August 17, 2021 (Tuesday)
The song, “On the Jericho Road,” is fun to sing because of the way it is written, with every phrase echoed, especially in the chorus, in which the bass singers display their deep voices.
One of the verses of the song seems to form the biblical basis for the title of the song: “On the Jericho Road blind Bartimaeus sat. His life was a void so empty and flat. But Jesus appeared, one word brought him sight. On the Jericho Road Christ banished his night.”
If the experience of the blind beggar is the reason for the song, then the words of the chorus, “Just Jesus and you,” may make us wonder why. It happened at the gate of the ancient city and Bartimaeus was only one of the disabled people there who were following the time-honored practice of begging for alms. The words, “only two–Jesus and you,” give us pause. The reason for the words, “only two-Jesus and You,” is probably rooted in our own experience of coming to Jesus. At that moment, engulfed by the experience, it may have seemed there were only two people on the planet, “Jesus and you.”
Like so many of our hymns and gospel songs, places mentioned are symbolic and metamorphic. In this song the “Jericho Road” seems to be a picture of your life’s journey. It is your own road of life. When you recite your testimony of being saved by the grace of God, you always remember where it happened. For Bartimaeus, it was the Jericho Road; for us, it may very likely have been some other very special place we can never forget.
ON THE JERICO ROAD
Author: Donald S. McCrossan
1933
As you travel along on the Jericho road,
Does the world seem all wrong and heavy your load?
Just bring it to Christ, your sins all confess,
On the Jericho road your heart He will bless.
Refrain:
On the Jericho road there’s room for just two,
No more and no less, just Jesus and you;
Each burden He’ll bear, each sorrow He’ll share,
There’s never a care for Jesus is there.
On the Jericho road blind Bartimaeus sat,
His life was a voice, so empty and flat;
But Jesus appeared, one word brought him sight,
On the Jericho road Christ banished his night. [Refrain]
O brother to you this message I bring,
Tho hope may be gone, He’ll cause you to sing;
At Jesus’ command, sin’s shackles must fall,
On the Jericho road will you answer His call? [Refrain]