Dear Friend,

As sweet and inspiring as it is, our walk with Christ has some unusual, even strange, moments. One of them is when He seems to pass us by.

For instance, one day in Jericho the word went out to blind Bartimaeus, "Jesus of Nazareth passeth by" (Luke 18:37). Immediately, the blind beggar began crying aloud, acknowledging Christ's Messiahship and begging His mercies: "Son of David [Messiah], have mercy on me" (v. 38).

Just as quickly, all the people around him, including his friends, began trying to silence him: "They ... rebuked him, that he should hold his peace" (v. 39). Did he politely stop yelling for help to appease his agitated companions? Not a chance! Though blind, Bartimaeus was neither timid nor bound by others' expectations. To the contrary, he was bold! Rather than decrease his volume, he increased it, and "cried so much the more!" (Luke 18:39). As a result, Jesus immediately stopped and, Matthew and Mark note, He "stood still," His full attention now riveted on the socially incorrect, loud-mouthed blind man. In short order, Jesus called him to come near, asked what he needed, and gave it to him. And "immediately he received his sight" (Luke 18:43). All because he would not let Jesus pass him by!

The New Testament showcases other seekers whom Jesus seemed to pass by, and the results of their encounters, for us to ponder.

When Jesus' disciples were painfully, even tortuously, "toiling" to cross a raging Lake Galilee, Jesus let them be buffeted by relentless headwinds all night long. Finally, He appeared. But, inexplicably, and totally unlike His habitually compassionate behavior, He "would have passed by them" (Mark 6:48). Pressed by a desperate, survival instinct, they would have none of that! Immediately, they "cried" out to Him (v. 49). Then, "immediately he talked with them" (v. 50), and their terrifying storm, and exhausting struggles, "ceased" (v. 51).

When Jesus, after His resurrection, encountered two spiritually troubled disciples on the Emmaus Road, He quietly "drew near, and went with them" (Luke 24:15). As they walked together toward Emmaus, Jesus probed them with questions, and blessed them with a heavenly, Spirit-filled Bible study like none you or I have ever experienced. Amazingly, His teaching spoke directly to their need and, compassionately, it extracted the satanic arrow of doubt that had pierced their hearts with discouragement and caused an infection of unbelief to set in: "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not [the] Christ to have suffered these things, and to [then] enter into his glory" (Luke 24:25-26). Then, after this most blessed Bible study, Jesus "made as though he would have gone farther" (Luke 24:28). Go farther? They wanted Him to stay longer! So, how did they respond?

They would have none of it. They had been supremely blessed and were not about to give up this unique Bible teacher's ministry that quickly! Therefore, "they constrained him," or applied coercive pressure through speech, asking, pleading, begging, even humbly insisting that His gracious presence and reviving ministry would continue with them. And they got that for which they asked. They shared a supernatural meal with the Bread of Life, feasting on wheat bread and Word Bread until, filled with wonder, "Their eyes were opened, and they knew [recognized] him" (Luke 24:31). This stranger was no stranger at all. He was the Son of God, the same Jesus they had always known, the same miracle Worker and Way Maker, God's living, incarnate Word. All this blessing was theirs because they would not let Jesus pass them by. Why tell you this?

At this very moment, Jesus may be passing you by. Why? Some Bible expositors claim that, in both examples above, Jesus was subtly revealing His divinity by "passing by" His disciples as He "passed by" Moses when revealing His glory (Exodus 34:6) and Elijah when visiting him in distress (1 Kings 19:11). Others claim that He was revealing Himself (in His disciples' Galilee crossing) as the Creator of the oceans and waterways who, with divine ease, controlled their most violent ragings against Him and the limits He wisely imposed on them to assure earth's fitness as a habitation for mankind (Psalm 93:3-4; Jeremiah 5:22-23). Both are probable explanations.

But I have another to share. I believe Jesus was subtly trying to draw out His disciples to seek Him with greater passion - so they could experience Him and His blessings and deliverances in a new, deeper, more powerful dimension, and thus come to know Him in more of His wondrous fullness.

I believe He was working similarly when He - again, contrary to His tender, sensitive nature that habitually responded immediately to human need (see Mark 5:23-24) - rebuffed the Syrophoenician woman's advances, not once but three times! When she cried after Him to deliver her desperately bound, demon-possessed daughter, Jesus repeatedly rebuffed her. First, He ignored her (Matthew 15:22-23). Second, He justified His disciples ignoring her by saying He was sent only to minister to the Jews, not Gentiles (v. 23). Third, when she approached Him again, He said He was sent only to minister to the heavenly Father's covenant "children," the Jews, and referred to her as a "dog" (v. 26) - a typical Jewish pejorative for a Gentile. And to her face! Oh, my, how callous our compassionate Savior looked and sounded.

But she had heard different concerning the Nazarene Miracle Worker and she had both strong faith and humble determination. She simply would not let Jesus pass by without helping her daughter! When Jesus saw her persevering faith, He marveled, praised her faith, and gave her exactly what she wanted - her daughter's deliverance, and no doubt a new life of trusting, loving, and serving Jesus for them both.

Summing up, because Bartimaeus refused to let Jesus pass by, he received physical vision, and spiritual vision, - and with it a new lease on life, life now in faith in Jesus, life with irrepressible meaning and rich purpose. And because the two on the Emmaus Road refused to let Jesus pass by, they received an everlasting testimony of their inspiring encounter with the incarnate Logos that not only delivered and elevated their souls but has also, by its inclusion in the Bible, healed millions of troubled hearts and depressed spirits down the centuries. And, finally, because the toiling, troubled disciples refused to let Jesus pass by, they heard His voice speaking to their hearts in the middle of a raging storm, saw Him miraculously stop its ferocious winds, and ultimately received the compassionate help He appeared to deny them - but only to test their faith and provoke them to seek, experience, and know Him all the more.

Is Jesus passing you by today? Don't take it sitting down! Don't believe the lie that He doesn't care for you - intensely, passionately, every moment! Don't let your doubt turn to discouragement, then offense, and finally unbelief. That will separate you from your only Savior and unfailingly faithful soul-Lover! Instead, follow the examples above.

Cry out in prayer. Already prayed? Lay out your case before Him again, more plainly than ever! Asking, seeking, begging, even humbly insisting He release His mercies for His great name's sake! And add faith to your petitions. Tell Him you still believe in His utter goodness and intense caring, despite all the lingering, visible, tangible evidence to the contrary! Despite the well-intentioned efforts of foes and friends to dash your hopes and "quiet" you - shame you into stopping your petitions for Christ's help! Despite your weariness from long, toiling against seemingly unending headwinds!

If you will do this, here is a rock-solid promise from God's Word abundantly proven above: If you won't let Jesus pass by, Jesus won't pass you by.

Not letting Him pass by,

Greg Hinnant
Greg Hinnant Ministries