MARCH 22nd, 2026 PASTOR DON PIEPER
A GOSPEL OF GRACE
LUKE 18:31-43; 19:1-10
“I WANT TO SEE!”
At first glance it would appear that these two men had little in common. One is filthy rich and the other is dirt poor; one is begging, the other extorting; one is named, the other remains anonymous. But the reaction from those in the crowd shows that they have more in common then what one might think. Both men are held in contempt by their neighbors. Both struggle with a deep sense of isolation, even shame. And both desperately want to see Jesus in action.
In that respect, perhaps, we can all relate. Who hasn’t been in a situation where you desperately wanted to see what was happening – or better yet, be a part of the action?
When I was growing up my cousins would often come to visit and we’d ask my Dad to give us a slide show. Anyone remember those? We'd sit in our living room watching as my Dad narrated: “So here’s Grandma Pieper in front of the house. And here’s a photo of her on the side of the house. And here’s a shot of Grandma after she’s walked to other side of the house…”
“Um, Dad,” one of us would say, “that’s just a picture of the house.”
“Yes, but if you look real close you can almost make out the shadow of her shoe, just after she walked around the side of the house. Oh, and here’s a photo of the Lutheran Inquisition…”
(Ken and/or Caleb run in from the sacristy wearing black robes)
Caleb: Nobody expects the Lutheran Inquisition....! Our chief weapon is surprise – surprise and fear!
Ken: That would be two chief weapons, sir – surprise and fear!
Caleb: Right! Our two chief weapons are surprise and fear – and diabolical laughter! (both laugh...)
Don: Wait! Hold on! Stop! You guys, we did that already – a couple of weeks ago.
Both: We did? (looking at each other) Oh. (to cong) Never mind! (race back to sacristy)
Musicians..! Any way, we’re watching slides and Dad had some great shots of us sledding, swimming, making movies or whatever and inevitably little Becky would be so memorized that she’d wander up in front of the projector! First it was: “Oh, how cute.” Then it would be:“Becky, move! ” And then: “Down in front! I can’t see! You make a better wall than a window! Move – I wanna see!”
“I can't see but I want to see!” (Luke 18:41) So cries the blind man. There’s something about the blind beggar’s desperate request that becries of a deep human longing. As we track his story there's a progression that is both subtle and sublime - from longing to hearing to seeing to belonging.
In Luke 18 we read that “As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road.”(18:35) He's positioned himself where people walk by. Occasionally someone drops some extra change in his cup, but not very often. Even those who do, rarely, if ever, pause to offer a kind word or any expression of interest in his well being. He longs for meaningful human connection, and finds none. Luke doesn’t even tell us his name. He's simply “a blind beggar… sitting beside the road.” The omission of his name is deliberate. It suggests someone who struggles with their worth & identity.
“When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening.” (Lk 18:36) 'When he heard' – his longing is linked with his hearing the sound of the crowd. Suddenly the street is filled with energy. People are talking and laughing with excitement. Perhaps he hears that voice and dares to hope. He wants to know what’s happening. Why are they so excited? Could it be? Then his hope is confirmed. “They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by.” (Luke 18:37)
-2-
He’s heard of this Nazarene. He's heard that he's no mere carpenter. The eyes of his heart are already clearing. He identifies 'Nazarene' as the 'Son of David', a messianic title – the one all his hopes rest upon. And so he cries out for help: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:37)
In hearing that Jesus is near he relentlessly articulates his longing:“Lord, I want to see!”
Others saw a loud obnoxious nuisance. Jesus saw a man with deep longing, and asking him about what it was he hoped Jesus could do, Jesus does it. Longing led to hearing, and then to seeing, to belonging.
“Instantly the man could see, and from that moment on, he followed Jesus...” (Luke 18:41, 43)
This progression brought to mind a scene from the film, Field of Dreams. Remember that one? A young farmer is troubled with a deep longing, a regret, over his disconnect with his father. And then, to his initial dismay, he begins to hear a voice: “If you build it, he will come!”
Throughout the film we’re led to believe that he is being told that if he builds a baseball field in his Iowa cornfield, his baseball hero, Shoeless Joe Jackson will come. But it is not Joe that the voice is talking about. The film’s epiphany comes as this young farmer looks and sees what he has so longed for - his father walking towards him. The two play catch filling his longing for reconciling & belonging
Just before Matthew tells us of Jesus training the twelve to go out and do what he's been doing,
he summarizes Jesus' passion and ministry: “Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages teach-ing in the synagogues and announcing the Good News of the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like a sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:35-36)
He saw their longing.... There's a longing for healing and belonging within each one of us, in some cases, buried down deep, a desire to both see and to be truly be seen. We want to know that there is more to life than meets the eye. We want to know that in spite of all the pain and tragedy in life that God is real and that He actually cares…about us, about you. We long to see him action.
