An Exposition

Luke 18:35-43: “Compassion by the Jericho Road”

“And it came about that as He was approaching Jericho, a certain blind man was sitting by the road, begging. Now hearing a multitude going by, he began to inquire what this might be. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.’ And those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out more, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’

“And Jesus stopped and commanded him that he be brought to him, and when he came near, He questioned him. ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ And he said, ‘Lord, I want to regain my sight!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God” (Luke 18:35-43, NASB).

Jesus’ encounter with the cross and its purpose is at hand as He and His followers head to Jerusalem. He has dealt with a ruler and his search for redemption, albeit on his own terms and not that of the LORD’S. He has also assured His nervous apostles that what they had given up in order to follow Him will be rewarded in ways they do not expect for now. He has also told them of what is to come upon Him when they arrive in Jerusalem in a few days, and they do not have a clue as to what He is implying concerning what will await Him. Jesus is fully aware that these men are not ready for what is to come and the shock that will follow. However, He is preparing them in small steps as to how it will affect their lives from now on when everything He has taught them will be clearly understood during His final meal with them and the commission He will give them when He makes all things new at the proper time.

The group is on their way to the ancient city of Jericho, considered by archeologists and historians to be the world’s oldest inhabited city, dating from 8000 B.C., and is still inhabited today. There were two sites known as Jericho and were within a short distance from one another. The first site is mentioned in Joshua 2, when the Israelites under the command of Joshua conquered the city, the outside walls collapsing according to the instructions God had given them for the attack. Scripture records that the alleged prostitute Rahab and her family were spared due to her hiding the Israelite spies prior to the battle. Rahab’s name is found in the lineage of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:5).

The newer establishment of what was Jericho at the time of Jesus as well as today is located NE of Jerusalem near the border of the Dead Sea with a major road connecting the two cities.

Being a major road, a great deal of horse-drawn wagons, soldiers patrolling the area, foot traffic, and animal packs filled with goods heading to the local market were a continual sight, and the number of travelers were varied, from different parts of the Roman Empire with its polyglot of nations, customs, languages, and wealth, all making for a scene of activity. This road was also a major source of potential charity for the unfortunate souls who suffered from physical maladies such as a crippled limb, paralysis, and for one man in the crowd, a reliable place to hear what was happening in the world around him, but could not see due to a disease that robbed him of his sight, and along with it, the inability to work or have someone attend to his needs and care.

Scripture refers to him as “Bartimaeus,” which is not his proper name, but in Hebrew it means “Son of Timaeus,” a sign of oblivion and forgetfulness, really no name at all. He is obscure and one of many who have had tragedy fall upon them with no record of help or pity, certainly not from the Romans or Greeks. There was no charity system or places where one could go for help apart from family or friends. When hard times hit, you were pretty much on your own and dealt with the consequences. The days of Rome had much grandeur, order, peace, and opulence, but little compassion.

This blind soul hears the commotion of travel and conversation coming into range, and he hears someone mention that Jesus is on the road with His apostles. Somewhere in the past, he had gotten word of the Man from Nazareth and His marvelous works of healing, His teaching, and His compassion on all who came to Him. The idea came to Bartimaeus that if he could get the attention of Jesus, he would ask Him for one thing, and that was to see again. No asking for wealth, personal blessing, no questions to ask Him, or anything that would deter him from a clear objective that only the Lord Jesus could grant. Bartimaeus knew what he wanted, and he was going to get Jesus’ attention before the opportunity passed.

He called out with as loud a voice as he could muster above the noise of the crowd and commotion for Jesus to have mercy on him. The crowds tried to get him to be quiet, thinking he had gone mad or was of no real concern for someone as noted as the Lord Jesus. He ignored the shouts of the people and cried out again, saying the same phrase with a genuine cry from his desperate soul. There would not be another chance, and it was now or never for him. His cry caught the attention of the LORD, who told the people to bring the blind man to Him at once. Leading Bartimaeus by the hand, the people brought him before Jesus, whom he could not see but could hear and was ready to say what was on his heart and mind.

Here is the Lord Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, the Creator of the universe and the One who keeps it under His sovereign control, King of Kings who now gently asks this man whom He had formed in the womb of his mother long ago for a reason and a purpose (Psalm 139:13-16) what it was that He, the LORD God Almighty, might do for him. Who else could do this but Jesus?

Think on that the next time you feel that you cannot come to God out of a sense of guilt, or fear, or a sense of unworthiness and that you believe you have crossed the line of His care or concern and are without hope. You can go to Him anytime, anywhere and run to Him like a child runs to his Mom or Dad when he needs them, or to let their embrace reassure him that he is loved and all will be well. You can talk to Him honestly. He has heard it all before, and He wants you to come before Him with your questions, needs, concerns, fears, and requests, or to simply talk to Him for no other reason than to have an ultimate conversation like two friends.

