Charles Spurgeon Commentary Luke 18:40-41

"And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight." — Luke 18:40-41 (ASV)

And commanded him to be brought to him: and when he came near, he asked him, saying, What do you want me to do for you?

Our Lord likes us to know what it is that we want. He would have us feel our need, that we may have a distinct perception of the blessing when it comes, and know just what it is.

And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.

There was no waste of words. He said what he meant, and he meant what he said, and he knew what he wanted. It is a great thing, in prayer, to know what we really need—a very important thing to be sensible enough not to multiply words, but to cry to the Lord with a definite object, as this blind man said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.

And commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.

It is a great thing to know what you really do want. There are some persons who are so blind that they do not know that they are blind; and because they say, "We see," therefore is their blindness the more intense. I fear that there is many a person, who professes to pray, yet who, if Christ should come into the room, and say, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? would not know how to answer the question. This man did; and he said, very briefly, and very clearly, but in a very full way, Lord, that I may receive my sight.

And when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.

A plain question and a very distinct answer. What is it that you, dear friends, want from Jesus? Could you all tell if the question were put to you? What is it that you would have the Lord do for you? Do you know? This man knew; and when we know, as he did, what we want from Christ, we will soon get it. The sad fact concerning many people is that, though they are not blind with their natural eyes, they are so blind in heart that they cannot see their own needs.

And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?

If Christ were to come near to every unconverted person here, and say to him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? do you know what it is you want? No. The unhappy circumstance is that the mass of mankind do not know what mercy they should ask for, even if they believed that they had only to ask and have.

But, dear friend, you want deliverance from the power of sin. You want a new heart and a right spirit. You want to give up the sins you love, and to follow after the virtues which now you despise. May God give you grace to know that you want this. But this blind man knew what he wanted.