We begin in Luke 18 with the case of those who brought young children to Him that He might touch them. But the disciples rebuke them. Here we must determine between the strangers and the disciples. We see (in the disciples) that those who are more familiar with the things of Christ may be less intimate. These strangers had a better understanding of the Lord’s mind than did the disciples.
And we also see that the Lord is better to us than our expectations. The strangers had said touch the little ones, but the Saviour took them into His arms and blessed them (Mark 10:1616And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. (Mark 10:16)). How He exceeds all our thoughts!
Next, with the rich young ruler we have one with an uneasy conscience. He said, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He saw that the Lord was a good Man, as we speak, and having no peace, seeing the life of the Lord Jesus so displayed, he had no doubt that this Man must have the secret of peace. The Lord beautifully answers Him by asking him another question: “Why callest thou Me good?” You have no right to call Jesus good unless He is God over all.
The Lord tells the young man, “Sell all that thou hast . . . and come, follow Me.” He is saying, “If you put yourself in the track of Christ, you must be like Christ.” The Lord gave up everything and, as an emptied man, served others. If the young man were to be perfect, he must go and do likewise.
Alas, the young man could not give up everything for Christ and thus was unfit for the kingdom. Ah! worldliness and selfishness have no power to breathe the atmosphere of the kingdom of God.
Then the Lord is seen coming nigh to Jericho where there is a collision between the blind beggar and the multitude, and the Lord comes in to decide between the two. Are we not pleased with the decision He makes!
The blind man had called, “Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” He knew Him in His personal glory and in the boundlessness of His grace. “We beheld His glory . . . full of grace and truth” (John 1:1414And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)). If we do not recognize the glory of His person, the grace of His work is worth nothing. We must connect His grace and His glory.
The confession of the blind beggar showed an apprehension of these two things. He did not submit to the rebuke of the crowd but “cried so much the more.” In beautiful dignity, the Lord stops on His way at the bidding of a poor, blind beggar. Joshua once bade the sun and moon to stand still—but here the Lord of the sun and moon and heavens stands still at the bidding of a blind beggar! That is the gospel—the glorious, gracious One dispensing the grace of eternal healings to meet our degradation. Do we not admire the determination of Bartimeus (even as we admire Jacob laying hold on the divine Stranger; Genesis 32:2424And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. (Genesis 32:24))? He would not hold his tongue but cried out till Jesus stood and said, “What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?”
J. G. Bellett (adapted from Notes on the Gospel of Luke)