Now for the last time they crossed the Fords of Jordan, and Christ was on Judean soil seven days before start of Passover. Behind him were Perea and Galilee; behind him the ministry of the Gospel by word and deed; and before him the final act of his life. He was coming openly at the head of his apostles, followed by a large festive band going up to the paschal feast, where he would be the “Lamb” of sacrifice.

Spring was already well advanced in this region and the air was full of fragrance. Great crowds greeted Jesus as he neared Jericho. Wherever he passed, people gathered in the hope of seeing him perform some miracle. Other curious onlookers followed him merely to see this man who had defied the authority of the high priest and Sanhedrin. Would Christ be a guest at some prominent resident, would he teach or work miracles, or silently go on his way?

Now for the last time they crossed the Fords of Jordan, and Christ was on Judean soil seven days before start of Passover. Behind him were Perea and Galilee; behind him the ministry of the Gospel by word and deed; and before him the final act of his life. He was coming openly at the head of his apostles, followed by a large festive band going up to the paschal feast, where he would be the “Lamb” of sacrifice.

Spring was already well advanced in this region and the air was full of fragrance. Great crowds greeted Jesus as he neared Jericho. Wherever he passed, people gathered in the hope of seeing him perform some miracle. Other curious onlookers followed him merely to see this man who had defied the authority of the high priest and Sanhedrin. Would Christ be a guest at some prominent resident, would he teach or work miracles, or silently go on his way?

Blind Bartimaeus

Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, had been blind for many years. Begging was almost the only occupation open to a blind man, so he resigned himself to it. The constant flow of people through Jericho as well as the presence of the Romans furnished a liberal source of alms, and he was able to find a choice position on the heavily traveled road leading into the city.

Bartimaeus was begging early at his place, crying out his condition as required and receiving gifts of money and goods from the passers-by. A little while later, he heard a crowd approaching, and by the loud noise that accompanied it he could determine that the procession was of unusual size. He pulled at the sleeve of a bystander. “Who is coming?” he asked eagerly. Such a commotion must mean the passage of at least a royal official, one who would be generous.

“It is the Nazarene prophet with a group from Galilee,” he was told.

“Jesus of Nazareth?”

“Yes.”

The blind man felt excitement rising within him. He had heard how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but most important to him was the account of how Christ had given sight to Josiah of Jerusalem who had been blind from birth. Remembering the miracles and forgetting the money, Bartimaeus was certain the long awaited Messiah was approaching. Seeing only with inner vision and faith, he began shouting from Jewish prophecy, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

“Be quiet!” some of the people yelled at him.

Bartimaeus had no intention of being silent. He only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

When the Savior heard him, he stopped. A cry for mercy was one he had never refused. Nor did he refuse it now. “Tell him to come here.”

His friends called to the blind man. “Cheer up. Come on, he’s calling you!”

Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak and jumped up. His companions helped him stumble through the crowd to Jesus, and he fell at his feet.

“What do you want me to do for you?” the Lord asked.

“Teacher, I want to see!” the blind man pleaded.

It was a simple statement of faith in Christ’s ability to heal, and it stirred an answering chord in the Lord’s heart. He leaned over, touched his eyes, and spoke the most glorious words a blind person could hear, “You can see! Go your way. Your faith has healed you.”

Instantly Bartimaeus was overwhelmed by the sudden burst of light and beauty from which his eyes had been shut away for so many years. For a moment he could only kneel in the roadway, dazed and half stunned by this miracle which again had brought sight to him.

Jesus, who had paused only long enough to heal him, was already walking down the road before Bartimaeus recovered from the suddenness of his cure. When he did, he snatched up his cloak where it had fallen, threw it around him, and joined the procession that followed the Master, all the time shouting what God had done for him.

