You guys remember that? He says, no, neither. He's born blind so that the glory of God could be shown in him. He heals the guy, and then there's this massive investigation with the religious leaders because they're like, wait, were your eyes actually opened? No one has seen the eyes of the blind open since the creation of the world. This has never happened.
• 31:01
  happened. Who was it? And they say, Jesus. And they're like, yeah, we don't like that, right? So they disbelieve, but they knew too how big of a deal this was. And so not only does Jesus heal his physical blindness, he also commends his faith. He says, your faith has made you well. And church, do we not commend him as well for his determination for his belief? This man threw all of his weight upon the mercy of Jesus, and the mercy of Jesus caught him.
• 31:30
  This passage beautifully shows that cries for God's mercy are met with God's mercy. You think about Israel in slavery in Egypt, and they cry out for deliverance, and what does God do? Sends a deliverer. You think about Israel in the book of Judges, right, in this cycle of sin and repentance, sin and repentance, and every time they repent, what does God do? Sends them a deliverer. You think about evil King Manasseh, who did more evil than all other kings in Israel's history.
• 31:59
  At the end of his life, he cries out for mercy, and what does God give? Mercy. Repentance inclines the ears of God to sinners, and he is quick to give grace. Is that not the best news you could think of? God is quick to give grace, right, where our sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. Not only does Jesus deal with blind spirits, he dealt with blind
• 32:29
  eyes. And this morning, if you are here and you don't know the Lord, God is inviting you to his grace. Seek for mercy and find it in your time of need. Cry out to God and admit that you're blind. Cry out for his mercy and the King of Kings will give it. He will give it. Do you understand that this prophecy about the death of Jesus is for you? This is why he did this.
• 33:02
  He went to the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. He was raised for our justification. All of our life and our hope is in this little prophecy that the disciples were blind to. It is a glorious, glorious truth. And so, if you're here today and you don't know the Lord, God wants you to know him. We'd be happy to talk with you after this service.
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  about the gospel and about Jesus and about what it means to be a part of the church and what it means to live as a disciple of Jesus. So please come up to us. Please. Now for those of us in the room who do know the Lord, do you remember the time in your life when you were blind? When you didn't get it? And where this book meant nothing? And where Jesus was just some distant historical character that you believe may have existed, but he certainly didn't make an impact on your life? Remember when the gospel meant nothing to you?
• 34:00
  And then do you remember seeing for the first time? And all of a sudden your life has meaning and purpose and value, and it's like you're seeing in color for the first time. God makes all things new. Do you remember that? You know, there are many in our world whose blindness goes deeper than their physical eyes. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 says that a veil lies over people's hearts to keep them from seeing.
• 34:32
  The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And Highland, you and I have been commissioned by God to go to the lowly, to go to the blind, to go to the hurting, and to dispense the mercy of the Son of David to them. This is our mission. This is why we are.
• 34:56
  And our hope is that the veil will be removed so that nothing stands between people and God. Is that not our hope? Isn't that what we want? We don't want anything to stand in the way of them and God. Like Jeremiah says, we want many to see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. And we hope that one day many will sing along with us and with our friend John Newton for eternity. Amazing.
• 35:26
  Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. Let's pray. Lord, we are humbled this morning at your grace and yet so glad that you give it freely. God, we admit that we were blind without your grace. We need it.
• 36:11
  not only to be saved, but also to see what you're doing in the world. We don't want to miss out on your mission, God. So open our eyes today. Let us see what you're doing. Bring across our paths the lowly and the hurting and the blind so that we can tell them the best news in the world, which is that Jesus was handed over to the Gentiles, shamefully treated, mocked, spit upon, flogged, and killed so that we wouldn't have to be.
• 36:44
  and that he is risen even today. Let the good news go forth, and I pray that you would bring hurting people here to Highland so that we can show them Jesus. Open our eyes, we pray. In the name of your son, amen.