In Luke 18:18-25 we see a very rich man who is called out for not truly having faith in god because he is unwilling to give up his money as Jesus tells him to. Then in 19:1-10, we see another man who has manly worldly possessions but in his case we see that his faith in God makes him give up half of his wealth and repay any debts he owes, four times over. These two sections are similar in that they both deal with money and with the idea that a person who has faith in God will be willing to give up all of their possessions and follow Jesus.

In Lk 18:35-43 we see the story of the blind beggar. This same story can be found in Mk 10:46-52, but Luke has made several revisions. In Luke’s gospel, the name of the blind beggar is redacted. This removal of the name makes an anonymous character which, rather than being a real person, is a symbol for all people who may be blind to Jesus and his message. Also in his version Luke writes “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you”(Lk 18:42) while Mark writes, “Go; your faith has made you well”(Mk 10:52). These two statements, while similar, have very different meanings. While in Mark’s gospel the blind man is healed due to his faith, in Luke’s gospel Jesus sees the faith of the man and restores his sight to him. The differences in these two versions of the same narrative demonstrate the different views of the gospel writers on Jesus. While in Mark we have the misunderstood messiah, in Luke we have, as white puts it “a martyred sage”.

Looking at this same passage, Lk 18:35-43, as compared to Lk 19:1-10, we see words for sight in both and this is very important to note in regards to Luke’s view of Jesus. In the first passage we have the blind Man and in the second we have Zacchaeus. Both are blind in some way, whether physically or by avarice. Both receive sight in one way or another and this sight is knowledge which Jesus has brought as the martyred sage. The verse that really is defines Luke’s Jesus is this, “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” Especially with “seek” being a main word in this we can clearly see that Jesus should be viewed as a wise man who is bringing “sight” to the world so that people can understand his message.

In all of the narratives in this section people are blind, whether physically or metaphorically. In 18:18-25, the wealthy man is not physically blind but he is unable to see the “true path” and what real faith is because he is blinded by his desire to hold on to his money. In 18:35-43, we are confronted by a man who is physically blind, but is healed by Jesus. This man, is a poor beggar, and he has true faith in Jesus, so he is healed because of his faith in Jesus. Finally we have the story of Zacchaeus in Lk 19:1-10. Zacchaeus is blind in a similar way that the man in the first short narrative is, by his desire for money and possessions. But when Jesus announces that he will be staying in his house, Zacchaeus realizes his faults and quickly corrects him and shows his faith in God. By accepting Jesus and his teachings Zacchaeus is given sight of what true faith in God is.