Today we will be reading from Luke 18:31-43:

³¹ Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³² For he will be handed over to the gentiles, and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. ³³ After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.” ³⁴ But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

³⁵ As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸ Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him, and when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” ⁴² Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” ⁴³ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God, and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

Today we see Jesus on the way to Jerusalem, and His disciples do not understand yet why He must do this.  While following Him, they just don’t get it.  They do not yet have the Spirit; they cannot yet see.  I think that’s an important thing for us to understand; following Jesus isn’t just about knowing who He is; it is about having the Spirit open our hearts to His truth.  It is about being transformed.  They knew Him in this moment, but they had not yet been transformed by His spirit.  

It isn’t just about head knowledge; it is about being transformed by a mighty work of His Spirit that changes us that renews us. That pushes us into a new life.  

We see that push with the blind beggar.  He is told by everyone to stop shouting, stop calling out to Jesus, and leave Him alone.  Yet what does He do?  He yells louder.  He calls out louder.  He will not stop yelling out for Jesus because He knows that Jesus has the power to heal Him.  He knows that Jesus can restore Him.  He knows that Jesus can save Him.  

He knows that Jesus can change things.  He knows that Jesus can change Him.  He keeps yelling; He keeps pushing because He knows that Jesus is the path to life.  He knows that Jesus is life. 

So today, we see two groups.  The first, the disciples who “knew” Jesus, but they didn’t really know Him. And then the beggar who didn’t “know” Jesus but knew He was the one who could change. 

So He kept yelling.  He kept pushing.  He kept going.  No matter how hard it was.  He kept pushing because He knew that Jesus was the source of life. 

Today, will we do the same?  Will we keep pushing no matter what?  Will we push to Jesus, our very life?  

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