Quinquagesima

Quinquagesima
February 19, 2012

Justified by Faith Alone
Luke 18:35-43

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear friends,

I've never been blind, but I get sick once in a while. So do you. And when you're sick, you're helpless. You're weak, tired, and in pain. It's hard to think. Others have to help you. And this is just the 24-hour flu! Some of you face much more long lasting weakness where you must depend on others constantly.

Consider the blind man whom Jesus healed. (Mark tells us that his name was Bartimaeus.) His blindness made him helpless. He was able to eek out a life by begging, but in every way that mattered he was helpless. And being helpless made him bold. So when he's told that Jesus is going by, he screams out again and again, “Son of David, have mercy on me! Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Son of David was name for the Messiah of the world. Bartimaeus was confessing his faith in Jesus as his Savior by using this special name. He was able to use this special name and mean it because of his faith in Jesus. How did he come to have this faith in Jesus? Jesus gave it to him, just like He gave Bartimaeus his sight.

When Jesus said that Bartimaeus' faith had healed him, He was not saying that his faith was the cause of his healing. Faith only receives what Jesus gives. The cause of the blind man's healing was Jesus' desire to heal him and make him see.

Sickness, blindness, sin—they all have one thing in common. They make us helpless, more or less. The sick can recover, the blind can survive, but sin makes us totally helpless. The only hope against sin is faith in Jesus and His cross.

Being sick, being blind, and being sinful are all real problems, but it is much easier for many to pretend that sin isn't a big deal. It is so easy to sing the Kyrie without any real thought to it. “Lord, have mercy on us!”




Here's the thought behind the Kyrie: we totally rely on Jesus for absolutely everything that we have. Health, sight, and forgivness from our sin are all gifts from Jesus. When you sing this song, remember that you are blind and sick with sin. You are helpless. But in your helplessness, be bold! Have mercy, Lord!

Back in the Old Testament, you can read about Naaman, a foreign general who had leprosy. He went to God's prophet Elisha and asked to be healed (2 Kings 5). He brought $400,000 of silver and $4 million in gold to pay for his healing. But God through His prophet said, “I don't care about your money. Be healed.”

Being poor doesn't change a thing either. This blind Bartimaeus had nothing to offer Jesus—he didn't have a dime or denarius to his name. He was a blind beggar. But Jesus says, “I don't care about your lack of money. Be healed.”

Rich or poor doesn't matter to Jesus. His love is what makes us clean. When Paul talks about love in 1 Corinthians 13, he isn't talking about the passing love within friendship or the burning love of romance that burns out over time. He's talking about the love that God's Son has for you. His love put what is good and best for you ahead of what is good and best for Him.

In our Bible study today we'll hear about this love in Romans 5: 6 For at a time when we were still weak, Christ died for us ungodly people. 7 Hardly anyone will risk his life for the sake of what is right, although for a good cause someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God puts his own love for us on display in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This is the object of our faith, Christ's love on the cross that saves us. This alone is where our faith is founded. Listen to Jesus: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Today you'll need to keep your distance from me because I'm still a little sick. How remarkable that while we were still deathly sick with sin, Jesus came to us like the Good Samaritan and carried us to safety.

Amen.