Alright, let's take our Bibles
now and turn to Matthew chapter 20. If you're taking notes this
morning, you can find this same account, but with a little additional
information. You can find it in Luke chapter
18, verses 35 through 43, and Mark chapter 10, verses 46 through
52. And so you can get a more clear
picture of what took place on our Lord's journey through Jericho
in these verses. As our Lord came into Jericho,
passed through it, and went out the other side, He healed three
blind men. Three blind men. One on his way
into the city. and two on his way out. Now,
one of the two that he healed on the way out was blind Bartimaeus. And in one of the accounts, that's
all you hear him talk about is blind Bartimaeus. But there were
two men. There was another blind man with
him. And that's peculiar of the Scriptures. That thought just came to me
that On a lot of occasions, God saved more than just the amount
that He named in the Scriptures. But He pulled certain men out
and recognized them to suit His purpose. And others He went by
and didn't say a word about. But our text this morning speaks
of the two that He ministered to as He left the city here in
Matthew. chapter 20 beginning with verse
29. And as they departed from Jericho,
a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting
by the wayside. When they heard that Jesus passed
by, they cried out saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son
of David. And the multitude rebuked them,
because they should hold their peace. But they cried out the
more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And
Jesus stood still." I've heard messages on that, and that bears
bringing this to your attention. that Herod couldn't stop him.
He couldn't make him stand still. And Pilate couldn't stop him.
And the Pharisees couldn't stop him. And the whole council of
the Sanhedrin couldn't stop him. Nobody, his disciples couldn't
stop him. But the cry of these two blind
men stopped him. He stood still. And he said,
he called them and said, What will ye that I shall do unto
you? They say unto him, Lord, that
our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them
and touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight, and
they followed him. Now let me remind you again that
when our Lord performed these miracles, they had reason and
purpose to them. He didn't just do these things
at random. It wasn't just something that
struck his fancy on that day and he did these things. These
miracles had reason and purpose to them. They were evidences, first of
all, evidences of His Godhead and deity. They said on one occasion, they
said, Never has this been seen before. This has never been seen. This has never even been heard
of. And then secondly, they were
performed to evidence His Godhead and Deity, and they were evidences
of His office as the Christ. This was the Christ, and these
were evidences that should come with Him. And then thirdly, they
were performed in certain locations to teach us something about where
we are and how far he must condescend to come to his elect. And then
fourthly, they were performed to demonstrate to us the conduct
and condition of chosen sinners who are brought to Christ. Overall,
these miracles, when we read about these miracles, They're
preserved to teach us something about the faith of God's elect. Now, there's a fourfold lesson
of faith given us in the healing of these blind men. Very simple
lessons, yet profound. Simple but profound. And that's
the way it is in the salvation of sinners. When God saves a
sinner, it's a simple thing. Though you were a child, you
could not err therein. They're simple things. And yet,
they're profound. And the first lesson of faith
is an awareness of our condition. I'm going to tell you something.
You keep this in mind when you're talking to religious folks, or
you're listening to preachers somewhere, or you're at a ball
game and one of them comes up and strikes up a conversation
with you. No Pharisee, no self-righteous
religionist, no free will works professor, no legalist, no ceremonialist,
No practical conservative will ever own up to himself as a sinner. He'll never do it. You couldn't
twist his arm and get him to do it. Now, he will admit to
have sinned. He will admit to that. And I
almost guarantee you, when the time comes, He's going to go
back in time somewhere before his profession even to talk about
that. He's not going to tell you that
he sinned today. He's going to go back there sometime
before his profession and talk about, you know, I sinned, I
did this, I did... But as far as being born in sin,
his condition being sin, you're not going to get him to own up
to it. Not going to get him to own up to it. These blind men,
I want you to listen to me. Look at this picture here that
the Lord gives us. These three blind men lived in
Jericho. That's very significant. They
lived in Jericho. He says at the outset of this,
if you caught this when I read it, He said, Behold, the Lord
passed through Jericho. The Lord of glory came to this
cursed city. Jericho was under the curse of
God. Did you know that? Do you remember
back in the Old Testament when Joshua took Jericho and the walls
fell down? And there was one person there
that the Lord saved out of that city. Do you remember who it
was? Rahab the harlot. The rest of that city was condemned
of God. He condemned Jericho after its
overthrow, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord that
raiseth up and buildeth this city that God hath torn down,
this city Jericho. And basically, he goes on to
say, anybody who had a hand in it or dwelt in it or gave consent
to those who did, all under the curse of God. You can read about
that in Joshua chapter 6. And then in 1 Kings 16 verses
33 through 34, it says that Ahab, do you remember who Ahab was?
Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than
all the kings of Israel that were before him. This man was
a rebel. And what did he do in his rebellion
to God? He did what I just read to you
that God forbid any man to do. He rebuilt Jericho. He rebuilt
Jericho. Jericho is a picture of Adam's
cursed race. Cursed of God. No fear of God
before their eyes. Walking in the vanity of their
own minds. By nature, the children of wrath.
Blindness is a picture of God's curse upon this world. Not physical
blindness, but spiritual blindness. Now let me show you here the
difference in this in the healing of another blind man over in
John chapter 9. Turn over there with me. John
chapter 9. Spiritual blindness leaves men
unaware of their condition. Spiritual blindness is in those
who wander around and say, we see. We see. But they don't see. That's spiritual blindness. Spiritual
blindness leaves men with a false security. Spiritual blindness
enables the rulers of the darkness of this world to take them captive
at his will. They're duped. They're deceived.
They've been lied to. They have a false refuge. And
He just literally takes them at His will. He can have them
going down this road and put them on this road just that quick.
Because they're deceived. They can't see. They're blind.
You take a blind man and he goes outside and the whole front yard
might be full of rattlesnakes. He don't know it. You say, just
go ahead. The path is clear. He'll smile
and away he goes. Nothing in your way. Send him
right into a bunch of rattlesnakes. He can't see. And so it is with
the sinner. He's blind. He can't see. He
pokes along with a cane. He can't see. And that's spiritual
blindness. It's a picture of it. Here in
John 9, verse 1, as Jesus passed by, he saw a
man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked
him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind? Jesus answered, neither hath
this man sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God should
be made manifest in him." God had a purpose in his blindness. He had a purpose in it. This
man's blindness was given to him that in God's time he might
show his glory to him and in him. Now skip down to the end
of that chapter and watch here now as the Lord takes this and
applies it. Verse 39, And Jesus said, For
judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not
might see, and that they which see might be made blind. That is spiritual. How He shows
us that? And some of the Pharisees which
were with Him heard these words, and they said unto them, Are
we blind also? Is that what you're saying? We're
blind? Now watch this. Jesus said unto them, If you
were blind, you should have no sin. But now you say, We see. Therefore your sin remaineth. Spiritual blindness. Faith begins
with an awareness of our condition. These men were blind. They were
probably the only ones in that whole multitude who realized
their condition. They were blind. Everybody else
had a different reasoning. Be still. Be still. You're disturbing
things. They were the only ones who knew
what was going on. Only ones in that whole outfit
knew what was going on. And I'll tell you this, how do
you know that? Because they called on him. That's how I know that.
And that's how I know when a man or a woman is under the conviction
of God, and God made them aware of their sins, they'll call on
Him. They won't hesitate. They'll call on Him. Their condition,
the reality of their condition moves them to seek the Lord.
They're no longer putting constraints on Him. They're no longer trying
to hold Him within their grasp, trying to control what He does
and what He says and who He is. They realize who they are and
who He is. And they realize the grace of
the moment and they call on Him. And then the second lesson of
faith given to us in the healing of these blind men is hearing.
Turn with me to Romans chapter 10. Faith cometh by hearing.
Hearing by the Word of God. Do you ever wonder where that
Scripture is? Where it was? What was said before
this was said? Brother Mahan always told me,
he said, don't just take a text. He said, read what it says before
the text. Read what it says after the text.