Why do you think that people gladly came to Jesus and He never turned them away? Do not let anyone tell you that your sins cannot be forgiven, or that you cannot have a new life in Him if you would but ask in faith and repentance. I believe that when I see Him, He will be there with open arms ready, not just for me, unworthy as I am, but for all of us who call on Him.

Bartimaeus asks for the return of his sight. It is specific and to the point. He knew exactly what he needed and had the faith to believe that Jesus would grant him this request, which He did, and the beggar was freed from his situation and now able to work, able to care for himself, and free to go anywhere he wished. It is a clear picture of the true freedom we have in Jesus Christ when He liberates us from the bondage of sin and hell, and we reside permanently in His presence and grace (John 10:28-30).

Bartimaeus now joins the crowd, able to see the day and its beauty, and to see the people with their expressions of joy and praise as he gives glory to the Lord Jesus. I have no doubt that he was one of those who shouted “Hosanna” as the Lord entered Jerusalem. I have no doubt that he, and countless others, shouted “Hosanna” as they entered into the courts of heaven, and I am certain that we who are in this present world will join the chorus when the Lord Jesus comes back to take us home and prepare us to inherit the coming kingdom and its blessings, but more important, His Holy Presence for all time. Your opportunity is here, too. Call on Jesus and then hit the road with us. Do not let this pass you by.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.donaldwhitchard.com

Israel’s Restoration: Major & Minor Prophets, Isaiah Part 7 

THE BOOK OF ISAIAH – PART 7

This is a study on the restoration of Israel from both Major and Minor Prophets. Every Restoration passage is being covered, and I hope none has been missed. The series began with the book of Isaiah, and this is PART 7 of the series.

Isaiah 62:1 – “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning. Isa 62:2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory and you will be called by a new name which the mouth of the LORD will designate. Isa 62:3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”

The Lord defends Zion until her glory is manifested in her everlasting salvation. Isaiah frequently looks at two blessings for the restored nation, they being salvation and righteousness. Those two it could never achieve, and failed constantly.  However, when the grace of the Lord falls on them and the Lord brings them through the fire, then, and only then will His grace bring them into everlasting salvation and righteousness. Verse 2 informs us there is a new name for the righteous of Israel but only the Lord knows it at this point. The descriptions are majestic – “crown of beauty” and “royal diadem,” a devotion and great love of the Lord for His people.

Isaiah 62:4 “It will no longer be said to you, ‘Forsaken,’ nor to your land will it any longer be said, ‘Desolate,’ but you will be called, ‘My delight is in her,’ and your land, ‘Married’ for the LORD delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. Isa 62:5 As a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.”

This is just too wonderful. God is so good. He rewards when we just don’t deserve it. He has done that for Christians in the Church, and He will do the same for Israel. “Forsaken” is what the Jews are known as, I think as far back as the time of the Assyrian invasion and dispersion. “Desolate” is the name of Israel’s land, even though today science is starting to improve that situation. In Hosea’s time God had said, “No more compassion” (Hos 1:6); “Not My people, Not your God” (Hos 1:9).  However, it all turns around when the Lord takes up His people again and God says, “My delight is in her” and “Married,” and Hosea says, “You are sons of the living God.” Verse 5 is so full of grace, because Israel was polluted with sins, but grace will see her in her restoration as a chaste virgin, and the Lord will rejoice over her, His beloved nation.

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Isaiah 62:6 – “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen. All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves, Isa 62:7 and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”

Here is something quite amazing. It is a call to those who have the welfare of Israel on their hearts to keep beseeching the Lord on behalf of the nation. Keep reminding the Lord (of his promises and covenant)! Don’t slacken or rest up doing that. In fact, don’t let God have any rest as well. Keep reminding Him and even, could it reverently mean, “pester God” until He establishes Jerusalem with the great position the prophets have spoken of her. Keep at God until it happens.

Now that may look very bold to us, even pertinent, but I don’t think God minds because it is His will to establish Jerusalem and Israel as the leading city and nation in the earth. It is a constant prayer we of the Church can make, but we know the Rapture must happen before the Jews’ restoration can occur, so let us give God no rest until the Rapture happens. I know that looks so bold to say, but it is how I understand this passage.  In fact, the Lord Himself said a similar thing – Matt 7:7 “Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you, Matt 7:8 for everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.”  (The present continuous tense is used for “ask, seek, knock,” meaning to keep on doing it).

