Tomorrow is my first chapel devotional/lesson of the school year! The headmaster took the first one and gave a powerful sermonette to the students. I decided to build upon the theme of his talk while also incorporating my saxophone.
I recently played the classic hymn “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling” at my old church one Sunday night (you can hear a bass guitar rendition here), and I’ve grown partial to the hymn over the past few years. I’m going to play my alto sax arrangement for the students before launching into my brief devotional.
With that, here is the text of the Chapel lesson I’ll deliver tomorrow:
Jesus Is Calling
At our last chapel, [the headmaster] challenged us to pray about the kind of Christian we are. Are we non-believers, or even wholly ignorant, of Christ? Are we somewhat aware of Him? Have we accepted Him, but keep Him at a distance? Are we believers, but still in the infant stage of our faith? Or are we seeking Him out, thankful for Jesus, every single day, even when we are struggling?
Wherever we find ourselves, Jesus Is Calling. The hymn I played on the saxophone just now is called “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling.” Its author, William Lamartine Thompson, wrote the hymn in 1880, and when he could not find a publisher for it and his other works, he started his own music publishing business.
It quickly became one of the most beloved hymns in the United States, appearing in 50% of all published hymnals in 1990, according to Hymnary.org.[1] When Thompson was dying in the hospital, the great preacher Dwight L. Moody visited him, and told him, “Will, I would rather have written ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling’ than anything I have been able to do in my whole life.”
The lyrics of the first verse and chorus are worth reciting here in brief:
[Verse 1]
Softly and tenderly Jesus [I]s [C]alling,
calling for you and for me;
see, on the portals [H]e’s waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.[Chorus]
Come home, come home;
you who are weary come home;
earnestly, tenderly, Jesus [I]s [C]alling,
[C]alling, O sinner, come home!
Sources vary, but it seems likely that Thompson based the text of the hymn on Mark 10:49. Mark 10:46-52 (NKJV) tells how Jesus Healed Bartimaeus, a blind man in Jericho:
46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
There is something interesting going on here. Notice that Bartimaeus knew of Jesus. He had likely heard stories of Jesus Healing others. Bartimaeus, however, did not call out to Jesus as just another prophet or healer; he called to Him as the Messiah: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He recognized that Jesus Was the Messiah written of in prophecies with that phrase.
Jesus Tells Us in Matthew 11:28 (NKJV; also a possible inspiration for Thompson’s hymn), “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The crowd around Bartimaeus tried to keep him quiet, but he desired Jesus. He continued to shout out, eager for rest for his soul.
Notice, too, that Jesus Stops amid the throng to Answer Bartimaeus’s call. No matter how loud the naysayers or how poor our condition—physical or spiritual—Jesus Will Answer a sincere call for redemption. Earlier, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Said (Matthew 7:7-8, NKJV), “7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Bartimaeus asked for his sight, and it was restored to him.
Finally, the blind man does not simply say, “thank, see you later” and shuffle on down the road after Jesus Heals his blindness. Instead, he “immediately… received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.” As miraculous as regaining his sight was, the greater miracle is that Jesus Healed his soul. Bartimaeus continued to follow Jesus, seeking to draw closer to His Savior.
Where does Bartimaeus fall in Mr. Jordan’s list? I think it is safe to say he is the fifth kind of Christian: one who not only believes, who not only asks for his basic needs to be met; but one who truly seeks after Jesus every day. Each salvation is its own miracle; the miracles continue when we submit to Christ and follow Him wherever He Leads us.
“Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling” ends with this verse:
[Verse 4]
O for the wonderful love [H]e [H]as [P]romised,
[P]romised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, [H]e [H]as mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me.
Jesus Is Calling. He Heard Bartimaeus amid the throng. He Is Knocking at the door of your heart. He Is Passing by, ready to take on your burdens. Do not miss your opportunity to answer His Call!
Let us pray.
[1] “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling,” https://hymnary.org/text/softly_and_tenderly_jesus_is_calling#fulltexts, accessed 18 August 2026.