Then you'll get an understanding of what that verse really says.
Now, I know that you're very familiar with the text, but did
you know that it was right here in Romans chapter 10? You know, this And I want to
tell you this, there was a lot of men in that day of reputation.
There was a good number of the High Council of Israel there.
All honored men of reputation. And to be sure, there were a
lot of politicians from Jericho out there trying to get what
they could get from the crowd. And normally, these blind men
would have been busy taking advantage of the multitude. They'd have
been busy with their hand out. This would have been prime time
for them. But they heard that Jesus passed by. Look here in Romans 10, verse
13. I don't want to wear you with
this. I know this is a very familiar text. But he said, whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now, it's
very important to understand what that name implies. You see,
Paul had a background and a knowledge. These Jews had a background and
knowledge of the Old Testament. And in the Old Testament, God
proclaimed His name. He proclaimed His name to Moses,
and He proclaimed His name to Israel, and He proclaimed His
name throughout the whole world. And if you read the Word of God,
you'll discover that God declared His name to these people as Jehovah. Jehovah, God our Savior. This
is God's redemptive name. And in the Scripture, you'll
find that this word is used in its compound form. Jehovah and
then something, telling us to be Savior, He must be this. This is His name. He's Jehovah
Jireh, God's provision, set forth of God, anointed of God, ordained
of God, the one mediator between God and me, He is Jehovah Rapha,
the Lord which healeth thee. Jehovah Nissi, He is the Lord
our banner. He represents the church and
has honored God for us, satisfied God on our behalf, exalted His
law, faithful in all things. He is Jehovah Kadish, the Lord
who sanctifies us. He is Jehovah Rea, the Lord my
Shepherd. Jehovah Hasenu, the Lord our
Creator. Jehovah Elohenu, the Lord our
God. He is Jehovah Shalom, the Lord
our Peace. And especially here in Romans
10, He is Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness. That
is where Paul started out this chapter. And then He is Jehovah Shema,
the Lord who is present or at hand. I'm not saying that you
have to be a theologian to be saved, but you have to know something
about who it is that you call on. You can't call on a name
that you don't know. And that's what he tells us.
How then, Romans 10, verse 14, shall they call on him in whom
they have not believed? And how shall they believe on
him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?
As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach
the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.
But they have all not obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah said,
Lord, who hath believed our report?" Now, are you listening? So then,
see it there? Verse 17, so then, faith cometh
by hearing. and hearing by the Word of God.
Isn't that clear? Isn't that clear? These blind
men heard that Jesus passed by and they cried out, Jesus, Jesus. No, that ain't what they cried
out. They cried out, Lord. Ain't that what they said back
there in Matthew 20? They cried out, Lord, thou Son of David. Thy Son of David, Lord, recognizing
His deity and majesty, and Son of David acknowledging Him as
the Christ." Where did they hear? Where did these men hear? It
don't say. And men who don't believe in the necessity of preaching,
they like to find verses like this and run to it and say, see,
they didn't hear from a preacher. It don't say where they heard,
does it? But you don't come over to a picture to establish a doctrine. You go to some place plain like
Romans chapter 10 or 2 Thessalonians chapter 13 or somewhere else.
