“HOW BAD DO YOU WANT TO SEE?”
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see.” "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Mark 10:46-52
1. Bart heard that Jesus was passing by.
n Something inside of him realized that this Nazarene could do something for him in the same way that he had been hearing what Jesus had done for others.
n A hunger and a desire for change was stirring inside of this blind beggar and it drove him to go against conventional wisdom.
2. Bart cried out to Jesus for mercy.
n “Cry out” = krad-zo = cry out loud or croak.
n “To cry out harshly, often of inarticulate and brutish sound.”
n The use of this phrase suggests instincts while other words for “cry out” speak of intelligence or sensibility.
n Bart was a desperate man crying out in desperation for Jesus. He wasn’t concerned about looking or sounding sophisticated – he just wanted to get the attention of the Master.
n “Have mercy” = el-eh-eh-o = to feel sympathy for someone to the point of doing something about it. Requests or entails action(s) and not merely words of sympathy.
n Bart was crying out from his very depths to beg of Jesus to do something about his situation.
n EVERYDAY, BART SAT ASKING PASSERBYS FOR MONETARY MERCY BECAUSE THAT IS ALL HE COULD ASK OR EXPECT OF THEM. YET, WHEN HE KNEW THAT JESUS WAS PASSING BY HE CRIED OUT IN DESPERATION FOR A MUCH GREATER FORM OF MERCY. HE KNEW HE COULD EXPECT ANTHING AND EVERYTHING FROM JESUS!!
3. Others around told Bart to be quiet and settle down. They rebuked him.
n There will always be those around who want to do what they can to make sure you don’t get too carried away.
n Far too many people would prefer to maintain the comfortable status quo than to see or even allow anything to change.
n Far too many people have stopped short of what God had for them by listening to the demands of the multitude rather than crying out for mercy.
4. Bart cried out all the louder and more aggressively.
n Bart refused to be controlled or contained by the multitude.
n What he desired from God was more important than what others desired of him. How about you?
n As desperate as he seemed before, he was even more so now. He determined that nothing and no one would get between him and what he needed from God.
5. In response to the cry of Bart, Jesus stopped and called Bart to Himself.
n Nothing gets the attention of Jesus quite like a cry of desperation.
n The major problem in our society today is that Jesus has simply become an option and not a necessity.
6. Bart threw aside his cloak and ran to Jesus.
n Bart wasn’t willing to allow anything to slow him down in getting to Jesus.
n What things do we have in our lives that keep us from running full and fast to where Jesus is waiting for us?
n For some it is pride. For some it is this sin or that sin. For some it is just that nobody has ever told you what Jesus could really do for your life.
7. In response to Jesus’ question, Bart asks to see.
n How many times have we had the attention of Jesus and asked Him for a secondary need?
n Bart didn’t hesitate to ask for the one thing he wanted more than anything else. While he had asked others everyday for money, he asked Jesus Christ for vision.
8. Bart is healed and follows Jesus.
n Jesus told Bart to go his way for his faith had healed him.
n Bart could have gone back to what he had always known, he could have walked away and searched for something new in life to do, but the one thing he did – he followed Jesus Christ.
n Not only did Bart receive physical healing on that day, he was given a whole new life as a follower of Jesus Christ.
