Posts made in February, 2023

TEXT: ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near’ (Isaiah 55:6). The Bible records the last two named “people encounters” Jesus had before His trial and crucifixion. They happened at Jericho, shortly before His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. These form the basis for Today’s Teaching. Our text urges us to, ‘Call upon Him while He is near!’ As Jesus passed through Jericho, He spoke to Zacchaeus and as He left the city, He passed by Bartimaeus. What can we learn from their encounters with Jesus, the mighty Son of God? 1. They were excluded from normal life A. Zacchaeus – because he was hated (See Luke 19:1-10) He worked for the enemy, the Romans, and cheated his own people. He could never sleep easy, nor mingle freely with the crowds for fear of being attacked. He would always have been surrounded by personal bodyguards and Roman soldiers to protect him. This form of exclusion was entirely his own making. B. Bartimaeus – because he was blind (See Mark 10:46-52) Zacchaeus had great wealth but Bartimaeus had nothing and begged to survive. Some would throw him a coin every time they passed by, others would ignore his cry for alms, tired of seeing him sat...