0309 DO NOT PASS ME BY

DO NOT PASS ME BY

Luke 24:28 “So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, . . . “

Did this little detail strike you as odd, considering that Jesus was a model of ethical behavior and straight talk. He said what he meant, and he meant what he said. So, why would he “pretend” to be moving on, when He actually had nowhere to go? I know we all do such things to be polite, to not impose, to give someone an easy out from offering us hospitality. But when I read Jesus doing such a thing, it suddenly seems, I don’t know, but like He is being dishonest or something.

There was another time when Jesus did something similar. It was when he was walking on water in the late night during a storm. Mark tells us:

Mark 6:48 “And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them . . . “

Mark says He meant to pass by them, but he doesn’t give a hint as to why He would do so.

There are plenty of other times when Jesus “was passing by” or “passed through their towns” on preaching tours. Did Jesus know that there were two blind men outside of Jericho as he was “passing by” the town? Do you think He knew they were there, but He was letting them initiate? Maybe He went there just to see them and bring them healing. 

But even so, it is the pretending that seems out of character for the Lord. What’s up?

Do you see what I just did? I just asked a question, for which I might have already had an answer. But I want you to go ahead and join me in exploring the logic by asking an open-ended question, rather than lecturing you on what I might already know. Remember how we noted Jesus opening with questions so often? I think that’s a way of involving someone else in the answer, so that it becomes theirs, rather than mine. I have long said that when you discover the answer for yourself, it becomes yours for life. “Those who teach learn best,” as the saying goes.

In this way, Jesus is involving these two disciples in the hospitality of inviting Him to stay for a meal. As I say, when I do this sort of thing, I know that I’m wanting the other person to not feel pressured into helping me. Inside, he is rolling his eyes, feeling obligated to do what’s “right.” But when there is not pressure from me, he genuinely makes an offer, because it is his own generous offer, and not a reluctant agreement out of obligation.

Maybe Jesus already knew the answer when he asked those blind men, “What do you want me to do?” And maybe He specifically joined those men on the road to strengthen their faith, to have their hearts burn about the truths from Scripture that He shared with them, without being distracted by the miracle that they were in the presence of a celebrity.

Might Jesus pretend to pass by us in order to give us the chance to put a voice to what we want in life? He doesn’t walk up and say, “I am going to heal you now.” He stays attentive and waits, like the father of the prodigal son, for me to come to my senses. As I’ve heard it said, the Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He only enters upon invitation.

Remember the unjust judge who granted the widow’s request, even though he neither feared God nor liked people. And Jesus said that His Father was far more ready to answer us if we persist. But He waits for us to persist. Because we need to receive his answer as our deep cries out to His deep, and we become fully engaged in the process.

Fanny Crosby was a famous woman of more than a century ago. While she was helping in an evangelistic meeting in a prison, many people had responded to the altar call and were inquiring of the Lord to receive salvation. She heard one man in particular begging the Lord not to pass him by. She was touched by the man’s quest, and she wrote the words to this song:

Pass me not, O gentle Savior. Hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. Let me at a throne of mercy Find a sweet relief; Kneeling there in deep contrition, Help my unbelief. Trusting only in Thy merit, Would I seek Thy face; Heal my wounded, broken spirit, Save me by Thy grace. Thou the Spring of all my comfort, More than life to me, Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in heav'n but Thee? Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry: While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by

May you know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in your life this day. Amen.