MARK 10: 46-52.
20/20 VISION.
The Bible says that Jesus has his face set toward Jerusalem. Calvary and the cross are just a week away. Winning people back to the Lord was very important to Jesus that is why Jesus had paused to win Zaccheus. What I have found interesting is that in the gospel of Mark Jesus is constantly on the move. One of he words that is used over and over in Mark to give us this impression is the word immediately. When we read the scripture and it says that Immediately Jesus went here; we are given a picture of Jesus walking from one event to another with his disciples tagging along behind. Maybe one of the reasons why Mark show his gospel this way was to let us know that Jesus knew what his purpose was and that nothing was going to get in the way to distract Jesus from fulfilling that purpose. As I read Mark I get a picture of the disciples always trying to catch up to Jesus, and when they think they have caught up to Jesus they look around and Jesus has gone on. I have often wonder if maybe one of the disciples happen to ask where is Jesus and the response they got was Oh you just missed him, or he left here about ten minutes ago. When we were on vacation the road into where we stayed had a number of speed bumps for the purpose of slowing traffic down. Mark’s speed bumps are the language that he uses to write the gospel. Mark takes events that happen in the past and he uses languages to frame then is the present. The reason Mark uses the languages he does is because he wants us to see the vividness of the event. It is Mark way of saying that if you don’t go slow, you will miss what is being said. The Psalmist said that we are to be still so we can hear the Lord; Mark is saying that we should read slowly so you won’t miss what the Lord has for you.
1. Mark wants us to notice the Beggar.
The Lord saw to it that the stories in the Bible were put there for a reason. Bartimaeus in this story was a real person and Jesus really did heal him. The thing is that I believe that this story of Bartimaeus is here because Jesus wants us to realize that there are many people in the world who are in the same spiritual condition that this man was in physically. They are spiritually blind because they don’t know Jesus Christ. Bartimaeus is a reminder to us of the condition of the people who haven’t asked Jesus Christ for forgiveness. They are actually over 5 billion people who are lost. I believe that Bartimaeus is also used symbolically to show us a picture of the church that is blind to the needs of the people and to what the Lord Jesus actually want of the church. I was listening this week to a young man who made a video that said that he hated religion but that he loves Jesus. Now you may think that this young man is mixed up, but really he isn’t In fact Jesus was completely against religion but Jesus was totally for people having a personal relationship with the Lord.
Bartimaeus wasn’t always a beggar. In fact we learn from his name tells us that he was once a respected citizen of Jericho. Bar means son. Timaeus means the honored one. Bartimaeus was the son of a revered man. He was someone who had walked with distinction with in the social circles of Jericho with his honored Fathered. It is very likely that he was always welcome at the church, that people saw him as a very important part of society.
On this day there was no father. The reason for this could have been accomplished simply because of pressure from the religious community. In Jesus day if a member of your family ended up being blind or having leprosy or some other disease the religious community believed and taught that what the children had was a result of either the parents or the child sinning.
John 9:1-2. Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Rabbi, who sinned this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?
The thing is that if the religious leaders felt that the child was the one that sinned they would cast that child out of the church and they would put tremendous pressure on the parents that if they wanted to stay in good grace with the church that they had better cast that child away from them. In other words the church black listed you or your family. We need to understand that in Jesus day the church held unbelievable power. I have often wondered which one would be the worse; to have your sight and then loose it or to be born blind. For Bartimaeus there was a time when he could walk the streets without bumping into people or wall; there was a time when he could go shopping, a time when he could fix his own meal. There was a time when he would be welcome at the synagogue, a time when he could read the Torah. There was a time when he could sit and watch the children playing and there was a time when he could see the difference between day and night. There was a time for Bartimaeus when life was very good. His whole life changed when he became blind. Now he is one of the untouchable, one of the outcast and it is very likely that he doesn’t understand why. We could say that Bartimaeus has been completely dehumanized, because he isn’t considered a part of the society because he is blind. Like the litter the collect in the gutter Bartimaeus sit day in and day out on the side of the road. His only companions are those people who like him have been cast aside. They sit there but no one see them, in fact most of the people just walk on by. Mark has given us a picture of the people who have been thrown away by society. The church which should care is the instrument that is used to put these people in the situation that they are in. Each one of these people are crying out for a touch, a kind word but the world is passing them by. Mark wants you and I to see the Bartimaeus that we are passing by as we are on our way to work or to a restaurant or to just have a chat with someone. We are passing by people and sometime we are rubbing shoulders with people who are blind. Mark points out this beggar so that we can open our eyes and see the people who are around us. One doesn’t have to be blind to not see people. Did you know that you can be standing in a room filled with people and be completely invisible to everyone in the room. There have been times in my life when I have been in that kind of a situation and I know that there have been times in your lives when you have felt the same think. Beloved we can get so caught up in our own little world that we fail to notice the people the Lord has put there for us to touch and for them to touch us.
