THE BLIND MAN’S EARNEST CRIES – Charles Spurgeon
The Blind Man’s Earnest Cries
Introduction
“And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon me! And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Mark 10:47, 48.
Wherever Jesus Christ is found, His presence is marvelously mighty. The disciples, when Christ was absent, were like sheep without a shepherd. They were foiled in argument and even defeated in attempted miracles; but as soon as our Savior made His appearance among them, they returned to their strength. When a valiant general suddenly hastens to the rescue of his routed troops, the sound of his horse’s hooves reassures the trembling, and the sound of his voice transforms each coward into a hero. May the glorious Captain of our salvation show Himself in the midst of our churches, and there will be a joyous shout along our ranks. You will have no need to exchange ministers or wish for a better class of Christians—the same officers and the same soldiers will suffice to win splendid victories. If Jesus is present, the men will be so changed that you will scarcely recognize them. They shall be filled with power from on high and do great exploits in His name and by His strength. Nor does the divine energy of His presence confine itself to those who are already disciples of the Savior; but strangers, neighbors, wayfarers, and even blind beggars feel the effect of His nearness.
Providence and Grace Working Together
This sightless beggar hears the good news that Jesus of Nazareth passes by, and straightway he begins to pray. My brethren, there shall be no lack of praying hearts where there is a present Savior. If there are no conversions in the congregation, it must be because Christ is not dwelling there by His Spirit. You have grieved Him, and He is gone; you have forgotten Him, and He has left you so that you may come to know your own weakness and learn to glorify His power in the future. If the Lord shall graciously return to His Church, cries of penitents will be frequent, and the songs of those who have found peace by faith in Him shall go up to heaven in blessed chorus. Oh, that the Lord Jesus would appear among the churches of this our age!
We have much to mourn over. Infidelity audaciously seats itself in the chief seats of the synagogue. Romanism secretly eats out the very vitals of our national religion; broad and liberal views act as a moth upon gospel doctrine; inconsistency of life dishonors the profession of practical godliness. O Lord, how long, how long! If the Lord Jesus shall graciously work by His Spirit among us, we shall soon have our languishing churches revived; errors will fly, as the bats and owls betake themselves to their hiding places when the sun arises; and every sweet flower of Christian grace shall yield its blessed perfume under the genial influences of His celestial rays.
I thank God we have had Jesus here. We have often been able to say, “The Son of David passes by.” He is still here. Believing hearts, who recognize His presence and lament when He is absent, tell us that they often find Him sweetly manifested to them here in the preaching of the Word, in the breaking of bread, and in the fellowship of prayer. He is here now; but oh, we want to recognize His presence more fully; we want to see the divine influences, like streams from Lebanon, refreshing all our garden; we desire to see Jesus working more effectually in making poor sinners feel their need of Him and drawing them to Himself.
Providence at all times co-works with divine grace in the salvation of the chosen people. You have an instance of it here. It was providence which brought the blind man where grace brought Jesus Christ. The Lord might have been passing by, but if this blind man had not happened to live at Jericho—or if at that particular moment, he had not been pursuing his avocation of begging just on the particular road along which the Savior marched—he would never have heard that Jesus passed by! Consequently, he would never have cried out to Him and never have obtained the necessary cure.
Providence brings sinners under the hearing of the Word and moves the preacher to select topics suitable to their minds. Providence prepares them, as the plow prepares the soil, and grace guides the minister’s mind to act as the hand that throws the wheat broadcast over the field. I am thankful for many of you, that you are here this morning, for I know that “Jesus passes by.” And though it may be that you are still without the heavenly light of God, it is a circumstance for which you ought to thank God that many have here received sight from the Lord Jesus. It may be a singular providence which induced you to come here at all—I pray it may prove to be the white horse on which Christ rides forth, conquering and to conquer—that He may win a victory in your souls now.
