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Day 80 Luke 18:35-43 Luke 18:35 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: 36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. 37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passes by. 38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 40 And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, 41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. 42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. 43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God. What do you do when you see someone acting different from everyone else in a good way, a way you would if you had the same boldness as that person? Do you try to make the person act like everyone else? Jesus was entering Jericho, about to go through the gate of the city, when a blind man learned he was there and he raised his voice and cried loud enough for Jesus to hear him, but everyone wanted to hush him. He was blind. He had a defect. He wasn’t like one of them. Yet the blind man persisted, and Jesus stood still, and told the man to come to him. When he came to Jesus, Jesus asked him what he wanted. The beggar told him he wanted to see, and Jesus healed his sight. From Scripture we know the blind beggar was Bartimaeus, and when he heard Jesus call him, he cast aside his garment and went to him. Mark 10:46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calls thee. 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. Here is the complete episode, told from the perspective of another follower of Jesus. His name was Bartimaeus and he threw aside his garment and went to Jesus. We also see in both passages that Jesus stood still and waited for Bartimaeus to come to him. When he learned what Bartimaeus wanted, Jesus did what he requested. He gave Bartimaeus his sight. As Christians, you have read this account many times. You rejoice in yet another healing Jesus did for the blind man. Yet, do you see what Jesus and Bartimaeus did? Bartimaeus called out loud enough for Jesus to hear him. There was a loud boisterous crowd around Jesus, and Bartimaeus wanted Jesus to know he was there. When Jesus told Bartimaeus to come to him, Bartimaeus threw away his beggar’s cloak. He threw it away because he would never return to that lifestyle again. He knew Jesus would heal him. Now notice what Jesus did. He stood still. With the crowd around him, and a purpose in front of him, Jesus stood still. He took the time out of his plans to make room for someone else’s plans. Not only did Jesus stand still, he waited. You are Blind Bartimaeus. You sit needy and broken, a beggar on the road of life. You live your life one handout to another, waiting for someone to come along and change all that for you. Then you start to hear about Jesus. A snippet here, a story there, and you wonder if he could help you, and you begin to pray, and you hope Jesus will pass by you so you can find out if he is real, if he will help you see again. Someone invites you to church, or another event where Jesus shows up, and you feel him there with you and you call out to him, and Jesus stops in the midst of everything going on around him, and he calls you, and asks you what he can do for you. It is your moment and you run, tears streaming down your cheeks and fall at Jesus’ feet, and when he asks you what he can do for you, you reply, “I want to see you, Lord. Show me your goodness. Change my life so I’m not living one handout to another.” Then Jesus in his love, mercy, and grace, reaches down and touches you, and you feel His love, His mercy, His grace, His forgiveness, and your reaction – you rise up glorifying and praising God for changing your life. Taking you from the beggar on the road of life, to walking with a new purpose, a new direction. You can see the way ahead. It isn’t dark and filled with regret and longing, but the road ahead is filled with the love of Jesus Christ, filling you and making you whole. You can see and you will not return to the old way ever again. Your beggar’s robes lie in the dust forgotten as you put on the new robe of righteousness Jesus gave you as soon as he changed your life and made you one of his. You’re no longer receiving handouts, but you are the one giving the handouts, and the handout you give is the message Jesus gave you, the message that changed your life and made you one of his chosen, called, and forgiven. As you attend church and you see someone in total abandon of worship and praise, don’t rebuke him and tell him to stop, but join him, and worship God with all your soul and might, and let the love of Jesus Christ call you and ask you what you want. Don’t be afraid to tell him your request. Jesus wants to answer your prayer. Let’s pray: Father, thank you for standing still and waiting for me to come to you. Let me know my request is important and you will give me my desire because it will bring you glory. Thank you for taking my beggar’s robe and giving me a robe of righteousness. Let your will be done in my life every day as I give you praise and glory. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 10 November 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay