In this four-part series, I perceive the Holy Spirit wants to speak to us about four golden commandments of Jesus to you and me. As I study my Bible , these four commandments of Jesus stood out to me, caught my attention and became very important for me to also share with you. The commands include Jesus’ instruction to us to Come, to Follow, to Love, and to Go. Today the Lord will have us look at His first commandment to us to Come.
Jesus said to Come.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
The first commandment of Jesus to all human race is “… Come to me”. This is a divine invitation from the One who made us and saved us. He knows who we are and what we need. He sees through our hearts and has the answer to the questions on our mind. Jesus said ‘all of you should come’. All of us? Yes all of you! I have never heard anyone say such statement. Even the combination of Warren Buffett, Bill Gate, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry page and Sergey Brin cannot afford to say all human race should come to them for help. No, they cannot afford that. Not all problems of life are monetary, and all the money in the world cannot solve the problems of mankind. But Jesus was confident to say, ‘all of you should come’. He wants those who are weary to come, He wants everyone carrying heavy burdens to come. How weary is your weariness? How heavy is your burden? Is it very heavy that it has deferred all helps? You are the candidate Jesus is talking about here. Yes, He is calling you.
Mark 10:46-52
Bartimaeus was a blind man. He was a beggar sitting beside the road. Jesus was passing by and Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was nearby. He had heard about Jesus and the great work He does (Acts 10:38). He cried out to Jesus for help. He was weary, he was bearing the heavy burden of sin, blindness, rejection and dependence on others. He needed help but no one could solve his problems. So he heard that the Creator of mankind was passing by. Yes, he heard that Jesus was nearby, the same way Jesus is nearby you today. He cried out for help, and the more he cried, the more people tried to stop him. He was too loud and everyone around became offended at the noise of his shouting. But he would not keep quiet. He was no longer ready to bear the heavy burdens. No, they were too heavy. And never would he miss the opportunity that was nearby. Many of you have attempted to cry out like Bartimaeus but you gave up after the situation and people around you told you to keep quiet. You shut up and continued to endure the problems and heavy burdens. The burdens are there, and they are too heavy for you, but you have been told never to mention it again. Jesus is passing by today, and you have a choice to say No to everyone attempting to stop you.
Bartimaeus cried out for His Mercy, and Jesus heard the cry. He hears our cry and he does not ignore it. When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come.” Friend, Jesus is asking me to tell you this morning to come. He has stopped to attend to your weary soul and heavy burden. He has stopped to attend to your situation. What are you going through? What are your needs today? Jesus said you should come. He is the Elshaddai – the One who is More than Enough!
“‘What do you want me to do for you?”, Jesus asked Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus had many problems and Jesus knew them all, but He would not force himself on the man. Bartimaeus knew the chief of his problem that would address every other problem is his blindness. He knew that to be blind is to be lost. The Bible equates blindness with being lost. In fact, if there is one reason that a sinner is still a sinner, it is because they are blind to the benefits of receiving the gracious gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus, and the dangers of hell ahead of them. They are yet to see the the price Jesus paid to redeem their soul. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “Satan, the god of this evil world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe, so they are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News that is shining upon them. They don’t understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”
“Teacher”, the blind man said, “I want to see!” Jesus was popularly called Rabbi meaning Teacher by the Jews. He was a great teacher, and any time He taught, the people were blessed. His Words always bring Faith to the heart of the hearers. You cannot read or hear the Word of Jesus and be faithless or hopeless. His Words lift up those who care enough to listen to them. Bartimaeus had heard Jesus, and faith for his own healing had now come. To him, Jesus was Rabbi, the teacher of a Living Faith. He was ready to experience the things Jesus had spoken about. And Jesus was also ready to attend to him. Anywhere Jesus sees faith, He will not say No!
The Bible says, Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your faith has healed you.” What was Jesus talking about here? What was Bartimaeus’ faith? He acknowledged Jesus as the teacher of truth, believed the Words of Jesus, what Jesus had taught, and cried out to Jesus for help. He held on to God’s Word and prayed out. He kept praying and was never going to stop until Jesus gave him attention. He believed Jesus was able to heal his blindness, and he was right. Friend, the problem is not so much your blindness, the real problem is your faith. Blindness will go when faith comes. Bible says in Romans 10:17, “Yet faith comes from listening to this message of good news – the Good News about Christ.” The first assignment you have today is to come to Jesus by His Word. The Bible is the Word of God and the instrument through which Faith comes alive in us. When Faith comes, blindness cannot stay. When we come to Jesus by faith, He is able to help us. And there is no better time to heed Jesus’ command to come than now.
The Bible says, ‘And instantly the blind man could see! Then he followed Jesus down the road’. When blindness leaves, you are able to see the Jesus you have only heard about. He becomes visible to you, and the next thing you want to do is follow Him. When you see Jesus, you don’t want to leave Him. I invite you today to come to the Lord, He is calling you. Come!
Tomorrow, I hope to go to the next commandment of Jesus to you and me, “Follow Me!”.
But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, then the veil is taken away. Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom. And all of us have had the veil removed so that we can mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
Further Readings:
- John 1:39,
- John 1:43,
- Matthew 11:28-30,
- Mark 10:46-52,
- 2 Corinthians 4:4,
- 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