Responsibility and Action
Permit me, however, to remind you that such a circumstance involves responsibility. Jesus passes by—the blind man sits by the wayside—if he does not cry, his blindness will, therefore, continue; and there will be an addition to all its gloom in the thought that he did not use the one means within his reach, namely, that of crying to the Physician for healing. Remember your responsibility, anxious sinner, and ask God to give you, now, divine grace to improve the flying hour, and may His Spirit lead you to imitate the example of the blind man and cry, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
I. The Blind Man’s Earnestness
Coming directly to the case before us, let us observe the blind man’s earnestness as a contrast with the behavior of many hearers of the Word. It was a very short sermon that was preached to him. He heard that Jesus of Nazareth passed by. He heard nothing more. I do not know that he understood doctrine—that he knew precisely why Jesus Christ came into the world. He could not have explained the system of theology; he had never had a clear and distinct statement of divine grace laid down before him. All he had heard was that “Jesus of Nazareth passes by.” But that short sermon led him to prayer.
Beloved, what a contrast between him and some of you! You have been sermonized until you are nearly sermon-weary. You have heard the truth of God until probably, in theory, there are none better instructed than you are. You know the precious doctrines of truth, so far as the killing letter is concerned, but you have never yet been led to pray; or, if the prayer has come, it has never been that earnest, heaven-piercing cry which will not be refused—“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” It has not been the passionate prayer of your spirit.
How many there are who listen to me so often, that I fear I shall never be God’s instrument of salvation to them. It is so easy for you to get used to one voice till that which once was shrill as the note of a clarion becomes like the buzzing of a bee in your ears—you get tired of it—you sleep under it as a miller sleeps while his mill is going, because it makes no sound to which he is not accustomed. My figures and illustrations you have heard; my tones of pleading you well know; my words of exhortation you can probably repeat by heart; and some of you are no more affected by 12 years of earnest effort than a piece of marble might be affected by 12 years of pouring oil along its hard unmelting surface.
It is a melancholy reflection, that instead of praying over sermons, many amuse themselves with them—that which costs us many a prayer and many a tear is of no further worth to them than giving an opportunity for exhibiting their critical abilities. I have not to complain of any hard criticisms from you; you kindly approve of my poorest endeavors, and accept my feeblest words. I almost wish that some of you did not! Oh, that you would but kick against the truth of God! Then I might have some hope for you, but alas for that indifference which makes you receive it all as a matter of course, and praise the style, and say you are thankful that the preacher is bold and honest with you, and thus, the whole thing ends in your having complimented me without having sought my Master’s favor.
II. The Blind Man’s Intense Desire
Passing onwards, we notice this man’s intense desire as an absorbing passion. There are many excuses which men make for themselves as to why they should not seek their soul’s salvation just now. A very common one is, “I am a very poor man; religion is for the gentle folks, for people who have time to spare—it is of no use to a working man.” This person was a beggar. His position in life was far less honorable than yours; but, though a beggar, he desired that his eyes might be opened. And you, who are superior in your position to him, you ought not to make the lowness of your estate an excuse for not seeking the salvation of your souls.
Where did that lie first come from—the lie that the religion of Christ is not for the poor? Is it because so many of our sanctuaries are gorgeous in architecture? Is it because it is usual on Sunday, and very properly so, for people to put on their best clothes? And does the working man think that, therefore, he would not be welcome because he happens to be out of work or has not a good suit of black to put on? Then, by all means, let us break down this prejudice and show the working man that he is welcome here.
I have often noticed you give a seat to a navigator or to a laborer in a smock frock when you have left very respectable people to stand in the aisles, and I do not blame you for it; well-dressed people may be less fatigued than those who have been toiling all week. I admire the choice you make because I hope it will go to prove that the working man is not a speckled bird among us.
Why, it is all nonsense because we see a congregation well and respectably dressed to think that they must all necessarily belong to the upper classes. A certain preacher said to me the other day, “You preach to the rich, I preach to the poor.” Now, this was from lack of knowing better. We have, I am happy to say, some rich among us, whose princely gifts enable us to do much for the Lord’s work, but still, our great multitude is made up of the genuine working class.
III. The Zeal of the Blind Man
Now, get rid of that excuse! Well, but this beggar might have said, “I must stick to my business.” His business was begging, and though Jesus Christ might be passing by, he might very reasonably have said, “I really have no time to attend to this gentleman, whoever he may be. His preaching may be all very well and good, but I must beg right on, for when I get home there is little enough in my hat, and I really cannot afford the time to attend to this gentleman.”
That is what many people say—“Really, our business occupies all our time. We have to be always at it, early in the morning, almost before the sun is risen, and late at night, till we are much too tired to read a book or to pray.” Ah, but you see, this man forgot his begging to find his eyesight; and you might well forget your trading to find your soul’s sight.
