 So today, here we are, Matthew chapter 20, verses 29 through 34, as we continue our series through the gospel of Matthew. We now arrive at chapter 20. We're looking at verses 29 through 34. I chose to entitle this installment of our studies, the blind who see, and you'll see that in just a moment. So beginning at verse 29, reading to verse 34, Matthew writes now as they departed from Jericho. A great multitude followed him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out saying, have mercy on us, oh Lord, son of David. And then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet. But they cried out all the more saying, have mercy on us, oh Lord, son of David. So Jesus stood still and called them and said, what do you want me to do for you? They said to him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes and immediately their eyes received sight and they followed him. What we're looking at, and you'll see this in the application when we get to the conclusion of our study, is an opportunity to see that Jesus is able to give those with outside vision. That's why I refer to it as the blind who see. This isn't simply a story of two blind men being healed so that they could physically see, but you'll see as we conclude that it's really a story of salvation, how these men came to see Christ for who he is. So it's a story of salvation, though it is practical in the way that we see it in the sense that they're blind, they're at the side of the road, they're in need, et cetera. We'll see that and I'm gonna develop it. And as I usually do, I'm gonna give to you some layers as we look at it, give you some background, give you some information and then hopefully tie those things together so that we might see its application and how did that work out then and how does that work out today? And so as we look at this, we're looking really at a story of salvation. Beginning at verse 29, we'll begin by simply reading that verse and moving into our study. It says, as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. So at this time, Jesus is traveling to the city of Jerusalem and it's nearing the time of Passover. He's been spending time instructing his disciples about what we would call principles of the kingdom of God. As we know, he had recently shared with them concerning his upcoming death and resurrection and he also shared with them the key to greatness in the kingdom of God and the key to greatness he had said is service. Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life, he said, as a ransom for many. So Jesus is teaching concerning principles of the kingdom of God. So once again, he's gonna share with them a very important lesson. I want you to notice in verse 34 how it says Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. He's gonna give to them once again an illustration of the trait of God which is compassion because the Bible tells us that our God is merciful, our God is a God that is filled with compassion. The word compassion is a Latin word. It actually speaks concerning suffering together. And so when you speak concerning in Latin it would be something like compassion M. When you look at it, it's a compound word that speaks of suffering and unity or togetherness. It's suffering together and so the kingdom of God is made up of compassionate people. Now it's more than simply feeling sorry for somebody. It is experiencing their pain with them. Now we've used that phrase when we've said, I feel your pain. Well, compassion literally means to feel the pain with somebody else. Not just to feel the pain of somebody else which is more like empathy, but to feel the pain with somebody else. It's like what it says in Hebrews 13 verse three how it says remember the prisoners as if chained with them. And so what you have in compassion is suffering together. And the kingdom of God is made up of compassionate people who love and care for other people. So compassion and concern for others makes God's kingdom unique in today's world. So Jesus is gonna share once again about this important trait of a Christian. Now as we look at this remember with me that Jesus at this time has been ministering for some three years and his reputation is preceding him. Word has spread that Jesus Christ is capable of healing all manner of disease. You never see an instance in any of the gospels where one of the writers say that Jesus is speaking to somebody and they have a disease and he scratches his head and says I don't know what I can do. That's beyond my ability. You never see anything like that because the Bible tells us very plainly he has the capacity to heal all manner of disease. In Matthew nine 27 through 29 it says when Jesus departed from there two blind men followed him crying out and saying son of David have mercy on us and when he had come into the house the blind men came to him and Jesus said to them do you believe that I'm able to do this? They said to him yes Lord he touched their eyes saying according to your faith let it be done to you. So he was able to heal all manner of disease and he had healed the blind already. When you look in the gospel of John in chapter nine John chapter nine records a healing that Jesus performed in the city of Jerusalem and in that