Resurrection Lutheran Church, St Catharines

Jesus, making His final trip to Jerusalem, identified Himself to His disciples as the Son of Man who “’will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.’ But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” (Luke 18:32-34). It was hidden from them. They could not see it. Even though they had eyes to see, they were blind.

 

But as they drew near to Jericho, “a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, He inquired what this meant. They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by’ And he cried out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” Could the blind man see what the disciples were blind to? The disciples from whom the destiny of the Son of Man was hidden, rebuked the blind man, telling him to be silent. “But he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (Luke 18:35-39).

 

Jesus called Himself the “Son of Man” who was headed to Jerusalem, to the cross. The disciples were unable to see that. They had something else in mind for Jesus when He would get to Jerusalem—an enthronement, a crowning, the inauguration of a kingdom. But they could not see it the way that Jesus described it. It was hidden from them. And so was the compassion and mercy of Jesus for a blind man shouting out along the way. What that might have to do with the Son of Man making His way to Jerusalem was hidden from the disciples. They were blind to the character of their Master.

 

The blind man called out to Him as the “Son of David.” The image of Jesus as a king was clear to him. But it was not a romanticized Son of David akin to Arthurian legend. It was not a king who had to be escorted to Jerusalem surrounded by a retinue of enthusiastic supporters, serving the double purpose of showing how popular He is and keeping the riff-raff at a safe distance, hurrying Him along so that any embarrassing interactions would be avoided and the picture perfect image of a pristine ruler might prevail; a postage stamp Jesus; a royal portrait Jesus. The Sallman pose with the side profile accenting the hair flowing over his shoulders.

 

The citizens of Ontario just had a provincial election, and all of the candidates did their best to project an image of a strong leader who could stand up to others that might seek to take advantage of our provincial resources. There were campaign managers involved who determined where stops and visits would be made along the campaign trail, and also which areas and situations would be avoided. There were also image consultants and speech writers and make-up and wardrobe artists, all designed to present a certain image to the public in order to garner favour with the crowds.

 

Some candidates still go door to door through selected neighbourhoods, hoping to make a personal connection, listening to concerns of the ordinary person. But these are also used to make television commercials and media spots, so much so that the focus is taken off of the citizen and put back on the candidate. Recently, a local pastor and an elder met with their local Member of Parliament in order to voice their concerns, the concerns of the members of their congregation. But instead of listening to the people with concerns, the politician merely used the meeting as an opportunity to reiterate the talking points of the party he represented.

 

Perhaps we should not expect anything more from our politicians. It is their vocation to act on a wider scale to represent people from all kinds of neighbourhoods and cultures and religions. It is not hard to see that they have to cater to the people they think will get them elected so that they might have a chance to do anything at all once in office. And it appears that is the way the disciples were thinking as Jesus was making His way to the capital city. They wanted to cater to the crowd and keep the momentum going. That was the only kind of Jesus that they could see.

 

That is not the Jesus that the blind man saw when he cried out, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” What he saw, he saw with his ears from the Scriptures he had heard throughout his life. Scriptures like Psalm 89 which depict a victorious king, a conquering king, a glorious king, but a humble and merciful king.

 

In choosing David to be the King of Israel, the LORD told Samuel not to look at the outward appearance, for God judges the heart of man. And the LORD could say of David that He had found a man after His own heart. David was not a man with the same heart as God, for there were great sinful problems with David’s heart as the accounts of his sins show us. But we are also given to see the actions of David’s heart as one that follows the heart of God, who prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51).

 

David showed mercy to the murderous King Saul who was hunting him down, and he could have easily killed him more than once. David answered the pleas of the faithful wife of Nabal and showed mercy to her undeserving, arrogant husband. He mourned the deaths of Saul’s family members and took in Saul’s crippled nephew granting him a place of honour in his own house.

 

Like the disciples, blind to Jesus’ intention in Jerusalem, the supporters of King David questioned these merciful actions of his. They couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t kill Saul when given the chance or why he would let Saul’s relatives remain alive. And later some of them deserted David and went to work for his enemies, including his rebellious son who tried to seize the throne from him.

