“How many times do I have to tell you?” A question either thought or verbalized by parents, teachers, mentors, bosses, and pastors alike. Sometimes, no matter how many times we’ve heard something, we just don’t get it. We can’t see it. We don’t understand. If we are genuinely showing effort, our instructors will ordinarily be patient with us and go over the same material until we can see it.
Jesus has been teaching the twelve for a while. As Luke records it, Jesus has told the twelve on two occasions in plain language that he must go to Jerusalem to suffer, die, and rise again the third day (Lk 9.21-22, 43-45). Now he is telling them a third time, and, as with the previous two, they don’t get it. They can’t understand what he is saying (Lk 18.34).
The way Luke situates this story is telling. Following this third revelation of the end of Jesus’ journey is the story of the healing of a blind man on the road just outside of the city of Jericho. The blind man, though quite real, is a parable concerning the twelve. When Jesus opens his third and final prophecy of his coming death and resurrection, he calls the twelve to “see” (Lk 18.31). However, they remain blind. They don’t understand Jesus and his mission. They can’t see.
The blind man, by contrast, can see. He sees Jesus as the Son of David, the servant of Yahweh, who was prophesied by Isaiah as the one who would give sight to the blind (Isa 35.1-5; 42.7). He understands who Jesus is. He gets it. He sees. All he wants is for his body’s condition to reflect his spiritual condition. Jesus grants him his desire because of his faith.
When the blind man is healed, he follows Jesus. Where is Jesus going? He is going to Jerusalem to suffer, die, and rise again. This man is taking up his cross and joining Jesus on the journey. That is what people who can see Jesus do. This is what the twelve must do. However, as Luke makes clear at the end of his Gospel, the disciples don’t see Jesus and his mission until after the resurrection. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 reflect the condition of all of the disciples. They hoped he was the Messiah, but he was crucified and buried. Jesus, in a somewhat exasperated response, says, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter his glory?” (Lk 24.25) He explains everything to them on the road, but it is only when he breaks the bread that they see Jesus. Now they get it. Now they’re healed.
The story of the disciples is our story. We are disciples of Jesus. There are many things concerning who Jesus is and what it means to follow him that we don’t see completely. No matter how plain it is in Scripture, no matter how many times our teachers tell us, some truths remain blurry or even dark. As long as we are not being obstinately ignorant, refusing to understand because we don’t like the implications, it’s alright. Jesus is patient with maturing disciples. If you are striving to do what is right in following him, if you are loyal to him, he will patiently work with you, healing your blindness. There are some areas in which this healing is a process, like the blind man healed in Mark 8 who first saw men walking like trees and then, with a second touch, his sight was fully recovered. At other times, it is as if a light switch is flipped in our minds. Either way, Jesus is patiently working with us to heal us.
Jesus heals us through his body, the church, as the Spirit works through our life together. As you hear the Scriptures taught, as you are encouraged by brothers and sisters in Christ, and as you come to the Table each week, Jesus is healing the sight of all who have faith in him; those who want to understand who he is and what it means to follow him.
The question is, Do you want to see?
