You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor and teacher, Ken Davis. Pastor Ken is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro in Burleson, Texas. Please join us as we study the Gospel of Luke verse by verse.

There is a beautiful example that we see in this story of what we sometimes are like. You see, we as the church are walking with Jesus. And there is a great multitude that's walking with him today. Some are truly following after him, and others are just hanging around. Same as this crowd. In this crowd, in this multitude that followed along with Jesus, there were some that were truly disciples of his.

The Gospel of Luke is the third account in the Gospels of the life and teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As believers, there are few studies that will benefit us more spiritually than studying the life and teachings of the Master. Earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, we learned that not everyone who says Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. It's only those who do the will of the Father who will receive the gift of eternity in heaven. It's not enough to say you believe in Jesus, but you must also obey him. Are you doing the will of God? Don't forget to stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Heed the Word, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18, verse 18, as we join Pastor Ken.

Now you remember that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. And as he goes, he's teaching, and he's encountering a number of people. We talked about the rich young ruler as being one of the people that Jesus encountered on his way to Jerusalem. And we're going to go ahead and go back to verse 18 and we'll go on from there. Now a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? So Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good but one that is God. You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother. And he said, All these things I have kept from my youth. So when Jesus heard these things, he said to him, You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me. But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was rich. And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, he said, How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God. For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And those who heard it said, Who then can be saved? But he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Then Peter said, See, we have left all and followed you. So he said to them, Assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children for the sake of the kingdom, who shall not receive many times more in this present time and in the age to come eternal life. Now we're not going to break that down verse by verse today. We've already done that. I'm not going to go in depth, but I do want to mention a couple of things about it. This young man, this young ruler who came to Jesus saying, What must I do to inherit eternal life? was a young man who was very impressed with his own righteousness. He was a very successful man. He had accomplished a great deal at a very young age. For him to be a ruler as young as he was, as we're told in the other gospels as well, that's quite an accomplishment in that day and age. And he came to Jesus and he called him a good teacher. He recognized him as a good teacher, but he wasn't recognizing him as God. Jesus tried to point that out to him. He's saying, Look, you're saying I'm good. Only one is good, and that's God. So are you saying that I'm God? But the man fails to recognize what Jesus is trying to draw out of him here. And he goes on being impressed with his own righteousness, saying that, oh, I've kept all those since I was a lad. He's deceiving himself. So Jesus points out to him that you know what, you haven't kept all of these, because the bottom line is you covet because you will not willingly release that which you have, but you crave to keep that which you have for yourself. You won't give it to the poor. You're not loving your neighbor as yourself. And he also wasn't loving God above all other things because he refused to release his possessions and follow after Jesus. And so we see here a proud man, an accomplished man, a successful man, and yet a man who went away sorrowful. Then, as we move on, in verse 31, then he took the twelve aside and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge him and kill him, and the third day he will rise again. So Jesus calls his disciples aside and he says, Listen, we're on our way to Jerusalem, and I don't want you to be mistaken. I just told you about all the things you had inherited in this life and in the life to come, eternal life. I don't want you to get caught up in all of that and not recognize the fact that there's going to be some suffering along the way. That in fact, when I go up to Jerusalem, I'm not entering into the kingdom at that time. I'm going to be rejected at that time. I'm going to be spit upon. I'm going to be ridiculed. I'm going to be slapped. I'm going to be scourged. And ultimately, I'm going to be turned over the Gentiles and I'm going to be crucified. But lest you lose heart at that, don't worry, because on the third day I'm going to rise again. And so Jesus lays it out for them very clearly. He tells them in advance about the passion, about the suffering that he was about to go to, that their hearts might be prepared for