particular healing once again he healed a blind man. Now when he was speaking concerning it there in John nine he said that he did it in order that the works of God should be revealed in this man and when you look at that particular story Jesus spat on the ground he made clay with the saliva he anointed the man's eyes and the man went to the pulis alum washed his eyes and he came back seeing. So Jesus has healed the blind and it's recorded that he did so on more than one occasion and again there wasn't a disease he could not heal. Matthew nine 35 says he went through all the towns and villages teaching in their synagogues preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. And so this man who has healed the blind while his reputation has reached the ears of two blind men who are on the side of a dusty road. Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem he's now departing from Jericho. Now ancient Jericho when you look at a map Jericho is situated about 15 miles northeast of the city of Jerusalem. And at that time and even to this day to some degree it was a beautiful city. It had a theater it had an amphitheater it had villas it had Roman baths, palm and citrus it had fig trees rose gardens and that particular area has a real mild climate. It's a very beautiful place it was called the Oasis of Jericho. It's an ancient city most ancient city and you see it in the Old Testament as well as the new. And so as it says here in verse 29 notice I wanna show you something they departed from Jericho. Now for those of you who are reading your Bible and are comparing scriptures and all of that this is one of those places and I'll touch this really, really lightly that people will say there's a discrepancy. This is some people will use the word contradiction this is a contradiction because look how it says in chapter 20 verse 29 of Matthew how they departed from Jericho. But when you begin to compare the same story with the gospel of Mark chapter 10 verse 46 as well as the gospel of Luke chapter 18 verse 35 those portions say that they came to or they approached Jericho. And so that looks like a contradiction because it says they came to or approached whereas Matthew says they departed. And so they'll say that's a contradiction. And so perhaps you'd like to know the answer is that a contradiction because we believe that the word of God is true. But if there are contradictions then perhaps it shouldn't be trusted, right? So if you're interested in knowing the answer the answer is I don't know let's keep going. No, the answer is very simple. The answer and I thank God for those who are called biblical archeologists because they're able to uncover certain things for us to help us to understand because archeologists have discovered that there were actually two sites that were named Jericho. One site has been called ancient Jericho. It was in ruins at that time but the second site was called Roman Jericho. That was south of ancient Jericho. So the answer is Jesus is leaving ancient Jericho entering into Roman Jericho. It's really a simple answer. But as he's doing so I wanna start developing this a bit further he's traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. Keep that in context because Passover is one of the three festivals that the Jews would celebrate mandatorily. And it is a celebration of how God delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. And God delivered them from that bondage which is a type in the Old Testament of sin. And so this is a picture how the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is entering into Jerusalem during Passover in order to be sacrificed for the sin of the world. So he's about to go there and at that time the crowd around him, the multitude around him is in a mode of celebration. You see verse 29 says that a great multitude followed. A great multitude followed him. And so this great multitude has been drawn to him. You know when you read your Bible you'll notice that as his ministry continues wherever he was there was a crowd that would form. And once again you have multitudes that are following him and the question is who are these people? And in the most part there what would be called pilgrims. They're traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover and evidently many of them have mixed in with the groups of disciples traveling with Christ. And so what you have is a mixed multitude. You have some people who are following Christ for who he is and other people who are on the same road going in the same direction who are not necessarily followers of Christ but simply traveling along with him. And so you have a mixed group. And this mixed group are enjoying the festival. They're enjoying that moment, that environment. It's a joyous atmosphere because they're on their way to celebrate Passover. Now during that time they had what are called the Psalms or Songs of Ascent. The Songs of Ascent. When you read your Psalms the Songs of Ascent are found in Psalm 120 to Psalm 134. There are a series of Psalms that the pilgrims would sing especially in festival times. And that's what they're doing right now. And so undoubtedly as they're gathering together they're singing Psalms, they're singing together. There's