The Sound In The Multitude

I've been thinking a great deal about good vs bad and belief vs unbelief and how they are different economies. A person who believes can be both good and bad but there is a quality there that transcends all of that.

"As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, 'Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.' And he cried out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' " - Luke 18:35-39 ESV

Did that man discern something about this multitude? Did he hear something different in the voices of the people? Clearly, not everyone following Jesus was 'good'. He was rebuked by a few of them.

This blind man cried, 'Son of David' and that was a special thing to say. He was acknowledging Jesus' Messiahship. He wasn't saying, 'Help me I'm a good man who needs help.' No. He was saying, 'I believe in You.'

"And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 'What do you want me to do for you?' He said, 'Lord, let me recover my sight.' And Jesus said to him, 'Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.' And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God." - Luke 18:40-43 ESV

That was the sound This blind man heard. He heard people in the midst of the multitude glorifying God. Good and bad are all around us. There is nothing extraordinary about that. It is very subjective.

"They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them..." - Romans 2:15 ESV

Accusing and excusing and it is all natural thinking. We can be in places where the standards are so impossibly high that this is happening all the time and people's thoughts are occupied with accusations and excuses but the blind man heard a different sound in this multitude. It wasn't a crowd of perfect people praising each other's perfection. People were glorifying God and Jesus was in the center of that crowd. He was the person that was making that happen.

We can jump on to the treadmill of performance today but people need to hear a different sound. Some will look for the source of that sound and find Him. He Is the man with healing in His wings. He Is God Himself walking in the multitude that magnifies His name.

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