Lord Open My Eyes To See You Luke 18 23 34 (1)
February 15, 2026
Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
Quinquagesima 15-February-2026 Sermon Text: Luke 18:31-43 Sermon Theme: “Lord, Open My Eyes To See You!” I. Revealed In Your Prophetic Word Cross Focused Word! (vs.31-34) II. Drawing Near In This Time Of Grace! (vs35-39) III. Mercifully Restoring Our Vision! (vs.40-43) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
Episode Notes
Quinquagesima 15-February-2026
Sermon Text: Luke 18:31-43
Sermon Theme: “Lord, Open My Eyes To See You!” I. Revealed In Your Prophetic Word Cross Focused Word! (vs.31-34) II. Drawing Near In This Time Of Grace! (vs35-39) III. Mercifully Restoring Our Vision! (vs.40-43) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
I.N.R.I. “Wir sein bettler, hoc est verum.” These are the last six written words of a a prolific writer. The translation of his German and Latin writings into English number nearly 70 volumes of nearly 350 pages each. After preaching over three and a half decades. He boiled it all down to “Wir sein bettle, hoc est verum.” It means, “We are beggars, this is true.”
Today we stand about fifty days before Easter sunrise. Before the light dawns, the darkness grows deeper, the bone chilling cold penetrates to our core. Yesterday there was much talk about love, but the majority of it was only a noisy gong, clanging cymbal, empty sacrificial self-aggrandizing acts of nothing. Our modern mockery of life long committed marital love between a biological male and biological female is evidence that the love of the majority is plastic. It is self-love grown stone cold with no pulse.
We need the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit to flood our ears, renew our hearts, and open our eyes. Therefore this morning. Repent! Pray! “Lord, Open My Eyes To See You!” I. Revealed In Your Prophetic Word Cross Focused Word! (vs.31-34) II. Drawing Near In This Time Of Grace! (vs35-39) III. Mercifully Restoring Our Vision! (vs.40-43)
I. Death, the last enemy we will all face, was drawing near. The prolific writer prayed, “Psalms 31:5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” He told those at his deathbed, “I will give up the spirit because my illness is getting worse.” He could feel death approaching. I have stood by many brothers and sisters in Christ contending against the last tyrant - death. Many Christians struggle on their deathbeds, as Jesus wrestled in Gethsemane with His Father asking that if it were possible take the cup of suffering, separation, pain, thorns, judgment, hell, and death from Him. Strengthened by the Spirit He prayed, Nevertheless, Father, Let Thy Will be done!
God the Holy Spirit comforts us on our death bed teaching us to pray with David’s Son and David’s Lord, “Psalms 31:5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.” Prepare for the day of your death - come to church every Sunday. Learn to pray daily, “Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes, shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee; in life, in death, O Lord abide with me.”
For the third time our Jesus takes His disciples aside to prepare them for the Last Passover. (vs.31) This is His final journey up to the one city blessed with the Name of the only true and living God. Now God in our skin goes up to His city and His temple. All the prophets wrote of the Son of Man will be accomplished. He will be despised, rejected, stricken, smitten, and afflicted. He will be mocked as God forsaken. In the crushing darkness of the hell we have earned He will cry out, “My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?’(Ps. 22) None of this is hidden from Jesus. He will not break step - He has resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem. He alone will be the One Passover Lamb - He alone will take away the sins of the world by His sacrifice.
Hear what is written by the prophets of the Messianic enthronement and rule: (v.32-33a) What strange coronation is this? Far from victory all I see is utter failure and defeat. From our corrupted conception we know that no one wins by losing. Captured in Satan’s web of sin we strive to win as much as we can - to be #1 - even boasting about our humility and fasting. They will kill Him! The Lord of Life will die! It looks like defeat! Satan, sin, and death have all conspired to swallow up the only begotten Son of God! How can Jesus march into certain defeat?
On the third day of the existence of all things the Son of God -the Word spoke! “Let dry land appear! Let life spring forth - plants bearing seed after its own kind.” It was so! Out of the watery chaos came dry land. New green verdant life sprang forth in creation. (vs.32-33) The third day isn’t an arbitrary number. It is the very number of the Holy Trinity. Life is never an accident - it always is the gift of our Creator to us from the beginning in His only begotten Son - Jesus!
