Salvation of the Sightless and the Shortness

One does not want to have a blind person driving a taxi with you as their passenger. Likewise, one doesn’t want someone who is 4’ 11” playing center for the Boston Celtics. In each scenario, there is a severe handicap, sightless and shortness, that can lead to death or a major defeat. When we get into a taxi, we want and expect the driver to be able to see and to be alert to their surroundings. That way, we will get to our destination safely. When in the playoffs in the NBA, we feel much more confident if there is a center that is at least 6’ 9” or more playing for the Celtics. That way, we would have a good chance of being victorious.

Today, we’ll meet two sinners—one who is sightless and the other who has shortness. Both are handicapped . Yet, both represent many people in our world today. We can see how many are so blinded by the teachings of this world’s system or even by their own sense of self-righteousness that they are unable to see what Jesus has to offer them. We have many people who may have been kept down by everything else that rises above them that they are willing to do whatever they can to try and get a glimpse of Jesus. And all can rejoice when Jesus says, come.

As we go through our text today, we’ll see that both of these individuals had an understanding of Who Jesus was and that He was the One Who could provide what they were needing so desperately. Plus, they both, upon hearing that Jesus was nearby, sought Him out. In addition, both of these men were looked down upon by the culture surrounding them.

Luke 18:35–19:10 NASB95

As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God. He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

So, take your Bibles now and open them to where we’ll begin shortly.

Luke 18:35–43 NASB95

In most police departments, the motto is to Serve and Protect. Even as we continue to pray for the family of the slain police officer, we understand that all peace officers, or at least the vast majority, have that motto on their mind at all times. May I suggest that a great motto for the Christian ought to be:

To seek the Lost and Point them to the Savior.

Before we dig into the text, we want to briefly look at the first part of verse 35 and the first part of 19:1. Jesus is still on His way to Jerusalem where in a few days, He will suffer and die for the sins of humanity. On the way, Jesus is passing through Jericho. As we look at the parallel accounts in the other Gospels, there appears to be a disparity. The other Gospels speak of Jesus leaving Jericho, whereas Luke speaks of Jesus approaching Jericho. One explanation is that Jesus was leaving old Jericho and was entering into the New Jericho. The old Jericho had been left in ruins centuries earlier. This is what is known from the Old Testament when Joshua led the brass battle. The New Jericho is what is often referred to as the New Testament Jericho. I do not know that this is why there is a difference; but it does seem to make sense. However, it doesn’t change the essence of what we’re going to be studying today.

We’ll be looking at two different situations, with some subpoints in each one. The first situation, I refer to as “From Blind to Believing.” The second scenario, I refer to as “From Shortness of Stature to a Sanctified Soul.”

From Blind to Believing - 18:35-43

As we look into the first scenario, based upon parallel passages, there were two blind men. So, from them, we can assume this man is Bartimaeus. And as we study this more carefully, we will hopefully be reminded that regardless of a person’s physical condition or their socio-economic position, Jesus came to seek and save those who were lost. In our world, it is easy to overlook or even ignore those who may seem less than desirable physically or those who seemingly have nothing to offer culturally or financially. However, if our example is to be found in Jesus, we must seek after them and point them to Jesus Who desires to provide salvation.

The Request - 18:35-39

This blind man would have been out there by the road begging on a daily basis. Blindness was quite common in that area in that time. The community would look down on them and avoid them, causing them to be forced to beg in order to survive. One reason might be that it was commonly considered that blindness was because they were being judged by God for some sin. Yet, today seemed a lot different than usual. This blind man was hearing a crowd, which would have been unusual. Except for the fact that a crowd would be heading toward Jerusalem for the celebration of Passover. Yet, something different was happening. So, he asked the passersby what was happening.

Even though he was blind, his ears heard the most wonderful answer that ever could have been pronounced: Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. Jesus was different than all the other religious leaders. Jesus had been doing things that only God could do. People had been healed from all around. This blind man, Bartimaeus, knew that this was his golden opportunity for something amazing to happen.

So, in verse 38, he cried out for mercy. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! In fact, Matthew uses a form of a Greek word which literally means to scream. Bartimaeus also calls Jesus, Son of David. I believe this is quite significant in that this title refers to Jesus as being an heir to David’s throne, as the Messiah. I believe that this could be understood as a statement of faith that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

Those in the front of the crowd probably felt that he was making an inappropriate scene and disturbance. They were doing all they could to silence him, trying to hush him. It was as if they were in charge of keeping everything orderly. Of course, this caused him to beg and plead all the more: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Again, we must understand that salvation or anything from God is dependent upon His grace and mercy. If it was merely for visual healing, he may have been silenced. But his eternal soul was at stake, here. John MacArthur so eloquently states, His heart had seen the light before his eyes did.