it. And of course, all the disciples said, Really? Oh wow. Okay, well, we better get praying then so we can endure during that time. And boy, we're looking forward to when you rise again, because that's when it's all gonna happen. You know, were they saying that? No. They didn't get it. It went right over their heads. In fact, we see just how over their heads it went in the next verse. Verse 34, but they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. It is a triple emphasis that is placed here. Three different ways, the writer of Luke, Luke, tells us this. He says, they understood none of these things. Okay, so they didn't understand. The saying was hidden from them. They couldn't see it. And they did not know the things which were spoken. They completely missed the point. It was as though Jesus had called the disciples aside and says, listen, guys, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, Jerusalem, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know, and they just didn't get any of it. And so here are these men, these 12, these disciples, soon to be apostles of Jesus Christ. They had eyes that they could see, they had ears, and they should have been able to hear. They had minds that had been trained by three years with Jesus and they should have been able to understand. But they didn't. Now, by contrast to these two stories, we're going to see something very different today. Today, we're going to see a man who by no accounts was young, a man who was not successful, a man who was not a leader of anything, in fact, a man who was not wealthy by any standards, but rather was a beggar. The complete opposite of the rich young ruler. And yet, when he comes to Jesus, he doesn't just call him good teacher, he recognizes him as the Messiah. And here we have a man who, when he comes to Jesus with nothing, leaves rejoicing and follows after Jesus. Just exactly the opposite of the rich young ruler and the opposite of the disciples as well. Jesus didn't pull the man aside, didn't give him a primer in what was going to happen, didn't walk this man through the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah and about what was to come and about all the things that were going to happen. And yet, in spite of his blindness, this man had sight that exceeded that of the disciples, because without ever seeing Jesus, he recognized Jesus for who he was. I felt a heaviness in my heart as I've taught you over the last couple weeks, and I don't know if I've understood it. I guess maybe I felt like I was being hard on you, as though perhaps I was beating the sheep, as the expression goes. And I have had a desire to be able to come to you and to encourage you, not to make you feel guilty about what you should be doing or remorseful about what you haven't been doing, but to encourage you with the knowledge that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, has come and is extending mercy to you this morning. And so my heart is light today, and I am happy and I'm joyful to be able to deliver you this message this morning, because this, friends, is a good message. This is good news. What I have to share with you today is exciting. It's liberating. It's life. Verse 35. Then it happened as he was coming near Jericho that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. Now, this account appears also in Matthew 20, verses 29 through 34, and Mark 10, 46 through 52. Let's go ahead and turn to those verses so that we can have the full import of the passage today. Go ahead and turn first to Matthew chapter 20. Now, as we read these three accounts, you're going to notice some subtle differences. Leastwise you should. Matthew 20, verse 29. Now, as they went out of 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, O Lord, son of David. Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet, but they cried out all the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O 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. Now turn, if you will, to Mark chapter ten. Mark chapter ten, verse forty-six. Now they came to Jericho, as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Then many warned him to be quiet, but he cried out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me. So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, Be of good cheer, rise, he is calling you. And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man said to him, Raboni, that I may receive my sight. Then Jesus said to him, Go your way, your faith has made you well. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. Now, turn back to Luke, verse 35. Then it happened, as he was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. We'll read the rest of that text in a moment. There should be two things primarily, maybe three, that you've noticed that is different between these three texts. And very often critics of the Bible have looked at these texts and said, uh-huh, look right there, there's a contradiction in the scriptures. See, it's not true. You know, there's no contradiction here whatsoever. There are simply three different perspectives on a single event that transpired. If any three people look and see the same automobile accident, each one of those three people is going to remember and notice different details regarding that accident. Now, Matthew tells us that there were two people, and he names neither one of them. Both Luke and Mark tell us that there was one, or at least