HOW WE GET THE BLESSING

T. C. Munro

Lamentations 1: 12; Luke 18: 35–43; 19: 1–10; Mark 15: 17–22

If we stand in the main street of any city it is interesting to watch people going by. In fact it is sometimes more interesting to watch people than to look at the shops. The shops contain only material things, and I find it is more interesting to look at people. They hurry by, maybe rushing for a bus or a taxi or going to meet someone, different kinds of people, young and old, rich and poor, good-looking or otherwise. It does not matter what they look like; God is interested in them. I sometimes wonder what these people are thinking about, and whether they have anything worthwhile. When you come across someone who is a believer, that is a great thing. Alas, there are many who are merely passers-by. They have no interest in the things of God, no interest in the wonderful light that is shining from heaven regarding the Lord Jesus, but the appeal goes out to them nevertheless, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?” This appeal is in the Scriptures for anyone to read.

The Bible is an open book; anyone can buy it in the shops. We were reminded recently that it is the most widely available book in the world, printed in more languages than any other. It is available to all men, and in it is contained what I have read here, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

Many people go on in life, pursuing a career, pursuing pleasure, pursuing this and that, but have no interest in what God has to offer them in the glad tidings. How solemn! May God work with these souls and, thank God. He does! Often He operates even at the very extremity of life, when persons are taking their last breath, and they are secured. Such is the grace of God. Many may spend a life in sin and at the very end may be secured by the grace and compassion of God.

Dear friends, you have an opportunity tonight, a very favourable opportunity, to accept Christ as your own personal Saviour. Do not put it off. In the words of the hymn—

‘The world to doom is passing,

And you are passing too’. (Hymn 220)

That is true of every one of us. We are all passing. The scripture says, “thou knowest not what a day will bring forth”, Proverbs 27: 1. We do not know what may happen tomorrow; God knows. That is why He would urge in the glad tidings that you become interested in what He is saying, that you become an interested person, not merely a passer-by, but interested in what God is offering in the glad tidings. He is offering great things, wonderful blessings. He is offering full and free forgiveness to the sinner. Are there any sinners here? Of course we are all sinners; but are there any sinners here unsaved? I would like to tell you simply that you have an opportunity, maybe you have never had a better opportunity, to accept God’s free offer of grace in the glad tidings. It is available to you now.

I say that as an introduction, and would turn now to Luke’s gospel where we read of persons who got blessing. Why did they get the blessing? Because they were interested, concerned not to miss a wonderful opportunity that was presented to them. God is interested in interested persons. His eye is upon you. Of course He is also interested in uninterested persons. No matter what a man’s attitude is towards Him, even if it is against Christ, the light of the gospel, its full shining, is available to men no matter what their condition. If men turn their back on the sun, the sun shines on their back. Men turn their back on the glad tidings and God still shines in His wonderful grace. He is shining tonight; may He shine into your heart. May He light up your heart.

That is what happened to this man in Luke 18. It does not say what his name was; it just says that “it came to pass when he (Jesus) came into the neighbourhood of Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging”. People around would not give much for this blind man.

The crowd who were going along with Jesus would not think very much of him. Who was he anyway? He was blind; he could not see; he was of no use; he was a beggar; but heaven’s interest was on this man

because he was an interested person. He had obviously heard about Jesus the Nazaraean, and no doubt heaven had arranged it that the Lord Jesus should come into this region, the neighbourhood of Jericho, with the prime purpose that this man should get the blessing. You, my young friend, may have come along to this preaching tonight because heaven is interested in your blessing, heaven is desirous that you should get the blessing, that you should see.

Maybe you are not sure as to things. You may see tonight, you may have your eyes opened. It says, “when he heard the crowd passing, he enquired”. Where there is a crowd there is usually some noise. He probably heard the hustle and the bustle, and the people speaking in expectancy as to what was going to happen next, and he enquired. Have you enquired?

Would you like to enquire tonight? If you are not interested is it not time that you should start to enquire what this preaching is about? Is this for me? Is it really for me? Why not begin to become interested in what God is saying in the glad tidings? It could be the greatest thing that ever happened in your life. If you become interested you could come to know Jesus tonight.

So it says, “he inquired what this might be. And they told him that Jesus the Nazaraean was passing by”. Here was One, the Lord Jesus, who was passing by, but not in any casual way.

The Lord Jesus was on a journey. Earlier in this gospel it speaks of the Lord Jesus setting His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem (see Luke 9: 51). He was on a journey, a deliberate journey to Jerusalem. What for? For the crown that was rightly due to Him? No, dear friends; for the crown of thorns! He was going to Jerusalem not for any great hero’s welcome, but to die. He was going there to die because of your state and mine. This was not an aimless journey. He was passing by here because there was one man who wanted the blessing, and He was going to see to it that this man got it.

