The Greatest Gift

In Luke 18, we find Jesus warning the disciples that at their next stop—Jerusalem—all the prophecies about Him would come true: He was about to die. The walk there must have been excruciating for Jesus. I cannot imagine knowing when and where I would die and walking there willingly without it weighing heavily on my heart. While Jesus was the Son of God, He still experienced human emotions just like we do (Hebrews 4:15; Isaiah 53:3). And yet, in the middle of this walk, He still stopped to respond to a divine interruption.

“As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.” Luke 18:35-43 NLT

The blind man who was healed had no idea what was about to happen to Jesus. Neither did the people or even His disciples, because “the significance of his words was hidden from them” (Luke 18:31–34). Yet as heavy as that moment was, He still stopped—one person healed in one moment in time, as He stood there face-to-face with him.

Jesus knew the cost of that walk to Jerusalem. But He also knew what it would bring.

We don’t have to run into Jesus in the flesh to experience Him anymore. When we surrender our lives to Christ, He comes and lives in us (Galatians 2:20; Romans 8:11). The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. We have access to His healing power, and most importantly, freedom from sin and death. We have the promise that He is coming back to make everything right again. While we will experience trouble here on earth—and God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we hope—we have been given immediate access to His presence and the promise that one day we will not only be completely healed, but inherit new, perfect bodies, free of death and decay (2 Corinthians 5:1–5).

What Jesus stopped and did for one man that day, He was on His way to do for all of us. But it wasn’t just to give us victory over sickness and impairments in this life—He came to give us victory over spiritual death, too.

If Jesus, on the way to do the most important thing in all of history, stopped to make time for this one man while He walked on earth inside space and time—how much more is He now willing to meet you in your need when you call on His name?

What a gift He has given us—His presence always with us. What love He has shown us: that just as He stopped for one man in the middle of His own grief, He made a way for all of us to stop and personally experience His incredible love, grace, and mercy.

During the Christmas season, we get so busy going to parties and doing all the activities with our friends and family. Just as Jesus stopped and made time for that one man in the middle of something very important, we have the ability to experience His peace, presence, and love personally—if we are willing to stop on our way to do much less important things.

In the middle of all the busy, are you making time to stop and be with Jesus? May we not forget to make time for the very reason we celebrate Christmas—that the Light of the World came into darkness, giving all who receive Him the right to become children of God.

“The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:4-5, 10-12 NLT