On the Road to Jerusalem: The Blind Beggar

“But he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’"

—Luke 18:39

As Jesus closed in on Jerusalem, he came near Jericho, where a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Wondering aloud at hearing a crowd pass by, he learned it was because Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. Upon hearing this, he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Some in the crowd thought such an outburst unacceptable—so they attempted to squelch it before Jesus heard it. They told him to be silent, but the blind beggar cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” It was at the second request when Jesus stopped and commanded he be brought to Him. Once there, Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” He responded, “Lord, let me recover my sight” (v. 41). Such a request was preposterous to anyone else, but it was easy for Jesus. Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well” (v. 42).

The blind beggar is an example of faith that believed the impossible, as E.M. Bounds wrote: “Faith does the impossible because it brings God to undertake for us, and nothing is impossible with God. How great—without qualification or limitation is the power of faith! If doubt be banished from the heart, and unbelief made stranger there, what we ask of God shall surely come to pass, and a believer hath vouchsafed to him ‘whatsoever he saith’”—E.M. Bounds, The Complete Works of Prayer, p, 13.

During Lent, we cry out in faith as the blind beggar did. While at the same time realizing our faith needs to be grown, we ask God to increase our faith, prepared to do whatever is needed for God to grow it. One way God grows our faith is through the spiritual discipline of fasting. As David Smith wrote,

“Fasting does not create faith, for faith grows in us as we hear, and read, and dwell upon, God’s Word; it is a work of the Holy Spirit to bring faith to God’s people. However, fasting has the capacity to encourage faith in the one who is involved in this discipline. It seems as though the neglect of self feeds the faith which God has implanted in the hearts of born-again believers. This doesn’t mean that those who eat the least have the most faith; such a view is not only untrue, it is extremist. It is simply that regular self-denial has its benefits, and one of these is seen in a personal increase in faith.” —David R. Smith, Fasting: A Neglected Discipline (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1954), pp. 47-48.

Wesley Duewel, a twentieth century writer on prayer, described it this way:

“Fasting feeds your faith. …Your confidence begins to deepen. Your hope begins to rise, for you know you are doing what pleases the Lord. Your willingness to deny self and voluntarily to take up this added cross kindles an inner joy. Your faith begins to lay hold of God’s promise more simply and more firmly.” —Wesley Duewel, Mighty Prevailing Prayer (Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Francis Asbury Press, 1990), p. 189.

May God increase our faith and then may we act according to it, for the honor and praise of His great and glorious name. Amen.