Saving Faith

Sermon for Quinquagesima

Luke 18:31-43

February 15th, 2026

Today is the final Sunday in Pre-Lent, Quinquagesima, which means about 50 days until Easter. This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and then begins the five Sundays in Lent leading us up to Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is the doorway to Holy Week. Holy Week ushers us to the cross and the bitter suffering and death of Jesus.

On the horizon is Easter; the light of Easter morning never stops shining; it never leaves us alone in the dark. Even though the Gloria in Excelsis and the Alleluias are not sung until Easter, we never leave the light and hope of Easter. It lights our path through the darkness and afflictions of life.

The light of Easter is the Gospel that saves us. It brings eternal peace and hope as it breaks through the darkness of sin and death in this world. Jesus came into our flesh, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and now reigns eternally. Through faith in Christ alone your sins are forgiven. Jesus lives and He will raise you from the dead on the Final Day. This is the Gospel; it saves you and it empowers you to live as a Christian. It gives you strength to endure and persevere in true saving faith until you reach eternal glory at the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

Jesus and His work for us, His life, suffering, death and resurrection is the object of saving faith. There is salvation found in nothing and no one else than Christ alone. The faith of every saint since Adam is founded on this truth: The Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and risen for you.

Thanks for reading Feeding on the Word! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Although the disciples had a bit of a problem understanding the Gospel in the reading this morning. Jesus gave them the straightforward, Gospel in a nutshell, the object of faith which is His suffering, death and resurrection. But they didn’t understand.

This was the third time Jesus had spoken plainly to them about the work He must accomplish in Jerusalem. It seems as if they should have understood. They’ve been with Jesus for three years. They saw His miracles and heard His teaching. They knew the Scriptures of the Old Testament which told of the coming Messiah. They knew Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. But they didn’t understand He came to suffer and die and then rise again. This is how He would save the world.

The disciples had saving faith and yet they still had much to learn. Faith is not mere intellectual ability. Saving Faith is not a quality within us. Faith isn’t born of human striving, work or merit. Faith is always a work of God that brings sight to the spiritually blind. All of us, once dead in trespasses and sins are brought to life through hearing the Word of God with the Spirit which opens our eyes to see and believe.

The blind beggar healed after Jesus passion prediction was not a coincidence. It was Jesus way of teaching and opening the eyes of faith of His disciples. It was also done to teach us about saving faith. This blind beggar understood better than the disciples who Jesus was. The blind beggar’s cry of “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” was a confession of the Messiah; the Christ, the anointed one to save the world.

The blind beggar knew this was the Son of God. He knew he had the power to save and to heal and fix what’s broken. The blind beggar’s faith saved him because that faith trusted in the work Jesus was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

His bloody suffering and death and then His resurrection from the dead. This is saving faith. It holds firm to the object which saves. Christ crucified and risen for you.

Saving faith simply trusts in the work of Christ alone to save from sin and eternal death. Faith listens to God and believes. Faith is created and sustained through hearing God’s Word along with the Spirit who gives life. The words of Jesus are Spirit and life.

Despite the disciples lack of understanding, their faith still latched onto the words of Jesus and believed. Even if they didn’t understand perfectly. God kept them in true faith until the day they saw with their own eyes the work of Jesus in His suffering, death, and resurrection. Through their eye witness testimony recorded in the Gospel concerning what they saw and heard, we now see and hear and believe and are saved through faith in Christ alone.

Faith isn’t simple intellectual ability. It’s not merely a knowledge of Biblical history and facts. And yet Faith isn’t disconnected from Biblical history and facts. Faith believes in God’s promises rooted in historical Biblical truth. Faith receives the offered promise of forgiveness of sins and justification because of what Jesus did for us in a specific time and place in history. That saving work is the Gospel, and it’s delivered to us in the written and spoken Word of God.

Faith reaches out and receives the goods the Gospel delivers; free of charge. Gift received, sins taken away, righteousness declared, salvation never in doubt. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. This is the most powerful thing in world. It depends not on human wisdom, knowledge, or ability; it depends not on human work or striving; it’s not a matter of personal merit or worthiness. It’s all Jesus for you.

