What is our greatest need? If I were to panel 50 people, I’m very certain that an overwhelming majority would say money (or more money) would be the most desired need. For those who desire to be more spiritual, perhaps it would be the salvation of a dear friend or family member or for more of a saving grace in our lives to grow more in Christ; for salvation of our souls is truly a need of all and for all. Maybe a more personal need for some would be not just a healing but a miracle healing. For some, it may be a very basic need for food or shelter. Maybe—to what some esteem as a paramount need—the need for mankind is love. To which, yes, mankind certainly could use a healthy dose of love…Not just the simplest love from a man/woman or from a parent/child, but to receive (and hopefully give or reciprocate) a love that gives, forgives, and serves all people. And in a world of anger, frustration, bitterness, and yea even hatred, love could be what many would esteem as an ultimate need. And perhaps for some it might be a gateway breakthrough; a breakthrough that opens the door for a succession of other doors or breakthroughs and yet we are unable to attain because we cannot seem to get going on this initial and specific need for breakthrough.
And all of these are valid and true needs and I do not wish to minimize any of these aforementioned needs. But something resonated in my heart several days ago with perhaps the greatest need of all: to see. For the sailor, when upon the oceans for days or weeks at a time, when all they saw was water, and perhaps near chances of death while at sea, nothing was more satisfying than to hear the man in the crow’s nest yell, “land ho!” when land was seen at the horizon. For us more modern traveler by automobile, it is familiar landmarks that we see that tell us that our destination is soon coming. For Siri or whatever our GPS of choice to say, “Arrived”. I remember reading about Sir Ernest Shackleton’s expedition to the South Pole was met with much hardship, loss of supplies, loss of lives, loss of sleep and certainly loss of warmth, failed the first attempt and fought hard in the second attempt to come up short less than 100 miles from their destination. Roald Amundsen ultimately was the first to arrive at the south pole beating a much hard-fought attempt by Robert Scott by 33 days that ended with much tragedy for these late arrivers. These men and their teams sought for something that had to be seen.
And 2000 years ago, a cry came out from a very desperate man in Jericho. Luke shares this account in 18:35-43 (I’ll stop at verse 41 for the moment) NLT and emphasis added, “As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. So he began shouting, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ‘Be quiet!’ the people in front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ When Jesus heard him, He stopped and ordered that the man be brought to Him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘I want to see!’” I would really like for us to picture all of the following in our head. Despite Jericho being a busy city, Jericho represents the bottom (as in going to the bottom or going down, see Luke 10:25-37, because you had to go downhill from Jerusalem to Jericho) meaning it represents the carnal, the past, or the worldly influences. And in the midst of commerce, prostitution, people selling their wares (Jericho was also on a trade route), people fighting each other, injustice, etc. is a man sitting on the side of the road hoping for a handout as well as to have some value. And perhaps in the swirl of life spinning all around of us with work/school, family, responsibilities, perhaps ministry, etc. we may feel as if the whole world is going on in a rapid pace and we are stuck in a fog or in the blur of their activity. We’re there, but not in there. And in this, perhaps we feel marginalized, “kicked to the curb”, small, insignificant, everyone else is the bride and we’re just the bridesmaid…heck, we may not be even in the wedding party at all…we’re the one who is first one there, last one to leave setting up and tearing down while everyone else is having the fun and in the moment.
Further this man is a beggar. Why is he begging? Unlike today, being blind—born blind, macular degeneration, poor health such as diabetes, or through an accident—people still function doing something. With braille, computers, ADA-compliance, special schools, and social systems in place, a person who is blind has help and advantages afforded. But in Jesus’ time, this man had no help except maybe a person who helps him to his corner. And I want us to consider this man for a moment. Again Jericho is a bustling city, so here is a man who while sitting beside the road may have been taunted by a passersby. Maybe instead of coin being dropped into his hand, it was something else—like frauding or pranking the man with a piece of dirt, dung, junk metal, a rat, something. People coming and going and maybe he gets bumped or pushed out of the way, losing his day’s earnings, and having to steady himself back to his spot. People of influence of affluence casting glances at the “dirty beggar” as if, in their mind, the world would be better off if he was dead and gone. No value. Worthless. Inconvenience. A waste. A drain. This beggar may had heard Jesus saying (even if it was secondhand), “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 5:3). And with physical beggars, we may have in among us who are also beggars; people starving for affirmation, love, value/importance, or significance. Like this beggar who would like to contribute to society but is unable to, we may feel as if we have nothing to offer. Others are talented. Others are beautiful. Others are chosen. And all we want is a shot…a chance to show that we are just as special and just as important and just as loving as the next person. And yet for us, like for this beggar, ignored: what does he have to offer?
