Scripture: Mark 10:46-52; Psalm 34:1-8, 19-22; Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Theme: Once I was Blind but He Makes Me
Proposition: The Story of Bartimaeus is a multi-leveled story: It is the Story of sinful humanity, the story of a true seeker and the story of a transformed disciple
The Story of Bartimaeus is the story of Humanity - 1. Blind/Powerless/Outcast/vagabond
The Story of Bartimaeus is a story of a true Seeker - 1. He recognizes/reaches out/receives
The Story of Bartimaeus is the story of a Disciple - 1, Whole/Transformed/Surrendered
INTRO:
Sometimes a story is more than just a story. For example, if you have ever read The Chronicles of Narnia or one of J. R. Tokien's books like Lord of the Rings, you know will understand. Even if you have had the chance to pick up the little book The Velveteen Rabbit you know what I mean. And for those business types if you have ever read, Who Moved My Cheese? you know what I mean. There are times that an author is able to take a simple story and while they are sharing truth on one level, they are simultaneously opening up volumes of truth and insight on a whole other level.
Our Gospel lesson parallels that same principle. It is on the surface just another miracle story centering on Jesus and His disciples. This time the healing involves a man by the name of Bartimaeus. Jesus is on His way to Passover, meets the man and subsequently heals him. End of story, or at least that is what we can read on the surface.
However, if we allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten us we see much more than a simple healing story. This is Jesus' final trip to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover as the Incarnate One. This time the paschal lamb slain for the sins of the Jews will be the ultimate Paschal Lamb slain for the sins of all mankind. This Passover will be much more than just the celebration of an ancient ritual commemorating how God rescued the ancient Israelites to bring them into the Promise Land. This time Jesus will rescue and redeem all mankind from the power and penalty of death and lead them to experience the baptism of His Holy Spirit. This time Passover will open the door to the ushering in of the New Age of Salvation and Sanctification. This time Passover will involve a rejection, a condemnation, a death but also a resurrection which will lead to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
On His way to accomplish all of this once again Jesus is stopped. And once again Jesus does what Jesus always does. He pauses to meet the needs of those that need Him the most. Only this time in the life of this one man we see the lives of all men. In the story of Bartimaeus we see represented all humanity.
1. The Story of Bartimaeus is the story of sinful humanity
Notice carefully, all the definitions that are used to describe this man.
Bartimaeus is blind,
he is powerless,
he is an outcast
and he is a vagabond.
He is what happens to a man who has lost his ability to see the world around him. He is what happens to a man who can no longer take care of himself. He is a man who no longer has the position and power that he once possessed.
Listen again the Bartimaeus words in verse 51 - "Rabbi, let me recover my sight." (ESV)
Let me recover what I once possessed. Let me recover what once was mine. Let me recover all that I have lost. Let me once again enjoy the life that I once lived. Let me enjoy the ability to see and experience fully the world around me. Let me once again enjoy going to Temple and being with family and loved ones.
Bartimaeus is asking for what all humans have lost. We have lost our ability to see. We have lost our ability to enjoy the fruits of the life God had designed for us in the Garden. We have lost the ability to experience and worship our God freely and wholly. We have lost the ability to be at peace with one another. We have lost the ability to be at peace with ourselves. Bartimaeus is a perfect example of what it means to be a post-Eden human.
He is blind. He is powerless. He is an outcast. He is a vagabond.
Mark reveals to us more than just a picture of a blind man named Bartimaeus. Mark paints for us a picture of all who live this side of Eden. Humanity in its wretchedness is plagued with blindness. Humanity in its wretchedness finds itself powerless to change and transform. Humanity in its wretchedness experiences the life of an outcast, an outcast of Paradise. Humanity in its wretchedness is a life parallel to that of a vagabond; that of a life going nowhere.
While we have tried over the centuries to put on a good face it has been to no avail. While we have tried time and time again to build our own little kingdoms the truth remains, humanity does not have a clue how to build a lasting community. We are blind to real truth. We are blind to true beauty We are blind to true love.
We are powerless to change. We are powerless to create a world of peace and love. We are powerless to change our own hearts and lives. No matter how much money we spend, no matter how much we attempt to teach, we always come back to the same place - blind, powerless, beggars and vagabonds.
We are outcasts. We create communities only to in the end destroy them. We create oneness only to see it come apart at the seams. We know we are outcasts for it seems that neither Heaven nor Hell will accepts or receives us. We feel like we don't belong. We feel a void.
We are mere vagabond walking around this planet. Humanity drifts and lives a hobo existence. We are beggars, not being able to take care of ourselves or knowing how to create a stable life.