Now this man got the blessing not in any automatic way. He heard and he called out. It says, “he called out saying, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”. Now, dear friends, I would like you, if you have not yet had to do with Jesus, simply to call out to Him tonight just where you are. You do not need to wait until you get home, neither do you need to cry audibly. You can cry to Jesus in your heart; you can turn to Him just where you are. He will hear your cry.

The person next to you may not hear it. Do not worry about the crowd. It is sobering that those who were going before rebuked the blind man. Think of that! Those persons were going along with Jesus and they rebuked this man for crying out. But the Lord Jesus was not influenced by that. He stopped. He stood still. I would like you, dear friends, to understand that the Lord Jesus will stop tonight and hearken to your cry. He has a great interest in you.

He has a vested interest in you because He died for you. He has gone the full distance. He has gone into death itself, that you might be secured through the gospel.

This man cried out twice. If there were persons who would hinder him he was all the more determined to get the blessing. Do not let any one hinder you. There are many who would hinder you and try to stop you from getting the blessing. Satan himself, and perhaps even your friend, but I want to tell you that heaven is concerned that you might get the blessing.

The Saviour will hear your cry, but if you do not feel sure about it, cry out again. Make sure that you get the blessing before you leave this room. Make sure that you have the inward consciousness of blessing and joy that this man had. You need the blessing. What a wonderful blessing this man got. All his life he had been blind, and now he wanted to see. What would he see? He would see himself.

That is what the gospel does; it exposes to you what you are and what you need. As a sinner you need salvation. It is a great thing to have your eyes opened to see that you need a Saviour. We sang at the outset,

‘I could not do without Thee,

O Saviour of the lost’. (Hymn 220)

You must have this Man. You must have Jesus. He is available, but you must reach out to Him in faith to get the blessing. The Lord says to the man, “See—thy faith has healed thee”.

Do not hold back; reach out before it is too late. So it says, “And Jesus stood still”. The Lord was on a great and necessary journey and yet He was prepared to stop for a needy sinner, and He will stop for you tonight. The Lord Jesus is in the glory. He is living to God. Think of what He is proceeding with in heaven, but He will listen to you. All things have been given into His hand (see John 3: 35). All power has been given Him (see Matthew 28: 18), but He will stop, friend, for you. If you are interested in the blessing He will stop and give you His full attention. It says, “And immediately he saw, and followed him”. That is what the gospel has in mind, that instead of being a beggar you become a follower of Christ.

The next section says that Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Here He finds another interested man. It is very good to come across persons in Scripture who are interested. This man had some disadvantages; he was little in stature and he was rich. Many have disadvantages in life but these disadvantages do not need to hinder your getting the blessing.

We may consider that we have certain disadvantages. You may say, ‘Well, the Lord does not understand my position’. But, He does, friend, He knows your situation, He knows your problems, your fears, your disadvantages, but He wants you to have a concern to see Him. Zacchaeus was not blind, and he wanted to see Jesus. He wanted to overcome his disadvantage he was little in stature—so he climbed up a tree. His concern was that he might see Jesus. Oh would that those of us who are believers might have greater interest in seeing more of Jesus, more of His glory, more of His beauty, because there is no greater occupation for the soul, for the sinner or for the Christian, than to see Jesus. Let us have a desire to see more of Him. He is in the glory of course. We cannot see Him corporeally, but the writer to the Hebrews says, “We see Jesus ... crowned with glory and honour” (Hebrews 2: 9). He is available to be seen, and if you have to climb up a tree, a little exercise is not a bad thing.

But the Lord had greater things for this man. The Lord was actually going to come into this man’s house. He said, “Today I must remain in thy house”. The Lord was passing by and He had great things in His mind, but His concern was to come into this man’s house and remain there. Of course the Lord had to go out of his house again because He was going on to die in Jerusalem, but He gave this very encouraging word to Zacchaeus that He must remain in his house. The Lord wants to come into our houses, and not just as a visitor. We may just want the Lord in for an occasional visit, but He wants to come into our houses to remain there. It is very important that we let the Lord into our homes, that we prepare the ground so that He can come in, and that we provide a resting place for Him. The house has a very important place in the testimony. How great it is that the Lord Jesus should come into our houses, not in a physical way, but He would come in and dwell with us. He would be amongst the family, be with the father and the mother, be with the family.

Think of the presence of Christ in the house—how attractive! And that was what Zacchaeus got. He wanted just to see Jesus, but he received far more than he ever expected, and that is what the gospel gives you. You open your heart to Christ and you get far more than you ever thought you would. The Lord will come into your house. What a difference when the Lord comes into the house! We need to see that our houses are open for the Lord to come in, that He might be free there.