they mention one. Now, if Luke and Mark are focusing on one individual, does that by default mean that there was not another person with them? No. Does not indicate at all that there was another person with him. Now, Matthew indicates that there were two people, right? Does that mean that one of them wasn't Bartimaeus and that he probably was the most vocal of the two? It by no means indicates that at all. It is entirely possible, and in all likelihood very probable, that these various scriptures do describe the same incident. It's also possible that they might describe two separate incidents. I happen to believe that they are the same incident due to the similarities in the words that are spoken. And I also believe that there were two men, just as Matthew says, but that in the Gospels of Mark and Luke, the focus is primarily given to one of these two men, that being Bartimaeus, whom Mark names. Now there's another difficulty in the passage. And honestly, that's a bit more of a difficult thing to reconcile, isn't it? One of them said, as he was entering into Jericho, and the other two say as he was leaving Jericho. And that might seem to be a blatant contradiction, right? Because how could you be leaving and entering a place at the same time? Now, first of all, can I tell you that if we had more knowledge of this situation, it would be very clear. If more detail was given, there'd be no seeming contradiction whatsoever. So let me provide you with a little more information. At this time, there were two cities of Jericho. They were separated by about one mile. One of them was the ancient city of Jericho, or the Old Testament Jericho that was, you know, in decay. And the other was the new city of Jericho that was being built by Herod. And so there were two Jerichos at this time in that region, and they were separated by about a mile in distance. So Jesus, as he was leaving one, would be entering the other. Now Matthew and Mark, being Jewish in background, reference Jericho as the old Hebrew city of Jericho, and they mention this happening as Jesus is leaving Jericho. Luke, being Greek by descent, makes reference to Jericho being the new modern city built by Herod and says, as Jesus was entering Jericho. So again, these harmonize perfectly. Same story, same time, same place, two different perspectives. That's all that is. So as you look at that seeming contradiction, understand that anytime you see something in Scripture that seems to be a contradiction, if you have more information, the contradictions simply disappear because the word of God is true. Amen. Now, all of that having been said, it doesn't make one bit of difference regarding our interpretation of the text today. It's just an interesting point that I wanted you to be aware of, should you happen to notice those discrepancies. And so, let's move on in Luke 18, verse 35. Then it happened, as he was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man, we know this to be Barnamaeus from Mark, sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. Imagine yourself blind. In the city of Jericho, which was a very busy city. Jericho was the gateway between Europe in the north and Africa in the south. And all the troops that would be going down from one into the other would pass usually through Jericho. So there was a great deal of traffic going through that way, but there was also a great deal of traffic heading to Jerusalem, which was just a short journey from here, for the time of the Passover had come. And at various times there would be crowds passing through, and so Bartimaeus, this blind man who has no manner or method of earning a living aside from begging, sits there by the roadside. And he hears a great multitude approaching. Now he can't see who's coming, can he? So he begins to ask, hey, what's going on? What's all this noise? What's all this racket? Who's here? What's happening? Because there's an excitement in the air, a buzz, if you will. And so Bartimaeus asks what this meant, this multitude that was passing by. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. There is a beautiful example that we see in this story of what we sometimes are like. You see, we as the church are walking with Jesus. And there is a great multitude that's walking with him today. Now, some are truly following after him, and others are just hanging around. Same as this crowd. In this crowd, in this multitude that followed along with Jesus, there were some that were truly disciples of his. There were others who were enemies of his. There were some that were just hanging around to see miracles and wonder what was going to happen. There were some that were just looking for a free lunch. There were all kinds of people in that crowd following Jesus down to Jerusalem. And in the same way, there are all kinds of people in the church today. And as we go through this world, as we walk through this world together, we make a lot of noise sometimes, don't we? Wouldn't it be great if we made a lot of difference instead of just making a lot of noise? But these guys were making a lot of noise, and sometimes the world has a tendency to look at the church and hear all the noise that we're making and say, hey, what's all that about? Right? They're blind to the spiritual truth in terms of serving God and walking with him, but they see all the activity, they see all the things that are going on, and they say, Hey, what's all this about? And so the crowd tells