This is most certainly true! (vs.34) Three years the disciples had been in catechism, seminary, instructed in God’s Word by the Lord Himself. Still they can’t see it. The cross makes no sense to them. They wanted a Messianic King to lead them in victory against the Roman legions. They wanted Jerusalem to be exalted over all the world to rule. They wanted glory - not the cross. They just could see Jesus the Crucified as their King.
Are you any different? The message of the cross is foolishness. We want a quick fix Jesus. Come to church one Sunday and say you believe - then never struggle with sin again. We want a therapeutic Jesus who massages our sinful egos with no call to repentance. In essence we too desire a cross less Jesus who just makes us feel good. We don’t want to face the depth of our sinfulness. We lie to ourselves - we are good people - we don’t need God in our Skin to be betrayed, beaten, spit upon, forsaken, crucified, and to die - FOR US! Stop lying - lay your sins upon Jesus’ wounds. Nail them to His hands and feet. Sink your sins as deep into His heart as the Roman spear pierced Him on Calvary. Behold Love - His Name is Jesus! He alone lays down His life for real sinners. Not a plastic love, but His very flesh and blood as He gives His beating heart into your death and mine to stop, to bleed out - that you may be forgiven. Behold! This is what is revealed in God’s promise preached by the prophets from Genesis to Malachi. Christ crucified is the heart the message of Moses, Elijah, and all the prophets.
II. The road from Galilee to Jerusalem passes through the city of Jericho. In Joshua’s day it’s mighty protective walls collapsed by the Word of the Lord. The new and greater Joshua draws near to free His people from their sins. (Vs.35) A blind man sits by the road. He is a beggar, that is all. He cannot see. He cannot work. He begs for scraps that he may exist. The religious in Jerusalem thought that the blind were cursed by God. They told the man born blind, that he was born in his sin. Even the disciples echoed the popular false teaching of their day. They asked Jesus, “Who sinned? This man? Or his parents? That he was born blind?’ Remember our Lord’s response? Joh 9:3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
The blind man has a name as we learn from Mark’s historical account. He is “Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus.”(Mk. 10:46) He is blind, but his ears are open to hear. He had heard the good news of Jesus of Nazareth. A man who raised the dead, restored lepers, freed the demon possessed, and opened the eyes of the blind. Through the Word echoing into his ears on the side of the road God the Holy Spirit had opened his eyes to really see Jesus. He is the Messiah!
Now he hears a crowd, a commotion, what does this mean? (Vs.36-37) Jesus of Nazareth has drawn near! He is journeying to Jerusalem that the Passover might be fulfilled in His flesh and blood once for all. He alone is the Lamb of God. He alone bears the sins of the world. He alone is the only Sacrifice for sins that saves us. He is traveling past Bartimaeus.
What should Bartimaeus do? Yawn? Roll over and sleep in? I can go to church next Sunday....Should he cash in on Jesus’ journey? Beg harder? People may be more generous? Sell dust from the road - Jesus walked upon this? Forget Jesus - and stumble to the stadium to watch the games?
What do you do when Jesus draws near to you on His journey? Take it for granted? Yawn?
Behold the Holy Spirit eyes of hope: (vs.38) Loudly Bartimaeus cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus - the Savior of sinners - my Savior. Son of David - the Messianic King born from David’s line! Have mercy on me! I deserve nothing! I earn nothing! I have no hope in myself - but you are Mercy! Turn Your mercy upon a poor miserable beggar such as I.
The crowd is scandalized by this beggar’s shouts. (Vs.39) They tell him to curb his enthusiasm. Be quiet! Don’t cause a commotion. Don’t disturb our peace by shouting for Jesus. The world, Satan, and your fallen flesh try to silence your prayers to Jesus. “Stop crying out the Name of Jesus!” “Stop begging for His Mercy!” “We are good people!”“We don’t need a Savior!” “Stop reminding us that we are beggars - poor miserable sinners!” “Keep your Christianity silent!” “Don’t raise your voice in the neighborhood!” “Don’t cry out to Jesus for mercy every Sunday as He draws near in Church!” “We are comfortable with the lie - I can be a good Christian and not go to Church - the place where Jesus has promised to draw near in His Word, in baptism, forgiveness, and His Supper.” Shush!
Repent! Jesus send your Holy Spirit to open my heart eyes to see you drawing near such a beggar as I - here and now in Your sanctuary - our local congregation. Cry out loud - “Jesus, Son of David, Have mercy on me!’
III. The bell rings! The Divine Service begins. Jesus draws near to you here and now! Jesus stops here every Sunday morning calling poor miserable beggars to Himself. “What do you want me to do for you?” How do you respond?