When Zacchaeus heard this word, “I must remain in thy house”, he made haste and came down. He did not lose a moment. He was rich and he was a tax-gatherer. He would think, ‘What would the Lord think about this?’ Well, the Lord reaches His end with this man.

Zacchaeus says, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I return him fourfold”. When the Lord comes into the house everything comes under review. As another has said, Zacchaeus did not deny he was a sinner, but the Lord pointed out that he was savable. Things are changed when the Lord comes in, into our hearts, into our lives. Our lives are changed. That is what conversion is. And when He comes into our houses our homes will be changed. So He says, “Today salvation is come to this house”. May we prove salvation in our homes. The Lord has in mind the securing of the whole household. That is what the Philippian jailor proved, that hard man.

Not only was he saved but also his household. May we have faith for this, that, although some may have gone astray, the Lord has come to seek and to save that which was lost. He is not interested in self-righteous persons. He is interested in those who take up the position of being lost. What wonderful opportunities open up before us in the gospel!

What riches, what inheritance, come in through all that Jesus has done. May we open our hearts to Him; may we open our homes to Him.

Now we come to the verses in Mark’s gospel, this is the time, and the detail, of the Lord’s crucifixion. We must always come back to that in the gospel, that one Man died, one Man was crucified. That Man was Jesus, the Saviour of sinners. Do you believe, dear friend, that He died for you? Do you believe that He had to go this way of suffering, this way of death, the way of crucifixion, because of your guilty condition, your sinful state? Friend, when you believe that, the whole burden of your sins is rolled from off your shoulders. You have a burden of sin, and you come to it that by the wonderful self-sacrificing love of the Saviour your sins are banished for ever from the sight of God. He sets you up as a fully and freely forgiven sinner, as a justified person. He sets you up, in one sense, as if you had never sinned.

Your past sins are covered, your present condition is covered, and what lies ahead is covered, for time and for eternity. Alas, we get into sin even after we are converted. Not that we should get into sin, Paul clearly states in the epistle to the Romans, “Should we continue in sin that grace may abound? Far be the thought” (Romans 6: 1, 2). Oh that we might have a real judgment as to what sin is, that we may, by the Holy Spirit, cast it from us, that we may be, more holy-minded, more set here for the Saviour; that we may understand the tremendous cost to Jesus, and that we may not lightly into things that we know are sin. How terrible that we may grieve the Holy Spirit, may even quench the Spirit. Oh that we may turn away from sin! We need to learn suffering. Paul says, “I buffet my body, and lead it captive”, 1 Corinthians 9: 27. May we learn to do that, to be men and women who have a proper judgment as to what sin is, sin in the flesh, that we may be more available to the Saviour.

Here was a man who was available for a very great service, to carry the cross of Jesus. He was compelled to do it. This does not come to any Christian naturally. We have to be compelled to face reproach. I know for myself how readily I avoid it, but it is absolutely essential for the Christian to accept reproach. This man was coming from the field. It says, “a certain passer-by”. You may say, ‘I am not ready for reproach, for the reproach of the Christ’.

It is not a question of being ready, it is a question of being available. This man was coming from the field. Maybe he was coming from his work. The Lord would lay hold of us just as we are, that we may be compelled to take up the cross of Christ. The Lord Jesus, speaking of discipleship, says in Luke’s gospel, “whoever does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple”, Luke 14: 27. These searching words are the Lord’s own words. The Lord is looking today for disciples. There are many lukewarm Christians, but the Lord is looking for Christians to take up His cause, His reproach. This world has no room for Christ, and it has no room for those who honour His name; what is called for today are persons who accept reproach and suffering for His sake. Thank God for everyone who is available to do it.

May we all be available; may we be compelled through the love of Christ. Paul says, “For the love of the Christ constrains us”, 2 Corinthians 5: 14. May we be compelled by the grace of Christ. Is He not worthy of it, dear friends; is He not worthy of our full allegiance? The Lord would also compel us in love to take up His rights down here, to take up the remembrance of Him at the Supper: “This do in remembrance of me”, Luke 22: 19. Is He not worthy of it? Surely He is! It is a simple request. He does not ask you to do great things. He has asked many to do great things, to suffer martyrdom, to suffer death by hanging, to be burned at the stake, to be drowned in rivers. He has asked that of many, but He asks you, dear young Christian, to remember Him at the Lord’s supper. May we take up these requests. The Lord is not asking for much. He is a blessed Master, but He does not ask for much. May we be helped to yield to Him more, for He is worthy of it, for His name’s sake.

Preaching at Bo’ness
16 March 1986