Thursday: Was Blind But Now I see
The mission statement of Jesus that He came to seek and save that which was lost is an affirmation of a holistic ministry. He came to make men and women whole, to transform them physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially. Luke gives us two instances that illustrate how Jesus restored two broken men into wholeness. One was blind physically, the other spiritually;
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both were outcasts-one a beggar and the other a tax collector. But both men were candidates for Christ’s saving mission, and neither was beyond His heart or reach.
Read Luke 18:35-43. What does this teach about our utter dependence upon God? Who among us at times has not cried out, Have mercy on me
?
Mark names the man as Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46). He was a beggar outside of Jericho. Physically challenged, socially of no consequence, and poverty stricken, he suddenly found himself in the sweep of heaven’s wonder: Jesus of Nazareth was passing by
(Luke 18:37, NKJV), and his faith surged upward to cry out, Son of David, have mercy on me!
(Luke 18:39, NKJV). Faith requires neither eyes nor ears, neither feet nor hands, but only a heart that connects to the Creator of the world.
Read Luke 19:1-10. Who was the blind
man in this story?
Only Luke records the story of Zacchaeus, the last of Jesus’ many encounters with outcasts. Christ’s mission, to seek and save that which was lost, was gloriously fulfilled in this encounter with Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was Jericho’s chief tax collector, a chief sinner in the judgment of the city’s Pharisees, but a chief sinner sought and saved by the Savior. What strange places and methods Jesus used to accomplish His mission. A sycamore tree, a curious man seeking to see who Jesus was, and a loving Lord commanding the man to come down, for He had a self-invited lunch appointment with him. But more important, Jesus had a delivery to make: Today salvation has come to this house
(Luke 19:9, NKJV) but not before Zacchaeus made things right (Luke 19:8).
It’s easy to see other people’s faults and shortcomings, isn’t it? But we can so often be blind to our own. What are some areas in your life that you need to face up to, confess, and get the victory over what you have been putting off for way too long?
(29)
In christ alone we can,and i can,every burden that we face we can carry it all by Gods guidance.
It is so wonderful, Jesus came to call us to be equally appreciated in his kingdom, humans always want to rank people from bad to good to better and best, but Jesus brings down the proud and lifts up the humble and says we are all his siblings and that is the most wonderful place to be!
When you encounter Jesus in your life, change must be demonstrated in your life as we see in Zacchaeus who was the Tax Collector. To finance their great world empire, the Romans levied heavy taxes against all nations under their control. The Jews opposed these taxes because they supported a secular government and its pagan gods, but they were still forced to pay. Tax collectors were among the most hated and unpopular people in Israel(I don't know nowadays).Besides, it was common knowledge that tax collectors made themselves rich by gouging their fellow Jews. No wonder the crowds were displeased when Jesus went home with the tax collector Zacchaeus. In every society, certain groups of people are considered ''untouchable'' because of their political affiliation, their moral behavior or their lifestyle. We should not give in to their social pressure to avoid thee people. Jesus loves them, and they need to hear the Good News. Remember, He came to seek and save the lost. Zacchaeus realized that he needed his life to be straightened, by giving to the poor and making restitution- with generous interest- to those he had cheated, he demonstrated inward change by outward action. Let us show our changed life by having a changed behavior!
It is obvious that the blind man knew his redeemer and what he could do for him. He demonstrated perseverance in what he hoped to achieve. Silently he must have said, "My hope is built on Christ the solid rock!" We have to persevere in our belief though people (who should help us) are creating roadblocks in our journeys.
Praise God that Jesus is able to save from the guttermost to the uttermost. I like this statement a friend shared with me this morning:
"Dont be a part time christian when God is not a part-time Saviour!"
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!!!
What a friend we have in jesus all our sins and grives to bear thank u jesus that you value me so much who knows the value of a soul lord but you.
How have these two events in Christ's ministry impacted my life? Probably the biggest one is the fact that both of those men exercised the faith they had. Their faith wasn't a passive thing - it reached out, it did something. For the beggar he knew that the only hope he had was in the person he heard about whose reputation was doing the impossible. His faith was such that even though he was told to keep quiet he would not. He was bound and determined to get help from Jesus just like the one who was lowered through the roof where both he and his friends fought through obstacles to get to Jesus and to present their petition. It is like the woman who wore out the unjust judge with persistence. So the strength of our faith should also be.
Zacchaeus on the other hand wasn't seeking healing; in fact he wasn't seeking anything except to simply see the one whose reputation was throughout the land and in order to do that he climbed up in a tree so he could see over the heads of the crowd. He was a tax collector and to the Jews that meant he was a traitor to Israel, every bit as much as Balaam who was bent on cursing Israel for the sake of money. However, that wee little man never lost his faith in God, he wasn't the one who separated himself from Judaism - it was the leaders in Jerusalem that did the separating. Nor did he press himself into an audience with Jesus but the Lord of all knowledge knew his heart and saw abundant faith still alive in what others saw as only a cold leach on society. In many ways he was like the man by the pool who had basically given up hope of anything better from society's rejection but someone was watching and when Jesus was close the author of our faith reached out with an invitation and Zacchaeus accepted it.
There are many people out there that are similar to these two men who the Holy Spirit has been working with. They only need an opportunity and in many cases not much of one just a handhold to grab on to, something they can exercise their faith on.
"Jesus had a delivery to make: Today salvation has come to this house (Luke 19:9, NKJV) but not before Zacchaeus made things right (Luke 19:8)"
I have to be honest; statements like this irk me to no end. It is as though our salvation depended on our performance as a matter of works. Since when does scripture say that we must do something first before we can be forgiven? As Paul questioned the Galiatian believers, "This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith" (Gal. 3:2 NKJV). "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Rom. 4:3 NKJV). When will we ever learn the lessons God wants us to learn?
