Westhill Episcopal 12 October 1997

Theme: The Jericho Experience

 

Bible Passages
Mark 10:17-31, 46-52; Luke 18:35-43

Introduction
In the last days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, when He was travelling down the Jordan valley before finally climbing up the steep, rugged, lonely road from Jericho to Jerusalem, he touched the lives of many people in passing, some to be permanently changed by the experience. I want us to look at three individuals that Jesus met in the vicinity of Jericho: the rich young ruler; the blind beggar Bartimaeus, and the chief tax collector Zacchaeus. I want us to consider some of the things they had in common, and their differences.

The ruler may have lived some distance from Jericho, no doubt owning many of the richly fertile fields bordering the Jordan. He may have been one of the seventy members of the Jewish ruling council. Bartimaeus apparently owned little . He was forced by his disability to depend on the generosity of passers by for his livelihood. He sat day be day with another blind man beside him by the entrance to the city. Zacchaeus superintended the collection of taxes for the Roman rulers in the area. Not just a tax collector, but a ,manager of them, he was particularly despised by the Jewish population.

1.      All Three Were Determined to See Jesus
The ruler came running to Him; Bartimaeus and his friend called out insistently to attract His attention, Zacchaeus climbed a tree the better to see him. All were willing to cast aside normal convention to secure the encounter they desired.

We need life-changing encounters with Jesus. The Bible tells us that those who seek Him persistently will find Him, and will discover in fact that He has been seeking them. But do not expect much to change if your  heart is not in it. All three of these characters could have given up long before meeting Jesus, but they persisted.

2.      All Three Were Seeking For Help
The ruler wanted assurance. Bartimaeus wanted healing. Zacchaeus wanted to be straightened out. But their approaches were significantly different. The ruler came wanting to do something, to give something, but found that he could not pay the price himself. Bartimaeus wanted desperately to get something, and found that in receiving he wanted to do nothing more than commit himself to Jesus. Zacchaeus didn’t seem to sure what he wanted, but in his encounter with Jesus he received salvation, and because of that he wanted to give back and give beyond the call of duty.

3.      Only Two Found What They Needed

Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus found salvation and joy through their encounter with Jesus. The ruler went away sadly. Why was this? Well it seems to me that the key is in their approaches. The ruler came wanting to do something. The others came wanting to receive something. The ruler approached Jesus from the position of one in charge, and able, so he thought, to control his own spiritual destiny. The others approached Jesus from the position of knowing that they had nothing to offer but need. But isn’t it amazing, the one who came wanting to give something ended up giving nothing. The ones who came wanting to receive something ended up giving exuberently.

There is a paradox here at the very heart of the gospel. If we approach God with a view to giving him something then we will be disappointed, and will receive nothing and give him nothing of any use. But if we approach God with nothing other than an acute awareness of our need for his grace, then he will meet our need in his way, and the result will be that we will give him everything.

4.      Conclusion

God’s main concern for you is not what he can get from you, rather what he is able to give to you to meet your deepest need. And he will do that through an encounter with Jesus. And you can have that by sincerely, earnestly and persistently calling upon him. You may not be aware what your deepest need is, and you may, like Zacchaeus probably, approach Jesus with other needs on your mind. But he is in the transformation business.

When you experience God’s grace touching your life, then a consequence of that transformation is that you want give yourself and all that you have to him. Jesus said that those who are forgiven most love most, but forgiveness and the healing and restoration that this brings must come first. We love, says John in his epistle, because he loves us first.

And when you give under these conditions then you don’t count the cost. You don’t have some rule that you obey - so much forgiveness and that’s all I need to do, so much loving and then I can stop, so much money in the collection and that’s my duty fulfilled. If you are thinking of your giving in terms of what your duty is, then you have lost sight of the gospel. You need to come back to Jesus, learn afresh and receive afresh from him. As he meets your need your giving will overflow - noone else will tell you what to give and how and when. Jesus himself will prompt you, and you will give in response to him with overwhelming exuberence and joy.