a joyous moment. They're reciting the Psalms. And one of those Psalms would be Psalm 122 verses 1 and 2 where it says, I was glad when they said to me let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet have been standing within your gates of Jerusalem. And so they're in a festival mode. They're, oh, I was glad when they said let us go into the house of the Lord. I hope that's what you said this morning when you got up to go to church. I was glad when they said, or are you saying, you know, I'm tired. But anyway, with this said, I was glad when they said, so there's great joy and there's great celebration and the pilgrims are making their way to the city. I've been to Jerusalem 24, 25 times. I've traveled to Israel many times, taking groups with us and had great times. And I'll tell you, there's nothing like going to Israel. There's just isn't anything like it. If you've never been, it would be a good thing for you to save and to be able to go in the future. I encourage you to do that. There's something about going up into the north which is called the Galilee. And to see various sites that you'll see places of ministry that you read about. And then to move on down south. And to travel as you're going south and to come up into the city of Jerusalem. And I can still remember the first time that that happened, how I was on a tour there. My pastor Chuck Smith was leading a pastor's tour and so I was with him back in the early 80s and we were going into the city. I was seated next to a friend of mine who just came out and spoke, by the way, on Wednesday, Wayne Taylor. And Wayne was saying, you know Dave, when we get into the city, check it out. It's gonna touch your heart. And it does. And as we now, when we go in, we now will go through a tunnel. And as you're coming through this tunnel, our bus driver slows down. And as he slows the vehicle down, our guide will begin to give us the history of the city of Jerusalem. And he'll speak concerning its origins and King David and he'll speak concerning pilgrims and then he'll get to the point where he'll recite some of the songs of ascent. And then when we get to the end of the tunnel and you come through the tunnel, off to our left is the city of Jerusalem and you'll see the Temple Mount and you come out from this tunnel into the bright light and the city just explodes in front of you. And the first time I ever saw the city of Jerusalem, I began to tear up. And every time that we've gone, taking pilgrims with us, members of our fellowship, I will tell them the first time you see this city, it may impact your heart in a way you're not expecting. And there are always tears. There are always people just, they well up with this sense. This is where my savior ministered. And so there was an excitement. I was glad when they said, let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet have been standing within the gates of Jerusalem. It was something that was amazing. It was something that the pilgrims were so excited about. There's this joy, there's the celebration, they're making their way into the city and as they're making their way, well they encounter, they encounter two men who are on the side of this road. They're about to be exposed to something. They're about to be exposed, these pilgrims, to the kind of love that God has for people. And they're gonna have the opportunity of seeing Jesus and the commitment that he has to his mission. And so as it says in verse 29, they departed from Jericho, a great multitude, followed him, verse 30, behold, two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out saying, have mercy on us, oh Lord, Son of David. Now Matthew mentions two blind men, Mark and Luke actually single out only one and they give us his name, his name, Bartimaeus. Now Bartimaeus is singled out because he actually becomes what would be called the spokesman for both of them. And so what is happening according to verse 30 is they heard that Jesus was passing by. So the sound of the approaching crowd draws their attention. Now, they might have been excited as they heard this great crowd approaching. It might have even thought these are pilgrims on their way to celebrate pilgrims, people of faith are always generous. So at first they may be thinking this is a great opportunity. Here we are in this prime location, if you will. The pilgrims are coming by and it's a great crowd, it's so loud. It's obvious that there are great numbers of people with them. This is going to be a great opportunity for us and it may be that they're thinking of receiving finances because they know that people of faith are also generous and for them, especially being taught in the Old Testament that generosity is a mark of faith, they knew that these people very well might be able to give to them some alms, some gift that would help them to pay for food and things like that. You see in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy in chapter 15 verse 11, in the Old Testament it says there will always be poor people in the land and therefore I command you to be open-handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. And so God's word commands generosity and they knew that God had commanded, these are religious people, surely religious