Luke 18:35-43

Healing a Blind Man

18:35 As ¹  Jesus ²  approached ³  Jericho, ⁴  a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 18:36 When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was going on. 18:37 They ⁵  told him, “Jesus the Nazarene is passing by.” 18:38 So ⁶  he called out, ⁷  “Jesus, Son of David, ⁸  have mercy ⁹  on me!” 18:39 And those who were in front ¹⁰  scolded ¹¹  him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted ¹²  even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 18:40 So ¹³  Jesus stopped and ordered the beggar ¹⁴  to be brought to him. When the man ¹⁵  came near, Jesus ¹⁶  asked him, 18:41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, ¹⁷  “Lord, let me see again.” ¹⁸  18:42 Jesus ¹⁹  said to him, “Receive ²⁰  your sight; your faith has healed you.” ²¹  18:43 And immediately he regained ²²  his sight and followed Jesus, ²³  praising ²⁴  God. When ²⁵  all the people saw it, they too ²⁶  gave praise to God.

Luke 18:1

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ²⁷  Jesus ²⁸  told them a parable to show them they should always ²⁹  pray and not lose heart. ³⁰ 

Luke 2:8

The Shepherds’ Visit

2:8 Now ³¹  there were shepherds ³²  nearby ³³  living out in the field, keeping guard ³⁴  over their flock at night.

James 1:9

1:9 Now the believer ³⁵  of humble means ³⁶  should take pride ³⁷  in his high position. ³⁸ 

James 2:5

2:5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! ³⁹  Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

[18:35]  ¹ tn Grk “Now it happened that as.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[18:35]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[18:35]  ³ tn The phrase is “he drew near to” (19:29; 24:28). It is also possible the term merely means “is in the vicinity of.” Also possible is a reversal in the timing of the healing and Zacchaeus events for literary reasons as the blind man “sees” where the rich man with everything did not.

[18:35]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[18:37]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. “They” could refer to bystanders or people in the crowd.

[18:38]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the blind man learning that Jesus was nearby.

[18:38]  ⁷ tn Grk “called out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[18:38]  ⁸ sn Jesus was more than a Nazarene to this blind person, who saw quite well that Jesus was Son of David. He understood what Luke 7:22-23 affirms. There was a tradition in Judaism that the Son of David (Solomon) had great powers of healing (Josephus, Ant. 8.2.5 [8.42-49]).

[18:38]  ⁹ sn Have mercy on me is a request for healing (cf. 17:13). It is not owed the man. He simply asks for God’s kind grace.

[18:39]  ¹⁰ sn That is, those who were at the front of the procession.

[18:39]  ¹¹ tn Or “rebuked.” The crowd’s view was that surely Jesus would not be bothered with someone as unimportant as a blind beggar.

[18:39]  ¹² sn Public opinion would not sway the blind man from getting Jesus’ attention. The term shouted is strong as it can be used of animal cries.

[18:40]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the beggar’s cries.

[18:40]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “ordered him”; the referent (the blind beggar, v. 35) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:40]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the beggar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:40]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:41]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “said.”

[18:41]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Lord, that I may see [again].” The phrase can be rendered as an imperative of request, “Please, give me sight.” Since the man is not noted as having been blind from birth (as the man in John 9 was) it is likely the request is to receive back the sight he once had.

[18:42]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:42]  ²⁰ tn Or “Regain” (see the note on the phrase “let me see again” in the previous verse).

[18:42]  ²¹ tn Grk “has saved you,” but in a nonsoteriological sense; the man has been delivered from his disability.

[18:43]  ²² tn Or “received” (see the note on the phrase “let me see again” in v. 41).

[18:43]  ²³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:43]  ²⁴ sn The presence of God’s work leads again to joy, with both the beggar and the people praising God (1:64; 2:20; 5:25-26; 7:16; 13:13; 17:15; 19:37).

[18:43]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:43]  ²⁶ tn The word “too” has been supplied for stylistic reasons.

[18:1]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ²⁹ tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

[18:1]  ³⁰ sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).

[2:8]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[2:8]  ³² sn Some argue that shepherds were among the culturally despised, but the evidence for this view of shepherds is late, coming from 5th century Jewish materials. December 25 as the celebrated date of Jesus’ birth arose around the time of Constantine (ca. a.d. 306-337), though it is mentioned in material from Hippolytus (a.d. 165-235). Some think that the reason for celebration on this date was that it coincided with the pagan Roman festival of Saturnalia, and Christians could celebrate their own festival at this time without fear of persecution. On the basis of the statement that the shepherds were living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night it is often suggested that Jesus’ birth took place in early spring, since it was only at lambing time that shepherds stood guard over their flocks in the field. This is not absolutely certain, however.

[2:8]  ³³ tn Grk “in that region.”

[2:8]  ³⁴ tn Grk “living in the field (see BDAG 15 s.v. ἀγραυλέω) and guarding their flock.”

[1:9]  ³⁵ tn Grk “brother.” Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. TEV, NLT “Christians”; CEV “God’s people”). The term broadly connotes familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a).

[1:9]  ³⁶ tn Grk “the lowly brother,” but “lowly/humble” is clarified in context by the contrast with “wealthy” in v. 10.

[1:9]  ³⁷ tn Grk “let him boast.”

[1:9]  ³⁸ tn Grk “his height,” “his exaltation.”

[2:5]  ³⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.