Luke 18:31

Luke 18:31 says, Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.  Jesus took the twelve disciples aside, and told them they were going to Jerusalem, where the prophesies about the Son of Man, the Messiah, would be fulfilled.  If we are listening to God and have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we should be ready for whatever happens in life.  Verse thirty-two adds, For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:  Jesus told the twelve disciples the fate that awaited Him there.  He was to be delivered to the Gentiles, by whom He would be treated very badly.  There are still people today who are mocking and trying to discredit Jesus.  Verse thirty-three  continues, And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.  Jesus said after mocking Him and spitting on Him, they would then scourge, or whip Him, put Him to death, but that was not the end.  On the third day, He would rise again.  As followers of Christ, even if we are put to death for our faith, that is not the end.  We will rise again in victory through our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse thirty-four concludes, And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.  The disciples failed to understand what Jesus was saying, just as many people fail to understand the gospel today.  Verse thirty-five states, And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:  When Jesus got near Jericho, there was a blind man beside of the road begging.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we are spiritually blind beggars beside the road to salvation.  Verse thirty-six adds, And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.  The blind beggar heard a lot going on and asked what it meant.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we may hear a lot going on around us concerning Him, but we cannot understand what it means.  Verse thirty-seven continues, And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.  The people told the blind beggar that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  Hopefully, people will be curious enough when God is at work today to ask what is going on, and as Christians it is our responsibility to share the Gospel with them even if they don't ask.  Verse thirty-eight declares, And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.  The blind beggar called out to Jesus, acknowledging Him to be the Son of David, the Messiah, and asked Jesus to have mercy on him. We must cry out to Jesus to have mercy on us when we come to Him as spiritually blind beggars.  Verse thirty-nine states, And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.  Those who were going before Jesus told the blind beggar to be quiet, but he cried out to Jesus even louder.  There are still people today who would keep us from coming to Jesus for His merciful salvation, but if they attempt to, we need to cry out even louder that He would have mercy on us.  Verse forty adds, And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,  Jesus asked those around Him to bring the blind beggar to Him.  It is still our responsibility today to try and bring those who are spiritually blind to Jesus.  Verse forty-one continues, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.  Jesus asked the blind beggar what he wanted, and he said for his sight to be restored.  When we first come to Jesus, if He asks us what we want, we need to say that our spiritual sight will be restored when we put our faith in Him.  Verse forty-two states, And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.  Just as Jesus told the blind beggar, if we come to Him for salvation by faith in Him, we will have our spiritual sight restored, then we must continually look to Him for guidance.  Verse forty-three adds, And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.  The blind beggar immediately had his sight restored, just as we immediately have our spiritual sight restored when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  The man and those around Him followed Jesus and gave praise God.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we need to continually follow Him and give praise to the heavenly Father, and hopefully those around us will do so as well.