Listen, believe, wait, pray, and follow

Sermon for Quinquagesima

1 Corinthians 13:1-13  +  Luke 18:31-43

Sometimes the ways of the Lord are clear as crystal; the pieces of the puzzle all seem to fit together; the things going on around you make sense. But sometimes the Lord’s ways are about as clear to us as mud. As He says through the prophet Isaiah, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

What do you do in times like that, when the way ahead seems fuzzy and dim? We learn that lesson from today’s Gospel, both from the disciples and from the blind beggar, all of whom had trouble seeing at first. The pattern we’re taught from their example is simple: Listen, believe, wait, pray, and follow.

As Jesus made His way through Judea to Jerusalem for His final Passover, He began to spell things out for His twelve apostles. See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that were written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be fulfilled. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon. And they will scourge him and put him to death. And on the third day he will rise again. For His part, Jesus saw everything clearly. He knew exactly who He was—the Christ, true God and true Man; He knew where He had come from—from God the Father; and He knew exactly why He had come: that the world through Him might be saved—saved from sin, death, and the power of the devil. He even saw clearly the path to get there, both because He was the Author of the plan, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and because it had been revealed, although somewhat obscurely, in the Old Testament Scriptures. He would go to Jerusalem at the Passover and allow Himself to be betrayed by His own friend, and by His own people, arrested, falsely accused, condemned, tortured, and killed. He would do this willingly in order to make atonement for the sins of the world. And then He would rise from the dead on the third day, ascend into heaven, and work, by His Spirit, with the preachers whom He would send out into the world to bring men to repentance and faith for the forgiveness of sins.

While Christ didn’t reveal every bit of that directly to His apostles at this time, He was very direct about His imminent suffering, death, and resurrection. Jesus shined the light on the path for them, but they were like blind men who couldn’t see, even in the light. We’re told that they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them. How can that be? It can be that way, because, when it comes to the ways and the things of God, only the Spirit of God can truly enlighten the mind, and sometimes He has a reason for keeping even the faithful in the dark.

In the case of the apostles, it wouldn’t work out the way it was supposed to if they had perfect understanding of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection before the fact. They had to be kept in the dark for a little while longer, for their own sake, for our sake, but also for Jesus’ sake, so that He could suffer more. You see, it lessens a person’s suffering to share it with friends, with those who can sympathize and understand. On the other hand, it increases a person’s suffering to go through it alone, without the understanding of family and friends. And Jesus had to suffer alone.

What did they do when they didn’t understand? Well, first they listened. Then, even though they didn’t understand, they believed in Jesus. And then they waited. They didn’t walk away from Jesus. Instead, they followed, waiting for the details to be made clear along the way. And in a matter of weeks, it would all be made crystal clear.

So search the Scriptures and listen to God’s Word, if the path ahead seems blurry or dim. Sometimes the answers are staring you in the face right there in the Bible. Believe what you read and hear from God’s Word. Wait for the Spirit’s enlightenment. Pray for the Spirit’s enlightenment. But also, be satisfied with what the Spirit gives and keep following Jesus, as the apostles did, whether you see clearly at the moment or not. The Lord has His reasons for not making everything clear to you now. Not that He has hidden His plan or His works from you. He has revealed more than enough of it in Holy Scripture to bring you to trust in Him and to preserve you in the faith. But you may not always “get it.” Sometimes He needs you to go along with Him, even to follow Him “blindly” for a while, without understanding why the things are happening that are happening.

You already know and understand far more than Jesus’ apostles did at this point in their following. You know the love of the Lord Jesus Christ better than they did. You know how far He went to become the sacrifice of atonement, how much He suffered, and how willingly He suffered it. You know how He would fulfill His promise to build His Church throughout the world. You know that He did rise from the dead.

If you confess Him as Lord, as the apostles did, then listen, wait, pray, believe, and follow. Everything was eventually revealed to the apostles, in the Lord’s good time. So go along with the story now, as it unfolds. Follow along with Jesus. You won’t be disappointed in the end.

Then in our Gospel we encounter a blind man. Actually, two blind men, according to Matthew, but they believed as one and called out to Jesus as one. Mark reveals the name of one of them: Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus. The fact that his name is known likely means that he became a well-known Christian over the next several years. He had no physical sight. He was reduced to begging, and the Lord hadn’t revealed to him why it had to be this way. For that answer, he had had to wait, perhaps a very long time.

But Bartimaeus’s physical blindness, and his blindness to the Lord’s plan, didn’t hinder him one bit from listening to the word about Jesus or from being enlightened by the Holy Spirit and brought to faith. As soon as he hears that Jesus is passing by, he cries out to Him, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! His prayer shows that he had been listening! Listening to the Old Testament Scriptures about the coming Son of David, the Christ. Listening to the reports about Jesus, both His identity as the Son of David and His power and His mercy on those who sought it from Him. He listened, and by the Spirit’s enlightening, he believed. Then he waited until he had an opportunity to cry out to Jesus. Then he prayed to Jesus directly. Lord, I want to receive my sight!

And what happened? Jesus said, Receive your sight! Your faith has saved you. Jesus granted his request freely, willingly, gladly. Not only that, but he praised Bartimaeus’ faith as that which led to his healing. Not because faith had the power to heal, but because faith brought him to Jesus, who had the power to heal. The blind man’s eyes were opened, enlightened, just as his mind had already been by the Holy Spirit. His sight was restored. And then, what? He followed Jesus, glorifying God.

It’s really the same lesson as with the apostles. If you confess Jesus as Lord and Christ, as the apostles did, as the blind beggar did, then listen, believe, wait, pray, and follow. You don’t have to understand everything now. Go along with the story now, as it unfolds. Follow along with Jesus. Do the things He has given you to do, the things you know to do, because His Word has clearly revealed those things. Listen. Believe. Wait. Pray. And follow. You won’t be disappointed in the end. There will be a cross. But there will also be a resurrection and a glorious future in the kingdom of God.

So listen to the Word of Christ. And believe in Him who willingly and intentionally suffered and died for you, whether or not you fully understand. Wait for the Lord to act and to reveal things in His time. Pray for the Spirit’s enlightenment and for the Lord’s strength as you wait. And as you listen, believe, wait, and pray, also keep following the Lord Christ, wherever He goes, wherever He leads, knowing that your Shepherd will never lead you astray. His path is the path of the cross. But if we suffer with Him in shame, we will also reign with Him in glory. That’s the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment in today’s Gospel. Amen.