There is a song that tells the story of a little boy who sold papers on the street. Jimmy lost his parents and the only way that he was able to eat was if he sold some papers. One very cold winter day Jimmy was walking by a church and he could hear the preacher telling the people that they needed to come to Jesus. Jimmy decided that he wanted to see this Jesus so he went into the church.
2. Mark wants us to notice that we don’t want the flow of life to change. Verse 48. Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
One of the things that I have learned is that people just don’t like change, most people want thing to stay just as they are. The thing is that change is part of life. In Bartimaeus life he wants a change, but the people around him want things to stay just as they are. This isn’t going to be another day in Bartimaeus life this day was packed with divine power that was able to change lives. What we need to realize that the power that changed Bartimaeus life in available to work in and change our lives for the better. This would be a good day for Bartimaeus to beg because the road would have a lot of people on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. More people meant the possible of maybe a few coins, maybe a piece of bread that could be made to last out the week. Bartimaeus hears the crowd and he realizes that there is something different about this crowd. So he does the unheard of thing, he asks and he is told that Jesus the Nazarene is coming down the road. He has heard all the talk about Jesus. When he hears that Jesus is coming, this fact causes Bartimaeus to have a little bit of hope. Bartimaeus had heard the talk about all the miracles that Jesus had done, he had heard about the words that Jesus had spoken, he heard about the compassion and the kindness of Jesus and he wondered if just maybe Jesus might stop and talk to him. I think that maybe in the back of Bartimaeus mind there was the thought that this man could give him back his sight. I can see Bartimaeus sitting there thinking about what the prophet said in Isaiah 47:7. I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
Bartimaeus had heard it all and he knew that no matter what, somehow he had to see to Jesus. I would imagine that he probably wondered if Jesus who people were saying could be the heir to the throne of David talk to a blind man. So he cried out, Jesus son of David, have mercy on me. I want you to know that this took a lot of courage for Bartimaeus to do this. Since he has been blind he has been invisible now by calling out to Jesus he has making himself visible and vulnerable by calling attention to himself. He doesn’t know if Jesus is ten feet or 100 feet away. For all he knew Jesus could be standing right in front of him. He doesn’t even know if Jesus is even listening or if Jesus can hear him with all the people around. Still something deep within him Bartimaeus compels him to cry out for help. It is very possible that Jesus could have passed by Bartimaeus many times and that Bartimaeus didn’t even know that Jesus was there because he was so busy just trying to make a living that he missed Jesus. The thing is this is Bartimaeus time and in order for him to get Jesus attention he has to step out where everyone can see him. I wonder if maybe sometime we are like that. We are living in our little personal, private world that we are so busy with and we miss Jesus when he passes by. I have watched people in church services when they realize that Jesus wants to talk to then but they won’t because they figured that if they go forward that their friends or the people in the church might think that they committed some great sin. The social order in the church today tells us if people go forward for prayer that there must be something wrong in their lives or they committed some great sin. We do the same thing today in the church by putting a stigma on anyone who goes forward for prayer and that stigma is actually hindering Christians from meeting with Jesus. I want you to look again at verse 48. Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Bartimaeus wanted to meet and talk to Jesus but the people who were around Bartimaeus decided that either Jesus was too busy to be bothered by a blind person or that they felt that Bartimaeus was ok and he didn’t need to talk to Jesus. I have had people come to me and say that they felt that they should of went forward to spend time in prayer or to be prayed for but when they told their friends, they encouraged then to stay in their seats. I have discovered that the people who think they see the best are actually the one who doesn’t see at all. Bartimaeus didn’t do anything wrong, he wasn’t being punished by the Lord. All Bartimaeus understood was that if he could get Jesus to stop and talk to him that his life would change. He knew from what he had heard that Jesus was able to heal him.
Jimmy went into the church and he walked up to the front of the church and sat down. Jimmy was listening to the preacher as he told people about how much Jesus cared for them and that Jesus wanted them to come to Him. Jimmy got off his seat on his knees and said Jesus can I come to you. At about that time the pastor saw this dirty little street boy in his church and he went over and told the boy that he had to leave as they didn’t want his kind in the church. So once again Jimmy felt that no one cared for him and he left the church in tears.
