Deliverance

What a distance we have travelled this week.  Jerusalem is now just across the valley.  Soon we will stop plodding through the dust and rocks and get down to business, and prepare for the Passover celebration.

We have had several delays on this journey.  First it was that blind beggar along the roadside outside of Jericho.  There are beggars in so many places, but this one would not be denied.  We heard him begging as we approached… as if we had anything to give.  He must have heard the crowd stirring, because I heard him ask someone what was happening.

“Yeshua of Nazaret is passing by” someone answered him.

Then that beggar began to shout even louder:

“Yeshua, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

I remember wondering what it was he thought he might receive.  We told him to be quiet, and not to bother the master.  But he shouted all the more:

“Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Then it happened.  Yeshua stopped, as did we all, and he ordered that this beggar be brought to him.  It was done as he said, of course.  Then Yeshua asked him:

“What do you want me to do for you?”

Such an open question!  I squirmed when I heard it, not knowing what direction this would take, and how it might affect each of us.

“Lord, I want to see” the beggar replied.

“Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” responded the rabonni.

That was it.  No mud.  No laying on of hands.  No required activity.  Just those words.

Immediately he could see!  He praised God and then followed us for quite some time, asking questions and listening to all that the rabboni said.

Many who were gathered around praised God also.  Such a sign!  After that I was ready to get on with our journey, which would take us into and through Jericho.  A large crowd gathered there at the city’s entrance to see us pass by.

One little man climbed a sycamore-fig tree up ahead of us so he could see the procession.  He was well dressed – not a commoner.

As we approached his position, Yeshua looked at him and said:

“Zacchaeus, come down immediately.  I must stay at your house today.” 

I had never seen such a thing!  The little man worked his way down from the tree and welcomed Yeshua gladly.  Yet many who were gathered nearby muttered among themselves.  I heard one say:

“He has gone to be the guest of a sinner!”

This was not quite the reception I had hoped for, but we were getting used to such things.  As this man led us to his door, the muttering continued, and the clear disapproval from the onlookers.  I could not tell how much of it was true, but there were many accusations, mostly about this man stealing money, and also how he worked for the Romans – a tax collector they said, as I was, at one point in my life.

This man had been talking with Yeshua as we walked, though I could not hear what was said because of the noise that surrounded us.  Suddenly the man rose before us and spoke loudly for all to hear:

“Look, Lord!  Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Such a statement would have been received with cheers in most places, but an amazing silence befell those around us.  Then the rabonni spoke:

“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Yeshua went on to tell a story:

 “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.  So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.  ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

“But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

“He was made king, however, and returned home.  Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 

“The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

“‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied.  ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’

“The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

“His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

“Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.  I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man.  You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’

“His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant!  You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?  Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’

“Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

“‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

“He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.  But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

Who was he talking about?  Clearly this was not just a lesson about money.  He does not preach about collecting coins as treasures.  Often he would explain to us disciples what his parables meant, once we moved along a ways, but not this time.

That parable was sufficient to stir things up further in Jericho, so we headed on our way.   Soon enough we approached Bethphage and Bethany and our beloved Mount of Olives.  Yeshua selected two disciples to run ahead of us, instructing them:

“Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden.  Untie it and bring it here.  If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

Those who were sent ahead told us later that they found it just as he had told them.  As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them:

“Why are you untying the colt?”

“The Lord needs it.” they replied, just as they were instructed.

And they brought the young colt back to us, along with its mother.  We threw our cloaks on the colt and put Yeshua on it.  The colt carried Jesus, walking beside its mother along the road.  As we went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

When we came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, a large crowd began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles we had seen:

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Yeshua:

“Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” replied, Yeshua “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Such joy in this journey!  It seemed like we were finally approaching the fulfillment of the prophecies.  Yet as we drew closer to Jerusalem, just now, something changed in Yeshua’s appearance.  He is beginning to weep!

“If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.  The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.  They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.  They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Yet another lesson too great for me to understand.  How can he say that the city on which God’s peace rests could be breached?  We recognize God, and we know the times. Jerusalem’s walls are so mighty.  And God fights for us!… except perhaps for those in the story that did not want to follow the king…

Soon we will be in the city.  The crowd around the gate is growing, and they continue to shout, and lay down their cloaks and palm branches!  I don’t suppose there has been a procession like this one, in this place, for hundreds of years.  It certainly seems that this visit will really be the one that matters – that will bring Yeshua into the public eye, and elevate him, even in the eyes of the religious leaders.  This has been a long time coming.  What a great day to be alive!

Wait!  Who is bringing the sacrifice for our Passover deliverance?

 

(c) 2019 Chuck Curtiss

To read other similar stories in this series see The Witness List.

Based on Luke 18:35 – 19:44

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