What does Luke 18:42 mean?
Jesus is in the center of a crowd, walking from the Jordan River to Jerusalem for the Passover. It will be His last Passover; in a little over a week, He will be crucified. As the throng passes through Jericho, they hear a blind beggar ask what is going on. Undoubtedly, he's used to crowds at this time of year, but his one is unusually large (Mark 10:46). The crowd tells him Jesus of Nazareth has come (Luke 18:35–37).The man has heard about Jesus and cries out. The crowd tries to shush him. But Jesus hears and asks the man what he wants. The blind man says, "Lord, let me recover my sight" (Luke 18:38–41).
Right before this story in Luke's narrative, Jesus told the disciples that they are going to Jerusalem. There, He will be handed over to the Gentiles who will mock Him, flog Him, and kill Him. But on the third day, He will rise again. The disciples were confused. How does this chain of events lead to Jesus driving out the Romans, restoring the independent Jewish nation, sitting on the throne as king, and giving the disciples twelve thrones beside Him (Luke 18:31–34; Matthew 19:27–29)?
That was not the first time Jesus had warned them about what was to happen. On another occasion, they didn't understand and they were too afraid to ask (Luke 9:44–45). After telling the parable of the sower, the disciples asked for clarification. Jesus assured them that He meant for them to understand His parables (Luke 8:9–10). When Jesus talks about the crucifixion, somehow the bigger picture is hidden from them (Luke 18:34).
Unlike the blind beggar, the disciples have stopped asking Jesus to recover their sight. In fact, right before this interaction, James, John, and their mother asked Jesus for honored positions in His kingdom—still not understanding their reward is a long way away (Matthew 20:20–28).