Jesus walked that road to Jerusalem knowing He was going to suffer horribly, shed His blood, die on the Cross and then rise again. He didn’t do it for Himself. He did it for you.

Jesus opened the eyes of the blind beggar so we could see how faith works. Faith saves because of what faith delivers. We are that blind beggar on the road to Jerusalem. Jesus didn’t pass us by. He didn’t wait for us to grope around in the darkness until we found our way to Him. He came to us. He spoke His Word to us and opened our eyes and set us on His path. We now follow Him and His Words light the way forward through the darkness. And we need the light of His Word to shine every day on the road we are traveling because we often step off the road and fall back into the ways of the old man.

We love this world too much. Our favorite sins, addictions and habits taunt and tempt us until we succumb. We covet and lust the things of this life that will not last. We love and serve our own bodies and follow our own desires pushing away God in the process.

We shut our ears and close our eyes to our sin. We refuse to forgive as we’ve been forgiven. We don’t love our neighbor as ourself. We are jealous and rude. We love the sins of others because it gives us opportunity to talk openly of their shame elevating ourselves in the process only to walk away and commit even greater sin ourself.

Repent. Turn again and be forgiven.

We are nothing more than blind beggars in constant need of the undeserved grace and mercy that only Jesus can give. There is great comfort in faith that doesn’t depend on our intellectual ability, human striving or merit. Faith that can only receive what God gives; the full perfection of Jesus found in His perfect life, suffering, death and resurrection all gifted to us in His Word and Sacraments, the Fruit of the Cross.

We would love to see a miracle like the blind man in the Gospel reading. Maybe it would bolster our faith just a bit. Well, rejoice because we have seen three such miracles today at the font. Noelle, Chloe and Calvin came to the font this morning and were knit to the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus in a most beautiful way. In a way that eyes of flesh cannot see, but eyes of faith see and rejoice in the miracle of baptism.

Don’t be mistaken, they came to the font with faith this morning. Their parents have been bringing the Word of Jesus to their ears since their conception in the womb. And we know and believe that faith comes through hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. They had saving faith.

But we also know and believe what the Holy Spirit tells us in the Bible about baptism and what happens with the Word of God and the water. The Holy Spirit is very clear in Scripture that baptism saves.

As Peter wrote: “Baptism now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (1 Peter 3:21).”And Jesus said: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16).”And Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:5-6).”And Paul wrote: He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, (Titus 3:5).”

Today Noelle, Chloe, and Calvin were born again of water and the Spirit. Faith was confirmed and strengthened in them for eternal life. Today their dear Savior came to them and took all of their sinfulness and imperfection into Himself and His death on the Cross. Their sinful little bodies of flesh knit perfectly and completely into Jesus perfection. They were put to death at Golgotha and buried in the tomb with Jesus. And then Jesus raised them to new life in Himself. He filled them with the Holy Spirit. Covered them in His perfect blood and righteousness. They are forgiven and saved because of what Jesus did to them in baptism.

And their dear Savior will abide with and walk with them every day of their lives. He will feed and nourish the faith He created with His Word. And in a few years as their faith grows and when they can confess the basics of the faith they will kneel at the rail with their parents and all the saints and receive the true body and blood of Jesus their Savior given and shed for their forgiveness, life and salvation.

The ways and work of God in His Word to create and sustain saving faith is a beautiful mystery. And it’s given all to us in Jesus.

This is the type of God we have. He lavishes us in His never ending grace and mercy. In His Word spoken, read, and sung. In the waters of Holy Baptism and in the true body and blood of the crucified and risen Jesus. All of it the Means of Grace that is the Gospel. Jesus and His fullness given to you that forgives you and strengthens you to endure the battle in the flesh so you can persevere in true faith until your final day.

So today let us rejoice with the Van Brocklin family as we gather together with them, blind beggars each and every one of us. Jesus is among us. We cry out for mercy and Jesus hears us. And once again Jesus delivers the goods. He restores our sight and we depart hearing His Words: Your faith has saved you.

And then we continue the journey in the light of His Word, on the road to that eternal Easter where there will be no more envy, anger, or hatred, no more suffering, heartache, or sickness, no more tears, no more death. Only love and eternal joy with Jesus that will never end. Thanks be to Jesus. In Jesus name. Amen.