Come to Me Unhindered

In one paragraph

Pastor Nick walked Luke 18:35 through 19:10, two stories of people who put themselves in a position to find Jesus on his way through Jericho toward Jerusalem and the cross. The thread running through both stories connects to the two previous weeks: come to Jesus unhindered, and drop whatever it is that hinders you. The three sermons leading into this one had set up a pattern Pastor Nick called a...

Read together

1. Psalm 95 quoted at the opening to call the congregation to worship with thanksgiving and praise
2. Hebrews 13 quoted during worship: this world is not our permanent home, we are looking forward to a home yet to come
3. Hebrews 10 quoted with a song: hold tightly without wavering to the hope we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promises
4. 1 John 4:9-11 quoted before a song: God showed His love by sending His Son so we might have eternal life, and this is real love, not that we loved God but that He loved us
5. Luke 9:51 cited to show Jesus setting his face like flint toward Jerusalem, resolutely walking toward the cross
6. Luke 18:35-19:10 the primary passage covering Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus, the two people watching for Jesus
7. John 9 referenced as the disciples asking who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind
8. Luke 18:9-13 the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, cited to parallel the crowd's complaint about Jesus staying with Zacchaeus
9. Isaiah 61 referenced as the scroll Jesus read in the Nazareth synagogue, proclaiming freedom for captives and the acceptable year of the Lord
10. Luke 2 cited for the angel's announcement: today is born for you a savior who is Christ the Lord
11. John 4 referenced for Jesus saying he must go through Samaria to meet the woman at the well
12. 2 Corinthians 6:2 quoted as the benediction: now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation

Talk about it

1. Pastor Nathan described a chiastic structure connecting the last few weeks of sermons: 'Allow them to come to me unhindered' and 'Drop what hinders you and come to me.' What is something in your own life that you recognize as a hindrance to coming to Jesus?
2. Bartimaeus used the faculties he had, his voice and his hearing, to reach Jesus even though he could not see. When have you found yourself calling out to God with whatever limited capacity you had at the time, and what happened?
3. The crowd tried to silence Bartimaeus, and people grumbled when Jesus went to Zacchaeus's house. Why do you think people who were following Jesus kept getting in the way of others reaching Him, and where do you see that same tendency today?
4. Jesus told Zacchaeus 'I must stay at your house,' and Pastor Nathan pointed to that word 'must' as a divine necessity. What does it mean to you personally that Jesus initiates and invites Himself in, rather than waiting to be invited?
5. Zacchaeus did not ask Jesus what he must do. He simply responded out of a transformed heart, giving half his possessions to the poor and repaying four times what he had taken wrongly. What does that tell us about the difference between religious obligation and genuine gratitude as a motivation for how we live?