If it were worthwhile to neglect his begging to have his eyes opened, it were worthwhile, even if it were necessary, to neglect your business if you might but find Christ! Though, mark you, I do not believe that any man need neglect his lawful calling on account of religion.
This is your style of talking. “Look! I am so very busy just now; providence has put a good thing in my way and I must stick to it; I cannot be supposed to go out weeknights to hear sermons, and I cannot spare time for prayer. I need every moment that I can possibly get to make money, for now is my time; when I get old, and can get a house in the country, I may then rest and attend to divine things.”
Ah, you simpleton! Here is a man who flings away the golden opportunity of gleaning money of the multitudes, to seek his sight! And yet you are such a simpleton that you will not leave your gains to think of your eternal state. He might have made yet other excuses if he would. For instance, he might have said, “Well, suppose I do get my eyes opened; then I shall not be as well-fitted for my trade as I now am,” for a blind beggar gets twice as much as a man who can see.
Some of you feel, “If I had my soul saved, I could not trade as I now do; I know I should have to shut up that gin palace; I could not be the nurse of drunkenness, and yet call myself a Christian.” “I could not stand at that bar,” said a young woman to me, who had been serving at one of the gin palaces. “The Lord had met with me, I did serve a few nights, but I could not stand it. I could not serve glasses of gin and then go to the communion table—that would never do.”
There are some who are afraid to think about religion, because it will disqualify them for their business—and a blessed disqualification, too—may the Lord disqualify thousands for the accursed work. But oh, if this man could well give up his poor trade of beggary to pray for his eyes, you may well give up your wicked trade, if your souls may but enter heaven! If you should lose the entire world, you have lost next to nothing if you have gained eternity!
Conclusion
Brethren, let us remember that the blind man, with his one earnest cry, sought and found mercy. Let us not delay. The time may be now or never. Today is the day of salvation. Let us cry out to Jesus, for He is near, and He will hear the earnest prayers of those who seek Him with all their hearts.
The Blind Man’s Earnest Cries
Introduction
“For now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.” The beggar felt this, and therefore up went the cry, louder and yet louder, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He guessed at least something of the value of sight. He had heard what others told him of the happiness of gazing upon the landscape, the field, the flood, the sky. He longed to look into the face of friends and to know his own parents or his own children by sight. Well might he, if he guessed the value of his eyesight, cry most mightily. Sinner, you have at least a guess of the happiness of pardon! You have at least some idea of the sweetness of justification! You know, for you have often been told, that eternal life is well worth your seeking. Oh, may the Holy Spirit stir your heart this morning, till you can no longer keep back the cry, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
The Dread of Present State and the Hope in Christ
I say, if you think of the dreadfulness of your present state, of the hope which the presence of Christ affords, and of the blessedness which you might expect from restored eyesight, you have good reasons for being zealous. And, sinner, if you will think of the wrath of God abiding on you now—of the future with all its array of terror—and if you will remember the power of Christ to save, and the eternal blessedness of being safe in Him, all these things, and especially the shortness of time and the present necessity of your case, should move you to cry yet more and more earnestly, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Obstacles in Prayer
Let us pass on to a fourth point—this man experienced obstacles in his prayer, and this is a very common affliction. John Bunyan tells us that right by the wicket gate, Diabolus had a castle, and from this castle, he used to shoot at all who sought an entrance. Moreover, he kept a big dog which always barked and howled and sought to devour every person who knocked at the gate of mercy. I am sure that is true. Whenever a sinner gets to mercy’s gate and begins knocking, that noise is heard in hell, and straightway, Satan endeavors to drive the poor wretch away from the gate of hope.
In olden times, when the Algerian pirates took many Christian prisoners, they chained them to the oars of their galleys to row their masters. When Christian ships of war were seen in the distance, the captives knew that there was a hope of their being liberated; but their masters would come on deck and cry, “Pull for your lives,” and the whip was laid on to make these poor captives fly, by their efforts, from their own rescue. This is what the devil does. He gets sinners to tug at the oar, and whenever Christ, with His blood-red flag of liberty, is seen within hail, the sinner exerts himself to the utmost to get out of Christ’s way.
