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by Rev. Stanley Collins
SEEKINGTHE £ oa 1 O ne OP the MOST penetrating and descriptive comments concern ing our Saviour is to be found in Luke 19:10 wherein we have the glo rious declaration, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” This represents a complete and yet simple statement concerning the purpose of our Lord in coming in to this world. Many volumes have been written explaining why Jesus came, but here He tells us Himself in ten succinct words, all of which are single syllables. They give us the complete picture. The background here is in the Saviour’s journey dur ing the last week of His life on earth. He is to enter Jerusalem, via Jericho. The first individual about whom we read is the poor, blind man, Barti- maeus, who sat by the wayside beg ging. They told him when the Sav iour went past. We see the faith of Bartimaeus in that he seems to ig nore the name of Jesus of Nazareth, selecting rather a Messianic title, “Son of David.” Although the crowd tells him to keep quiet, he simply souts the more loudly. Here was a man who knew what he wanted and needed. He didn’t need anybody to tell him that he was blind, and that he desired his sight above all else. Living in perpetual darkness, he had longed for the day when his eyes might be opened. You remember that one of the things that was promised when the Messiah came was that He would give sight to the blind. There are many things Barti maeus might have asked for. He could have asked for money to help him along the way. But, you know, it’s most significant that that’s the one thing for which nobody ever asked Christ. Bartimaeus rightly recognized that if he could once get
his eyes opened, then everything else in life would be right. Immediately Jesus said, “Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee.” This is ex actly what happened. Just think! The first person Bartimaeus saw with his new sight was the Lord Jesus Christ. Immediately he followed the Saviour. The way of the Lord was now to be the way of Bartimaeus. He had been just a blind, wayside begger. Now he had become a follower. The next event is not a question of a man’s seeking Christ, but rather of Christ’s seeking a man. Zacchaeus really didn’t have a specific need. He simply wanted to see who this Stranger was. He was, of course, small of stature. With plenty of initi ative, he found himself a tree which was easy to climb and where there was plenty of foliage to hide him. He had his grandstand seat all worked out. Jesus came along to the spot, calling him by name, “Zacchae us, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house.” Scripture tells us of his ready and willing response. I’ve always had the feeling that he immediately fell out of the tree with sheer shock. This is a lovely story. Some people evidently think that if one receives the Lord, it’s the beginning of misery so that you’ll never be able to smile again. That’s entirely wrong. The happiest people on earth are those who know and love the Lord. Here had been a grasping, greedy businessman, get ting all the taxes he could for the Roman power, all the while making himself a “pile” on the side. He was probably disliked by all the other people. Christ emphatically told him, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Barti maeus knew that he was lost and 3
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