people obey the word of God. In Proverbs 19, 17, it says he who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and God he will reward him for what he's done. And so religious people, people of faith are generous, they give in faith and God rewards them. There was a preacher of another day by the name of Charles Spurgeon and Charles Spurgeon said it like this, he said we are to give to the poor out of pity not to be seen and applauded much less to get influence over them. But out of pure sympathy and compassion we must give them help. We don't give in order to get, we give because of compassion and mercy because that's what God has made us to do. And so generosity has always been a near mark of a believer. These are pilgrims entering into the city of Jerusalem and the crowd must have been very loud. So Bartimaeus speaks up and he asks a question. In Luke 18, 36 and 37 it says when he heard the crowd going by he asked what was happening. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. Well he obviously had heard that Jesus who Jesus is and Jesus is well known and so according to verse 30 when they heard that it was Jesus they began to cry out. Now at first they may have been looking for financial help but now they're thinking differently. What good would financial help be to them in the long run? The thing that they wanted most was not temporary help but eyesight. They wanted the freedom from the darkness that was their world. You see healing from physical blindness isn't the only thing that they needed. What good is it to be able to see completely and still be lost forever guys? What good is it? If your eyesight is healed but you're still lost and there's a depth of spiritual truth that sometimes people fail to understand. And Jesus said what good is it for a man to go into hell completely whole? He says it's better for you if necessary and it was used in a way to illustrate but he said you lose a hand or an eye it's better to go in with one eye and one hand then enter into hell with two eyes and two hands. Eternity is more important than the temporary and so they know that. That they need more than simple freedom from the darkness that is their world. They need to see in a spiritual way. In second Samuel 22 verse 29 we read you are my lamp O Lord the Lord shall enlighten my darkness. So here comes the one who can give them not only physical sight but also spiritual sight and so it's their opportunity and notice what they do. They shout it at the top of their lungs. Matthew says notice with me that they cried out. The words cried out it's very strong. You use those words in the original language in the Greek cried out to speak of any sort of screaming from the ranting of the insane to the cry at childbirth and so they would use that term crying out to speak of screaming and so what you have here is a picture of men who are desperate. This is their last hope. So they shout at the top of their lungs and what do they say have mercy on us O Lord, Son of David. This is what is called fervent prayer. Psalm 77 one and two says it like this I cried out to God with my voice to God with my voice and he gave ear to me in the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing my soul refused to be comforted. And have you ever been there? Have you ever been there? If you haven't you will. If you're a believer, if you haven't you will. Guaranteed, guaranteed. You do walk through that valley of the shadow of death. That's just the fact. You will. If you haven't you will. You will learn to cry out to God in your time of need. If you haven't yet, there'll be a moment, there'll be a time, there'll be a season when you learn to do that. I'm not saying this to depress you. Yes I am. No, I'm not saying this to depress you. I'm just telling you the truth. The truth is that there are moments in your life or seasons in your life when you will learn the truth of this and you will have what is called depth if you've ever asked God, God make me deep, you will go through deep things. You will. Before I got saved. Before I got saved, I got saved at the age of 20. I got saved December 27th 1970, the age of 20. A little over a week I celebrate 46 years of walking with Christ and I can remember from the time I was around 15 until I was 20 going in a spiral down and I got to at the point of 20 to the point where I couldn't take it anymore the kind of life I was living and the things that I was doing was so destructive and so hate filled and so hurtful to everybody I love that I began to actually move into this realm where I started actually praying again and I hadn't prayed since I was a young teen and I still remember what I would pray. It was so simple. I would just say, God help me. I can't take this anymore. God help me. I can't take this anymore. I got drafted to go into the military in August. August 25th was my induction day. August 25th 1970. When I was 18, I had burglarized a jewelry store. I had taken a lot of jewelry, a lot of rings. I had been arrested and went to court and I knew that the chargers had been dealt with and all of that, I knew that. But when I went in for my induction day, I was not a happy camper. And so my induction day was August 25th. My birthday, August 23rd, a