Jesus Visits Zacchaeus

Christ entered Jericho and made his way through the city. Someone else needed his help and was waiting for him. Zacchaeus, head of the tax and customs department, was a Jew; but his name “pure” or “just” was mockery because he was one of the corrupt Jews in the Roman tax collecting business. Tax collection, the most despised profession in all of Israel, was leased by a contract under which the contractor guaranteed to produce a specified amount of revenue to the government. Whatever the collector was able to extract from the people over and above that amount enriched his own fortunes. Zacchaeus was a small man not only in body but in spirit. He used his office as a clever means of gaining power over others and to grow rich—and he had become very rich.

Yet, he was not happy and had told himself many times, “There must be more to life than money.” The yearning in his soul was not satisfied and his conscience disturbed him. He had heard that Jesus was called the “friend of tax collectors and sinners” and that Matthew, the tax commissioner in Capernaum, had been called to be an apostle; and was doubly eager to meet this extraordinary prophet who could possibly be the Messiah.

When Zacchaeus heard that Christ was coming, he attempted to join the crowd that lined the road. In spite of his size, he tried to push his way through the people who scorned him, but they would not make room and pushed him to the side. The Master was approaching, but he was too short to see over the surging multitude to gain his attention. Not to be denied, the shunned tax collector ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in the courtyard of his house that spread its branches over the only road by which the Lord could pass. He concealed himself in the tree’s abundant foliage to escape detection and ridicule from the people, and then he waited.

When Jesus came by, he stopped in front of the overhanging tree. He knew exactly where the little man was hiding and all that he was thinking, feeling, and desiring. Zacchaeus held absolutely motionless when those wondrous eyes, full of heaven itself, looked upward into his. That face of infinite grace beamed upon him in welcome recognition as he called out, “Zacchaeus! Be quick and come down, for I must be a guest in your home today.” The Father had so appointed it, and the Son had come this way for that very purpose.

Nothing mattered except the genuine warmth and love in the Savior’s voice, and Zacchaeus quickly climbed down in great excitement and joy. He did not pause to consider that the Nazarene was under sentence of death by the Sanhedrin; or that Herod Antipas could influence the Roman authorities to take away his commission as tax gatherer. Everything was joyously hazy within his soul. A few steps farther and they were in the house of the chief tax gatherer.

The crowd gathered outside was greatly displeased and grumbled loudly, “Jesus has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner.” But the Master never paid attention to them.

Reaction of the people woke Zacchaeus to full consciousness. In that moment he saw it all: what his past had been, what his present was, what his future must be. He stood facing the Savior and where the crowd could witness his oath, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord; and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” His sorrow of the past was swallowed up by his joy of true repentance in the present. Zacchaeus had been reborn in the sycamore tree.

Christ knew the man’s change was complete and told the listeners, “Salvation has come to this home today, for he has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost.”

Zacchaeus bowed in all humility, “Teacher, it is getting late and you have a long climb ahead of you. I would be honored if you and your apostles would spend the night here. My home is spacious and I and my fellow tax collectors would like to hear more about the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus accepted his invitation, teaching them and answering their questions until late in the night. At last, Zacchaeus’ soul was satisfied. He had found his Messiah, and something worth more than all the money in the world—eternal wealth of the spirit!

Arrival in Bethany

In the early sunrise of Friday morning, six days before Passover, Jesus left Jericho with a multitude of festive people. On the way out, they passed the inn where he had told the story of the Good Samaritan. Ahead was the most difficult part, a steep climb of over 3,000 feet leading upward along the narrow winding road to Jerusalem.

After about six hours, the caravan reached the turnoff to Bethany where the Lord and his apostles took the road to Lazarus’ home. Some of the people turned off with them, including Mary his mother, Mary of Magdala, Salome the mother of James and John, and the rest of the women who ministered to him. The other family groups went on to Jerusalem and spread the word he had arrived at Bethany. More crowds flocked to see him and also Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead only a few weeks before.

Refusing to believe Christ’s repeated warnings about his Passion, the apostles watched the multitudes gather, and expected the Messiah to establish a great earthly kingdom when they finally entered Jerusalem. The next day was the Sabbath (Saturday), and for now, the weary travelers welcomed this sacred day of rest.