Luke 18:35–43: Faith, Healing & the Blind Beggar

September 16, 2026 

The Ten Signposts of the Bible

CAMDE—400—CALY

Creation. Abraham. Moses. David. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to-Come.

Last time, we saw that the rich ruler was interested in the kingdom of God and believed he deserved it. After all, he was a moral man who kept all the commandments. Well - except commandment #1, the one about having no other gods before the living God. In the end, the rich man’s money was the god he chose to serve. 

Today is in stark contrast to the rich ruler. We will consider a blind beggar who refuses to stay quiet until he meets Jesus. Let’s work through the account. 

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, and he will reach his destination in a matter of days. Today’s story takes place in the city of Jericho. There were actually two Jerichos — the old city we read about in Joshua where the walls came tumbling down and a new city built by Herod the Great. Herod loved the warm tropical climate of Jericho and built his winter palace there. 

Jericho is about seventeen miles east of Jerusalem, and reaching the Holy City requires a three-thousand-foot climb. The road from Jericho to Jerusalem is the one Jesus used when telling the story of the Good Samaritan. It is a fitting final stage of Jesus’ journey as he makes his way up to his ultimate destination. But along the way, he encounters a blind man. 

When Matthew tells the same story, he says there were two blind men (Matt. 20:30). Mark recounts the meeting and names one of the blind men (Mark 10:46). There is no contradiction between the accounts. Luke simply tells the story of the more vocal of the two men and sees no need to share his name. 

The blind man was sitting by the road, begging, his only source of income. Also, sitting by the road day after day, he would have heard stories about a man named Jesus—a miracle worker from Nazareth who claimed to be God. When the blind man heard a commotion on the road, “he inquired what this meant” (Luke 18:36). The crowd told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by” (Luke 18:37). 

That was all he needed to hear. The desperate man made a desperate plea. He cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:38). The disciples, who were part of Jesus' advance team, told him to stop and be silent. But he ignored them and “cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (Luke 18:39). 

There are two things to note here. First, the Old Testament prophets revealed that the Messiah would heal the blind. Isaiah said that when the Messiah comes, “the eyes of the blind shall see” (Isa. 29:18).^[1] Second, the blind man calls Jesus the Son of David, a Messianic title that acknowledges God’s Anointed One would come from David’s royal line (see 2 Sam. 7:16).^[2] Jesus himself says in Revelation, “I am the root and the descendant of David…” (Rev. 22:16). The experts in Old Testament law keep missing this. How ironic that a blind beggar sitting by the road near Jericho is exactly right. 

When Jesus heard the blind man calling out to him, he stopped and had the man brought to him. He asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Luke 18:41). The answer is clear, but Jesus wants the man to say it aloud. The blind beggar pleaded, “Lord, let me recover my sight” (Luke 18:41). Jesus said, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well”  (Luke 18:42). 

In Jesus’ answer, there are two important words to consider. The first is faith (Grk: pistis). This man believed in Jesus and trusted that he could and would help him. He acted on that belief by crying out to Jesus and refusing to be silenced. His focus was entirely on Jesus. The second word is “well” (Grk: sozo). This word can describe physical deliverance, but more importantly in the New Testament, it refers to spiritual salvation.^[3] The blind man’s faith in Jesus as the Messiah brought physical healing in his lifetime, but even more importantly, spiritual deliverance and healing for eternity.

Jesus spoke the words, and “immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God” (Luke 18:43). 

Let’s wrap up by comparing the blind beggar to the Pharisees, especially the rich ruler we considered last time. 

●      The Pharisees were experts in the Old Testament but still missed the Messiah. The blind beggar recognized Jesus as the “Son of David” and placed his trust in him. 

●      The beggar was poor but became eternally rich. The ruler was rich but remained spiritually bankrupt after his conversation with Jesus.

●      The rich ruler bragged about his moral merit. The blind man had nothing to offer. He admitted his need and dependence on grace. 

●      The rich ruler left Jesus feeling very sad. The healed man followed Jesus, praising God.

What a beautiful picture of trusting in Jesus! All of us are blind beggars in need of a Savior! When we call on Jesus, he turns no one away.

Read and reflect on Luke 18:35–43: Where might you be relying on what you have done rather than on what Jesus has done for you?

Talking to God: Ask God to help you approach him with the humility of the blind beggar-acknowledging your need and depending completely on his grace.

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