friend of mine was born August 24th and his brother was born August 20th. And so we had a combined birthday party just down the street from where I lived with my parents at that time. I had already been involved in alcohol and drugs for a long time and so we just partied from early evening until about two in the morning. And I can still remember smoking pot and drinking and I mean, we were just doing a lot of drugs and with my friends and it was all celebration for our birthdays. And then I had actually driven there and it was only down the street from where I lived. So I went and drove and I parked on the side of my parents where my parents lived, we lived on a corner so I pulled up and I could see the kitchen window and the light was on in the kitchen and I could see my mother as she was looking out the window looking up and down the street for her son. And I was in my car and I was in the back with two of my buddies smoking pot. And I remember saying to my friends, there's my mom looking for me, she doesn't even know I'm here in the car. And I laughed, I said, man, check it out. And I kept on smoking with them until the light went off and when the light went off, we shook hands and I'll see you later. And I went into the house and when we went into the house, I crept into the house very quietly, it was about 2.30, almost three. I lay in my bed, I got up at six in the morning totally hungover and still loaded. And I walked into the kitchen and as I walked into my parents kitchen, my father, my mom and my two sisters were there. My dad had his arms folded, he was angry at me, my mom and sisters were crying. And my mom looks at me, she says, Dave, she said, when your brother Frankie went into the Navy at the age of 17, he climbed into bed between your dad and me and slept between us his last night because he knew he would be gone from us for years. And you couldn't even come home one time. See, because I was never home, I was always out getting loaded and partying, that's what I did almost every day. And I had been doing that for a year. And so when my mom said, you couldn't come home even one night, my dad's just angry and I look at my mom and I kind of shrugged my shoulders and raised my hands and I said, so what? So what? I said, I'm gonna go into the Army. You won't see me for two years. You ought to be happy that I'm leaving. My dad just shook his head. I remember climbing in the car with my dad, my dad driving me to the induction center in Los Angeles, giving me some money, $10. And he said, son, you know, good luck. And I said, yeah, I climbed out, didn't even turn around. I don't even remember shaking his hand, I just opened the door and walked out. And I went into the induction center and I had a friend named Gary who was there getting inducted the same day. And we went to high school together. I knew him real well. We both were rejected by the Army that day for criminal offenses. I knew mine had been cleared, his hadn't been. So he had, we used to call it a lid. I don't know what they call it anymore. We had a can, we had some pot. He was bringing it in and it was in his bag. So we leave, I had $10, I took him for breakfast. We smoked pot and I called a friend named Rick who picked us up, that we drove home back to Norwalk. And I walked in loaded and my dad looks at me and says, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the Army. And I say to my dad, even the Army doesn't want me. And I laugh, I was so loaded I remember going into my room laying down and just crashing for hours. Just, because I was still hung over from the night before. I was just recovering and I got loaded again. That was my life. And it was at that time, it was in August. It was at that time I began to say, God, help me. Something's wrong with me because I hurt my parents. I hurt my family. I hurt anybody who says they love me. I don't know how to be a normal human being. My father, he was so tired of me. And that's when I began to just pray, God, in Jesus, not even Jesus, I just say, God, help me, do something. I can't take this anymore. Have you ever been there? Have you been in that place in your life where you say, something's got to change or I'm just going to die? I had lost almost from 170, a little over 170 some pounds or 145 pounds in a month. I stopped eating. All I was doing was drinking and smoking pot. Drinking, smoking pot. Every day I dropped over 30 pounds. I just didn't eat. I went to nothing. I went down to almost nothing. I started going to stores and I started burglarizing and stealing and that's what I was doing and selling things or giving things away. And I was going crazy and I still remember saying, God, you've got to do something. You've got to help me. There's that cry of desperation. There's, I can't do this anymore. I need help. Somebody's got to help me. My dad sent me to a psychologist. He said, I'm going to send you to a psych. The psychiatrist, psychologist, couldn't help me because my issue wasn't just a mental problem. It was a sin issue. I was dark. My eyes were blind. My heart was calloused. I didn't care. I didn't care what love was. And I finally said, God, you know, I was a hippie. So I'm saying, you know, I was saying, God, you know, we're supposed