And out of the ordinary noise of the city, this man hears some voices. It starts indistinct, a here or there comment but it gradually increases in volume and noise. Cheering, hands clapping, voices of jubilation are all flowing together like the sound of a river flowing across rocks that eventually roars like a waterfall. This beggar asks what is going on. He tries to discern the cries and cheers to know if this is a nobleman, a wealthy man, or a warrior welcomed home. Tired of having their clothes pulled by this beggar who was being stepped on to know who is coming, he is rudely told that it is Jesus. The beggar’s heart lifts. He joins in the cries and cheers with a singular request, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”. Jesus, Savior, the Anointed One, the Messiah is being called out. The beggar didn’t need a sermon. He didn’t need another temple lesson. He was keenly aware of the Lord, born in the Davidic line, is the answer to all. Was it victory from Rome? Was it money this beggar sought? Was it notoriety? Was it to sit at Jesus’ table? From deep within his sinful, hopeless, hungry, and desperate heart he had only one request, “have mercy on me”. He knew apart from Christ, he had no hope: in this life and the life to come. Just to know the love and mercy of God to touch his life. Is he worthy of this mercy?
He is pushed and shoved. Others tell him to shut up. Minimized in meetings for our Christian stance, devalued because we choose to be a Christian and to live holy and now we’re treated as if we have an incurable disease and ought to be shunned.
The crowd swells around this beggar, forcing him against the wall of a house, his voice drowned out by the throng of others. Is it too late? He cannot see…Oh, God, this man cannot see if it is too late. With tears streaming from his eyes, cheeks hot, and his voice trying to rise above, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Maybe it is our voice crying out above our pain, above our sin, above our loneliness, above our desperation. And if Jesus passes by, it will be over…too late. Do we get quiet; do we weep in defeat? No, we embolden our heart stronger, “JESUS!!!!!!!!” We are so fed up and sick and tired of being sick and tired. Why must we continue another day with the “Kick Me” sign taped to our back? Why must we live another day apart from our truest need?
With a motion and a command, the crowd quietens. Tears stream harder. It is too late! His cries turn to silence as this beggar has nothing left to cry from his defeated, broken, and forgotten heart. And maybe this has been us in these two verses from Psalm 6:6-7, “I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows old because of all my enemies.” And the singular verse from Psalm 69:3 TLB, “I have wept until I am exhausted; my throat is dry and hoarse; my eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to act.” Then He hears voices whispering near him, He is asking for the beggar. What could Jesus want with him? Are you sure it is this beggar and not someone else that Jesus wants? Then he hears an almost gruff voice and a pulling on his arms, Come Jesus wants to speak to you. Confused, this beggar doesn’t know what to say or do. He tries to strengthen his walk but years of begging have left him weak in his legs. As if the youthfulness, chances for love and happiness, the joys of provision and good health seem to have been snuffed out. He is partly dragged to Jesus and then stopped.
And there stands Jesus with His loving smile looking at this man. Space has been provided by all those around. It is as if the whole world disappears and all there is is Jesus and this beggar. The beggar with quivering bottom jaw tries to see in what direction Jesus is. Is it real or is this a trick, like the times he had been tricked before by those mocking his condition of blindness and state of life as a beggar?
And with the voice of God speaking to this beggar, Jesus speaks to us…directly to our heart of hearts, “What do you want Me to do for you?” A complete blank check. If we were afforded that moment right here and right now, what would our request be? This is a one-shot deal. There is not second chance. There is no, And what else? There is no, Jesus I changed my mind and I want…(instead). All eyes are glued on this beggar. Jesus’ disciples gaze upon this situation wondering what will happen, as if they hadn’t witnessed many other miracles done by Jesus before. The crowd doesn’t utter a word to await on baited breath for this beggars response. Quickly in their minds, though, “money”, “home”, “clothes”, “power”, “influence”, “to walk with Jesus”, “to be His disciple number 13”. What would we say if we saw this? What would we ask if given this opportunity?