Learn also the same thing from this parable, sometimes called the parable of the importunate (unrelenting, persistent) judge – Luke 18:3 “There was a widow in that city and she kept coming to him saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent,’ Luke 18:4 and for a while he was unwilling, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, Luke 18:5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection lest by continually coming, she wears me out.’ Luke 18:6 The Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge said. Luke 18:7 Now shall not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?’”

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Isaiah 62:8 – “The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm, ‘I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies, nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have laboured, Isa 62:9 but those who garner it will eat it, and praise the LORD, and those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.’”

These two verses are the guarantee that Israel’s enemies will be a thing of the past. What restored Israel will produce will be hers to enjoy.

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Isaiah 62:10 – “Go through, go through the gates. Clear the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway. Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples. Isa 62:11 Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth. Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Lo, your salvation comes.  Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.’ Isa 62:12 They will call them, ‘The holy people, the redeemed of the LORD’ and you will be called, ‘Sought out, a city not forsaken.”

Verses 10 and 11 are the call to prepare the land for the coming of the Lord. He comes with salvation to bring great rewards for Israel, and He will recompense His people marvelously (It will be good for evil; righteousness for apostasy). We have another renaming within Israel in that time. For the people it will be, “The holy people, the redeemed of the LORD,” and for the city of Jerusalem it will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.” So many great blessings lie ahead for God’s nation, and every single one of them will come to pass.  No wonder we can pray, “Even so, come Lord Jesus,” so the Church can be raptured, and then God turns to His earthly people.

Isaiah 65:17 – “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind, Isa 65:18 but be glad and rejoice forever in what I create, for behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for gladness.”

The Old Testament prophets saw darkly and wrote the visions they saw and the word of the Lord that was revealed to them. Their narrative did not follow any sequential order, and as I have said beforehand, often the timeframe they skipped from the present to the future, then maybe to the past, and then right back to the future in only a few verses. It is necessary to discern these time jumps, and if that is done, then the correct exegesis is arrived at. People who come up with strange ideas, even bizarre ones, do not discern the scriptures because they are not familiar with them.  Before one can be definitive about the prophecy contained in the Prophets, that one must be familiar with the prophecies as a whole and have studied them in great detail over years. Every part must be interlocked and arrived at in complete harmony.

The two verses here demonstrate such a time jump. We know verse 17 is the beginning of the eternal state, for all earth’s history has ended in Revelation – Rev 21:1 “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea,” and after that, the New Jerusalem, the home of the Bride descends from heaven. Verse 17, though, is the jump from the mention of the eternal state right back to the Millennium, where described is the restored Jerusalem through the 1,000 years. Those who dwell there will rejoice and be glad; we have seen all that in the previous passages from Isaiah.

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Isaiah 65:19 – “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people, and there will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and the sound of crying. Isa 65:20 No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days, for the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred shall be thought accursed.”

We are frequently told in the prophets that God rejoices in Jerusalem, for He loves that city of the Jewish people, and in restoration, it is the dwelling place of the Messiah. We know He will wipe all tears away, and sorrow will be banished and the people rejoice in great gladness. Verse 20 is proof that we have come back to the Millennium, for it speaks of death. In the eternal state, there will be no death – Rev 21:4 “and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall no longer be any death. There shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things have passed away.” 

In the Millennium people will die but they will live long lives; for if a person dies at 100 years old, he is still a youth. Maybe we will return to the Ante-diluvian world in regard to length of lives. God will do marvelous things in those days. Here am I in my seventies with my teeth no good and my knees no good, and my eyes having to have artificial lenses. In the Millennium, will that be a problem for the God who made the human form? Not in the slightest!

Isaiah 65:21 – “They shall build houses and inhabit them. They shall also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. Isa 65:22 They shall not build and another inhabit. They shall not plant and another eat, for as the lifetime of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My chosen ones shall wear out the work of their hands. Isa 65:23 They shall not labour in vain, or bear children for calamity, for they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, and their descendants with them.”

These verses (I use the NASB) spell out the conditions for the nation of Israel in the 1,000-year reign of the Messiah. To summarize, “They shall build houses and plant crops, and no one will ever take them away” as happened when enemies invaded in the past.

I would like to quote from the Pulpit Commentary for verse 22 – “Trees endure for many hundreds, perhaps for thousands of years. The cedars of Lebanon, the oaks of Bashan, were known to have an antiquity of centuries. Isaiah may have had a knowledge of other trees to which attached the tradition of a yet longer existence. In our own day, Brazil and California have furnished proofs of vegetable growths exceeding a millennium. Mine elect shall long enjoy; literally, shall wear out; i.e. have the full use and enjoyment of the work of their hands.”