Bartimaeus persists in prayer begging for mercy. (Vs.40-41) The beggars prayer stops the Lord of Love in His tracks. He commands this wretch of a man in the world’s eyes be brought to Him. Samuel was sent by the Lord to anoint the next king of Israel. Eliab, the oldest son of Jesse, was tall and fit the picture of a king. God said, “No!” Don’t trust your eyes! 1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." The little shabby smelly shepherd David - the youngest would be king. For the Lord God had given David His heart and the Holy Spirit kept him in His faith, hope, and love through His Word recorded by the prophets.
Bartimaeus is brought to Jesus. The Lord has heard his prayer for mercy. What do you want? “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” He confesses that Jesus of Nazareth is Yahweh - the eternal Son of the Father - in our flesh - He has drawn near to have mercy upon us beggars.
Jesus blesses beggars who fix their eyes on the Father’s mercy in His wounds by Holy Spirit given faith through the Word. (Vs.42-43) Jesus speaks His merciful healing Word: “"Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." Immediately Bartimaeus’ eyes behold his salvation standing before him - Jesus! No longer a beggar, but a disciple who will follow Jesus to the Jerusalem to see His passion and resurrection. The crowds rejoice - God has come to have mercy on beggars such as I.
It was 3:00a.m., February 18th, 1546 when the poor miserable beggar died after praying, ““Psalms 31:5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” He fixed his eyes on Jesus to his final breath - and died in the faith he confessed and the Gospel the Holy Spirit had restored to the world through his pen. The beggar’s name: “Martin Luther.” In his shirt pocket a scrap of paper was found - where the day before he wrote: “"Nobody can understand Vergil in his Bucolics and Georgics unless he has first been a shepherd or a farmer for five years.
"Nobody understands Cicero in his letters unless he has been engaged in public affairs of some consequence for twenty years. "Let nobody suppose that he has tasted the Holy Scriptures sufficiently unless he has ruled over the churches with the prophets for a hundred years. Therefore there is something wonderful, first, about John the Baptist; second, about Christ; third, about the apostles. ‘Lay not your hand on this divine Aeneid, but bow before it, adore its every trace.' "We are beggars. That is true."
Ash Wednesday - us beggars will gather - the Law will trumpet “Remember dust you are and to dust you shall return!” “We are beggars. That is true.” With Bartimaeus, Luther, and all spiritual beggars we cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” - “Lord, open my eyes to see You!” Amen.
Sermon Text: Luke 18:31-43
Sermon Theme: “Lord, Open My Eyes To See You!” I. Revealed In Your Prophetic Word Cross Focused Word! (vs.31-34) II. Drawing Near In This Time Of Grace! (vs35-39) III. Mercifully Restoring Our Vision! (vs.40-43) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
I.N.R.I. “Wir sein bettler, hoc est verum.” These are the last six written words of a a prolific writer. The translation of his German and Latin writings into English number nearly 70 volumes of nearly 350 pages each. After preaching over three and a half decades. He boiled it all down to “Wir sein bettle, hoc est verum.” It means, “We are beggars, this is true.”
Today we stand about fifty days before Easter sunrise. Before the light dawns, the darkness grows deeper, the bone chilling cold penetrates to our core. Yesterday there was much talk about love, but the majority of it was only a noisy gong, clanging cymbal, empty sacrificial self-aggrandizing acts of nothing. Our modern mockery of life long committed marital love between a biological male and biological female is evidence that the love of the majority is plastic. It is self-love grown stone cold with no pulse.
We need the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit to flood our ears, renew our hearts, and open our eyes. Therefore this morning. Repent! Pray! “Lord, Open My Eyes To See You!” I. Revealed In Your Prophetic Word Cross Focused Word! (vs.31-34) II. Drawing Near In This Time Of Grace! (vs35-39) III. Mercifully Restoring Our Vision! (vs.40-43)
I. Death, the last enemy we will all face, was drawing near. The prolific writer prayed, “Psalms 31:5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” He told those at his deathbed, “I will give up the spirit because my illness is getting worse.” He could feel death approaching. I have stood by many brothers and sisters in Christ contending against the last tyrant - death. Many Christians struggle on their deathbeds, as Jesus wrestled in Gethsemane with His Father asking that if it were possible take the cup of suffering, separation, pain, thorns, judgment, hell, and death from Him. Strengthened by the Spirit He prayed, Nevertheless, Father, Let Thy Will be done!
