Tuesday, October 21 ~ Miriam

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Hebrews 7; Ecclesiastes 9; Jeremiah 39-40.

Today's scripture focus is Luke 18:35-43.

35 As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. 37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, 41 “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”43 Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

I kind of wondered about the fact that this blind beggar on the side of the road calls Jesus "Son of David".  Obviously, Jesus was a celebrity (or notorious, depending on how you look at it) at the time, so it stands to reason that this beggar would have heard of him and knew something about who he was, but the reference to David still made me curious.  Here is what Mark Driscoll has to say in Jesus Gives Sight to the Blind:

This was a strategic place for those who begged for their survival to position themselves. A bunch of spiritual people going to meet with God, this is probably the best place and time to ask them for money. So he’s not the only beggar. There are beggars lined up along the roadway. There are beggars everywhere. And this particular beggar cries out, saying something that no one else in Luke’s Gospel says. So it’s very significant. He says, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and he speaks of Jesus, “the Son of David.” And he says it again, “Son of David.” So he says it twice. “Jesus is the Son of David.” So he cries out as Jesus passes by, “Jesus, Son of David.” They said, "Be quiet. “Jesus is busy. He’s very important. We’re going up to Jerusalem. You beggars just keep asking. Enough already.” And so what he does, he yells louder. “Jesus, Son of David!”

What does that mean? Here’s a blind man who sees Jesus by faith. We can easily pass over this title, but it is very important. Jesus, Son of David. They would have heard that as a very significant, theological statement. This is a declaration that Jesus Christ is the King of kings.

This blind beggar is making this declaration while God’s people are under Roman rule. This was a low point in the history of God’s people. They were not free, they were back under foreign oppression. It wasn’t the Egyptians, now, it was the Romans. But the laws were written against them. They were mistreated and abused. Furthermore, there was significant taxation levied against them that funded the government that oppressed them. And so they wanted liberation and deliverance and freedom. They wanted their Exodus and they wanted a different king. They didn’t want to say, “Caesar is lord.” They wanted their King to be their Lord and God to be their Lord. And so he cries out, “Jesus, Son of David.” That was a very dangerous thing to say because it was a critique of the Roman government. It was saying, “There’s someone above Caesar, and here he is, the Son of David.” Because David was a what? A king.

Now they had had in their history good and bad kings, but the best king they ever had was David. He brought peace, protection, and prosperity. And in his reign was the presence of God. Peace, protection, prosperity, and the presence of God. However David was not a perfect king. He was man after God’s own heart. He also was a sinner and a murderer. So he was imperfect, though a great king, an imperfect sinner like the rest of us. And ultimately, he died. His reign, his rule came to an end. And after that, the nation had some very grievous and godless kings and fell into disrepair. And God came to David and said, "There will be a day when I raise up from your family line. He’s going to be one of your relatives, another King. Not a little-k king like you, but a big-K King of kings. He’s going to bring peace, prosperity. He is going to bring the presence and protection of God. In fact, it’ll be God himself. "

God is going to rule one day as King. How do we know it’s God? Because his kingdom will endure how long? Forever and ever. That’s the kingdom of God. And this promise was given to David and as you continue to read in 2 Samuel 7, he was overwhelmed with his promise from God. And from that point forward, God’s people were aching and yearning and waiting, “Where is this King? The one who brings peace, protection, prosperity, and the presence of God? Where is he?” And the blind beggar said, “He’s right there. Jesus, Son of David.”

The miracle is of course amazing as well, as it's not every day someone who was blind and reduced to begging on the side of the road receives their sight, but I didn't want to focus on that today, I wanted to know what it meant that this man called Jesus the Son of David.  So now we all know.  :)  Happy Tuesday.  Have a great week.

Tomorrow's scripture focus:  Luke 19:1-10.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage:  Hebrews 8; Ecclesiastes 10; Jeremiah 41-42.