We do things because we ARE saved not in order to obtain salvation. If we feel that we have to do things first then our salvation is based on works rather than faith and we will have become just like the pagans who sacrifice to appease the wrath of their god.
"Since when does scripture say that we must do something first before we can be forgiven?" Well, it's more or less everywhere. The most clear one I know is the answer of Jesus on the question "What must I do to inherit eternal life?". His answer is neither "nothing" nor "believe (in me)", it's "You know the commandments" and "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.". One can't ask for a more direct answer than that. (Mat 19:16-21)
God forgives us when we change our lives to the Good (Ezekiel 18:21). That doesn't mean we already followed God's teachings, but it does mean that we are expected to do so. That is what happens when Jesus meets Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus tells Jesus he is a changed man and will follow God way from now on by saying he will repay what he had stolen fourfold (Exodus 22:3). That is what ultimately saves Zacchaeus: His own conversion.
Paul though turns the whole thing around. He claims that you don't have to act according to God's teachings because you are saved. The people of Galatia were already part of the group of believers and thus converted. Acting accordingly would be following the teachings of Jesus and being his brothers and sisters (MarK 3:31-35). Later they decided not to follow Paul at all (2 Tim 1:15).
The thing is; Gentiles believed they could subdue the Gods to their will by giving them presents. Let's say a pig, cow or human as sacrifice. That way the Gods would do their will (rain, money, eternal life, etc). How they led their lives wasn't of any consequence to the Gods. Sound familiar?
Our God is different. He asks us to lead truthful and loving lives. Acts of loving kindness towards the people surrounding us and towards Him. If we think we can come to Him with offerings but lead a life that is not pleasing to Him, there is no place for us with Him. (Mat 5:23-24).
Ok, let's see, we can only be saved if we change our own hearts and go in the direction we are supposed to go in first and Paul is just a heretic who didn't preach what the truth is and because of that all of Asia left him. Do I have that correct?
If so, then first of all I think it strange that you would dismiss a major contributor to the New Testament along with all that he said. I thought the entire Bible was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit not just some of it. Am I wrong on that also? In case you have misunderstood what I wrote, no one is saying that we can remain in willful sin, no one is saying that we don't have to repent and neither did Paul.
As to your question about changing one's life, are we the ones who that, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil" (Jer. 13:23 NKJV)? Don't think so; and Peter says it is only through the power of God that we can escape corruption, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Pet. 1:2-4 NKJV). Besides that Jesus also said the same thing, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (Jn. 15:5 NKJV). It is for this reason that God promises us a changed heart under the new covenant (Jer 31:32-33; conf Heb 8: 8-10). He is the one who does it all because we can't. We can have a surface compliance of sorts, a kind of righteousness, but the real righteousness that actually means something must come from a new heart given us as a born again person (Jn 3:5-7).
You see your position is the same position the Judaizers at the Jerusalem council had that said, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved" (Acts 15:1 NKJV). Now some will argue that the council only had to do with circumcision but the principle is the same - you cannot be saved unless you first do the law. That concept of salvation is something Peter summarily rejected at the council (Acts 15:7-10) not just Paul. Furthermore, one of the great arguments in the Bible is that of Abraham, "And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6 NKJV; see also Jn 3:16). Theologically that forms the basis for our justification. It is something we get by believing in God's promises so if there is anything we do that would be it.
John also said, "We love Him because He first loved us" and "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 Jn. 4:19; 1 Jn. 4:10 NKJV). So not only can't we change our own hearts and do righteousness but God initiates the salvation process which is the reason He is the author of our salvation and it all starts with the Holy Spirit, "when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (Jn. 16:8 NKJV). It is all God; man does not save himself in any way even if he were able to do what is right he couldn't. Man is helpless! That is why we have Jesus and that is why salvation must be based on faith rather our works.
As for the case of the rich young ruler:
Now that is quite a play on words isn't it. Who is good? God only? But what is even more interesting is the ruler's answer, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" (Matt. 19:20 NKJV). Question, did thinking he was righteous make it a fact? To me Jesus knew he wasn't and that he was just another Pharisee thinking that we was good in the eyes of the law, so then why did he ask the question? Maybe it is the same reason why God cried out to Adam in the Garden of Eden, "Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9 NKJV) as though God didn't know or the request Jesus posed to the Samaritan woman, "Go, call your husband, and come here" (Jn. 4:16 NKJV) as though He didn't know what the situation was. Why does God do things like that? And now Jesus knowing what the answer was going to be tells the ruler to keep the commandments.
It wasn't that the ruler was perfect in any of the commandments but that he flagrantly violated one of them, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exod. 20:3 NKJV). To the ruler money was the real god and in order for him to be safe to save he needed to make a clear choice concerning which god he was going to serve or else he would end up like Balaam or Judas. That is what the real issue was, not about Jesus telling him that he first had to be good in order for God to make him good. That is like a woman who hires someone to come and clean her house but first she cleans her house before the cleaners arrive. If you can do it yourself you don't need anyone else including God!! And if we can be perfect without God why worship Him? But then that is what Satan has been promoting, "We don't need God or His laws in order to be perfect."
However scripture states that we are all evil and in need of repentance which incidentally is also a gift (Acts 5:31). As David said, "The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one" (Ps. 14:2-3 NKJV). Or as Isaiah said, "we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6 NKJV).
The spirit of truth searches the deepest darkest places and even searches the most High ...zacheus was sought out and jesus invited himself to zacheus house ... Our lord never leaves his own to themselves when he sees them opening up to receive him.
Our lord loves us unconditionally so we must love him the same he knows our hearts and our most hidden secerets and will help us if we cry out to him sincerely