What is it mean? Jesus, some of the miracles, Jesus has all your...

The Church of 1122 is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Welcome to our LAMP podcast.

Hey, this is Charles Martin. This is a story of Blind Bartimaeus at the gate in Jericho.

The crowds are massive, some 20 miles down from Jerusalem. Jesus is walking into Jericho. He's been here many times.

It's one of the oldest cities in the world, something like 26 cities have been built here, one on top of the other, over a period of some 5,000 years.

Jericho sits in the cradle or intersection of ancient trade routes, so it's long been

a hub of commerce, news, and information.

Due in large part to a primarily oral culture, Jericho is buzzing with the rumors of a carpenter

who can perform miracles. The blind sea, the lame walk, the dead are brought back to life.

The epicenter for all that buzz is the city gate. News travels from here to the far corners of the globe.

Sitting in the sand is a blind beggar. Given his infirmity, it's the best he can do. We don't know if he's ever been

married or had children. The only definitive we have for certain are that his father was Temaeus,

and that he lives in Jericho and sits daily by the gate. We also don't know how long he's been there.

We do know that his name, Bartimaeus, means son of Temaus or son of the unclean. The fact that he's known by any name at all suggests he's been around long enough for people to get sick and tired of the persistent rattling of his tin cup. He seldom bathes, smells unpleasant, his hair is matted, food particles caught in a greasy beard, clothes tattered, fingernails

need clipping, feet filthy. His chosen location is strategic. This is storied ground, the city of palm

trees. This is the very gate where Joshua, or Yeshua, the successor to Moses, whose name means

Yahweh is salvation, marched around the city and defeated

an enemy with a shout. A single spoken word. It is here that Joshua rescued the harlot

Rahab, a defiled woman and all her family because she hid the spies and believed, quote,

the Lord your God, he is God, in heaven above and on the earth beneath.

Given her public proclamation, Rehab dwells in Israel to this day.

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