17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” – Comment: – We are now almost at the day of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, five days before His Crucifixion, seven days before His resurrection! For the third time Jesus tells His disciples about His coming trial, crucifixion and resurrection. A question that bears thinking deeply about is, “Why did Jesus for a third time tell them the same facts? Was Jesus fearful for Himself? Was He concerned about how the disciples would handle the traumatic experiences which were about to explode onto their scene? Was He telling Judas to think deeply? Was He doing all three? We don’t know for sure….. 29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
Comment: The other two synoptic gospels seem to tell the same story as if there was only a single man Bartimaeus who cried out and were healed of his blindness. If there were two there was certainly one! Maybe Bartimaeus continued on following Jesus and became well known and the other started well but became lost somehow on the way – as some do! Maybe there were two times of healing close together! But Jesus proves Himself again very compassionate and even stepped over the crowd’s trying to silence the beggars’ cries. Presumably the crowd were keen to listen to His every word! Are we? If they followed Him, and the passage said that they did. They didn’t have to follow long before they were mixed up in the Triumphal entry and the trial and Crucifixion. I wonder if they both stayed until after the Resurrection? Perhaps we know the name ‘Bartimaeus’ because he did stay on and became a committed follower! I also don’t know the details of the other chap, but it is very sad if he gave up when the great Triumphal Entry into Heaven was about to occur!
PS I used to wonder how Friday afternoon to Sunday morning was counted as three days when it isn’t even much over 36 hours! I understood it when I got to Ethiopia and I was forced to understand that seeing someone in 3 days for a repeat consultation meant that they came back the day after tomorrow! Today – day 1; tomorrow – day 2; The day after tomorrow – day 3! So that’s when they came even if I knew that I avoided that day because I would be elsewhere! So Jesus rose on the third day!
Matt 24: 12-13 – And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Prayer: The subject of Your Cross and being faithful to the end comes up so often in Your Word, O, God. Thank You that there is joy and peace in following You. Please help me to continue on when sometimes it gets hard.
As I read it! 