Jesus Heals A Blind Beggar

Well, thank you, Pastor Milton for that introduction. I appreciate that and Pastor Milton mentioned that it'd be a miracle if he preaches a sermon for about 5 minutes. I think I got him beat this morning. I think I got a 4-minute sermon for you.

So I have a, I have that beat. Congratulations to the Corbetts for their new arrival. We thank God for newborns. That is great.

You may have seen this article in the 2016 September, October edition of The Voice magazine and the title of the article was called Tragedy or Triumph. Tragedy or triumph. And it starts off by saying on a gorgeous Sunday in October, David Minneskki prepared to harvest the corn. David and his family farmed 200 acres.

Working alone, David was not anticipating the tragedy ahead. The oil can fell as he began to oil the chain. With the picker running, he reached to retrieve the fallen can. Suddenly, David's right leg slipped from its position.

The gathering chain grasped his pant leg and began to pull it into the machine. Instinctively, David threw his hands forward to brace himself only to have both arms pulled instead of snapping rolls. His arms and legs were not only trapped but were being pulled further and further into the picker. David's first impulse was to cry out to God for help.

Because of the machine's inability to complete the cycle, the tractor stalled, shutting down the intake of the corn picker. There was silence and no conceivable way to get out of this dilemma. David never lost consciousness as his mind raced to find a solution. His first fear was bleeding to death.

You see, David lived 2 miles from home and nearly 10 mile through the woods from his brother's home. The chances of his brother hearing him were remote. A slight breeze muffled his calls for help. A slow, agonizing hour crept as he wondered when someone would miss him and come looking for him.

Hour after hour passed by. And no one came. David's wife, Pat, enjoyed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that David did not understand, nor did David seek to understand. They had been married almost 40 years.

Pat had been praying for David's salvation for a very long time. David began to cry out to God not only once but twice and over and over again and he said this, if you get me out of this, I will belong to you forever. With each passing moment, his prayer became more fervent and sincere. God in His mercy and grace did not allow David to lose consciousness.

These hours became precious and valuable moments with God. Finally, after calling out, David's brother Dennis and his son-in-law heard his cries for help. God had been long at work in his heart. 30 years of prayer was coming to fruition.

Davi's injuries were severe and limb threatening. Pat and her son Todd waited in the hospital. Todd, 37, had attended church with his mom when he was younger. Now God was making himself known to Todd.

While waiting for surgery. Pat asked David if she could pray with him. He consented and when she finished praying, he responded with amen. Pat realized that God had been working in David's heart and she felt a sense of encouragement.

While in surgery, it didn't look good as far as David's as far as saving David's left arm and his recovery time would be a long time. But one week after the accident, Todd walked through the doors of his mother's church, and he said this to his mother, I am not going to church because of you. I'm going for me. Todd received Christ as his Lord and Savior.

The Sunday prior to Thanksgiving, one month after the accident, the entire Wisniewski family entered Pat's Church. David would then trust Christ as his Lord and Savior. His arm was on the men with a 50% improvement. What a thanksgiving for the Venusskis.

Amen. A miracle, amazing miracle. Keep praying for your loved ones. I invite you, if you have your Bibles to turn with me to Luke chapter 18.

Luke chapter 18 verses 35 to 43, as you see in your outline. And this morning, the way we'll set this sermon up where we will attempt to bring the same story mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke together to witness an amazing account in Jesus' healing ministry. Now before we come to our outline, I need to lay down the groundwork for you in verses 35 to 37, which will serve as our introduction to our outline. It's a long introduction, but it'll serve its purposes this morning.

For instance, read verse 35 with me. This is as Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. So here we see Jesus and his disciples were approaching the city of Jericho on their way to make a six-hour ascent up to Jerusalem. And by the way, this would be Jesus' last journey to Jerusalem.

Jesus was going to Jeru to Jerusalem in order to be God's perfect sacrificial lamb, who would be slain on the cross on Passover day for your sins and also for mine. The city of Jericho is about 15 miles northeast of Jerusalem and about 5 miles from the Jordan River. The Hebrew name Jericho means fragrance because the city was fenced in the midst of a vast grove of palm trees. Jericho is very similar in its climate to the and geography to Southern California and in fact in Judges chapter 1 verse 16, it calls Jericho the city of palms.

