“What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?”
The full verse · Luke 18:41 · KJV
, wilt that I shall unto ? he , , I may receive my .
Asked by
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, passing by near Jericho on His way up to Jerusalem (Luke 18:31, 35-37)
Asked to
Blind Man: "a certain blind man" who sat by the way side begging as Jesus came near to Jericho, and who cried, "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me" (Luke 18:35, 38)
The Scene
As Jesus comes near Jericho, a blind beggar cries out, "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me," and Jesus stops and commands that he be brought to Him (Luke 18:35-40).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe man's blindness was plain to see, yet Jesus asked him to say what he wanted. He was a beggar, so he might have asked for money. Gill frames the choice in Jesus' question: "Is it alms thou askest? or is it thy sight thou wouldst have restored?" Matthew Henry explains why Jesus asks at all: "Though Christ knows all our wants, he will know them from us." By putting his need into words, Henry says, "we teach ourselves to value the mercy we are in pursuit of." The question invites the man to say out loud what he believes Jesus can do.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe man answered directly: "Lord, that I may receive my sight" (Luke 18:41). Jesus said, "Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee" (Luke 18:42). "And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God." The healing spread praise beyond the man himself: "all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God" (Luke 18:43).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsBarnes describes Jericho as "a large town about eight miles west of the Jordan, and about nineteen miles north-east from Jerusalem." Jesus was passing through on His way up to Jerusalem (Luke 18:31).
The Gospels tell this healing in different ways. Matthew records two blind men as Jesus left Jericho (Matthew 20:29-30), and Mark names one, Bartimaeus, as Jesus went out of Jericho (Mark 10:46). Barnes says, "Mark and Luke mention but one. They do not say, however, that there was no more than one," and he notes that the Greek word Luke uses for "come nigh" can mean being near a place whether going to it or from it. Gill takes a different view: Luke's man "was not blind Bartimaeus, nor his companion," but a man healed before Jesus entered the city.
The man's request uses the Greek verb anablepo, which Thayer defines as "to look up" or "to recover (lost) sight." The ESV reflects this: "let me recover my sight."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyHere the One with all power stops for a beggar the crowd wanted silenced (Luke 18:39-40) and asks what he wants. Jesus does not treat him as a problem to be fixed but as a person to be heard. Matthew Henry notes how faith and prayer work together here: "True faith will produce fervency in prayer." The man kept crying out and then asked plainly, and Jesus said his faith had saved him (Luke 18:42).
This healing comes in the same chapter as the meeting with the rich ruler. The ruler asked what he must do and became "very sorrowful" (Luke 18:23). The blind beggar asked for mercy and "followed him, glorifying God" (Luke 18:43). The one with nothing to offer received the most.
Look Closer
Why did Jesus ask a blind man what he wanted?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord Jesus, You stopped for a man others wanted silenced; what need have I been afraid to name before You?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- The man could have asked for coins, but he asked for sight. When you pray, are you asking for small things when you need something deeper?
- Tell about a time you or someone you know kept calling out to Jesus even when others said to be quiet.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Jesus invites you to tell Him plainly what you need. He already knows, but as Matthew Henry puts it, "he will know them from us." Naming your need before God helps you see what you are really asking for.
Don't let the crowd quiet you. The people in front told this man to hush, and he "cried so much the more" (Luke 18:39). Jesus stood still for him.
Asking boldly is not the same as demanding. The man called Jesus "Lord" and asked for "mercy" (Luke 18:38, 41). He came as a beggar, not as someone owed. And when his prayer was answered, he did not just go on his way; he followed Jesus and gave glory to God (Luke 18:43).
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources