Outcast But Not Outspoken (2009)

Mark 10:46-52  They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside.  (47)  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  (48)  Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  (49)  Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you."  (50)  So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.  (51)  Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again."  (52)  Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way (NRSV).

OUTCAST BUT NOT OUTSPOKEN

Text: Mark 10:46 – 52

Have you ever been in a crowd and you still felt lonely? Have you ever been rejected because you were not like anyone else in the crowd? Have you ever felt rejected so badly for so long that you were desperate enough to get aggressive to get attention?

“A man was walking along the street late one evening when he was approached by a beggar. "Can you please help me?" the man asked. "Would you give some money for some food to a poor man? I don't have a possession to my name, except this gun that's in my hand." ” (Steve May. The Story File. “Persuasion”. Peabody Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, p. 238). You talk about an offer that cannot be refused!

Bartimaeus was blind and he was desperate because he was a blind beggar. He was bold enough to pursue the only One who could heal him---Jesus Christ. He might have been an outcast, but he refused not to be heard because he was eager and desperate to pursue Jesus.

THE WAY THE CROWD SAW BARTIMAEUS

How did the crowd see Bartimaeus? The crowd seemed to be repulsed by Bartimaeus. They seemed to think of him as a nuisance. By their actions of ignoring him in the beginning of this recorded episode, we can draw the conclusion that this was the way that they usually treated him---ignoring him. To them is was the same old beggar and the same old begging. They treated him as a squeaky wheel that was begging for grease as they passed on by on the other side of his misery. They probably thought of him as a parasite---feeding off the wages of their hard-earned money. In short, they seemed to see him as a problem rather than a person.

What did the crowd do when Bartimaeus voiced his desire to be healed? They told him to get quiet, but why? Numerous reasons have been suggested.

1.Perhaps, they thought that Jesus would see Bartimaeus the same way that they did---a blood-sucking-freeloading nuisance.

2. A second reason might be Satanic interference. It has been said that Charles Spurgeon viewed the actions of the crowd as being motivated by the Devil himself. Spurgeon likened him to having a castle by the gate of mercy. At that gate is a big dog that barks at all who come knocking at the gate. In his own words, Spurgeon put it this way : “Whenever a sinner gets to mercy’s gate and begins knocking, that noise is heard in hell, and straightway the devil endeavors to drive the poor wretch away from the gate of hope”. (Richard Carl Hoefler. There Are Demons In The Sea: Background On The Miracles. [ Spurgeon To Meyer 1834 – 1929, Twenty Centuries Of Great Preaching. Waco: Texas: Word Book Publishers, 1971, p. 54 ] Lima: C.S.S. Publishing Company, Inc, 1978, p. 201). Satan is always looking for a way to interfere and people who will act as his agents of interference.

3. A third reason that has been speculated as to why the crowd silenced Bartimaeus was fear ---fear that Bartimaeus’s calling Jesus the way he did might cause tension with Roman authorities. Why? The reason why is because Bartimaeus calling Jesus, “Son of David” was the equivalent of “…hailing Jesus as the Messianic King of the Jews” (Hoefler, p. 201). Bartimaeus called not once, but twice because he wanted to heard and healed.

4. A fourth reason that the crowd might have tried to silence Bartimaeus has been suggested that “… his yelling was out of harmony with the person being addressed” (Hoefler, p. 203). The crowd was a lot like Jesus’s disciples at times. How? They were a lot Jesus’s disciples when they wanted to send away children (Mark 10:13 –16), the hungry crowd of five thousand people (Mark 6: 35 –44) and people like the Syrophonician woman whose daughter was ill (Mark 7:24 –30) because they seemed to think it was not worth their Master’s time. Although we might not like to admit it, we are sometimes like----- thinking that those Jesus would welcome are beneath the dignity of the church!