And as you read some of the other synoptic gospels that parallel this story you'll see that there could be two supposed contradictions that a staunch critic of the Bible could use to prove that the Bible was not, is not inerrant or reliable, and the first supposed contradiction is right here in verse 35. In Luke chapter 18 verse 35, it says, as Jesus was approaching Jericho. The other gospel account in Matthew chapter 20 verse 29 says Jesus and his disciples are going out of Jericho.

And Mark's Gospel chapter 10 verse 46 says, and they came to Jericho, some of your translations may say that they were leaving Jericho.

Well, according to commentaries, this supposed contradiction is simple to reconcile because there were actually two cities called Jericho, two cities called Jericho. One commentator said this, the Old Testament city of Jericho had been destroyed in the battle of Jericho in Joshua chapter 6 verse 20, but during his rule over Palestine, Herod the Great had rebuilt the city about a half mile south of the original city. So Luke right here in verse 35 was writing about Jesus approaching the rebuilt city of Jericho.

So no contradiction here.

The next supposed contradiction was in a number of men who were in this story. Mark chapter 10 verse 46 in our text this morning mentions that there was only one blind man. Well, turn with me to Matthew chapter 20. In Matthew chapter 20 verse 30, we come to another Number of blind men.

In Matthew chapter 20 verse 30, started with verse 29 and it says, and they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him and two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by and they cried out to Jesus. So Matthew's account tells us that there were two blind men who were sitting by the road. Well, the reason why the other Gospels, Mark and Luke only refer to one of the blind men is because they probably focus on the spokesmen of the two, the more vocal of the two blind men.

And at, at another piece of the puzzle, if you turn with me to Mark chapter 10 verse 46, we'll see another interesting fact that helps us with our story this morning.

In Mark chapter 10 verse 46, it says, and they, Jesus' disciples came to Jericho and as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. His name was Bartimaeus. Bar from the Aramaic language means son. Thus Barnamaeus was a son of Timaeus.

So all three gospels, by the way, leave out the other blind man's name. We don't know who the other blind man was, so there's no contradiction there also. You see, the gospel writers chose to write this story from their own point of view. When this sermon, I will primarily focus on Bartimaeus but may at times mention the two blind men.

But with all that being said and the other information added in, as we come back to Luke chapter 18 verse 35, we could read the verse this way. Bartimaeus and his companion were sitting by the side of the road begging. A blind person who was deemed as a social outcast in the nation of Israel would camp out or stake out near the side of the road. Why?

Why would they do that? Because it gave them more opportunities, more opportunities to be in contact with people in order to support themselves as they begged for money. As we, and we've somewhat experienced that right as we drive off the freeway at the end of the exit ramp, we see people on the freeway at the at the ramp holding up a sign saying please give money or please give me food. You see, blind beggars do not have a welfare system or disability insurance that we have today which provides help for the poor and handicapped.

One commentator said this, beggars were unable to work for a living. Medical help was not available for their problems, and people tended to ignore their obligations to care for the needy, as Leviticus chapter 25 verses 35 to 38 says. Thus beggars had little hope of escaping their degrading way of life. Another commentator said this, blindness, whether caused by birth defects, injury or disease was common in Israel's Matthew chapter 11 verse 5 says.

So common that Jesus used blindness to illustrate spiritual ignorance in Israel, as Luke chapter 16 verse 3 says. The blind were despised and reduced to begging since their condition was considered to be God's judgment on their sin, as John chapter 9, verses 1 to 2 says. But in contrast, in this story this morning, in case you're wondering, there was no specific sin mentioned in this passage that would indicate that these men were blind because God's judgment was on them. But one critical note here is that these blind men were not blind at birth, as Barnabaeus attests to in verse 41 when he asked Jesus that he wanted to regain his sight.

But God had ordained that these men would be tragic, that these men would tragically lose their eyesight sometime during their lifetime and in some way, God would get the glory for it. I think for us this morning, and I know for myself it's hard for me to imagine what it would be like to be blind. When you think about it. I think the closest thing we, we come to understand what a blind person goes through is when we blindfold ourselves, right?

