In The Word
Read: Luke 18:35-19:10
Bartimaeus Receives Sight
35 Now as Jesus was approaching Jericho, a man who was blind was sitting by the road, begging. 36 But when he heard a crowd going by, he began inquiring what this was. 37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He asked him, 41 “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.
Zaccheus Converted
19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. 3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable due to the crowd, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was about to pass through that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 And he hurried and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!” 8 But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back four times as much.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Today’s reading gives the account of two men who were greatly touched by Yeshua because they intentionally sought Him. The first man was a blind beggar who heard a crowd following Yeshua. He began to yell out to get Yeshua’s attention; when people told him to be silent, he just yelled louder. Yeshua stopped and asked what the man wanted, and the blind man asked to regain his sight. Yeshua healed the man and said, “Your faith has made you well” (Luke 18:42). Then the man followed Yeshua and glorified God.
The second man was Zaccheus, a rich tax collector. Because he was small in stature, he was unable to see Yeshua over the crowd. He climbed a tree so he could see Jesus better. Yeshua called Zaccheus out of the tree and went to his home, which irritated people in the crowd because tax collectors were viewed with contempt. Through the encounter with Yeshua, Zaccheus was saved and promised to give half of his possessions to the poor and to repay fourfold the people he overtaxed.
What do you need in your life? Yeshua has the solution you need. Are you intentionally seeking Yeshua and putting yourself in the position to be touched by Him? Too often people run to sources other than Yeshua, and then they are either left empty or worse off than before. Be like the two men who intentionally sought Jesus because “He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).