We all are Bartimaeus is we really allow ourselves to see it. He is not just some simple man sitting on the side of the Jericho road seeking help from anyone walking by. He is us. He is humanity. Broken. Blind. Powerless. An Outcast. A Beggar. A Vagabond. He is humanity at its very best and worst.
II. Bartimaeus is however more than all that. He is also the picture of a true seeker.
Bartimaeus is also the picture of one who seeks to be transformed. He is the picture of one who understands that He who has come into the world has come to transform mankind. He is the picture of one who understands that coming down the path is Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the World (John 1:29).
Bartimaeus recognizes his need. Bartimaeus reaches out to the One who can save. Bartimaeus is ready to receive Jesus in His life.
No one had to tell Bartimaeus that he needed help. He knew it and he was willing to recognize it. He was also ready to reach out to Jesus at any cost. And He was ready to receive from Jesus salvation, healing and wholeness.
The crowd however was not as ready as Bartimaeus. They wanted him to remain quiet. They wanted him to accept his fate and allow Jesus to simply walk by. They wanted him to take his sufferings and his all too oblivious needs of help somewhere else.
They wanted to simply watch Jesus walk by, bask in His presence and act like everything is okay.
A few weeks ago we all witnessed the visitation of Pope Francis. It is interesting how his trip was viewed by so many, especially those in the media. Was it a political trip? What was the Pope's agenda? How would he handle the same sex marriage situation? How would he handle the American way of life?
They thought that they were going to get to be with a superstar. They thought that they were going to hear from a world political leader. They thought a great many things. But what so many did not think was that Pope Francis in his heart is just a simple man, transformed and called by God. What they did not fully recognize is that Pope Francis is going to do what he has done for the past forty or more years - share and preach the Gospel of Jesus as he knows best.
And so, Pope Francis preached. After all, that is what he has been called to do. And in preaching He presented what he felt that God wants to say to our world today.
But to receive that message meant that world has to look inside its heart. It has to recognize that its blindness, its inability to change and its vagabond existence. It has to recognize that only Jesus can bring the healing and wholeness that it needs. It has to recognize that it needs Jesus.
That is what Bartimaeus understood. He didn't want Jesus to simply pass by. He didn't want just to hear a message. He wanted to reach out and receive the healing that only Jesus can bring into a person's life.
And when others tried to stop him, he simply cried louder. When others tried to dissuade him, he just made more of a commotion. He needed help. He recognized it. He reached out. He was willing to receive Jesus.
Bartimaeus shows us the way to being healed of our sins. Bartimaeus shows us the way for us to be healed from our blindness, from our inability to change, from our status as heaven's outcast and from our vagabond life. Bartimaeus shows us that we too must cry out. We must not allow the world around us to drown out our cries. We must cry out to the One who will recognize our need, will reach back towards us and receive us.
For that is the picture we have here being shown. As Bartimaeus recognizes, reaches out to receive Jesus so too we see:
+Jesus recognizing Bartimaeus
+Jesus reaching out to Bartimaeus
+Jesus receiving Bartimaeus
All of us need to always remember - Jesus is always ready to recognize us and our needs. Jesus is always reaching out to us, way before we reach out to Him. Jesus is always willing to receive us even before we are ready to receive Him.
III. Finally, we see the Bartimaeus is a perfect picture of a life that has been transformed.
Notice what happens when Bartimaeus is healed by His Lord.
+He is made whole - His vision is restored. On the surface this appears to be the greatest of the miracles but is only the beginning.
+He is transformed - notice verse 50 - "and throwing off his cloak". This is more than just a man deciding to do a wardrobe change. It is Mark's way of telling us that the man is abandoning his for way of life. He is leaving behind everything that has to do with the man who was blind, who was powerless and a mere beggar. He is leaving behind everything that reminds him of the man he was before being touched by Jesus.
+He is sold out. With his eyes now open, he does what comes naturally. He decides to follow Jesus as ever disciple is called to do (Mark 8:34). No longer is here merely sitting waiting for life to pass him by. Now, he sells out everything and follows Jesus.
Like Job of old, he now receives far more than he had ever lost in the years of being blind, powerless and a vagabond. Like Job, Bartimaeus heart is made glad and he rejoices.
This evening as we close we celebrate the Lord's Supper - like Bartimaeus we are invited to put our lives in the hands of Jesus. Like Bartimaeus we come blind, powerless and spiritually a beggar. But we leave transformed, we leave whole, we leave transformed. And by following Him we can leave sold out.