And maybe walk around the house or maybe sometimes at night when we don't have the light on, we bump into things in our house or stub our toe that kinda gives us a little indication of what blind people must go through. But the only way that these two blind men could come out of their dire straits was to have Jesus visit them. They needed an encounter with Jesus Christ. Well, something, something special was about to happen.

Look at verse 36. of Luke chapter 18. Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. There was an unusual buzz in the air.

There was more excitement, more than a normal crowd of pilgrims, pilgrims who had traveled in the past to Jerusalem in order to celebrate Passover. No, someone very unique and significant must have been walking with the crowd to Jerusalem. Well, why was there such a large enthusiastic crowd passing through Jericho? Well one commentator said this.

The large crowd accompanying Jesus, who had earlier raised Lazarus from the dead in nearby Bethany, would have brought Jericho's inhabitants out of their houses and in from their fields to swell the group of curious onlookers. Jesus, as always, was the focus of their intense interest. So when Bartimatis asked the crowd what was going on, he received the answer to his question in verse 37, look at verse 37 says, and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. One commentator said this regarding the city of Nazareth.

Nazareth was an obscure village, about 70 miles north of Jerusalem which is, which did not enjoy a favorable reputation. Because to most people it did not have any, listen to this prophetic importance. Well, somebody missed the point, didn't they? Our Savior Jesus Christ came from Nazareth.

Remember in John chapter 1 verse 46 as Jesus was gathering his disciples, one of his disciples named Philip found Jesus, or even found Nazareth and said to him, we have found him, of whom Moses and the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus, the Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And remember what Nathaniel's response was to Phillip? Remember what he said? Nathaniel said to him, can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Wow, can you imagine that? Someone great truly came out of Nazareth, our Lord Jesus Christ. So Jesus, when you think about it, and Barnabas had something in common, didn't they? Barnabaeus was a social outcast and Jesus knew what it meant to be an outcast because he came from a city that had a bad reputation.

So after hearing that Jesus was in town, can you just imagine what Barnabas was thinking of? And maybe he was thinking this way as one commentator said, he, Barnabas had obviously heard of Jesus of Nazareth, for Jesus' reputation as a great teacher and healer had preceded him. Jesus, the man who could heal anything, was right there among the crowd. Well, you can imagine Bartimae's adrenaline must have been flowing, his heart must have been pumping really fast.

His anxiety level must have reached an all-time high knowing that Jesus Christ was right there, a few feet away from him. Well after Barnabaeus heard that Jesus was right there, he knew that this was his only opportunity to be healed. He just needed to see Jesus Christ. Well, John MacArthur said this, Christ's countless healing, says John chapter 21 verse 25 says, demonstrate his power over disease.

He banished sickness from Israel during his earthly ministry. So while Jesus was here on this earth for 3 years, he completely wiped out all sickness. All dilemma and all diseases. No wonder why Bartimaeus was so excited.

You talk about a divine appointment. A divine appointment, Jesus meaning Barnabaeus was an event planned and eternity passed. By God Almighty. As divine Providence would have it, as one commentator said, this was Jesus' only recorded visit.

To Jericho, can you imagine to meet Bartimaeus in order to give him sight. Well, what else would bring excitement to Barnabas's heart in addition to knowing that Jesus was in town? We probably remembered before he was buying when he was attending the synagogue what Isaiah said in Isaiah chapter 35 verses 4 to 6 about what would happen when Messiah came down to earth for the very first time to visit the nation of Israel. Isaiah chapter 35 verses 4 to 6 says, say to those with anxious hearts like Barnabaeus, take courage, fear not.

Behold, your God will come with a vengeance. The recompense of God will come, but he will save you. The eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap as a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.

So after knowing all of this and hear what Isaiah said about about Messiah, the only action Barnabas could take was to get Jesus' attention. Which brings us to our outline this morning. This morning, we will see 4 ways, 4 ways that Barnabaeus manifests his persistent faith in Christ and brings glory to God. And the first way is that he cries out to Jesus for mercy.

