Jesus was making His final journey through Jericho headed toward Jerusalem where He would be crucified. Crowds had gathered as He approached the city. Sitting by the road sat a blind beggar and hearing the commotion asked what was happening. People told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. That was all he needed to know. He undoubtedly had heard numerous stories of Jesus healing people, even the blind. He began crying out, “Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!” (Lk 18:38). All three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke recorded the heartless response of the crowd. Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet (Lk 18:39); the crowd rebuked him and told him to be quiet (Mat 20:31); Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet (Mk 10:48).
You would think people would have escorted the man to Jesus and shared the desperate situation of this blind beggar. Instead, we see the utter selfishness of humanity. What was their reasoning? Did they think Jesus was too busy? Did they consider the beggar just too unimportant? Whatever the reason, they demonstrated they were not yet practicing one of Jesus’ two greatest commands. ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these (Mar 12:31). Despite the crowd’s effort at hindering the man, he kept crying out. Three lessons for us: the noise of a selfish world can never exceed Jesus’ ability of hearing His sheep, He is never too busy, and no one is too unimportant. Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him (Lk 18:40).
When our oldest son was an infant, one night my wife woke me up, “something’s wrong with the baby.” I listened but didn’t hear a thing. Well, she did and rushed to his crib in the adjoining room and found he was close to smothering. He had turned around with his head at the bottom end of his blankets. We were both praising God, but I wondered why I didn’t hear anything. She told me God had given mothers a special ability to hear their infants – the mother’s ear she called it. She heard the faint muffled whimpering of our son and rushed to his aid. The writer of Hebrews wrote Jesus is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted (2:18). KJV translated ‘come to the aid‘ by the word succour, which means to run to the faintest cry for help.
Because of conflict between Sarah and Hagar, Abraham sent her and Ishmael away. Hagar departed and wandered about in the wilderness. After they used up their skin of water, she left the boy under the shade of a bush. She went some distance away, sat down, lifted up her voice, and wept while waiting for death. But, God heard the lad crying…God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water (Gen 21:17, 19). The disobedient Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish . . . You heard my voice (Jon 1:1, 2). The Lord told Moses concerning Israel still enslaved in Egypt, I have heard their groaning and have come down to rescue them (Acts 7:34). Isaiah gave us the promise, Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear (Isa 59:1).
Another lesson comes out of this story. You can’t always depend on other people for help. In fact, people will actually discourage you. The lame man lying at the pool by the Sheep Gate for thirty-eight years blamed others. I have no man to put me into the pool (Jn 5:7). The blind beggar at Jericho made up his mind that no one would hinder him and he kept crying out all the more. Jesus told of a widow who kept asking for help from a godless judge but he was unwilling. Yet, she persisted and finally the judge said because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice. Jesus said, Hear what the unrighteous judge said (Lk 18:6). Faith teachers misinterpret Jesus’ teaching Ask, and it will be given to you (Mat 7:7) and teach you should only ask once and then have faith. However, the grammar indicates it means ask and continue asking until you receive.
Well you may say, “I’m an unimportant nobody”. Listen to Paul’s words, Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies” (1 Cor. 1: 26, 27 MSG). Scripture does not say, God so loved the rich, the intellectual, the influential, and the somebodies that He gave His only begotten Son to die for them. No, it says God so loved the world.
Sustaining Word for the Week: If others exploit, abuse, and consider you unimportant, their noise cannot muffle your cry. Keep crying out to Jesus. He’s not too busy.