What would Jesus do about this blind man?

The Response - 18:40-42

My dear friends, please note that Jesus did what he had always done and will always do. He deals with the person who cries out to Him seeking mercy. If you want Jesus to have mercy on you, I can promise you that if you cry out to Him, seeking His mercy, Jesus will forgive your sins, and give you eternal life. Here, Jesus stopped and gave instructions that this blind man be brought to Him.

Jesus was not ignorant as to the need of this blind man. Yet, He asked him specifically What do you want Me to do for you? Imagine that! The King of the Universe, the Son of God, is offering to do something for this blind man. This must have been humbling for the blind man. Nobody had probably ever offered any help to him previously; especially not the religious leaders. However, he spoke precisely what his desire was: Lord, I want to regain my sight! The Greek word for Lord comes from kurios, which shows that Bartimaeus knew full well that this is God, the One Who can perform miracles, the sovereign Lord, the One who can bestow grace and mercy.

Then Jesus restores this fellow’s vision. This confirms once again that Jesus is God. And he states that your faith has made you well. This was not as a result of the amount of faith the man had. In fact, the word for well has nothing to do with the eyesight. If it did, the Greek word would have been iaomai. Instead, the Greek word used is sozo. The is the New Testament word used throughout to refer to someone being saved as in experiencing salvation.

The request was that Jesus would have mercy on this blind man. The response was that Jesus stopped, listened, and provided healing. But it didn’t end there.

The Result - 18:43

The vision was immediately and instantaneously and completely restored. Bartimaeus didn’t just go home, but instead began following Him, glorifying God. This is further proof that Bartimaeus had experienced salvation. We also must let the whole world know of the mercy of God.

In addition, we see something which is usually seen when the glory goes to God: when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God. Now what did all the people see? They saw a blind man who had been begging, now having his sight restored and joining the group. What did Jesus see? He saw a man who was spiritually blind, but now believing with the eyes of faith.

Let’s go on to our next character in chapter 19.

From Shortness of Stature to a Sanctified Soul - 19:1-10

This individual, by the name of Zaccheus, was a person who was looked down on for a variety of reason. Society, as a whole, saw him as scum, worse even than a pagan. Yet, we know that Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost. When we are presented with what we might consider a low-life person, our calling also ought to be to seek out the lost and present Jesus to them Who desires to save their souls. Let’s look at this scene.

The Seeking Sinner - 19:1-4

We could probably describe Zaccheus as a short, sleazy, stealing sinner. As a chief tax collector, he would have had many people under his authority. He would also have been an incredibly wealthy individual. He was, for all practical purposes, the head of the local region’s IRS. His picture was probably on every Jew’s dart board, for he was one of them but had chosen to serve the oppressive Romans to take from them what Rome required and whatever he may have required on top of it. He could have been the role model for the Grinch, as far as other Jews would see him.

Yet, something must have stirred within him, for verse 3 shows us that he was wanting to see about this Jesus who was coming. Yet, for all his money, he was unable to do so. He was short physically, as well. Yet, he didn’t allow his dignity to overrule his desire. For he went farther ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him. That’s pretty creative and ingenius.

Here’s something else to think about when looking at Zaccheus. All tax collectors were forbidden to go into the synagogue, thus cut off from Jewish religious life. They were also considered unclean, which kept them out of any social settings except their own.

Well, it seems as if this sinner, Zaccheus, is actually seeking Jesus. But what will become of it?

The Seeking Savior - 19:5-7

Again, Jesus knew what the Father’s will was and what was to be done. It was to seek out and save those who were lost. John MacArthur elaborates: That man, in the midst of a massive crowd, had a divine appointment with the seeking, saving Lord. Jesus located him, called him by name, and pursued him to salvation. When Jesus arrived, He looked up and told Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house. How amazing that must have been! They had never met personally. Yet, Jesus engaged him personally. After all, the other Jewish rabbis would never have done this. He was a true lowlife to the rest of the Jewish community. Yet, Jesus just invited Himself to Zaccheus’ house to spend time with him. So, he wasted no time and scampered down to the ground and received Him gladly. Jesus was very intentional in going to the turf of an unclean individual because His purpose was to seek and to save the lost.

The crowd which had been with Jesus proceeded to pronounce their disapproval and prejudice. He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. By their comment of him being the guest, strongly suggests that Jesus was going to stay overnight. Let me interject something here. If someone who is not a follower of Christ, or someone who the whole community may think of as a real lowlife invited you to spend time with them; do it. You’ve got something amazing and incredible to tell them. If we are to be like Jesus, doesn’t it make sense that we ought to be seeking the lost so as to present them with Jesus who is seeking to save their eternal souls? I want to be, and I’m sure you do, as well, like Jesus and not like those religious leaders who were definitely not going to heaven.

Or, I could be wrong; maybe those grumbling folks are right. Maybe, it’s an absolute waste of time. I don’t think so, based upon what the next few verses show us.

The Sought for Salvation - 19:8-10

R.C. Sproul states: Here, in capsule form, is a bold and moving confession of sin, an act of repentance and a confession of faith, by Zaccheus.

We don’t have it neatly spelled out for us that Jesus shared the four spiritual laws or even told Zaccheus that he was hell-bound. However, we see in verse 8, a brand new heart attitude. How do we know that? Remember the description I gave earlier: a short, sleazy, stealing sinner. Well, his physical height will not change. Remember how he could have been the poster boy for the Grinch? If the Grinch’s heart grew 3 sizes one day as his hardness melted away, Zaccheus beats that completely. For he experienced a brand new heart that would abhor the old Zaccheus. In fact, Zaccheus stopped or took a stand; then called Jesus Lord.

Zaccheus realized that because he was a new man, he would give half of his wealth to those who were poor and needy. Because he was a changed person because of Jesus, he wanted to make things right with those he had wronged. But it wasn’t just to give them back what he’d defrauded them. He was willing to give four times what he had taken back to them. My friends, that is what a saved person is like. They no longer hold on to the things of the past. There is a new desire to do what pleases God in all areas. But how do we know this wasn’t just because of a euphoria about having Jesus take notice of him and wanting to spend time with him?

For all the wealth, Zaccheus had, he realized that because he was a new man, he would give half of it to those who were poor and need. Because he was a changed person because of Jesus, he wanted to make things right with those he had wronged. But it wasn’t just to give them back what he’d defrauded them. He was willing to give four times what he had taken back to them. My friends, that is what a saved person is like. They no longer hold on to the things of the past. There is a desire to do what pleases God in all areas. But how do we know this wasn’t just because of a euphoria about having Jesus take notice of him and want to spend time with him?

Here, in capsule form, is a bold and moving confession of sin, an act of repentance and a confession of faith, by Zaccheus.

Jesus, Himself, explains it in verse 9. Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For all practical purposes, Zaccheus would have previously been on the short end of the spiritual stick. He would have been seen as a traitor to the Jews, not deserving any recognition as a son of Abraham. Jesus clarifies that this is no longer the case. Zaccheus is showing what it looks like when a person is saved by faith. Look also at verse 10: For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Zaccheus’ life had been completely transformed.

Scripture is silent about the future of Zaccheus, but church history is not. The Bishop of Alexandria, Clement, whose writings exist to this day, mentions in one of his homilies that Zaccheus continued faithfully in the growth and nurture of the Lord, and served Christ to the end of his life with distinction, being elevated ultimately to the role of bishop of Caesarea. So this little man, who climbed the tree to see Jesus, left the lucrative money-changing tables at the cross-roads leading to Jerusalem, and became a spiritual leader in the church.

Summary

Isn’t this what God calls us to do in Christ Jesus? To seek out the lost, going into the highways and byways, and then point them to the only One Who can save them from their sin, Jesus Christ.

There are people like these two all over the world. They may fit into the most healthy, beautiful people on the planet, but are totally blinded to the fact that they are dead in their sins. They may be some of the most wealthy and powerful people on the planet, yet be totally oblivious to the reality that they will come up short of the glory of God. They may also be some of the most physically unable and financially poor people on this planet, and still choose to mope in their plight and refuse to look. However, we have been told to go to the ends of the earth. We’ve been told to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ everywhere. Now folks, I’m not suggesting you need to go to the ends of the earth; just go somewhere. Go next door. Go to the stock person in the store. Go to a family member that you might rather avoid. Go to that annoying neighbor. Seek out the lost and point them to the Savior.

What happened to the blind man can happen to anyone who throws themself at the mercy of Jesus.

What happened to Zaccheus can happen to anybody who will surrender in faith and trust to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The calling of every peace officer is to serve and protect. An even greater calling for every Christian is to To seek the Lost and Point them to the Savior.

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