He cries out to Jesus for mercy. Look at verse 38. Those who led the way were sternly telling him, excuse me, they said, and he called out saying, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And there'll be a number of things for us to, to notice as he cries out to Jesus.

First of all, he proclaims the truth about who Jesus is, and we see that in verse 38. He says, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. When we think about the beautiful name Jesus, Jesus is a great form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means what? God is salvation.

That's right. Also, Barnabas cried out, Jesus, son of David. So in his heart, he understood that Jesus was a long awaited Messiah in human flesh, who could heal his eyes and save his soul from sin. John MacArthur says this, Son of David is a messianic title which indicates more than merely declaring Jesus was a descendant of David.

The title Descendant of David, the title excuse me, describes him as the heir to the messianic throne and to the one who has the right to fulfill the Davidic covenant, according to 2 Samuel chapter 7, verses 12 to 14. He was God's choice, MacArthur says, out of all this David's descendants. So he sent the angel Gabriel to Mary with the message that the Christ, that the child she would bear would be great. He will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David.

And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end, as Luke chapter 1 verses 32 and 33 says. And in 35 days, we'll be celebrating Christmas. Can you imagine? It's almost here, 35 more days, right?

And we'll be hearing a lot about Jesus and his virgin birth and how a baby came down to this earth in order to die for your sins and for my sins. Not only did Barnabas proclaim the truth about Jesus, secondly, he asked Jesus for mercy. He asked Jesus Christ for mercy. Look at verse 38, and he caught out saying, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.

The word mercy is different than the word mercy used in Luke chapter 18 verse 13, which dealt primarily with the propitiation for sin. Mercy in this verse means to have pity, to see someone in need who may not deserve the dilemma that they're in or maybe misfortune. Mercy means to feel sorrow and to, to seek to help the person who is in need. But Wayne Gruden says this about God's mercy.

He says the characteristic of mercy is often emphasized where people are in misery. or distress. For instance, mercy is the same word used in Luke chapter 17 verse 13, when the 10 lepers confronted Jesus and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. Remember Jesus did what he, he healed them, right?

He healed all 10 lepers, and only 1 leper came back to do what? To thank God and to worship him as Lord and Savior. When we think about God's mercy, Titus chapter 3 verse 5 sums it up beautifully. It is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

And God showed His mercy to us when he sent his Son Jesus Christ to die on a cross for our sins. for us here at Cornerstone having just having to finish, finishing a wonderful series on In the Psalms, Psalm 886 5 says this, he says, for you, Lord, are good and ready to forgive and abundant and mercy to all those who call upon you. Isn't that great? That we can call upon God any time for His mercy?

And maybe you're going through a difficult trial this morning. Call on God for mercy. Ask him to help you through the trials. Lamentations chapter 3 verses 22 and 23 says God's mercies are what?

They're new every single morning. They're fresh for us to partake in every morning. Again, whatever dilemma you may be facing, cry out to God. Cry out to God to have mercy on you, to have pity on you.

If these two men cried out to God for mercy, you can do it right now in your seat. Ask God to have mercy as you go through your trial and in your conflict. Don't let pride keep you. For allowing God to do a wonderful work in your life.

When these two blind men didn't let their pride miss out on what God was going to do in their lives. And when we think about Jesus and His mercy, We see it all over the scriptures. If there's one thing we can say about Jesus, I think we can say it in this phrase that Jesus is the champion of the week, isn't he? That he is a, the knight in shining armor to the sinner, to the poor, the lame, the widowed, the brokenhearted, the handicapped, the orphan, the adopted, the single parent, the downcast, the blind, weak, the depraved, the outcast of society.

He loves people and every person is significant in God's eyes. You this morning are very significant to Jesus. This morning. And if you're not saved, he wants to hear from you.

He is waiting for you to cry out for mercy to him. to save you from your sins, for you to trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, to ask Him to save you. From your sins, to deliver you from your sins. We see Barnabaeus here continuously crying out for mercy to God.

But what was the crowd's reaction? Look at verse 39. Those who led the way were sternly telling them to what, to be quiet. Stop shouting that.

Stop asking Jesus to have mercy upon you. The word sternly there means to rebuke or disapprove of their actions. Sterling also means to warn in order to prevent an action from occurring. They didn't want the blind men to come to Jesus.

