Do You Have The Vision Of A Blind Man? Part 1

Joe stopped by one day in the middle of the week because his son wanted to see what church was like so he was checking out churches in the area.

The pastor said “I showed him around and answered his many questions.

His family started coming, got semi involved and one day Joe wanted to have lunch.

At lunch he told me he wanted to commit his life to Jesus, but knew his wife would have none of it.

They were hurt by a church years ago and Joe asked if he gave his life over to Jesus Christ – would his marriage be ok?

I wanted to say – yes but I had to say, if it is true that your wife was hurt by church in the past,

And will have none of this the life, most likely will be very difficult and there is a possibility your marriage will fall apart.

That was that and I didn’t hear or see him for a few of weeks.

He showed up one Sunday and when I asked how it was going, Joe said he gave his life to Jesus.

I asked him about his family and Joe said that he realized that faith without a risk was useless.

If faith does not carry with it the risk to lose everything, then it’s not faith at all.

Because Joe had something to lose – he realized his faith was real; that Christ was real.

In this message we are going to examine an encounter with a blind man who felt he actually had nothing to lose when He met Jesus. I wonder if you and I can see, today, “What the Blind Man Saw.”

We know from Mark 10 the blind man’s name was Bartimaeus, which means “Son of Timaeus.” He can teach us a great deal about how we can relate to God.

Your problem may not be physical blindness, but you and I need the same thing Bartimaeus asked for; when he begged for–mercy. Let’s look at his story. There are several important things about the Christian life that I want us to see. Today we’ll look at just two.

1. We Must Believe Even When We Can’t See:

Most blind people today lead productive lives, but in Jesus’ time, blind people couldn’t work. There was no Americans with Disabilities Act. To be blind, in those days, was a terrible handicap which forced Bartimaeus, and others like him, to beg for his daily needs. Everyday Bartimaeus sat beside the road holding out his hand asking for money.

There are people, today in every major city around America, standing at an intersection holding signs reading, “Will Work for Food.”

Here are some the more creative signs that some in America have been seen holding: “Why lie? I need some wine.” “Will work for 40K, take my résumé.” “Tell me off. One dollar” This was a bit scary…“Help me hire a hit man to kill my husband.”

In Jesus time, beggars were just barely more important than dogs on the social ladder. Bartimaeus couldn’t see, but as with many blind people, he probably had a keen sense of hearing. On the day described in our text, he could tell from the sounds of the crowd something unusual was happening. He turned and asked someone, “What’s going on?” Over the mumble of the crowd, he heard, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

I would imagine that Bartimaeus had heard of Jesus. Maybe he heard the stories of how Jesus healed people, even restored sight to the blind! Bartimaeus couldn’t see Jesus so his faith was simply based on what he had heard, from others. Because of the testimonies of others, concerning Jesus, he believed.

How about your testimony? Does it lead people to faith in Jesus?

Bartimaeus believed Jesus had the power to change his life and that’s why, in verse 38 he cried out, “Jesus! Son of David, have mercy on me!” The term “Son of David” was one reserved for the coming Messiah, the King. It was a title of Divine power. Bartimaeus was confessing Jesus as more than a mere teacher–He was the King!

Faith is the first step necessary to receiving mercy from God. Faith is not merely believing that God exists…faith is acting on that belief. It is banking your entire eternity on God’s offer for you to have a personal relationship with Him.

Like Bartimaeus, none of us has ever seen Jesus with our physical eyes. But I’ve heard about Jesus, and I believe in Him. Faith is not just believing facts about Jesus, it is trusting Him with your life. I don’t just believe He was born in Bethlehem and died on a cross 33 years later, I believe He has changed my life. I don’t just believe in the fact of the resurrection, I believe Jesus is alive and living in me!