Good Tidings

 

It was a dull day in Jericho. Two blind men sat by the wayside. Suddenly, a crowd out of nowhere. It was no festival day, nor was there any VIP movement scheduled to pass by.

The blind men quickly asked a passer-by the reason for the crowd. They wanted to get their act together if they had to generate enough alms. To their surprise they heard Jesus was passing by.

This was Jesus who went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. (Matt 4:23). The blind men wasted no time and began crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.” The hope of receiving back their sight outweighed everything else.

Jesus stood still, and called them and said, “What will ye that I shall do unto you?” That was a reverberating question from the One of whom the Bible declares that “all things were made by him” (John 1:2). They said, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him (Matt 20:29-34).

The coming of Jesus was a good tiding to these blind men. We read in the Bible, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that publisheth salvation...” (Isa 52:7). When we look at the ministry of Jesus, of far greater weight than physical healing was his ministry towards the spiritual healing of mankind.

Christ Jesus came into this world proclaiming good tidings of peace with God and salvation to the burdened sinner. According to God’s righteous standard, all have sinned and are to receive the wages of sin which is death. Our life here on earth will come to a close one day. But after that is judgment. No good of man can save him that day. All will be condemned to eternal damnation.

But God has given us a way of escape today. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. He died in our stead so that we need not die in our sins. By his death and resurrection, he has eternally settled the righteous demands of God for sin. All we need to do is to put our faith in him. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:8,9).

This good tiding from God is for you today. Will you hearken to it?