to be loved. We're supposed to, I don't even know what that is. I can't have a relationship with a girl. Every girl that I've ever been with, I've used in some way and hurt and left them on the side of the road. I can't take this anymore. I don't have a life. God, help me. That's the song. I cried out to God with my voice. To God with my voice. He gave it to me. These men are on the side of the road. Their opportunity to be set free from their blindness is before them. And they're crying out with passion. Somebody once said, prayers are, prayers not felt are seldom answered. Desperate prayers. When we've been going through Matthew, we've been seeing how Matthew has recorded so many desperate prayers. We saw in Matthew eight when a leper approached him and said, if you're willing, you can make me clean. That was a desperate prayer. We also saw a centurion who came to him pleading with him to heal his servant. A young child was paralyzed. We saw in Matthew eight also his disciples being fearful their ship would sink in a storm and they prayed to God. They said, Jesus save us. In chapter nine, we saw that Jeres fervently asked Jesus to raise his little girl from the dead. We also saw two blind men who cried out for mercy, begging to be healed. In chapter 14, Peter walked on water. He began to sink. He cried out, Lord, save me. In chapter 15, we saw the woman of Canaan with the demonized daughter crying out for help from him. In chapter 17, the father pleading for a severely demonized son. Lord, if you can do anything help. You ever get to that place? Lord, if you can do anything help, save me. I'm sinking. I have a need. That's what's going on here in this particular case here. You've got the festivity. You've got the festival that's passing by. You have two men on the side of the road at first more than likely thinking it's a large group of people. There'll be pilgrims on their way to Passover. They're gonna be generous. So they ask, what's going on? And somebody responds and says, it's Jesus passing by. Now they know it's their opportunity. So in verse 31, the multitude warned them that they should be quiet. They'd cry it out all the more. The people didn't like the disturbance. So they say, be quiet. Interestingly, notice with me, while walking with Jesus, they're unaware of someone else's pain. Now that's something that we need to learn obviously as Christians. We need to be aware of those who are around us because very often there are real, real needs that are seated around us that we're not even aware of us. You see, part of being a Christian is a growing awareness that we can help others. And Jesus has already been teaching about laying down your life and serving. That's what Christians need to learn to do. You see, at the first sound of these people crying out, the followers of Jesus could have brought them to Jesus, but they were disturbed. And they told them to be quiet. They even kept them from coming. And I understand that by the way, I do. I think many of us in this room do too. There are times when things happen, you really don't know what to do. You don't know how to respond. It's out of the ordinary. It just happens and you're not quite prepared for that. Years ago I was teaching a Sunday morning service just like this. And while I was giving the study, an older gentleman, he was old to me at that time. I was in my early 30s and he was at least 60. Just a very old man. And as he was there, as he was there in the Bible study, he literally fell in, he was seated, he fell out. He fell off the chair and had some kind of episode. I don't even know what it was. It wasn't an epileptic seizure. He fainted. He hit the ground. He was an older man. And I was teaching just like I am right now when he fell. And I still remember it happened off to my left a couple of rows back. And we were in a small auditorium at that time that sat like 475 people. And when he fell, he's just right in front of me. And I saw him fall in. Everybody just, you know, just gasped. And I remember seeing him laying there and nobody moved. So I came off the platform and I grabbed him underneath his arms and lifted him up. And one of the other men, one of our ushers grabbed his legs and we carried this man into the back, into the foyer. I remember laying him down, praying for him, calling 911. Everybody in the church services quiet. What are we gonna do? I said, when I was carrying him, I said, you need to pray for this man. Took him out, came back. We prayed for him. The paramedics came, took him. He was fine. And but what happens when something like that goes on in a church service, people get disturbed. I remember even before that, I was teaching just like I am right now. And I was sharing something. And a man, again, off to my left, suddenly moaned loudly and wept loudly, loudly. And again, there was only seating for 300 at that time. So he's right in front of me. And I hear him as he moans. It sounded like he was moaning from the deepest part of his soul. It was so, and it shocked me. And I remember just being shocked and taken like a back, taken a step back. And as I looked to see who it was, there was this man and he had bowed over and he was shaking. And I saw him. And then he calmed himself. But