Jesus Predicts His Death

 Cup Prayer – This prayer will help you pour your heart out to God (Ps. 62:8). Begin with your hands folded together like an upside-down cup. Pour out before God all your fears, anxieties, guilt, sin and shame. Tell Him what troubles you. Take time to be specific. When you feel like you’ve poured out your heart, flip your hands over, folding them like an open cup, ready to receive from God. Sit in silence, asking God simply to fill you with His Spirit. If your mind runs back to sin, shame, anxiety or concerns of the day, flip your hands back over and pour it out to the Lord. When you are finished praying, read today’s Scripture and listen as God shares His heart back with you.

Daily Reading - Luke 18:31-43

Devotional -
Jesus Predicts His Death
by Pastor Jeff Morlock

This the third time in Luke that Jesus predicts his suffering, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. But the crowds can’t imagine a crucified king. And neither can those closest to Jesus, including his disciples. In this passage, the people who are physically able to see seem spiritually blind, while the blind beggar sees Jesus’ identity and purpose clearly. Why? Maybe because he’s the only one who perceives Jesus through the lens of Scripture. The beggar calls Jesus, “Son of David”and cries out to him repeatedly for mercy. Apart from the Bible, you simply can’t understand Jesus, which is why daily worship and study matters so much.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus inquires of the beggar. My hunch is that most answers to a blank check like that would be “short sighted”. But not this beggar’s answer. He knows how some people like to make a show of their generosity to street people, but he also knows that Jesus is different. He’s heard of Christ’s miraculous signs, including healing. So instead of asking for food or money that will eventually run out, the beggar asks instead to regain his sight. And when he receives it, he immediately glorifies God and follows the Healer.
 
Luke uses this story to illustrate that the kingdom of God has broken into the world, and that “… everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.” Jesus is almost at Jerusalem, where God’s plan will be completed. There he will bear the consequences of our disobedience. By his death, Jesus will take on himself the blindness and despair of the world. By his resurrection, he will heal all who have been blinded by sin, death, and the devil. “We are all beggars, it’s true,” Martin Luther is said to have uttered on his deathbed. What do you want Jesus to do for you today?

Make the beggar’s prayer your own: ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Do you know what you want and need him to do for you? Ask Jesus to help you see God’s presence in your life and world; to see where it is that he would have you to join him in his work. Praise Jesus for who he is, thank him for what he's done and for his promises to you.