"A Lone Voice"
March 18, 2017
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. ... (Luke 18:38-39a).
Jesus is approaching Jericho. It's one of His last stops before Jerusalem. Along the road sits a blind man begging. Hearing a loud commotion passing by, he asks what's going on. Someone from the crowd answers, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
Immediately, the beggar begins shouting at the top of his lungs. He knows Jesus is somewhere in that crowd, which is shuffling past him. But unlike the stranger from the crowd he doesn't call Him "Jesus the Nazarene." Instead, he calls him, "Jesus, Son of David." He is convinced that Jesus is the promised Messiah, David's Son.
Jesus indeed is the King marching on to save His people from their enemies. Some in the crowd try to silence the blind man, but he shouts all the louder to get Jesus' attention. That is the character of faith: the more people and circumstances rise up to silence us, the louder we cry for our Lord to be merciful to us.
We might expect Jesus to be so preoccupied with His approaching death that He wouldn't notice a lone voice, crying out to Him in the midst of the clamor of the crowd. But His ears are attuned to cries for mercy from His faithful ones. Now that He has accomplished His mission and won complete forgiveness, we can be confident He hears our cries for mercy and pity too.
The man is blind no longer. He rises and follows Jesus on His way.
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, even as You were journeying toward Your bitter death, Your ears were wide open to the pleas of the blind man. Give me confidence that You hear my prayers for mercy too. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