directly behind him was a young couple. And the young couple, you could see them. Their eyes got large and they got shocked and they got up and they hurried out and left. I never saw them again. They didn't know what to do. This man's need was so huge in front of them they didn't know what to do. And I understand that it turned out later on. I found out what happened. Why did this, this older gentleman, why did he respond like that? And I was told his son had died, his son died. And you shared something that brought into his memory, his little boy. And the pain in that man was so intense he couldn't hold it back and he cried. And that's when I began to say to this church, it's been well over 30 years now. If you can't cry in church, where can you cry? If you can't, if you can't cry here, where can you cry? You can, you're free. In Christ, let your need be known to the Lord. No, I'm not saying let's all stand up and start moaning. Please don't, please don't. But if the Spirit of God is speaking to your heart in a deep place, whereas brothers and sisters, we ought to love you and encourage you, don't you think? And that's what these people should have done. But instead of saying to him, here's the master, they said to him, be quiet, be quiet. Don't disturb the master. You're interrupting our parade. You're interrupting, be quiet. But as this is taking place, their cries cannot be stifled because a cry is heard by the Lord. You see, Mark tells us in chapter 10, verse 49, that Jesus stopped and he said, call him. So they called to the blind man, cheer up on your feet. He's calling you. So the crying was heard by the Lord. He stopped for them. In Psalm 18, verse six, in my distress I called upon the Lord. I cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry came before him, even into his ears. Psalm 88, verse two, let my prayer come before you, incline your ear unto my cry. Jeremiah 33, verse three, call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou know as not. Cry unto me, call unto me, and I'll hear you. And Jesus, you can almost see this, this whole parade following behind the master. Who is that? Bartomeo says, this Jesus of Nazareth who's passing by. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Be quiet, don't disturb the master. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stops. And everybody stops with him. And he turns, he says, bring him to me. Bring him to me. Cheer up, master's calling you. And he gets up. Mark tells us in chapter 10, verse 50, throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and he came to Jesus. He left behind that which he was warming himself in, took it off, I don't need this anymore. I don't want anything to stumble me as I come to the master and he comes. He lets go of what would stumble him. Now remember, there was a rich young ruler who would not come to faith in Christ because he was stumbled by his wealth. This man let go. No, I will not have anything stumble me from coming to Christ. You see, I'm physically blind, but I also need to see spiritually. And this is one who can heal both. It's interesting how in verse 32, he asks, what do you want me to do for you? And it would seem obvious, doesn't it? But sometimes we're specific. Lord, verse 33, that our eyes may be opened. We need to have eyes to see. And verse 34, Jesus had compassion, touched their eyes and immediately they were healed. Now Luke tells us in chapter 18, verses 42 and 43, Jesus said to him, receive your sight. Your faith has healed you. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. And when all the people saw it, they also praised God. So their faith resulted in physical healing, spiritual life, discipleship, praise and witness. That's what happens here. It's not that they just received the physical sight. Thank you God for the miracle. But I'm gonna follow you for the rest of my life. See, when I gave my heart to Christ as many of you in this room, when I gave my heart to Christ, when Jesus Christ opened up my eyes to see, when I came to faith in him and I said, God be merciful to me, I'm a sinner. Change my life, God, fill me with your spirit. I wanna know you. I didn't try to add other religions to that. I didn't want to see what Buddhists believe. I didn't want to see what Islam had to offer. I didn't go into other religions or philosophies. You see, when you taste of the new wine, you don't want anything else. When the spirit of God fills your life and transforms you, you're not hungry for anything else. You want the bread of life. You want a relationship with God. Why would I go looking for him when I've already found him? Why would I ask what a Buddhist believes when I already know who Jesus Christ is? And so when I got saved, that was it. And not only when I got saved, that was it. I began to follow him that day and I've been following him now, like I said, 46 years and he has never let me down. Jesus Christ is faithful to the end. To the end and he transforms lives. And that's what it's all about. Listen, Christianity today is not regarded because those who profess Christ aren't living for him. We're still caught up with the things that stumble us. We still stay where we were on the side of Rome crying out for help but we're