If that does not suffice, Satan will employ sometimes bad men and sometimes good men to stop the sinner from seeking a Savior at all. You know the ways in which the world will try to make a crying sinner hold his peace. The world will tell him that he is crying out about a matter that does not matter, for the Bible is not true. There is no God, no heaven, no hell, and no hereafter. But if God has set you crying, sinner, I know you will not be stopped with that—you will cry yet the more exceedingly, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
The World’s Pleasures and Distractions
Then the world will try pleasure. You will be invited to the theater. You will be attracted from one ballroom to another, but if the Lord puts the cry in your mouth, the intense anguish of your spirit will not be satisfied by the noise of violins, or by the shouts of those who make merry. Perhaps the world will call you a fool to be vexed about such things; you are melancholy and have got the mopes. They will tell you that you will soon go where many others have gone—to Bedlam; but if once God has made you cry, you will not be stopped by a fool’s laughter. The agonizing prayer will go up in secret, “Have mercy on me.”
Perhaps the world will try its cares. You will be called into more business; you will get a prosperity which will not make your soul prosper; and so it will be hoped by Satan that you will forget Christ in accumulated wealth and growing cares. But ah, if this is such a cry as I hope it is, poor anxious sinner, you will not be stopped by that.
Discouragements from Believers and Critics
Then the world will pretend to look down upon you with pity. Ah, poor creature, you are being misled when you are being led to Christ and to heaven. They will say you have become the dupe of some fanatic, when, in truth, you are now coming to your senses, and estimating eternal things at their proper value. Yes, but the worst is that even the disciples of Christ will act as these did in this narrative—they will charge you to, “Hold your peace.”
Some professors have no sympathy with anxious souls. Much mischief is done by the light and frothy conversation of Christian professors, especially on Sunday. How often sermons are blunted by a spirit of quibbling! I have heard of a woman who prayed for her husband’s conversion very earnestly, and one day, after the sermon, as she was walking home, she was speaking to her friend and pulling the sermon to pieces! The doctrine did not quite suit her taste. Her husband looked at her with wonder—that sermon had broken his heart, and yet here was a woman quibbling at the very truth which God had blessed to give her the desire of her heart!
I do not doubt that Christian people, by their unprofitable criticisms upon ministrations which God has blessed, may mar the good work, and be the instruments in the hands of Satan of urging poor sinners to cease their cry. But oh, poor soul, let neither saint nor sinner make you stop. If you have begun to pray, though you have cried for months, and no sweet answer of mercy has come, cry more loudly.
Persistence in Prayer
Oh, be yet more earnest! Take the gates of heaven, and shake them with your zeal as though you would pull them up—post, bar, and all! Stand at mercy’s door, and take no denial. knock and knock, and knock again, as though you would shake the very spheres, until you obtain an answer to your cries. “The Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” Cold prayers never win God’s ear. Draw your bow with your full strength if you would send your arrow up as high as heaven. He whom God has taught to be resolved to be saved will be saved. He who will not take damnation as his fate, but who feels he must have Christ, is already under the divine operation of the Holy Spirit! Such a man bears the marks of divine election upon his very brow; such a man must and shall obtain everlasting salvation.
The Power of Persistence in Prayer
I come to the closing point. This man’s persistence at last became so mighty that rebuffs became arguments with him. “He cried the more a great deal.” He took the weapons out of their hands and used them on his own account. What do you suppose were the arguments that they used to induce him to leave off praying? Would not one of them say, “Hold your tongue, you ragged, filthy beggar! Hold your tongue!” “That Is why I will not hold my tongue,” says he. “I am such a poor loathsome creature that I have need to cry. You gentlemen, who are better off, have no need to cry as I have; but the worse you prove me to be, the more need I have of the Master’s help, and therefore I shall cry the more.”
The devil says to you, “Do not pray, you are such a sinner.” Tell the devil that is the reason why you will pray, for being so foul and filthy, these are all arguments why you, above all others, should cry aloud, “Jesus, have mercy on me.”
Then they said, “Why, you have nothing to recommend you! Jesus Christ has not invited you; He has never looked on you with an eye of love; He has never called you.” “Then, it is the very reason,” said he, “why I should call Him. If I have no love token, then so much the worse for me, and so much the more reason why I should never be happy till I get one. If He has not invited me, then I will cry to Him for an invitation.”