3. Mark shows us that Jesus is never too busy if we are willing to make time for him.
I want you to notice that Jesus not only stopped but he spoke.
There is a beautiful picture that is painted here for us. Bartimaeus is beside the road yelling to Jesus, while at the same time we had the people in the crowd who are telling Bartimaeus to be quiet. Instead of being quiet Bartimaeus yells even louder, and then Jesus stops. I can see people in the crowd who were walking with Jesus suddenly realize that he has stopped and they very likely are wondering why this man has stopped. Jesus spoke to Bartimaeus “be of good comfort; take courage.”
This phrase appears 7 times in the New Testament and Everytime it is used the words come from the lips of Jesus. As soon as Jesus spoke the words, the people in the crowd who may have been the ones who were trying to get Bartimaeus to be quiet are now passing along Jesus words of comfort to Bartimaeus. What is interesting is that we know that Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem and the cross, yet in the midst of what is before him Jesus still took the time to not only hear Bartimaeus but to stop and minister to him.
Newsweek ran an article quite some time ago about street gangs. In it they told the story of a Pentecostal preacher who was trying to reach out to the slum dwellers for Christ. When he first moved into this neighborhood, as a refugee from Harvard, Rivers sought out a local drug dealer to ask him why he was so successful in dragging people into his lifestyle. He gave Rivers, a Pentecostal, a lesson in why God was losing to gangs in the battle for the souls of inner city kids. Selvin the drug dealer explained, I’m there when Johnny goes out for a loaf of bread for Mama. I’m there, you’re not. I win, you lose, and it’s all about being there. Jesus was there for Bartimaeus and Jesus is there for you and me but we have to stop or we will continue to miss Jesus. Did you notice that even though the crowd had been trying to get Bartimaeus to be quiet, now that Jesus stopped no one in the crowd was willing to help Bartimaeus to get to Jesus. I believe that Bartimaeus didn’t have a clue to Jesus location, yet Bartimaeus started to find Jesus. Did you notice that to Bartimaeus the only thing that was important was getting to Jesus? The Bible says that he cast aside his coat and went to Jesus. Now that may not seem like much to you and I but to a beggar that coat is probable everything that Bartimaeus owns. Bartimaeus was willing to leaving everything that was of value to him so he could get to Jesus. Can you see this blind man stumbling through the crowd until he met with Jesus? Bartimaeus wasn’t going to miss Jesus again. What a difference between Bartimaeus who couldn’t physical see and James and John two followers of Jesus who could see. James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You. And He said to them, what do you want Me to do for you? They said to Him, Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.
What a difference between the disciples of Jesus and Bartimaeus.
James and John wanted power. Bartimaeus wanted to be touched by Jesus; he wanted to feel the touch of someone who loved him; so he came to Jesus in faith and humility willing to surrender his life to Jesus. Did you notice that Bartimaeus didn’t speak until Jesus spoke? Bartimaeus told Jesus simply what he needed not what he wanted. That is the major difference between the disciples of Jesus and Bartimaeus. He could of asked for his life to be completely restored, but he didn’t; he could of asked for ask for riches or power like the disciples did but he didn’t. He simple asked in faith to be able to see.
Years ago in a church prayer meeting, there was a faithful old deacon who always used the same phrase in his public prayers. He would pray O Lord; touch the unsaved with Your finger. One night however, after leading in prayer as he often did and repeating that old phrase again O Lord, touch the unsaved with Thy finger, he abruptly stopped praying. Afterwards, one of the members thinking that maybe the deacon had become ill took him aside and asked if anything was wrong. No, replied the deacon, I’m not ill. But something seemed to say to me, you are the finger.
Jimmy began to cry as he headed out of the church and down the steps of the church. He couldn’t see very well with his eyes full of tears and the snow storm. Jimmy ran across the sidewalk and headed for the street. He never saw the truck that ran the red light. Inside the church the pastor heard the accident and he ran outside. There in the street was that dirty little street boy covered in blood. He pushed his way through the crowd to the boy and picked jimmy up in his arms. They rushed Jimmy to the hospital. The pastor told the hospital that he would pay for whatever Jimmy needed. After a while the doctor came out of the room and told the pastor that Jimmy didn’t have very long to live and if he wanted to see the boy he had better go into the room. As the pastor stood beside the bed looking at Jimmy he began to cry and tell Jimmy that he was sorry for telling him that he wasn’t welcome in the church. Then the room became filled with a divine Holy brightness that showed the pastor his unloving and uncaring heart. As the pastor was about to cry out for forgiveness, the pastor heard a voice say Jimmy this is Jesus, Jimmy this is Jesus.