God the Holy Spirit comforts us on our death bed teaching us to pray with David’s Son and David’s Lord, “Psalms 31:5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.” Prepare for the day of your death - come to church every Sunday. Learn to pray daily, “Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes, shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee; in life, in death, O Lord abide with me.”
For the third time our Jesus takes His disciples aside to prepare them for the Last Passover. (vs.31) This is His final journey up to the one city blessed with the Name of the only true and living God. Now God in our skin goes up to His city and His temple. All the prophets wrote of the Son of Man will be accomplished. He will be despised, rejected, stricken, smitten, and afflicted. He will be mocked as God forsaken. In the crushing darkness of the hell we have earned He will cry out, “My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?’(Ps. 22) None of this is hidden from Jesus. He will not break step - He has resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem. He alone will be the One Passover Lamb - He alone will take away the sins of the world by His sacrifice.
Hear what is written by the prophets of the Messianic enthronement and rule: (v.32-33a) What strange coronation is this? Far from victory all I see is utter failure and defeat. From our corrupted conception we know that no one wins by losing. Captured in Satan’s web of sin we strive to win as much as we can - to be #1 - even boasting about our humility and fasting. They will kill Him! The Lord of Life will die! It looks like defeat! Satan, sin, and death have all conspired to swallow up the only begotten Son of God! How can Jesus march into certain defeat?
On the third day of the existence of all things the Son of God -the Word spoke! “Let dry land appear! Let life spring forth - plants bearing seed after its own kind.” It was so! Out of the watery chaos came dry land. New green verdant life sprang forth in creation. (vs.32-33) The third day isn’t an arbitrary number. It is the very number of the Holy Trinity. Life is never an accident - it always is the gift of our Creator to us from the beginning in His only begotten Son - Jesus!
This is most certainly true! (vs.34) Three years the disciples had been in catechism, seminary, instructed in God’s Word by the Lord Himself. Still they can’t see it. The cross makes no sense to them. They wanted a Messianic King to lead them in victory against the Roman legions. They wanted Jerusalem to be exalted over all the world to rule. They wanted glory - not the cross. They just could see Jesus the Crucified as their King.
Are you any different? The message of the cross is foolishness. We want a quick fix Jesus. Come to church one Sunday and say you believe - then never struggle with sin again. We want a therapeutic Jesus who massages our sinful egos with no call to repentance. In essence we too desire a cross less Jesus who just makes us feel good. We don’t want to face the depth of our sinfulness. We lie to ourselves - we are good people - we don’t need God in our Skin to be betrayed, beaten, spit upon, forsaken, crucified, and to die - FOR US! Stop lying - lay your sins upon Jesus’ wounds. Nail them to His hands and feet. Sink your sins as deep into His heart as the Roman spear pierced Him on Calvary. Behold Love - His Name is Jesus! He alone lays down His life for real sinners. Not a plastic love, but His very flesh and blood as He gives His beating heart into your death and mine to stop, to bleed out - that you may be forgiven. Behold! This is what is revealed in God’s promise preached by the prophets from Genesis to Malachi. Christ crucified is the heart the message of Moses, Elijah, and all the prophets.
II. The road from Galilee to Jerusalem passes through the city of Jericho. In Joshua’s day it’s mighty protective walls collapsed by the Word of the Lord. The new and greater Joshua draws near to free His people from their sins. (Vs.35) A blind man sits by the road. He is a beggar, that is all. He cannot see. He cannot work. He begs for scraps that he may exist. The religious in Jerusalem thought that the blind were cursed by God. They told the man born blind, that he was born in his sin. Even the disciples echoed the popular false teaching of their day. They asked Jesus, “Who sinned? This man? Or his parents? That he was born blind?’ Remember our Lord’s response? Joh 9:3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
The blind man has a name as we learn from Mark’s historical account. He is “Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus.”(Mk. 10:46) He is blind, but his ears are open to hear. He had heard the good news of Jesus of Nazareth. A man who raised the dead, restored lepers, freed the demon possessed, and opened the eyes of the blind. Through the Word echoing into his ears on the side of the road God the Holy Spirit had opened his eyes to really see Jesus. He is the Messiah!
Now he hears a crowd, a commotion, what does this mean? (Vs.36-37) Jesus of Nazareth has drawn near! He is journeying to Jerusalem that the Passover might be fulfilled in His flesh and blood once for all. He alone is the Lamb of God. He alone bears the sins of the world. He alone is the only Sacrifice for sins that saves us. He is traveling past Bartimaeus.