him, hey, it's Jesus of Nazareth that's passing by. As soon as he heard this, as soon as Bartimaeus heard that the one who was the cause of all this commotion, the one that was walking through Jericho that day, was Jesus of Nazareth, he did a remarkable thing. He cried out saying, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet, but he cried out the more, Son of David, have mercy on me. Now, isn't that just like the church today? People begin to cry out for a move of God in their heart, oh Lord, help me, oh Lord, save me, oh Lord, I need your mercy. And what do we as the church saw and say, I'll be quiet? Shh, not so loud. Don't get so excited about Jesus. Come on. Don't you know how it is when someone becomes a new believer and they're all excited because, man, Jesus is here. I know Jesus. I've met Jesus, and they just they're going for the Lord and they want to do everything they can to serve him and to know. Him and to love him, and some old worn believer will come up and say, Yeah, you know, it's pretty exciting when you first become a believer, but don't worry, soon enough you'll be just like me. Just calm on down, have a seat, it'll be okay. No, we should be consumed with the zeal of the Lord and the love of God. And yet, so often the church says to Barnabaias, Oh, be quiet. Don't talk about what you need from Jesus. Just read this self-help book, or or or just give your offering, or just do this or that, or whatever. But don't cry out to him. Don't lift your hands in worship. Sit calmly, behave yourself. Such a picture of the church sometimes. May that never be us. Now Barmaeus did something here in verse 38. Something that I said a moment ago was a remarkable thing. For he cried out saying, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. He is doing something here that the rich young ruler did not do. He is recognizing Jesus not simply as a good teacher, but as the Messiah of God. He approaches the Lord Jesus humbly, crying out, not for affirmation, not for what must I do, Lord, to inherit eternal life. But saying, Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. Like the tax collector in the story that Jesus had told not long ago, where the Pharisee went and in his prayer said, Thank you, Lord, that I'm not like other men. I don't, you know, I tithe of everything I own, I fast, I pray, I do all the things I'm supposed to do. You know, not like that tax collector over there. But that tax collector, what did he say? He said he beat his breast and wouldn't even look up to heaven. He said, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. The cry of Bartimaeus is like unto the cry of that tax collector. And he cries out, Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. He says, Jesus, son of David, that is, have mercy on me. Now that title, son of David, is a messianic title. What does Messiah mean? Well, the Greek translation of it is Christ. So what he is saying is, Jesus, the Christ, have mercy on me. He's calling out to Jesus Christ for mercy. How sweet and how wonderful that is. Isaiah 9, 6 and 7 says this. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders, and his name will be called wonderful. Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 11:1 says, There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Well, who was Jesse? Jesse was the father of David. There shall come forth a branch out of the stem of Jesse, out of the son of Jesse, a branch out of David. And it says that that would spring forth from his roots. Well, what does that mean? It means that the line of kings would be cut off in the exile, and that the kingship would be taken away from Israel. And yet it had been prophesied that there would always be a man to sit on the throne, right? From David's line. And so the roots were still there, and out of those roots springs up Jesus of Nazareth, the heir of David, the rightful king of Israel.

Do you ever feel like the circumstances you're going through are more than you can bear? That God is in some way punishing you? Well, consider the words of Paul, and we know that all things work together for the good. To those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. So we learn from this verse that all things, not some, but all things work together if we love God and are called according to his purpose. Just something to think about from your friends here at Heed the Word. Heed the Word is the daily Bible teaching ministry of Ken Davis, Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel in Burleson, Texas. There's a great deal more that Pastor Ken has to share with us from the Gospel of Luke, so please join us again. Now, maybe you'd like to add today's message to your study library. Our online media is always available and free of charge. CD copies are also available upon request for free, but supplies are limited, so order today. To order a CD, simply log on to heedtheword.org and select the order a message option. There you'll find a convenient order form to fill out. The only information you need to remember is today's date. This ensures we get you the right teaching. So log on to heedtheword.org and place your order today. Or better yet, join us this Sunday for worship at 10.30 a.m. Directions are available on our website. That's heedtheword.org. Well, we've run out of time today, but tune in next time as Pastor Ken will continue teaching verse by verse through the Gospel of Luke. That's next time on Heed the Word.