In the 1,000-year reign of Christ, children will not be aborted as the horrible Moloch cult does in today’s world, slaughtered or captured by enemies, and the family groups will prosper.

Isaiah 65:24 – “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear. Isa 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,’ says the LORD.”

So close will be the union between Christ and His people Israel that He knows every one of the redeemed, and He knows if they have any needs, and He will answer them even while they are voicing their need in prayer. In fact, the Lord can even anticipate their needs and answer that need even before they make it known. Do the same truths apply to us, members of His Church? Indeed, they do, for our God is omniscient and omnipresent.

In verse 25 we read of the conditions of nature in the earthly Kingdom of Messiah. All nature will be tame and in contentment. This corresponds to the expanded conditions also given in chapter 11 – Isa 11:6 “The wolf will dwell with the lamb and the leopard will lie down with the kid and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little boy will lead them. Isa 11:7 Also the cow and the bear will graze. Their young will lie down together and the lion will eat straw like the ox.” In verse 25 the “mountain” is Kingdom. As mentioned at the start of Isaiah, in prophetic writing the word “mountain” means kingdom unless it obviously refers specifically to a natural mountain.

Isaiah 66:15 – “For behold, the LORD will come in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire, Isa 66:16 for the LORD will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by the LORD will be many. Isa 66:17 ‘Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, following one in the centre, who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things, and mice, shall come to an end altogether,’ declares the LORD.”

We come to the final verses in Isaiah. The verses before us are of judgment, and that has to be Armageddon. His “anger with fury” can only describe that battle when all nations are gathered against Israel and Jerusalem to exterminate the Jews. They shall undergo the fire of the wrath of God. All that is described in Zech 12 and 14 and Rev 19 and Jude 1:14-15. Verse 17 was the practice of heathen idolaters, and their heathen mysteries, reprobates, consummating their sacred rites in select gardens or in association with trees. Those verses are judgment.

Isaiah 66:18 “for I know their works and their thoughts. The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues and they shall come and see My glory. Isa 66:19 I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory, and they will declare My glory among the nations.”

After the judgement of Armageddon, the Lord steps on Olivet and sets up his holy Kingdom. It is at that time that He gathers all nations and languages to see His glory. It is at that time the nations are separated into sheep and goat nations according to Matt 24 and with application to chapter 25.  Verse 19 seems to indicate that the Lord will send missionaries from Israel to distant places to declare the glory of the Lord to all nations. I think the survivors of verse 19 will be the remnant of the Jews who are saved in the Tribulation, having survived the persecution as detailed in Rev chapter 12 where the Jewish saints are divinely protected.

Isaiah 66:20 – “Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,’ says the LORD, ‘just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. Isa 66:21 I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites,’ says the LORD.”

Verse 20 is quite remarkable. The saved Gentile nations will provide transport for the remnant of Jews who need to return to Israel from all over the world. They will come to His Holy mountain (Jerusalem specific), but Israel in general in this context. As Israel brings grain offering to the Lord in clean vessels to His temple, so shall these Gentile nations take special regard as to how they transport the redeemed of Israel to their homeland. They shall come on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels. A litter is a type of human-powered transport, a wheelless carriage carried on poles for the transport of persons. The transport mode may be different but the same principle applies. When these Jews of the remnant return, God will select some of them as priests for service in the Millennial Temple (Ezek 40 onwards), and surely, they must come from Levi. God knows their ancestral descent.

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Isaiah 66:22 – “for just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘so your offspring and your name will endure. Isa 66:23 It shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath. All mankind will come to bow down before Me,’ says the LORD. Isa 66:24 Then they shall go forth and look on the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me, for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind.”

Verse 22 indicates that in the eternal state the Jews and their nation will continue forever, and that will be on earth because the Jews are the earthly people of the Lord. So too shall the new heavens and the new earth endure forever. Nothing will wear out. This will be power and grandeur from the Lord unlike anything we have seen so far, even in the universe. Verse 23 indicates worship of the Lord. This is in eternity. Everything will endure, for everything is perfect and holy. It seems the Sabbath may be confirmed again for Israel, and this seems logical. Indeed, it may even be so in the Millennium. Verse 24 is eternal judgement. This will have connection with eternal punishment, but we can’t properly comment of the details. Jesus spoke about Gehenna and hell.

Thus ends the prophecy of Isaiah and the study of the Restoration of Israel from this prophecy. We still have the other books to go.

THIS COMPLETES THE RESTORATION STUDY FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH.  THE NEXT POSTING WILL COMMENCE IN THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH.

ronaldf@aapt.net.au