Saturday February 17th, 2024
« Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man answered, “Master, I want to see! »
13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened.
15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus Himself suddenly came and began walking with them.
16 But God kept them from recognizing Him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces.
18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”
19 “What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and He was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people.
20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed Him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified Him.
21 We had hoped He was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.
22 “Then some women from our group of His followers were at His tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report.
23 They said His body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive!
24 Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, His body was gone, just as the women had said.”
25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.
26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?”
27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if He were going on,
29 but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So He went home with them.
30 As they sat down to eat, He took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them.
31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment He disappeared!
The words, “Let there be light” could mean “Lord, open my spiritual and physical eyes”.
To the physically blind fellow, it means “Lord, let me be able to see”.
To the spiritually blind, it means “Lord, open my spiritual eyes so that I may begin to see the invisible”. The Psalmist wrote in Psalms 119:18 ISV
« Open my eyes so that I will observe amazing things from your instruction »
This did not mean the Psalmist was physically blind; rather, he knew that he could only see the depth of the Lord’s will for his life in the word of God when his spiritual eyes were open.
Some people may be doing wrong thing without knowing and they would think they are on the right path (Proverbs 16:25).
This is so common among the religious and intellectuals.
The case of Saul of Tarsus who became Paul the Apostle is a classic example of this (Acts 9:1-6).
The story in our memory verse today points to the darkness of physical blindness. People shouted Bartimaeus down because he could not see.
A blind person may be subjected to unwarranted harassment, even from those very close to them, probably because they feel this individual is a burden to them, slowing them down.
In this story, it was those people who were scrambling to catch a glimpse of the Miracle-Worker – Jesus Christ, that were harassing him.
However, the man refused to be intimidated.
The Bible says that the more they shouted him down, the louder he shouted back – eventually drawing the attention of Jesus Christ to himself.
Shout back to the devil today and call on the Light to shine upon you in order to receive your sight-whether physical or spiritual.
Another lesson from this story is the fact that Jesus asked the blind beggar what he actually wanted.
The Lord needed to hear him open his mouth to seek His help.
Go ahead, open your mouth and pray about any problem you have today.
The Father of lights will beam His light upon the situation in Jesus’ name and you will be victorious.
Spiritual blindness is a terrible form of darkness.
In our Bible reading today, two of the disciples were so spiritually blind that they did not recognize their Lord until the light shone on them.
When the light of God shines on you, despair disappears, strength is regained and joy unspeakable would become your portion.
Praise the Lord.
Prayer focus – Pray like the blind Bartimaeus did, asking that the Lord would send His light upon you for new insights into His will for your life, in Jesus’ name.
Author – Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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