That's where you go if you want to establish the doctrine. And
then you come back to the picture. And then you see it in the picture. Where did they hear? How much
did they hear? He doesn't say. He just said
they heard. They heard. But I tell you this, if God ever
opens your heart, you'll hear. You'll hear. You'll hear enough
in that one sentence, in that one message, to turn your heart
upside down if He gives you ears to hear. And then the third lesson
of faith shown to us in this beautiful example of God's saving
grace is God's effectual calling. The effectual calling of God
is always marked by the sinner's calling upon the Savior. The
two great evidences of election are hearing and obeying. He said,
my sheep hear my voice. And I know them. And listen,
they follow me. They follow me. To the murmuring
Jews, the Lord said, murmur not among yourselves. No man can
come to me except the Father which sent me draw him. And I'll
raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets,
and they shall all be taught of God. Every man, therefore,
that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me." Now we go back to that question
in Romans 10. How shall they call on Him in
whom they had not believed? There is a general call and there
is an effectual call. The general call goes out as
a command with a warning. It goes out as a command with
a warning. The general call is a verbal
calling. It is a call as the ambassador
of Christ proclaims the gospel to you. The general call is an
intellectual call, declaring the gospel from the Word of God. And the general call is given
with a warning, except you repent, you all likewise perish. Here's
the command, here's the punishment. Let me show you that again. He
that believeth not shall be damned. Here's the command, here's the
punishment. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. And I'm telling you this, the
man who hears the call of God, will call upon the Lord without
hesitation and without excuse. False religion has duped men
into thinking that salvation is in their free will and they
go on in their life believing that at any time, any time, they
can make their decision to do this and do that, to straighten
up, turn over a new leaf, they can be saved. Any time they want
to, they can go to heaven because God is waiting there for them
to do that. And that's why they're so careless.
And that's why they're so undisturbed. And that's why they go on without
being moved. They just go on, go on in their
life, go on in their routines. But the Scriptures tell us something
different. He said, today is the day of salvation. He said,
today if you'll hear His voice, harden not your hearts as Israel
did in the provocation in the wilderness. Perhaps that's what
they thought. Maybe that's what they thought.
Well, God's going to save us. That's the whole reason God's
here. He's just here to save us. And
any time we want to, we can do this and we can do that. Exhort one another, he said,
while it's cold today, lest any of you be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin. God calls His sheep, and they
hear Him, and they obey Him, and they follow Him. And also,
they recognize God's delegated authority. They recognize that.
You know, we were made to do that in the military. Sometimes
there was a little guy standing in front of you about this tall.
You could take him out without any problem, but you dare not
do it because he was delegated authority. Once you took him
out, you had the whole U.S. Navy to deal with. And that's
the way it is with God. Lots of times, God's preachers
are not intimidating in their person. They're not intimidating
in their voice. They're not intimidating in their
name. But they're the delegated authority of God. And when God
gives you a heart to understand that, understand who He is, and
that this is His man, then you'll be fine with it. You'll be fine
with it. And then the last lesson of faith
is this. All who call upon Him receives
what their heart desires. Now, He shuts them up to certain
desires. He shuts them up to that. He
shuts them up to this thing of salvation. If God didn't shut
you up to salvation, there's no telling what you believe.
All you've got to do is walk out here in the world and listen.
Go to some of these churches if you dare. Go in there and
sit down. See if I ain't telling you the
truth. Madness is in the heart of man.
Madness. It's madness. There's no other
word for it. But all who call upon Him receive
what their heart desires. It says here, so Jesus had compassion
on them and touched their eyes and immediately their eyes received
sight and they followed Him. The leper, he found cleansing. The dumb, he found a voice. The paralyzed found strength
to walk. The demon-possessed found a strong
man who could overcome that one who held them in bondage. The
ignorant found wisdom. Sinners found forgiveness. The unrighteous found righteousness,
and the dead found life." That's right. You see that? In Him,
Paul said, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And faith
recognizes that. It recognizes that. And it recognizes
God's means. God has a means. He assembles
folks together. I don't know how many times I've
said this to you. He assembles folks together.
And you're here for that reason. Will you then ignore it? Will
you just brush it aside as a casual thing? Well, you know, I've been
to church a lot of times and this don't really mean anything
any more than any other. Is that how you look at that? Well, I tell you, back in Isaiah,
he said, keep thy foot when thou enterest into the house of God.
Be more ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools,
for they consider not that they do evil. Never enters into their
mind that what they're doing is evil. But take advantage. These two blind men, they knew
that if this man passed through this cursed city, he wasn't coming
back. Wasn't coming back. They had
one opportunity. One opportunity. And they called. They called. And they tried to
shut them up. And they called the louder until
they got his attention. Oh, God would move in someone's
heart here today and put that desire in them.