#152 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calls you.

“And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.”

This man is a picture of what we would gladly have every seeker of Christ to become.

In his lonely darkness, and deep poverty, he thought and became persuaded that Jesus was the Son of David.

Though he had no sight, he made good use of his hearing. If we have not all gifts, let us use those which we have.

I. HE SOUGHT THE LORD UNDER DISCOURAGEMENTS.

No one prompted his seeking.
Many opposed his attempts. “Many charged him that he should hold his peace”: verse 48.
For a while he was unheeded by the Lord himself.
He was but a blind beggar, and this alone might have checked some pleaders.
- Let our hearers imitate his dogged resolution.

II. HE RECEIVED ENCOURAGEMENT.

This came from our Lord’s commanding him to be called.

There are several kinds of calls which come to men at the bidding of our Lord Jesus. There is the—

Universal call. Jesus is lifted up that all who look to him may live. John 3:14, 15. The gospel is preached to every creature.
Character call. To those who labor, and are heavy-laden. Many are the gospel promises which call the sinful, the mourning, the weary to Jesus. Is. 55:7. Matthew 11:28. Acts 2:38, 39.
Ministerial call. Given by the Lord’s sent servants, and so backed by his authority. Acts 13:26, 38, 39; 16:31.
Effectual call. Sent home by the Holy Spirit. This is the calling of which we read, “whom he called, them he also justified”: Romans 8:30.

III. BUT ENCOURAGEMENT DID NOT CONTENT HIM; HE STILL SOUGHT JESUS.

To stop short of Jesus and healing would have been folly indeed.

He arose. Hopefully, resolutely, he left his begging posture In order to salvation we must be on the alert, and in earnest.
He cast away his garment, and every hindrance. Our righteousness, our comfortable sin, our habit,—anything, everything we must quit for Christ.
He came to Jesus. In the darkness occasioned by his blindness, he followed the Savior’s voice.
He stated his case. “Lord, that I might receive my sight!”
He received salvation. Jesus said unto him, “Your faith has made you whole.” He obtained perfect eyesight; and in all respects he was in complete health.

IV. HAVING FOUND JESUS, HE KEPT TO HIM.

He used his sight to see his Lord.
He became his avowed disciple. See verse 52.
He went with Jesus on his way to the cross, and to the crown.
He remained a well-known disciple, whose father’s name is given.
- This man came out of cursed Jericho: are there not some to come from our slums and degraded districts?
- This man at best was a beggar, but the Lord Jesus did not disdain his company. He was a standing glory to the Lord, for every one would know him as the blind man whose eyes had been opened.
- Let seeking souls persevere under all drawbacks. Do not mind those who would keep you back. Let none hinder you from finding Christ and salvation.
- Though blind, and poor, and miserable, you shall yet see, and smile, and sing, and follow Jesus.

Encouragements

“And commanded him to be called.” By this circumstance he administered reproof and instruction: reproof, by ordering those to help the poor man who had endeavored to check him: instruction, by teaching us that, though he does not stand in need of our help, he will not dispense with our services; that we are to aid each other; that though we cannot recover our fellow-creatures, we may frequently bring them to the place and means of cure.—William Jay.

Sad one, in secret, bending low,

A dart in your breast that the world may not know,

Striving the favor of God to win,—

Asking his pardon for days of sin; Press on, press on, with your earnest cry, “Jesus of Nazareth passes by.”

—Mrs. Sigourney.

“And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.” I remember once reading these words on a memorial tablet in a country church. Inscriptions on tombstones are often unsatisfactory, and scriptural quotations upon them most inappropriate; but this one was as suitable as it was singular. The squire of the village, a high-churchman, and an ardent sportsman, had late in life come under the influence of Christian friends, who brought him to a knowledge of the gospel; and to him the words of the Evangelist were applied. They were very suggestive. They told of pride, and worldly pursuits, and self-righteousness, of all to which the man had clung for a life-time, cast away that he might come to the Savior. For a sinner saved in life’s last hours a better epitaph could hardly have been chosen. I admired the piety that compared the rich man lying there to the poor blind beggar of the gospel story; the once highly esteemed garment of personal righteousness to the beggar’s worthless robe; and that expressed the one hope and refuge of the soul in Christ by the words “he came to Jesus.” It reminded me of the lines on William Carey’s tomb—

A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, On your kind arms I fall;

Be You my strength and righteousness.

My Jesus and my all.

—P.

Success in this world comes only to those who exhibit determination. Can we hope for salvation unless our mind is truly set upon it? Grace makes a man to be as resolved to be saved as this beggar was to get to Jesus, and gain his sight. “I must see him,” said an applicant at the door of a public person. “You cannot see him,” said the servant; but the man waited at the door. A friend went out to him, and said, “You cannot see the master, but I can give you an answer.” “No,” said the unfortunate pleader, “I will stay all night on the doorstep, but I will see the man himself. He alone will serve my turn.” You do not wonder that, after many rebuffs, he ultimately gained his point: it would be an infinitely greater wonder if an importunate sinner did not obtain an audience from the Lord Jesus. If you must have grace, you shall have it. If you will not be put off, you shall not be put off. Whether things look favorable, or unfavorable, press you on until you find Jesus, and you shall find him.—C. H. S.