True humility

Read > Luke 18:35-43

They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (vv. 37-38).

With business-like efficiency, the disciples parted the crowds to make way for Jesus so that He could make His way through Jericho with ease. They were on their way to Jerusalem, and they had sensed a growing heavy-heartedness in Jesus. Because they loved their Master, they were eager to minimise His interaction with the crowds lest it place added strain on Him.

In their preoccupation with their Master’s physical well-being, the disciples tried to block a blind beggar from approaching Jesus (Luke 18:35-39). Their actions showed that, though they loved Jesus, they didn’t really understand their Master’s heart. They also nearly robbed Jesus of the opportunity to find comfort and joy during one of His most trying times. The disciples might have felt they were doing Jesus a service. But it was the beggar who truly gladdened His heart.

Providentially, the blind beggar was too desperate to be driven away (v. 39). Sightless and destitute, he recognised that his only hope lay in Jesus. He was also painfully conscious of how unworthy he was to make any demands of the Saviour. Hence, he pleaded only for mercy – acknowledging his needy condition. And Jesus suspended His mission momentarily to help him (vv. 40-42).

Between the disciples who sought Jesus’ physical well-being and the blind beggar who sought His mercy that day, the latter received for greater joy from his interaction with Jesus.

God still honours and rewards those who see themselves realistically. The joy we experience in our interaction with Jesus is proportionate to the brokenness we feel before God. The humble who see their true condition and recognise that their only hope lies in God’s mercy will find joy and spiritual healing in Him. And like the blind beggar, they will bring praise and glory to God as others see their miraculous transformation. – Lin Choo Chan

More >

·         Psalm 51:17

·         Isaiah 57:15

·         Matthew 5:3

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How do you view your condition before God? Instead of blocking the way, how can you help needy people come to Jesus?