They didn't want them to get close to Jesus at all. Well, why did the crowd rebuke Jesus? Just a couple more thoughts there. Well, maybe because they didn't feel that he was good enough to come to God.

Yet they themselves felt that they were good enough to stand before Jesus. What an honor, what a contrast there, right? Or maybe they felt that Barnabaeus was a pain, or maybe it would be a nuisance to Jesus. If he stood before Jesus.

And one thing that's amazing, isn't it amazing that the, that the crowd did not ask the blind men if they wanted to see if Jesus could perchance heal him. Somebody in the crowd should have taken these men to Jesus. They knew about Jesus. In fact, they knew that Jesus just raised Lazarus from dead in Bethany.

So why didn't someone Bring these blind men to Jesus in order to have their sight restored. The crowd showed no mercy, did not think about Barnabaeus and his blindness. In other words, the crowd kept rebuking and telling them the base basically we're telling them to only be, to be seen and not be what, not to be heard, that's right. Is the eyes of your heart this morning cognizant to the needs of poor, of the poor and helpless?

Or are you like the crowd caught up in, in the moment of your life? Maybe your car, your home, your money, your career. James chapter 4 verse 17 says, therefore, the one, the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is what it is called sin. If we know that somebody has a need and we ignore them, refuse to help them, It is sin on our part.

And as I think about this, how many times do we, me included, Turn our heads, ignore someone who is handicapped, maybe divorced, a single mom, maybe a needy family, maybe feel that they are a nuisance to us. Well did he attempt by the crowd to keep Barnabaeus quiet work? No, it didn't. In verse 39, we see it again, as 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.

We see Barnabaeus here, he persists in crying out to Jesus. In verse 39, even though the crowd was indifferent to the two blind men. Barnabaeus realized that this was his only chance again to be healed and he kept crying out over and over again. Barnabaeus was not about to let this insensitive crowd nor listen to this Jesus not responding right away to his first plea influence him.

Take him away from having this opportunity to be healed by Jesus. One commentator said this, a man could not be browbeaten into submission. He could not have his passion crushed, nor could he be silenced. The truth concerning Jesus had come home to his heart and he had embraced it.

He believed Jesus to be the Messiah and the only one who could heal him physically and spiritually. His heart had seen the light before his eyes did. We are encouraged to put our faith in Christ, the commentator said, no matter what others may say or do. The widow in Luke chapter 181 was not discouraged by the indifferent attitude of the judge, nor the publican by the hypocritical attitude of the Pharisee in Luke chapter 18 verse 9.

What we see here that Barnabaeus was persistent toward God, he wanted to be healed, which leads us to the second way that Barnabaeus manifests his persistent faith in Christ and brings glory to God is that he asked Jesus to give him sight. He asked Jesus Christ to give him sight. Look at verse 40, if we look at verse 40, three eye-opening amazing actions of Jesus in verse 40. He stops, he commands, and he questions.

Look at verse 40. And Jesus stopped and commanded to be brought to him, and when he came, he questioned him. So we see here that Jesus stops when Barnabas cried out to him. Our Lord Jesus Christ heard his desperate cry.

And immediately stopped the flow of this massive parade dead in its tracks. what an amazing action, right? The man's persistent cry out to God made the creator of the universe to stop in his tracks. Jesus Christ, who upholds all things in the universe as Colossians chapter 1, verse 17 says, clearly heard and took notice of blind Barnabas's cry for mercy, and he gave Barnabas his undivided attention.

And focus himself on Artemaeus. For Jesus to give Barnabaeus his undivided attention was amazing, right? Amazing. Well, why wasn't amazing?

One commentator said this, Jesus was heading to Jerusalem. To be killed as a Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world, as John chapter 1 verse 29 says, that he has the state of mind and patience to listen and give his undivided attention to the cry of a social outcast named Barnabas. Another commentator said this, any normal human being heading towards certain death would be extremely preoccupied and not necessarily in a mood to help others, right? Prob probably be, would be there too.

