Quick Note – Luke 18:35-43/Luke 19:1-10 – Two People Unafraid in Jericho

Luke 18:35-43 – ³⁵ As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸ And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ 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!” ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” ⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Luke 19:1-10 – He entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. ⁷ And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Peer pressure is a powerful thing.  It can make you do things that you should never do like take drugs and get drunk.  That is why parents often tell their children, “If your friend jumped off a bridge, would you also do it?”  They say this phrase to get their children to think about their actions and what motivates them – to remind them that they shouldn’t do stupid things just because the crowd tells them to.  Moreover, peer pressure can also be used to dissuade people from doing things.  It can prevent people from doing what is right.  Have you ever read The Scarlet Letter?  In that book, a red letter A was forced to be worn by Hester Prynne for having a child out of wedlock.  From that point forward, all her neighbors would treat her like she had the plague.  Rather than showing compassion and care for a person who made a mistake and needed to be shown love, she was avoided.  Peer pressure kept people from doing what was right. 

In our two passages today, two people near or in Jericho could have allowed the crowds to keep them from seeing Jesus, but they did not allow others from preventing them from seeing the Lord.  They pushed through any obstacle that would keep them from Jesus and experienced the grace of God firsthand.  To them, nothing was more important than Jesus Christ. 

The first person mentioned in Luke 8:35-43 was a blind beggar named Bartimaeus.  Because he was blind, the only way he could make a living was to beg on the highway to Jericho.  To his surprise, that day, Jesus was walking by.  He must have heard of all the miracles that Christ had done, so when the crowds told him, Jesus was coming, He began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  When the crowds found him annoying and told him to be quiet, he only yelled louder, because he knew that Jesus was the only one that could heal him.  He wouldn’t allow the people to stop him from seeing Jesus.  He wouldn’t allow his pride, his “manners,” or even his disability to keep him from getting to the Lord.  Jesus, hearing Bartimaeus and seeing his faith, called to him, and healed him. 

The second person mentioned in Luke 19:1-10 was a tax collector who lived in Jericho named Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus was a very short person, so when Jesus was coming into the town, he was unable to see him due to his height.  Rather than letting the crowds keep him from seeing the Lord, he climbed up a tree (which was not appropriate for a man of his social stature) just to get a peek at Jesus.  Jesus, seeing him in a tree, called him down and told him that He would stay in his house that day.  Zacchaeus overjoyed then repented and turned to Christ.  Just as with Bartimaeus, Zacchaeus did not let the crowd stop him from seeing the Lord. 

This is the question I ask you to contemplate today – “What is stopping you from seeing the LORD?”  Are you allowing the world to keep you from coming to Jesus Christ?  I know that many people choose not to give their lives to Jesus Christ, because they are afraid of what others will think.  They fear what their parents, their family, their friends will say.  They are afraid of how others might see them compared to their past, so they refuse to turn to Christ.  These two men on the road to and in Jericho show us that we shouldn’t allow how others perceive us to prevent us from finding Christ.  Our pride and our status in the sight of man should not stop us from coming to the Lord.  Be unabashedly bold, unafraid to know the Savior of the world.  You won’t believe the amazing miracles He can and will do in your life when you place your trust in Him. 

Quick Note – Luke 18:35-43 – No Obstacles

Luke 18:35-43 – 35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 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!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

When I was in high school, during one of my speech contests, I recited a poem about a blind beggar named Bartimaeus who sat by the roadside near Jericho.  This poem recounted the story that is written in our passage today.  Bartimaeus was a blind beggar, who heard that Jesus was passing by.  Knowing and trusting that Jesus Christ was the only one who could heal his blindness, he called out to Him, not knowing whether he would be heard or not.  Unfortunately, due to the noise that he was creating, the crowds that surrounded Jesus became annoyed and tried to stifle his speech.  However, Bartimaeus did unashamed of what people might think and knowing that this might be his only chance to be healed, he did not let the crowds stop him and called out even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”.  Noticing the faith of Bartimaeus, Jesus Christ stopped, called Bartimaeus to Himself, and healed him. 

This story is a beautiful one, because it shows us that Jesus Christ will never turn away anyone who is coming to seek Him.  I really appreciate that lesson, but I also love another part of the story – the part that Bartimaeus played when he resolved to see Jesus.  Bartimaeus had many obstacles that could have discouraged him from seeking the Lord, yet he persisted through them to find the Christ.  He didn’t allow his blindness to stop him from meeting the Lord, and instead used his voice to call out to Him.  He didn’t allow the crowds to restrain his pleas, and instead called out even louder.  He did not allow his pride to make him second-guess his actions but accepted the rebukes that would come for being “rude.”  He didn’t allow anything to stop him from seeing Jesus, because he knew the urgency of his need to be healed and the opportunity he had with the Savior that moment.  He knew that meeting Jesus was worth all that he could give. 

In contrast, just a few verses before (vs 18-25), we hear about the rich young ruler who allowed the riches that he had attained in this world to prevent him from following Christ. He did not want to let those temporary things go in exchange for eternal life and loss the opportunity to experience a beautiful life with Christ.

I don’t know what may be preventing you from seeking Jesus Christ today.  It could be your fear that your family and friends will turn against you.  It could be your reluctance that makes you feel unworthy to approach the throne of God.  It could be your pride that is preventing you from seeking help from the Savior.  It could be your unwillingness to give up your sin.  It could be anything.  But know that Jesus Christ is worth it all.  He is worth you giving up all that you have in exchange for the opportunity to know Him.  You never know if this may be your last opportunity to seek Him.  This may be the last time He passes by your way.  This is urgent.  Don’t give up this chance to know Him and obtain eternal life.  Fight through whatever is holding you back just as Bartimaeus did, and in the end, you will find healing and completeness in the Savior. 

Now is the day of salvation.