You see, the more you can prove that the sinner’s case is hopeless and bad, you have only proved that the sinner has the more reason for prayer. If I am the furthest from hope, why, then, he who needs to be heard, and is a very long way off, must call loudly. He who is further still, must call more loudly still; and he who is furthest off must be the loudest of all—so if I am the furthest off from God and hope, I will only pray with the greater persistence till I do prevail.
“Yes, but,” said another of them, “you make such a noise. Be still! You disturb the whole neighborhood.” “Ah,” says he, “I am thankful for that, for now He will hear me.”
I think this man, if he had heard the Savior tell the parable about the woman whose perpetual coming wearied the Judge, must have said, “Make a noise, do I? So much the better! Then I will make more, for I see I bother you—perhaps I shall weary Him, so I will even keep on till the Judge is drawn to grant my request by the very noise I make.”
The Importance of Crying Out to Jesus
Some tell you, you should not be so earnest; you really disturb your friends; you have become so concerned about your soul that your friends are concerned about your sanity. Tell them you are glad of it, and you mean to be more earnest, for if you have made hard-hearted man feel, you will soon make God, who bids us give Him no rest, at last give you the desire of your heart.
Then they would say to him, “Now, do not disturb the Savior! He is so busy. He has so much to do. He is preaching now; He is talking to His disciples.” “Ah, well,” says he, “then if He does so many good things, the more reason why I should cry that He would do me a good turn, also.” It is of no use to ask a man to give anything who never gives anything—but the man, who is always giving, always will give. And so, from Christ’s many works, he derives a reason why he should cry. “Is He blessing others? Then why not me?”
Conclusion
So, dear hearer, when you hear of showers of blessings, ask that they may fall on you, and when you know that Christ is saving so many, make that a reason why He should save YOU— even you! Then they said, “He is on a journey; He is going to Jerusalem. He cannot be stopped by every beggar. Hold your tongue! When do you think He will ever get there if He is to turn aside to every clamorous beggar who chooses to urge His claim?”
“Traveling is He?” said he. “Then I will stop Him now, for if I once let Him go by, I shall never catch Him again. Going to Jerusalem to die! Ah, then my hope will be all over! I have Him now—I will not give Him a chance of going by.”
Louder goes up the cry, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”
If the devil tells you, “It is too late!” Then say, “I will go directly. I will not stop. If so many years have passed over my head without my finding a Savior, then every one of these shall be a spur to make me fly like the wind, more swiftly.”
It is very likely that they also said to him, “How dare you, a beggar, interrupt such a person as Jesus Christ? Why, He is going in triumph through Jerusalem; He is to ride with solemn pomp all through the streets; how can you think that you are to have an audience with such a great One as He is?”
“Great One, is He?” the man seemed to say. “Great One! I need a Great One! A little one will not serve my need; it must be a Great One who can open my eyes, and the greater He is, the more reason why I should cry to Him.”
So whenever you are alarmed at the glory and greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ, do not be put off because of that, but rather say, “Is He mighty? Then He is mighty to save. Is He a Savior and a Great One? Then He is just such a Savior as I need; I will never rest, I will never pause till He says unto my soul ‘I am your Salvation.’”
Now, I did solemnly ask God that He would, this morning, excite in some sinner a desire to pray, and that if there were one here who had been praying, and who was tempted to stop, the Word might be blessed by God the Holy Spirit to make him more incessant in his prayer. O may He grant my petition.
Remember that the only way in which this praying and this waiting will come to an end, is by looking alone to Jesus Christ. If you turn those eyes of yours away from yourself and your feelings and yes, your prayers, to Jesus Christ’s finished work, and trust Him, you will find peace directly! There is peace to the soul that looks alone to Jesus!
While I have been exhorting you to pray—and I meant to do it earnestly, more earnestly than I have been able to do it—I did not wish you to put praying in the place of believing. If you cannot as yet understand Christ so as to rest on Him, if you cannot as yet cast yourself on Him—then pray for more enlightenment! Pray to be led to faith. Pray that faith may be given you; but O may God give you the power and the will now, even now, to exert a living faith upon the crucified Savior—for there is “life in a look at the crucified One.”
Praying will ultimately bring you to that point, but I pray God to bring you to it now through His mighty Spirit, and so, like Bartimaeus, may we receive our sight and follow Jesus in the way, and to Jesus be the glory forever and ever. Amen.