But Jesus in his humanity was perfect and in his perfect mercy and compassion did not ebb and flow with his feelings or his schedule. He did not reflect, reject a man as a crowd had done. And you all know what it's like as when we're busy, we're going, we're going through our devotions, we're preparing maybe a sermon, a Bible lesson, then somebody calls you and tells you about a death in the family or something tragic has happened. So what do we do?

We drop everything, don't we, that we're doing. And we attend to the needs. Well, Jesus wasn't just any normal human man. He is God Almighty who cares deeply for his children.

Every time you come to God in prayer, guess what? God's attention is totally on you, no matter how many times a day you come and you pray to Him. Jesus is never too busy to hear your cry whenever you need him. Well, why did Jesus stop walking?

Well, I think at this point in time it's, it's a great lesson for the crowd, a great lesson for the crowd and a great lesson for us this morning. I think Jesus wanted to show the insensitive crowd in us this morning that everyone matters to him, every person. Matters to him. Doesn't matter what your physical disability is, your employment status in life, your racial background or your financial situation, you matter to him and he wants to show mercy to you this morning.

So just keep being persistent in your prayer to God. So what did Jesus do next? Second thing Jesus did was he commands that Barnabas be brought to him. Look at verse 40, and Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to him.

Matthew chapter 20 verse 32 reads it this way, and he says, and Jesus stopped and called them, actually called the blind men to himself. Mark, as in Mark chapter 10 verse 49 to 50, that the crowd speaking to two blind men said, take courage, stand up. He is calling for you. Interesting, isn't it?

How ironic the crowd that ignored Bartimaeus and the other man was now speaking to them. What was Bartimaeus's reaction? When Bartimaeus heard this, One commentator said, even in in the other gospel account also said that he threw off his cloak, he jumped up. And he came to Jesus.

One commentator said in eager faith, he cast away his beggar's cloak, likely the only thing he possessed. His acts symbolizes genuine faith with which abandons all to follow Jesus Christ. Then as we come to the next point, Jesus asked Barnamaeus a question. Look at verse 41, Jesus says, What do you want me to do for you?

Verse 41 says, Jesus said, what do you want me to do for you? What an amazing question. What a stunning question Jesus asked Barnabas. John MacArthur says incredibly, the High King of heaven.

The sovereign Creator, God of the universe, offering to be the servant of this lowly outcast. Imagine. Here is an amazing example of God's mercy and grace, that Jesus Christ was going to serve. This social outcast.

One way that God served us is when he took care of our sin problem. When he sent Jesus Christ to die on a cross for our sins. And one thing we have to note here just on a side note, when Jesus stopped and commanded be brought to him and, and in verse 41, he says, what do you want me to do for you when he asked him that question. This is a question I think that a lot of open theists would ask, that Jesus didn't know what Barnabas wanted.

That he didn't know. But Jesus asking this question, he was not showing any weakness or lacking any information about the two men whom he had created, like the openheists. Belief. Open theism believes that God doesn't know what was going on, what was going to happen within the next 5 minutes.

They say that Jesus didn't know beforehand and couldn't stop the twin towers from being attacked on September 11th. But we know that Jesus is omniscient, isn't he? That God knows all. God knows everything about us, as Pastor Milton covered so wonderfully when he preached through Psalm 139.

He knows everything about you and me this morning. Well, Jesus wanted Barnabas and the other blind man to voice what they wanted. And he wanted to see their determination in their faith. So we see that Barnabatis tells Jesus in verse 41 that he wants to regain his sight.

In verse 41, he says, what do you want me to do? And Barnabas answers him, he says, Lord, I want to regain my sight. Notice that Barnabaeus's request was direct and to the point as he spoke to Jesus. And when I think back about this question about Jesus questioning Barnabas, What would you do?

What would you do this morning if you were in Barnabas's sandals, and Jesus was standing right before you and Jesus asked you, what do you want me to do for you? What would you say? Remember, be direct in in your request to God. As a husband, would you ask to treat and love your wife more?

Or maybe ask God and Jesus to reveal your blind spots so you can confess sin. Or maybe ask Jesus to get rid of my lust, my jealousy, and my pride. Or maybe ask Jesus to, to search my soul and make me aware of hidden private sins. Or maybe we could ask Jesus to get rid of my problem with Jealousy.

