Jesus--Dispeller Of Darkness

JESUS—

DISPELLER OF DARKNESS

Text: Col.1: 12; I Pet.2: 9; Luke 18: 35-37

Intro: In the days of Christ, to be blind was to experience not only physical darkness, but personal destitution as well. Such was the case of the blind man that Christ encountered near the city of Jericho.

From the Gospel of Mark we find that the blind man’s name was Bartimaeus. This Aramaic name means “The Son of Timaeus.”(1)

Bartimaeus is a good illustration of what is spiritually true of those who have never trusted Christ as their personal Savior. According to II Cor.4: 4, Satan seeks to blind the minds and hearts of those who are lost, to the truth of the gospel of Christ. His purpose of course, is to keep them from being enlightened to their need for salvation through faith in Christ and His shed blood. Satan literally hates man, the love of God’s heart, and wants to see to it that as many as possible suffer with him in Hell.

Satan’s methods of blinding people to their need for salvation are often subtle, but very effective. He might use the method of procrastination—not convincing the lost person to reject Christ outright, but simply to put it off. At other times he uses the method of preoccupation. This can take the form of a lost person getting so caught up with life and its many details and demands that they simply don’t, or won’t, take the time to think of their spiritual need. Preoccupation can also take the form of a lost person getting focused on the faults and failures of professing Christians. The reasoning goes something like this: “Ole so and so claims to be a Christian, and look what a mess his life is. If that’s a Christian, I don’t want any part of it!” There’s no excuse for a professing Christian being a bad testimony, but neither will that fact be a justifiable excuse for a person’s rejection of Christ, when they stand before God at the judgment. Their excuses will make them no less eternally lost.

Though Bartimaeus was blind, when he found out Jesus was passing by, he knew he didn’t have to remain that way. The same can be true for anyone who is spiritually blind today. You can receive your sight and begin to follow Jesus, just like that blind man of old.

This morning I want us to consider some similarities between this blind man and those who don’t know Christ as their personal Savior.

Theme: Bartimaeus is typical of the lost, as illustrated by:

I. THE MAN’S CONDITION

A. He Was A Blind Man.

Luke 18: 35 “And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:”

NOTE: [1] The Bible makes it clear that the lost are spiritually blind. This does not mean they are mentally disadvantaged. It simply means that they cannot completely appreciate or assimilate divine truth.

II Cor.4: 3 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

[2] Just as physical blindness is a state of physical darkness, to be lost is to be in a state of spiritual darkness.

Eph.4: 17 “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:”

[3] How is it that millions of people seem oblivious to the danger of impending judgment and the certainty of Hell? It is simply due to spiritual blindness.

On November 30, 1991 fierce winds from a freakish dust storm triggered a massive freeway pileup along Interstate 5 near Coalinga, California. At least 14 people died and dozens more were injured as topsoil whipped by 50 mile-per-hour winds reduced visibility to zero. The afternoon holocaust left a three-mile trail of twisted and burning vehicles, some stacked on top of one another 100 yards off the side of the freeway. Unable to see their way, dozens of motorists drove blindly ahead into disaster.(2)

B. He Was A Beggar Man.

Luke 18: 35 “…a certain blind man sat by the way side begging.”

NOTE: [1] This man was destitute of substance. He was absolutely hopeless and helpless. He was totally dependent upon others for his very existence.

[2] Just like Bartimaeus, the person without Christ is spiritually bankrupt. They are destitute of anything to merit God’s favor.