Luke’s Jesus and Sight

Published on: Author: haileyz@uoregon.edu

In the passage of Luke 18:18-25 we see a rich ruler who asks Jesus what he needs to do to have eternal life. Jesus replies by telling the rich ruler that he needs to obey the commandments and sell, or give up, everything he owns. This makes the rich ruler sad which shows this ruler is not faithful enough in God to give up all of his assets to follow Jesus. Comparatively, in Luke 19:1-10, we see a rich man names Zacchaeus who desperately wants to see Jesus. Zacchaeus willingly gives up half of his money and possessions to the poor and he pays back four times the amount to anyone who he has defrauded from. Here, we see Jesus praise Zacchaeus for being so generous and he tells Zacchaeus that he surely will have salvation. “For the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

 

Luke 18:35-43 and Mark 10:46-52 tells a story of Jesus healing a blind man. Both these accounts talk about Jesus taking a blind man and giving him sight because the man had faith, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”(Luke 18.43). Just like Zacchaeus it was because of his righteousness and faith in Jesus that led Jesus’ praise of Zacchaeus.

 

Through these three passages Luke has narratavized the claim that Jesus “brings recovery to the sight of the blind”. It is through the story of the rich ruler who has no faith in Jesus and does not give up his possessions that the ruler does not save up for his future in eternity and therefore he is blind to faith. The passage Luke 18: 35-43 that Luke demonstrates Jesus’s literally giving sight to the blind through healing powers because of the blind man’s faith. As well, Luke 19:1-10 illustrates Jesus talking about sight as in understanding the kingdom of God on Earth. That the man gave up his possessions because he has faith and an understanding that money is not what Jesus is about. Luke’s Jesus did not come to be a king nor be rich or a war hero. Luke is defending his point that Jesus came to save people, and that Jesus accepts everyone and their faith is what matters and their understanding is what gives them sight and therefore salvation.