Or maybe again being a, a better godly father or mother to my children, to straighten out my marriage, to remove my terminal sickness. What would you ask Jesus? If he asked you, what would you want me to do for you? One thing I think we can ask Jesus is to make us more thankful.

To thank him for the blessings as Pastor Milton mentioned earlier. To be thankful for all the blessings that he has given to us. Amen. God has given us so, so much.

So when you pray to God, don't beat around the bush, be direct. With God, be direct with him, and not that he will, will give you what you request, but be persistent and aggressive in your prayers to God. Can you imagine how many times these blind men thought about regaining their eyesight? Thousands and thousands of times.

But through a divine appointment of Jesus visiting Jericho, these blind men were standing before the Creator, the intelligent designer and the architect of their eyes and determined faith, asking the only one who could restore their eyesight to perform this physical miracle. For them Which leads us to the third way that Barnabaeus manifests his persistent faith in Christ and brings glory to God is that he receives mercy from Jesus. He receives mercy from Jesus. Look at verse 42, and Jesus said to him, receive your sight.

How does Jesus show mercy to Barnabaeus? What Jesus restores. He restores Barnabaeus' sight. And for this part of the verse, we have to go to Matthew chapter 20.

Turn with me to Matthew chapter 20. Let me show you this very interesting part that only Matthew covers in the account of the story. Matthew chapter 20 verse 33 and 34. In Matthew chapter 20 verses 33 and 34, it says, and they said to him, the blind men, Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.

But look at verse 34 says. It says Jesus was what? He was moved with compassion. He was moved with compassion.

What a phrase. What a statement of hope, a statement of comfort for us this morning. the word compassion there means to be moved in an inward way, that you are affected in your inward organs, speaking about your heart, your liver, your lungs, which collectively spoken about the seat of your feelings. Jesus had deep, deep feelings for these men.

He showed compassion for these two blind men. Luke chapter 15 verse 20. We see here that that compassion here is, is, is the strongest word in the Greek. It means to be moved in an inward way towards someone.

And Jesus' ministry truly proved that he was the Son of God. Jerry Bridges in his article called Jesus Healing Ministry says that there was another reason why Jesus healed when he was here on this earth. He says he was moved by compassion for those in need. Matthew records that as he went through the cities and villages, he saw the crowds and he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd as Matthew chapter 9 verse 36 says.

In the process, Jesus wanted to respond to true human needs. We should not overlook the application to us. Each of us needs to prayerfully, and like what he says here, prayerfully consider how we might follow the example of Jesus' compassion in meeting the physical needs of people. Luke chapter 6 verse 36, and the Beatitudes, Jesus said this, therefore be merciful just as your father also is, is merciful.

In Colossians chapter 3 verse 12, it says, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, and long suffering. So here we see in verse 42, we see the first effect of Jesus showing mercy to Barnabas. He said, receive your sight. The next effect we see in verse 42 as we go back to Luke chapter 18, Jesus said, we see your sight, your faith has made you well.

Jesus healed this blind Barnabas just like that, he could see his eyesight was restored to 20/20. And in fact, in Matthew chapter 20 verse 34, as the only gospel that says that Jesus actually touched the blind men's eyes. He healed with a touch. Well, John MacArthur says Jesus sometimes healed with the word, other times the afflicted touched his cloak.

still a lot of time to use spittle or clay as John chapter 9 verse 6 says. When MacArthur continues and addresses false healers, I think it's very important for us to understand this as Jesus healed, to take a look and to address a little bit regarding the false healers of our day, and here's what MacArthur says, no matter what gestures accompanies healing, they were inexplicable in any other way than divine supernatural intervention, nor was healings contingent on faith of the one being healed.

He said many of those he healed manifested no faith prior to their healing. And two of the instances where faith is mentioned early in his quote, the object of faith was in Jesus' ability to heal, not his will to heal.

Today as we pray for the healing of friends or loved ones who suffered severe illness or disease, we choose to believe that God is able to heal, either directly through conventional means. To say I have faith that God will heal is presumptuous, so if we do not know the mind of God, but to say God is able to heal is to exercise faith. Jesus was basically saying to Barnabaeus, your faith in me and what I can do for you has made you well. One verse 42, we see the next effect.