*Both the bodacious, blind beggar and the cheating, conniving tax man longed to see and, in the seeing, truly be seen. Zacchaeus' attempts to do so were made famous by a song celebrating his efforts. * They lived in a culture that sized you up based on what was visible on the surface. Sound familiar? It's all about appearances. We, too, long to see and be truly seen and not merely to be sized up.
So what is hindering that from happening? These two back to back stories in Luke 18-19 offer a glimpse. Both of these seekers hit a snag that should make each of us stop and take note.
After hearing that Jesus is nearby but before the beggar gets the help he craves he hears some-thing else. He hears discouragement. And look where the discouragement comes from. It doesn’t come from Jesus' adversaries. It comes from those in the crowd who are following Jesus. When he began begging for mercy, “the people in front (near Jesus), yelled at him, 'Shut up already!”
(Luke 18:39; MSG)
It was those who were closest to Jesus, or like to think of themselves as close to Jesus. Again, in the story of Zacchaeus, it is those in the crowd who were traveling through town with Jesus who gossip about him and the tax man. “They were indignant and grumped, 'What business does Jesus have getting cozy with a crook like that guy!” (Luke 19:7; MSG)
Are you feeling the sting? I know I am. It would seem that those in Jesus' crowd far too often, like my cousin Becky, make a far better wall than we do a window!
-3-
I read of a man who heard of a guru sitting on mountain top. So the man climbed the mountain and asked the guru, “Are you divine?” “No,” the guru answered.
“Are you some kind of saint?” “No.” “Are you a prophet or a seer?” the man asked. Again the guru answered, “No.” Exasperated, the man demanded, “Then what are you?” “I’m in pain,” the guru replied. “You’re standing on my foot!”
I wonder if we Christians aren’t too often a little like that man talking to the guru, too busy sizing one another up, oblivious to their pain and our tendency to add to it by stepping on their toes!
Some years ago I met with a woman who worshipped here for a bit with her husband. One day I bumped into her after realizing I hadn’t seen them around in a while and she agreed to meet for lunch. When I asked what she’d been up to she told me she had joined a local Buddhist community. When I asked why she told me how someone had dragged her along to a Christian Halloween event in which she said the focus was to scare the hell out of you. She said the spirit there was so angry and so judgmental that she knew that Christianity had nothing to offer her.
Erika told Dan: “I wish church leaders would be more empathetic and kind to other people who don’t necessarily believe exactly what they do. From what I’ve experienced and see on TV, they seem to like telling others that they are going to hell when you don’t agree with them. I have had Christians who try to evangelize me actually judge me without even knowing me and tell me where my eternal destiny will be. Not the kind of people you want to hang out with on a Friday night, are they?”
(as quoted in Dan Kimball's book, They Like Jesus But Not the Church)
It all must break Jesus' heart. I want to be the kind of person that seekers want to hang out with on Friday night. Perhaps the time has come for us to evaluate ourselves a bit and ask God to hold up a mirror so that we can see when and where we have been more of a wall than a window because of our critical spirits or judgmental hearts. We need to leave the job of transforming people to the Holy Spirit and instead spend our time loving and accepting them as they are, the way Jesus did.
It's a powerfully poetic that these two stories of seekers, seeking to be seen as much as to see, ends with a mission statement by Jesus: “The Son of Man came to seek and save those who're lost.”
(Luke 19:10)
It would seem that Jesus identifies with seekers because he's one himself!
Perhaps it's time to come before Jesus as did the blind beggar and beg him to have mercy on us that we may become, by his rich grace, more windows than walls to this hurting community. It's no coincidence that these two stories take place in Jericho where centuries before, by God’s hand and guidance, the walls came down! By Jesus hand they've come down again! That’s what I want to see!
There's a powerful moment in the film, World Trade Center, based on the experience of two New York policemen who struggle to survive buried in the rubble and darkness of the twin towers. Aching and longing for some sign of hope, one of them has a vision or dream offering just that. Jesus appears in a shaft of life, bearing a bottle of water, and saying. “I found you. I see you!”
There is a longing within each one of us, a desire to both see and to be seen, to see Jesus in action, to know that in spite of all the pain and tragedy in life, sometimes as a result of it, even in the thick of it, in the dust & darkness, that God is on the move and that He sees you. Can you see it?
That was what I asked my daughter as I lifted her on to my shoulders. We were at Disneyland and the princesses were arriving. “I can see them, daddy!” Then she squeeled..., 'YIPEEE!'
-4-
That's how these two matching, amazing stories end. As sight is received notice how it leads both to a sense of belonging and to the community coming to see and join in the celebrating as well! “Suddenly the man could see and he followed Jesus, praising God, and all who saw it praised God too!” YIPEE! As did Zacchaues, as he and others celebrated his new spiritual sight: “Salvation has come to this home today..., for the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost!” YIPEE!!
(Luke 18:43; 19:9-10)