The Road to Jericho

The Road to Jericho (Wednesday, March 18)

Luke 18:35-43

What do you suppose would happen if you suddenly lost your sight? We’ve all known people who have lost their sight… or maybe never had it to begin with. Think about how radically different your life would be if you couldn’t see. We tend to take our sight for granted. Of course, those in the know tell us that some 80% of our daily activities depend on our eyesight. It’s a pretty significant part of our life.

The roads Jesus walked carried him ever closer to Jerusalem. Ever closer to the cross. And the road that led to Jerusalem, took him first, to Jericho.

Of course, at this point in his ministry, Jesus was gaining in popularity… Word about him was spreading like wildfire. His reputation was literally proceeding him. And as he made his way to Jericho, a crowd gathered, anticipating his arrival. And in that crowd of people, was a blind man. Mark… in his gospel, identifies the blind man, as Bartimaeus.

Of course, Bartimaeus may have been blind, but he was not deaf. He had heard the talk, and the rumors about this Jesus who had healing in his hands. So, as the commotion around him began to stir with excitement, Bartimaeus began to question what was going on. And someone near him, said, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

So... Bartimaeus began to cry out, “Jesus, have mercy on me.” Of course... those leading the procession, told him to be quiet. Mind his manners. To pipe down. But he cried out all the more, “son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus heard him… and responded. Jesus invited this poor, blind beggar, into his presence. In fact, Jesus commanded that Bartimaeus be “brought to him.”

If you think about it... Jesus is always inviting us into his presence. Just as he welcomed the blind man into his presence along the road to Jericho. Jesus invites us, saying, “come all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Later on, as Jesus actually made his way further into Jericho, he came across Zacchaeus, who was up in a tree. And Jesus said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down from there.” He invited Zacchaeus to come.

As Jesus called his disciples, he said, “come, follow me.” He invited them to join him on the journey, his mission, his ministry. And he does the very same thing for you and to me. He invites us to come, find rest, comfort, healing, and salvation in him.

Of course, he always invites us to come, “just as we are.” But, make no mistake... Jesus has absolutely no intentions of leaving us the way he found us. His invitation to “come” means we will be changed.

It’s a fairly humorous story that I came across recently that I’m sure we can all relate to… A man told his pastor, that there were always people coming to his door, carrying little satchels filled with papers and pamphlets, trying to convert him to their religion. The man confessed that he never knew what to say to these people. So the preacher told him do this… “Hang a big American flag over your fireplace, and invite them in and ask them to join you in reciting the pledge of allegiance. They don’t really believe in doing this so they’ll go away and leave you alone.” Well, sure enough, one afternoon, the man looked out. He saw a woman coming up to his door with her satchel. He opened up the door, invited her in, took her into the den, where he had hung a huge American flag of the fireplace, and he invited her to join him and saying the pledge of allegiance! And when they were done… That lady looked at him, and said, “Wow, this is the first time this has ever happened, and I’ve been selling Avon for over 30 years.”

We can’t always trust our sight, can we? Things are not always what they seem! The world tells us, “seeing is believing.” But God’s Word says, “Faith comes by hearing.”

We’re all blind apart from Word made Flesh (of course, “word” implies hearing). We must hear Christ’s invitation… and respond… before we can ever hope to see.

Jesus bids us to come… to come to him. And when you and I receive that invitation… We find that we are on the road that leads to life.

And as we travel that road... We may never have all the answers to all of our questions, but we know that Jesus is the answer. We may not be everything that we should be (or even believe we could be), but we know with Jesus we become everything he intends us to be.

A man was out hunting in the woods, when he suddenly came across a Boy Scout troop. He said to them, “are you lost?” And one of the boys answered, “well we really don’t know where we are, but we’re not lost… We’re with our Scoutmaster and he knows the way.”

When we’re with Jesus, our Master, who has invited us to join him… We couldn’t possibly lost… For he is the way. He is the only way. And He is our vision... leading us by faith... as we believe in, and trust in Him.

May we continue to travel the roads of life with Jesus, knowing that we can trust that He has heard our cry for mercy... and we will reach the heavenly Jerusalem, as we follow the footsteps of Christ.