Luke 18:34 And they understood none of these things, and this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know what was being said. 35 And as He drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man was sitting by the road, begging. 38 And he shouted, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! 39 And those going before rebuked him so that he would be silent, but he cried out much more, Son of David, have mercy on me! 40 And Jesus, standing still, commanded that he be led to Him. And when he drew near, He questioned him, 41 What do you want Me to do for you? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight! 42 And Jesus said to him, Receive your sight; your faith has healed you. 43 And instantly he received his sight and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, seeing it, gave praise to God
[Part 1 of 2] Why were the disciples not able to grasp the Lord's word concerning His death and resurrection? The reason for their inability to understand was that they were altogether in another kingdom, in their own kingdom. Because they were in their own kingdom, they did not have a heart for the things of the kingdom of God. The Lord's unveiling of His death and resurrection the third time is related to the healing of the blind man near Jericho. Actually, the Lord's disciples were blind and in need of healing. They could not understand what the Lord was saying about His death and resurrection, because they were lacking in perception and insight. Therefore, following the third unveiling of the Lord's death and resurrection, we have the case of the healing of a blind man. After the Lord unveiled His death and resurrection to the twelve for the third time, they were still blind. Hence, they were represented by the blind man near Jericho. The Lord's healing of the blind man signifies His dealing with the blindness of the twelve disciples. The burden in Luke's spirit in this part of chapter eighteen was to show us that all the Lord's followers, even His twelve chosen ones, were blind. The Pharisees were not the only ones who were not able to see the spiritual reality of the kingdom of God. We may say that the twelve were foremost in lacking this ability. Three of them--Peter, James, and John--were with the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. Although they saw so much on the mountain, actually, in a spiritual sense, they did not see anything at all, for they were blind. Therefore, the man near Jericho was not the only one who was blind. All those around the Lord also were blind. [Continued tomorrow]
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 362-363. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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