 

David acted with unexpected compassion and mercy because he knew that his whole reign was due to the mercy that God had shown to him. He was not as kingly in stature as his brothers or as Saul. He knew that he could not have slain the mighty Goliath without the help of God. David recognized that even as king, he remained a servant, the chosen servant of the LORD. It was at the times when David forgot this that he got into trouble and was brought to his knees to implore God’s forgiving grace and mercy.

 

David knew that it was the LORD who granted him victory over his enemies, especially those troublesome Philistines. It was the LORD who extended the borders of his kingdom to reach the sea. David knew that God had treated him like a son, bestowing upon him glory and honour and rule and might that belonged to God alone. The LORD gave him the privileges of a firstborn even though he was the youngest in his family. The LORD saved him from lion, bear, giants, kings, armies, traitors, rebels, and even from his own sins.

 

And the LORD gave him a great promise: that one of his descendants would rule God’s kingdom forever. When the angel came to Mary to announce the coming birth of her son, he told her that it was the time for this promise made so long ago to be fulfilled. “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:31-33).

 

Jesus is the King of God’s eternal kingdom, and the disciples were overjoyed that He had come and they were full of expectation, especially as they made their way to Jerusalem. Jesus would be the King to bring God’s protection to His people. They may have even been singing the verses from today’s psalm on their way. “For our shield belongs to the LORD, and our king to the Holy One of Israel” (Psalm 89:18). They recognized that the Almighty God was behind their chosen king. They believed that the LORD would exercise His strength through Jesus in order to conquer all of their enemies.

 

But what may have escaped their notice at the time in all of the excitement and expectation, was that their King was not only concerned about defeating the enemies of all the people, but also very much concerned with the needs of every individual. So they sought to silence the blind man who would delay their procession and interrupt the flow of emotions that were carrying them along. The same emotions that hid from them the purpose of Jesus to suffer and die as their king.

 

The blind man could see with eyes of faith that this “Son of David” was also a man of personal compassion. He cried out that he might be treated with the kind of mercy that David showed to Saul’s crippled nephew: that he might be taken in by the King and have a place at His table. He could see Jesus as the anointed, chosen servant of the LORD, sent not only with might and strength, but also with mercy and truth. As the psalm promised: “I will crush His foes before Him and strike down those who hate Him. My faithfulness and My steadfast love shall be with Him” (Psalm 89:23-24).

 

Sometimes we are tempted to think of the LORD only as the one who will set right all that is wrong with the world by crushing His foes, and there does appear to many things that are wrong with the world. But His kingdom in Jesus Christ, the anointed, is not only about fixing the stuff out there in the world. It is also about Jesus ruling us with His personal compassion. That is, not just fixing stuff out there, but fixing the stuff that is in here. The stuff that is wrong with us individually. He is powerful enough to be victorious over the devil and the wicked world, and tyrants and natural disasters; and He is compassionate enough to be concerned with you: your enemies; your infirmities; and your sins.

 

You might even want him to pass by quickly, like an unwanted politician you see making their way through your neighbourhood. But He hears the inner cry of your heart, your need for a King of compassion and mercy not just to crush His foes, but to save you. And He comes to You and brings His healing power. He forgives you and brings you into His kingdom and gives you a place at His table. There He feeds and cares and forgives and guards and gives life everlasting.

 

For this King is not just one sent by the Lord to be like His servant David. This One is the LORD. He chose David to be like Him, mighty and merciful. He does not have a heart like David, but David had a heart like His, and showed compassion and mercy to those in need. David’s kingdom grew in territory, right to the edge of the sea, but the kingdom of Christ extends around the globe to all nations, languages, and peoples. David subdued enemies that had been attacking the Israelites for centuries, but our King Jesus has defeated sin, death, and the devil who has been attacking mankind from the beginning in the garden.

 

Of His kingdom there will be no end, and that means that of His mercy and compassion there will be no end. It won’t be shut down when the cameras stop recording. It won’t change after the votes are tabulated. It doesn’t change depending on which way the winds of society are blowing. He is the eternal King who was crowned with thorns for you, enthroned upon the cross for you, defeated sin and death for you, and lives and reigns for you now and forever. The King mighty and merciful, Jesus, Son of David, is here to have mercy on you.