We see that Jesus regenerates Barnabaeus's soul. In verse 42, he says, and Jesus said, receive your sight, your faith has made you well. The Greek word therefore well speaks about being saved. It speaks about salvation, it speaks about being delivered from your sins.

It means that you are delivered from your sins when you have placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. This is speaking about a state or condition of being healed spiritually or being delivered from sin or being regenerated. They were regenerated. speaks about an act by which the Holy Spirit turns a light on in a person's heart to believe by faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

And by the way, when Jesus said to him, your faith has made you well, he's speaking about a perfect tense in the Greek, which means it's permanent, that you would never ever lose your salvation. A believer can never undo what God the Holy Spirit has wrought in their hearts when she has saved them. Montgomery Chase said this while faith was not necessary for someone to be healed, it is absolutely necessary for salvation. And we know the familiar verse in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 89, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and out of yourself, it is what is the gift of God out of work lest any man should works, any man should boast.

Salvation is not by works, but by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Which leads us to the 4th and last way that Barnabaeus manifests his persistent faith in Christ and brings glory to God that he follows Jesus and glorifies God. He follows Jesus, and he glorifies God. Look at verse 43.

He says immediately he regained his sight. Notice the word immediately. There wasn't a long period of time to be healed. Jesus healed instantly, just like that.

He asked for it and Jesus healed from him, healed him right away. Immediately, we gained his sight and began to follow Jesus Christ. This was a true sign of spiritual regeneration, right? That he followed Jesus Christ.

Not only did he follow Jesus Christ, look what else it says, he followed Jesus Christ and what he glorified God because of it. He glorified God and the fact that Jesus Christ. Healed not only his Eyes But also his soul. Not only does Barnabaeus and his companion follow Jesus, look what else happens at the end of the verse.

And when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God. Barnabaeus, he contributes to the others praising God. Isn't that amazing? Here this crowd, wanted nothing to do with Barnabaeus and his friend, but now they watch these two blind men.

Call out for mercy to Jesus Christ. God heals them physically, and he heals them spiritually. How ironic again that the crowd who rejected these men were now following and praising Jesus Christ. And maybe this morning you're asking, how can, how can God use me?

Maybe you're a point of saying, how God, God can't use me. He'll, he'll never use me. He'll never use little old me. Maybe I'm, I'm handicapped, maybe I'm elderly, maybe physically, I, I just can't do it anymore.

How can God use me? Well, if God use blind Bartimaeus to allow the crowd to glorify God, he can use you in marvelous ways this morning. And this would be the last miracle that Jesus would perform before he would go to the cross and die. For our sins.

So there are 4 ways, 4 ways that Barnabas manifested his persistent faith in Christ and brought glory to God. He cries out to Jesus for mercy. He asked Jesus to give him sight, he receives mercy from Jesus, and he follows Jesus, and he glorifies God. As I was thinking about this, Jesus called Barnabaeus and when Barnabaeus came to Jesus, Jesus asked Barnabaeus that amazing question, right?

He said, Barnabaeus, what do you want me to do for you? Well I was thinking one response that we can give to God if he asks us that question is for us, for us, we can say, Jesus, please allow me to have your eyes in a way that I view people. Let me have compassion, let me have mercy on people as you have shown to me. Amen.

Let's pray. Emily Father, we thank you so much. For our time this morning. Thank you, Father for this amazing account of you healing Barnabaeus and his companion.

And we thank you Father that you were there, you've sent your Son Jesus Christ to be there to, to heal these men. And I pray for us this morning, Lord, Lord, that, that we would cry out to mercy to you. The Father, that if we are going through a trial, that we are in a tough dilemma, Father, we will cry out for you to have pity upon us as these men did. For we know that you are God that cares for us and we know that every person is, is significant in your eyes.

So we love you, Father, we thank you again for this wonderful account of Barnabas and his friend receiving their eyesight and also being saved. And now, Father, as we take our offering this morning, I pray Lord that you would use this offering to further again the ministry of Cornerstone Fellowship Bible Church as we desire to spread out the gospel for in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.