What should Bartimaeus do? Yawn? Roll over and sleep in? I can go to church next Sunday....Should he cash in on Jesus’ journey? Beg harder? People may be more generous? Sell dust from the road - Jesus walked upon this? Forget Jesus - and stumble to the stadium to watch the games?
What do you do when Jesus draws near to you on His journey? Take it for granted? Yawn?
Behold the Holy Spirit eyes of hope: (vs.38) Loudly Bartimaeus cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus - the Savior of sinners - my Savior. Son of David - the Messianic King born from David’s line! Have mercy on me! I deserve nothing! I earn nothing! I have no hope in myself - but you are Mercy! Turn Your mercy upon a poor miserable beggar such as I.
The crowd is scandalized by this beggar’s shouts. (Vs.39) They tell him to curb his enthusiasm. Be quiet! Don’t cause a commotion. Don’t disturb our peace by shouting for Jesus. The world, Satan, and your fallen flesh try to silence your prayers to Jesus. “Stop crying out the Name of Jesus!” “Stop begging for His Mercy!” “We are good people!”“We don’t need a Savior!” “Stop reminding us that we are beggars - poor miserable sinners!” “Keep your Christianity silent!” “Don’t raise your voice in the neighborhood!” “Don’t cry out to Jesus for mercy every Sunday as He draws near in Church!” “We are comfortable with the lie - I can be a good Christian and not go to Church - the place where Jesus has promised to draw near in His Word, in baptism, forgiveness, and His Supper.” Shush!
Repent! Jesus send your Holy Spirit to open my heart eyes to see you drawing near such a beggar as I - here and now in Your sanctuary - our local congregation. Cry out loud - “Jesus, Son of David, Have mercy on me!’
III. The bell rings! The Divine Service begins. Jesus draws near to you here and now! Jesus stops here every Sunday morning calling poor miserable beggars to Himself. “What do you want me to do for you?” How do you respond?
Bartimaeus persists in prayer begging for mercy. (Vs.40-41) The beggars prayer stops the Lord of Love in His tracks. He commands this wretch of a man in the world’s eyes be brought to Him. Samuel was sent by the Lord to anoint the next king of Israel. Eliab, the oldest son of Jesse, was tall and fit the picture of a king. God said, “No!” Don’t trust your eyes! 1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." The little shabby smelly shepherd David - the youngest would be king. For the Lord God had given David His heart and the Holy Spirit kept him in His faith, hope, and love through His Word recorded by the prophets.
Bartimaeus is brought to Jesus. The Lord has heard his prayer for mercy. What do you want? “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” He confesses that Jesus of Nazareth is Yahweh - the eternal Son of the Father - in our flesh - He has drawn near to have mercy upon us beggars.
Jesus blesses beggars who fix their eyes on the Father’s mercy in His wounds by Holy Spirit given faith through the Word. (Vs.42-43) Jesus speaks His merciful healing Word: “"Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." Immediately Bartimaeus’ eyes behold his salvation standing before him - Jesus! No longer a beggar, but a disciple who will follow Jesus to the Jerusalem to see His passion and resurrection. The crowds rejoice - God has come to have mercy on beggars such as I.
It was 3:00a.m., February 18th, 1546 when the poor miserable beggar died after praying, ““Psalms 31:5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” He fixed his eyes on Jesus to his final breath - and died in the faith he confessed and the Gospel the Holy Spirit had restored to the world through his pen. The beggar’s name: “Martin Luther.” In his shirt pocket a scrap of paper was found - where the day before he wrote: “"Nobody can understand Vergil in his Bucolics and Georgics unless he has first been a shepherd or a farmer for five years.
"Nobody understands Cicero in his letters unless he has been engaged in public affairs of some consequence for twenty years. "Let nobody suppose that he has tasted the Holy Scriptures sufficiently unless he has ruled over the churches with the prophets for a hundred years. Therefore there is something wonderful, first, about John the Baptist; second, about Christ; third, about the apostles. ‘Lay not your hand on this divine Aeneid, but bow before it, adore its every trace.' "We are beggars. That is true."
Ash Wednesday - us beggars will gather - the Law will trumpet “Remember dust you are and to dust you shall return!” “We are beggars. That is true.” With Bartimaeus, Luther, and all spiritual beggars we cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” - “Lord, open my eyes to see You!” Amen.
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