And often times we dismiss this mind’s blindness with lack of enthusiasm. I mean, we’ve read chapters of miracles and healings throughout the Bible. What is one more? And I wrote about this similar matter with another blind man, but I want us to revisit this thought anew. This man begged. He had no job to be proud of. No real substance or means to provide. Often he went to bed hungry. Often he wore nothing much more than rags. Perhaps forgotten by family, he never got the chance to be married and to have children. Why? In those days, who would ever want to be married to a blind man begging on the side of the road. Although he didn’t have physical leprosy, he wasn’t viewed much better.
And all this man could ask for, “Lord, I want to see!” There are several YouTube videos with people who have now had a chance to see or hear for the first time and their unanimous expression and joy with tears and appreciation/gratitude. With sight, this man could work. He could now see his family for what he could only feel in the dark. He could see the beautiful smile on a person’s face. He could see a beautiful sunrise all the way until it set behind the hills to the west.
And maybe we have our sight, physically, but maybe if we pulled back the layers of wants that we might get to the layer of need: that we may see. What do we desire to see? Would it be God’s living words lifted from the Bible rather than just black or red words on a white page? What do we desire to see? That when we go on an outreach, that we see what Jesus sees in each heart of the person whom we meet? What do we see when we preach or teach? That we invite people to Jesus so to speak like Jesus did while He walked on the earth 2000 years ago? What do we see when we travel to or through cities without a Fellowship church? Is it the need for hope in a city or area full of hopelessness? Is it a lost, broken, desperate people who are so lost, broken, and desperate like we once were? Does that motivate us to prepare our lives to carry Jesus’ banner to that city or nation? What do we see in our workplace or school? Is it others, who like we once were, living life and maybe having a form of religion but not knowing they are as blind as this beggar.
You see, there is a biblical principle that I heard many years ago that appears again and again. 1 Samuel 3:1-4, “Then the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. And it came to pass at the time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, ‘Here I am!’” First and is tragic that there was no widespread revelation. Today’s churches are filled with motivational speakers, not pastors, who are interested to only make their name known, who assign titles to their names, book deals to fill shelves of book stores, and interviews to help spread their message (and not THE message). Today’s churches are filled with screens on walls letting another man (or woman) preach/teach the congregation rather than a contending from the pastor/shepherd to do that job themselves. Today’s churches are filled with messages that are positive with two common traits: Jesus accepts you as you are (and do NOT change; or repent) and we need to be filled with a better vision of us. It has become humanistic, New Age (Steve Furtick), or flat-out false teachings. The Bible is no longer the standard. There is no Heaven and Hell. There is no right or wrong, good and evil. Even in a recent Christian magazine written by the editor we cannot even call out those (or principalities against God) “enemies”. Messages don’t draw us to the cross, to His resurrection, to His Heaven (and how to get there). It is about money, fame, living your best life now, to be motivated to be a better us rather than a sinner redeemed from Satan into the loving hands of Jesus.
And when there is no widespread revelation, something tragically happens found in verses two and three of 1 Samuel 3: Eli’s sight was being taken away. A man of God once said, that when we fail to see (meaning to see God, dig deeper in that well of Jesus, to know/read/pray more for Him) God will make it so we won’t see. And by seeing (perhaps physically), perhaps we also fail or are not allowed to see God’s blessings, provision, miracles, promises, etc. come. We fail to see the needs of the lost right in front of us because all we see is our wants. 2 Peter 1:9, “For he who lacks these things (what we read in verses 5-8) is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.” Further, we can woefully fall into depravity found in the following verses. Romans 1:21-32 (please read this for yourselves these verses as I will pick out select verses) and emphasis added, “because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened…who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen…And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting…”
Is there hope? Are we condemned with the lost, to be swept away in judgment, that we are lulled into a blindness that we ignore 2 Peter 1:10, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things (found in verses 5-7) you will never stumble”. That stumbling is likened to a person who is blind or someone who walks about in a very dark room hitting things with their legs and hands, groping for a light.
And out of the darkness—physically and/or spiritually—someone cries out, “Lord, I want to see”. Do we cry out like the young Samuel, Here am I? There is a part of the song Amazing Grace that says, “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” Who cries to see? Is it you? Is it I? “And Jesus said, ‘All right, receive your sight! You faith has healed you.’ Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.” Luke 18:42-43 NLT. With the faith the size of a mustard seed and with the faith that our darkened eyes look only to Jesus and to no one else or nothing else, we can now see. We are not aimlessly lost. We are not groping in the darkness. We are not relegated to a life of begging for love, hope, acceptance, destiny, promises from God. Our total faith in total (or absolute) surrender has healed us from blindness. And to see is our truly…greatest…need. Lord, I want to see.