In This Issue

• THEY RECEIVED SIGHT AND FOLLOWED HIM
• PREJUDICED AGAINST THE BIBLE
• NOTHING HAPPENED IN JULY 1999 -- DON'T WORRY ABOUT NOSTRADAMUS!
• UPCOMING GOSPEL MEETING SCHEDULE
• MORE INFORMATION...

THEY RECEIVED SIGHT AND FOLLOWED HIM

Matthew tells us in Matt. 20:29-34 that as Jesus and His apostles "departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!’ So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ They said to Him, ‘Lord, that our eyes may be opened.’ So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him."

Mark 10:46-52 only mentions one of these two blind men, and calls him by name, Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus. Bartimaeus apparently did the talking for both of them. Luke tells us of an almost identical miracle that had happened earlier as Jesus had entered the city, Luke 18:35-43. Though in both cases the multitude had admonished the blind men not to trouble Jesus with their problem, at least in the case recorded by Luke, when the miracle had been accomplished, "All the people... gave praise to God."

At the point in time when these miracles occur, the events in the earthly ministry of Jesus are rapidly coming to a head. He leaves Jericho on His way to Jerusalem, where, in a few days He will be arrested, tried, and executed. Excitement is in the air. Many of Jesus’ followers expect Him to proclaim Himself King, and to lead the Jewish people to throw off the yoke of Roman rule, and reassert Jewish independence. No wonder they had little patience for these blind men and their personal problems. No wonder the multitude tried to make them be quiet.

But we see Jesus, always as interested in the individual as he is the multitude. He asked of the blind men, "What do you want Me to do for you?" Not that He didn’t know. But He desired them to ask. Many blessings will be missed if men do not ask, Matt. 7:7; James 4:2.

Actually, there are two elements involved in this miracle as in many of the Lord’s miracles. One element was that of compassion. Jesus healed the blind men because He had compassion on them. But this is obviously not the only element, because Jesus has compassion on all -- even on those who do not receive perfect physical health. There are many ways that Jesus shows compassion. Physical healing is but one of them. The more outstanding element in all the miracles in Jesus’ ministry is that they serve to point to Him and unquestionably establish that He came from the Father. Thus after the miracle, "All the people... gave praise to God." 

--CRJ

While serving as our ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin joined a literary society. Such societies were common and numerous in France, but they were filled with infidels. Urged on by his quaint sense of humor, Mr. Franklin joined the most prominent of these societies. It was the custom of this group to have each member write an original story to be read to the society and then have the members criticize the story. Mr. Franklin copied by hand the French translation of the entire book of Ruth from the Bible.

He met with the society at the appointed time and anxiously awaited the time for him to read his story. In warm and sympathetic tones he read this great love story.

For a few minutes there was absolute silence, as the audience sat under the spell of the beautiful love story. The some member began to applaud. When the chairman of the meeting said that it was the only perfect love story the world had ever heard, the society requested permission to print it.

Mr. Franklin then said: "This story has already been printed and given to the world. You will find it in the Bible: the book you profess to despise, but about whose contents you apparently know so little." 

--Bob Buchanon

Nostradamus was a sixteen century French astrologer who has had a resurgence in popularity in recent years. Some feel that he predicted the burning of London, the rise of Hitler and other modern events. His prophecies, however, like those of all uninspired "prophets," are generally vague and subject to various interpretations. One prediction, however, was very specific regarding a date!

L'an mil neuf cens nonante neuf sept mois,
Du ciel viendra grand Roy deffraieur
Resusciter le grand Roy d'Angolmois
Auant apres Mars regner par bon heur.

In the year 1999, seven months,
From heaven will come the great king of terror,
To resurrect the great king of the Mongols,
Before and after Mars, to reign through good luck.

The seventh month of 1999 has come and gone. What happened? Did the great king of terror come from heaven? Did he resurrect the great king of the Mongols? Of course, nothing of the sort happened because Nostradamus was frankly a charlatan. Don't be frightened by him or any other latter day prophet.

One prophesy you should be concerned about is found in the words of Jesus who always told the truth. He said, "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." (Matthew 25:13) Are you thinking about the second coming of Christ? 

--Gardner Hall

--Psalm 119:116,130,133,164

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