READY OR NOT…
As a toddler or child, you most likely played this game. If you have a toddler, then you’ve most likely played this game recently! It starts by closing your eyes and beginning to count. Once you begin to count, everyone else scatters and runs to find the best hiding spot. Finally, you say it—“Ready or not…here I come!”—and everyone freezes as to not make any sounds to reveal their whereabouts.
For the last three Wednesday nights, we have been in a series entitled, “Ready or Not…” We have found ourselves in three different stories, with three different characters, each with a unique lesson to be learned. In week one, we read in Mark 9 about a guy by the name of Bartimaeus. He was a blind beggar. We learned how he shouted above the crowd in order for Jesus to hear him and not pass him by. He was rebuked by the crowd, but that only encourage him to shout louder! Jesus heard him and furthermore, called to him. The text says he immediately through off his cloak, stood to his feet, and made his way to Jesus. Then he was healed of his blindness!
In week two, we learned about Zacchaeus. He was a Jew that was hated and despised, as he was a tax collector. He was considered a traitor to his own people, a sell-out to the Roman government. We read how he, too, knew Jesus was going to be passing by and he didn’t want to miss it. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the tallest guy around. So he changed his position and climbed a tree. He put himself in position to encounter Jesus. Sure enough, Jesus passes by and calls out to him. The text says immediately Zacchaeus climbed out of the tree and took Jesus to his house. Zacchaeus is restored and changed because of Jesus.
This past week we read in Luke 17 about ten individuals who had leprosy. In that day, they could be found on the outside of the village. They were labeled as “unclean.” Therefore, they weren’t welcome…they were outsiders. We read in the text that these men were the first to meet Jesus as he was passing through. Just like Bartimaeus, they shouted out to Jesus. Jesus instructed them to go show themselves to the priest. The key part of what happened next isn’t the fact that they were healed, but the text reads, “…as they went, they were healed.” As they went. They weren’t healed until they responded to what Jesus told them to do.
There is an interesting thread to these three stories. In each one, Jesus is traveling somewhere. In each one, Jesus is passing by. Each of the characters had their own set of challenges, yet they were willing to position themselves in the right way to meet Jesus.
The blind beggar shouted above the scolding crowd. Zacchaeus rose above and separated himself from the crowd, even willing to look foolish in order to see Jesus. These lepers were willing to shout and present themselves as servants in order to be healed. The interesting thing about the ten lepers, though, is that only one returned. If you read the story in Luke, it says they shouted, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” In their shouting, they proclaim Jesus as their master, implying they were willing to serve Him. Yet when they found themselves healed, only one lived out the act of servant hood by returning to the feet of Jesus to thank Him.
There are a couple of truths I want to highlight. There is always a crowd. Sometimes they’re yelling at us to be quiet. Sometimes they judge us because of our reputation. Other times they’ll completely shut us out and close the doors behind. Jesus is always passing by. Sometimes it is at a distance, sometimes it is with the intention of coming to our house for dinner, or sometimes it is in the midst of entering a city. Jesus will notice us if we’re willing to make ourselves available and known to Him. We may have to shout above the crowds in our life. We may have to separate ourselves from our reputation or from the judgments of the crowd. We may have to wait as an outsider, away from the busy life inside the city walls. And maybe most importantly, we all have a choice as to what our response to Jesus will be. We can choose to throw off what hinders us and get up as Bartimaeus did, handicaps and all. We can choose to come down from the tree—or come down from our pedestal—and go with Jesus. We can choose to turn back after Jesus heals us and thank him. Or we can simply choose be a part of the crowd.
The crowd will yell at others to be quiet or stay at a distance. The crowd will judge and point fingers, or maybe scoff at the fact someone wants to see Jesus. The crowd will keep their schedules running, and life will go on just as long as we keep “those” people outside the gates. But, crowds or not, the question with which I’ve challenged our teens is this, “Are you willing to let Jesus pass by without responding to Him?”
Likewise, the questions I pose to you are these:
1) Are you willing to shout above the “crowds” in your life in order for Jesus to hear you?
2) Are you willing to rise above the “crowds” in your life, to put yourself in position to see Jesus?
3) Are you willing to not just cry out, “Jesus, Master…” but actually turn around and make Him Master?
Jesus is passing by today…how will you respond?
