THE
KING IS COMING
His Scepter is Pity in Distress. Luke 18:35-42
As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 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!" Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied. Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."
Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
Jesus was resolutely on his way to Jerusalem for the last time, there to meet the destiny that was set for him in his Father’s will for the salvation of the world. He and the crowd traveling with him were approaching Jericho and would pass through the city and begin the ascent to the Holy City – a rise of almost 3400 feet in the course of seventeen miles.
There was a note of excitement in the air. It was as if the crowd could sense that something big, something spectacular was about to happen – as if they could look ahead and see that Jesus would enter Jerusalem to the cheers and hosannas of many. Perhaps that’s why they didn’t want Jesus to be bothered and delayed by the blind beggar who called out to him as he passed by. They thought that the mission Jesus was on was far too important and too glorious to be delayed by the needs of one man – who, they probably figured, was blind as God’s judgment against some serious sin he had done. In that day, that’s generally how Jews viewed such disabilities.
But that’s where they were wrong. Probably even the Twelve were not thinking about how their Master had displayed again and again his great delight in showing pity toward those in distress. They had seen him in action – and Jesus had tried to explain it all to them. Luke tells us that before setting out for Jerusalem Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him. On the third day he will rise again." However, Luke tells us, "The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about." They couldn’t bring themselves to accept the idea that their Lord had come to serve and not to be served, and that the scepter of his kingdom is not one of power and might and glory, but is one of loving pity.
This same mistake is made by everyone who tries to change the essential character of the Son of Man and the nature of his mission. Many, for example, disregard the love and pity that brought him to be the Savior, and think of him only as a great Teacher and Example. They try to walk in his procession on a shoulder to shoulder, man to man, basis – without realizing that there really is only way to walk with Jesus, and that is to follow him as a humble object of his love and pity.
Jesus showed his followers that he is never too busy to help those who need his help. He had come to seek and to save the lost. To deal compassionately with human need was the very purpose of his life and mission as a man. So Jesus stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him – and in response to the man’s request Jesus restored his sight – showing those who followed him and us today that he rules his kingdom with loving pity.
It was the Creator’s pity for his fallen creatures that brought the Son of God into the world. The first sin brought not just the judgment of God, but also his promise of help through the Seed of the woman.. Down through the centuries his people heard that promise repeated and renewed and expanded in detail until "when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, so we might receive the full rights of his sons and daughters". It was to be the Redeemer of sinners by paying the ransom for their sins that Jesus had committed himself. It was the reason for his last journey to Jerusalem.
It is in this redemptive act of loving pity for lost mankind that we see God for what he is. To be sure, he is holy and just, and will judge the world in righteousness, and will kindle his wrath against all ungodliness and evil – but in Jesus Christ God has shown us his truest nature and his greatest glory. John wrote, "God is love." And that pretty well sums up the fact that a person truly sees and knows God only when he sees and knows him through Jesus Christ and his loving pity toward those in distress.
That’s why Jesus could not just pass by the blind man who cried out for help. To be true to his Person as the eternal Son of God he had to help. For the same reason Jesus does not pass by us. He calls us to himself as he did the blind man, and for the same reason: his pity for us in our deepest need. He opens our hearts to the Good News of forgiveness in his name. He opens our eyes to the glory of living a life in his love and pity – just as he brought light to the darkened eyes of the blind man.
All of this is laid out before us in this Advent Season as we prepare for the celebration of the birth of our infant King in Bethlehem. It was God’s loving pity toward us that led him to send his Son to be our Brother – and brought the shadow of the cross across the tiny Baby lying in the manger. If you and I do not see that shadow in our celebration of Christmas we will be overlooking the very point and purpose of his birth. But when we appreciate that the shadow of the cross announces the loving pity of the one we worship in the manger of Bethlehem, all the blessings that he came to bring will be ours.
It cannot be otherwise. Faith’s cry for help always stimulates the King’s loving pity. It was true in the case of the blind beggar. What was it that made it impossible for Jesus to pass by him without helping him? It was Jesus’ loving pity, yes – the loving pity that was taking him to Jerusalem. But it was also the man’s evident faith. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth who was passing by he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." His calling Jesus "Son of David" was more than an indication that he knew to which family line of Israel Jesus belonged. It showed his faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah. Ever since King David was promised that his son’s throne would be established forever it was understood by the faithful of Israel that the Messiah would be of David’s line. Many did not anticipate or understand the spiritual nature of his kingdom – but to all who, in their need, called out to him in faith there came the blessings of his love and pity.
The blind man trusted the Son of David. And Jesus focused his and the crowd’s attention on what he was going to do by asking him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The man eagerly said, "Lord, I want to see!" Jesus told him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." And "immediately he received his sight". It was as simple as that, and as spectacular as that. It always is -- when the King who is coming wields his scepter of pity in distress.
We, too, have been on the receiving end of the blessing of his pity in our distress. When we are burdened by sin and the sense of our unworthiness we have seen him extend his scepter toward us and we know his pity, the loving pity of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. When we are feeling down, when life’s pressures seem to be getting the best of us, and we cry out to him, he comes to refresh us with his loving pity and we again see things in the new way of the kingdom – his way.
The blind man, now wonderfully sighted, "followed Jesus, praising God, and when all the people saw it, they also praised God". How simply stated all of this is – this life-changing experience on the part of the man whom Jesus blessed and on the part of those who witnessed the miracle.
Jesus’ gifts of love and pity always bring wonderful changes into people’s lives. See-ers become believers, and believers become disciples, and disciples work at catching the spirit of their Master – and learn to give themselves to a life of service and loving pity in imitation of him.
There were Peter and John, who looked with pity on the lame man outside the temple, and they gave him the best gift they could – the ability to walk. There was Paul, who was so filled with compassion for his people, the Jews, in their rejection of Christ, that he was able to say that he could wish himself cut off from Christ if it would mean the conversion of his people. There was Henry Martyn, the missionary to India, who set himself up in a village and said, "Here let me burn out for Christ." What was it that motivated these men in their lives pity for those in need of Christ’s love? It was their knowing that their Lord and Savior had taken pity on them and had acted in love to save them for life in his Kingdom .
Life under the rule of our compassionate King is always one of loving pity. There are many in our world who need to know the King of Love. Are they waiting for us to have pity on them in their blindness and bring the light of the Gospel to them? There are many more who lack the necessities of life – food, clothing, shelter, heat, medicine, love. Are they waiting for us to demonstrate our life in the kingdom of Jesus by showing practical pity and concern for them in their need?
Jesus could not just pass by opportunities to express helpful pity in distress. And he still wants to reach out to those who need him and the help that only he can give. His scepter is pity in distress. He rules his kingdom in grace and love. Will you follow him and let him use you as an instrument of his reign?
You can’t go to Jerusalem with him, but you can go to your friends and neighbors, your community, and your world for him.
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