Luke 18:39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
When do you know to call it quits? We have all faced circumstances that have led us to believe that giving up would be easier and perhaps even the wise thing to do. Some who started business shortly before the COVID lockdowns asked this question. All that money and effort, only to have no customers available to shop at the store or restaurant. I feel bad for them.
Challenges can become insurmountable. But how do you know the difference between very difficult and insurmountable? If I knew the simple answer to this question, I would write a book, or have a webinar that I could have people pay to attend. But there is no simple answer.
This chapter in the Gospel of Luke begins with the moral of the lesson stated plainly by Luke, so that as we read the stories that follow, we will know the point, the goal of the lessons. I like it when things are spelled out for me in plain language. Don’t you?
Luke states that these stories all have one thing in common: We should always pray and not give up. Persistence gets rewarded, even when we are persistent with the LORD. The first story is about a widow who needed the judicial system to do its job and grant her justice. Women in Jesus’ day didn’t have the same standing before the law as men, so they were often ignored. But even the Judge in the story realized that it would be easier to give her justice, than to allow her to continue to bug him.
Notice that this example has to do with justice. The next example has to do with who is considered in good relationship with God and who isn’t. Attitude matters. The humble rejected person is accepted while the proud person of influence isn’t. The LORD flips things on their feet.
Even little children get access to Jesus because their parents knew Jesus had something to offer. They weren’t easily dissuaded from bringing their kids. They even withstood the disciple’s rebuke in order to bring their kids.
Our text is the final example in this chapter. Here a blind man, another individual who was considered rejected by God by the religious people of the day, is doing the only thing blind people could do in that day to stay alive. He is out begging for money. But something happens that changes his request away from money.
A commotion happens as he sits by the side of the busy road. An excited and noisy crowd has gathered and is passing by him. Everyone’s attentions are on someone in the crowd, so his donations drop dramatically. So he asks someone in the crowd what all the fuss is about.
The answer changes this man’s life. He had been stuck in a way of life because of his blindness, but “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” We don’t know what this man knew of Jesus, but we do know that his begging suddenly changed. He began to beg Jesus to extend mercy on him. He was rebuked and rebuffed, just like the widow with the judge at the beginning of this chapter.
But he was not dissuaded. He shouted even louder. His persistence went off the charts.
Jesus responds to the man and gives him his sight back. I have never been blind, but I can imagine the joy this man must have experienced when his sight was restored. I would want to follow Jesus filled with joy and excitement as he did.
The lesson we are to learn is that we should pray and not give up.
There is one story right before this story in the text that illustrates what happens when you do give up. A rich man gave up in his search for eternal life. The cost for him was too high. He did not persist. He would rather keep his wealth than have eternal life.
I am wondering what we are trading for eternal life because we have given up and not continued in persistent prayer. Is there something you used to spend time in prayer about, but have now given up praying about? I would encourage you to be persistent, and if it is His will, you will receive the answer you desire. If it is His will!
The Arnold Journey 