still stumbled by the things that have been holding us in bondage. You let those things go. You let them go. Some people will not let go of a relationship. No, I want to be with this guy. I want to be with this girl. Some people will not let go of the things that are keeping them back. You've got to let it go. There's nothing you have ever given to the Lord that he doesn't give you more in return. That is what you need. Some things I didn't need and he took more. Aren't you glad that every prayer you've ever prayed hasn't been answered with a yes if that's the case, I'd have married the wrong woman. That's a fact because any girl who looked at me, I said, she must be the one. God in Jesus' name, I want that one for me. You said, no, I've got something for you that you don't even know how good this woman is. You just don't know. No, I thank God that when you say God, open my eyes that I might see. Not only do you come to him, but you tell others. What the Lord would have us to do. Not only come to the Lord, but your praise of God should cause others to praise him too. Luke says it. It says he received his sight, followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. They also praised God. You get saved. Tell your mom, mom is going to get mad at me. She's been mad at you a thousand and one times already. What's one more? Tell your dad, oh, daddy won't leave me anything. He's not going anyway. Grandma won't talk to me. Sometimes that's good. The most selfish person is the one who goes to heaven alone. The one who goes to heaven alone, selfish. Bring everybody with you. Invite friends to know Jesus. Live for Christ in front of him. Tell him how good God is. Tell him how good God is. You know what Christmas is? Celebration, the birth of our savior. The church has been told now for a number of years, don't celebrate it. You're offending others. You want to know something? I don't want to offend others, but I'm certainly not going to stop celebrating the birth of my savior either, and I want them to celebrate it too. Of course. Of course. It makes sense to me. Love the Lord. He loves you. Follow him. He opens your blind eyes. Tell others about him. Don't be ashamed of him. Listen, he's not ashamed of you. Don't be ashamed of him. Be open in your faith. Don't shove Jesus down people's throats. Do you know people get offended at the silliest thing? That I had people mad at me because the wedding I performed had too much religion in it. Are you kidding me? Yeah, it's too religious. Funerals, too religious. Weddings and funerals? Too religious? No, no. One time I was doing a funeral here in this fellowship many years ago. And it was a young high school age girl had died in a very tragic way. And I was asked to do a funeral and I did the funeral. She didn't go to our church, but I had been asked to do it. And as always, giving the funeral service, I had my notes prepared. It was filled. The place was filled with high school age kids, high school age kids, because she was a high school age girl. She was mad at her boyfriend and was chasing him. She ended up passing a car, hitting a car with a young mother and children. And getting killed and killing the family too. It was a very tragic, very tragic time out here in our city. And I was asked to do the funeral and I did. And the kids were all kind of being what kids can do. They're kind of like, oh, man, you know. And I remember just closing my notes and saying, listen, I'm gonna depart from my notes and I'm gonna tell you the truth. The kids need to hear something. And I gave them the gospel. I told them how Jesus, what Jesus had done and how you can get saved. And just shared that with them. They just sat there. They actually listened respectfully. These kids actually listened respectfully. They weren't all uptight and squirming, you know. Just before they had their phones out and messaging people and all of that. They listened. And I spoke to a woman in our fellowship many, many years later and a few years ago now, it's been several years now. She said, you know when you brought that story up because a few years ago I mentioned this. She said, you didn't know this. Let me tell you, she said the young man that that girl had the fight with, the boyfriend. I said, yes. She said, that's my brother. He's my brother. And my brother was in the funeral for his girlfriend. And when you told the kids to give their hearts to Jesus Christ, my brother got saved that day. He served the Lord. He even comes to this fellowship. At that time he came here. Tell the truth. Tell people that Jesus can heal their spiritual blindness, that he can give them life. That the things that are more important than cloaks that you cover yourself with, but there's life that you have in him. They left everything behind to follow the one who gave them spiritual sight. Thank God that he touched their eyes because that's what Messiah does. He opens the eyes of the blind, but more so than that he opens the blind spiritual eyes and gives you sight. That's what Jesus Christ came to do. That's one of the reasons we celebrate Christmas because our Savior has been born and a light has shined to those who sat in darkness. That's how it works. And he opens the eyes of the blind.