Leaving Jericho
“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 10:51-52 NIV
Intro: A young man, who had worked for years on the railroad,
wanted a job as the lead signalman for a train company.
For his interview the track foreman asked…,
"What would you do if you realized that two trains were heading toward each other on the same track?"
The young man said,
"That's easy. I would push the switch button and switch tracks for one of the trains."
"The foreman asked, "What if the switch button did not work?”
The young man said,
“Then I would jump down out of the switchbox and use the manual lever to change one of the tracks.
The foreman asked, “What if the manual lever broke?"
The young man said,
"Then I'd would call the next signal box and let them know what was happening."
The foreman continued on, "What if the phone was busy?"
The young man said, "Well, in that case, I would rush across the track to the emergency phone and call.”
Then, the foreman asked, "What would you do if the emergency phone had been vandalized?"
The young man said, "Well…, then I would run into town…, and get my uncle."
The foreman was a little puzzled by his answer
So he asked, "Why would you go get your uncle?"
The young man answered, "That's simple. Because my uncle…, has never seen a train crash before."
Everyone I know has been wounded to some degree or another and needs healing.
In Mark 10 Jesus tells the story about a man who must have felt hopeless,
like there was no way out…,
like life was unfair and had dealt him a crashing blow…
But Jesus came and turned his life around.
We can see how a person’s life is miraculously changed by an encounter with Jesus.
The man in this story was blind
His name was Bartimaeus.
Bartimaeus had very little going for him.
Bartimaeus was begging on the side of road just at the edge of the city of Jericho.
There did not seem to be any chance that things were going to get much better for Bartimaeus…
There did not seem to be any way for him to break out of the cycle of poverty, and hunger,
and dependence upon someone else to take care of him.
You can only imagine what it would feel like to be totally blind…
When I close my eyes I can still see a glow of light…a glimmer of shadows.
The nearest I ever came to understanding what total blindness was like…
Was during a tour of Mammoth Cave National Park.
After walking down…, down…, into the deep part of the cave…,
They turned the lights off.
In the pitch black of the underground cave…, there was absolute darkness.
There was no glow
There was no glimmer of light…
Combined with the utter helplessness of not knowing your way back out of the cave…
The thoughts of having to feel your way along blindly…
Not knowing whether your next step could be your last step
That you might fall over the edge of a cliff
Or make a wrong turn and instead of going up toward the surface and the light
You would only go deeper and deeper into the underground.
Other thoughts of not seeing the sun rise…,
To never see a starry night,
To never see the beauty of the moon light…
To not see a smiling face in the crowd…,
To not see a family members face…,
Blind Bartimaeus had become totally dependent upon others.
Blind Bartimaeus had to be led around…
Blind Bartimaeus had to be led by someone to the well for a drink of water
Blind Bartimaeus had to be led by someone to the shade during the heat of the day
Blind Bartimeaus had to be led by someone to the roadside to beg…
Blind Bartimeaus had to be led back to the place where he slept….
When Jesus reached Jericho and Bartimaues heard that Jesus from Nazareth was nearby
He began to shout out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Some people in the crowd "rebuked him and told him to be quiet." Mark 10:48
You see, the crowd had Bartimaeus stereotyped.
In their eyes, he would never be anything more than a blind beggar.
In their eyes, he would never be anything but a burden.
All that Blind Bartimaeus could do…, was to stumble through life blindly
or be led by someone down the road.
And he would sit along the side of the road…, and beg.
Hoping for a kindhearted traveler…, to share a few coins with him.
Life for Bartimaeus seemed hopeless.
Bartimaeus was a man who was simply trying to survive from day to day…, hour to hour…, minute by minute.
No joy
No success
No vacation from his troubles…
No peace from his sorrows
No hope for his future.
Bartimaeus’ major concern in life was simple…, to survive.
We all have wounds.
Some are bruises that are superficial.
They are on the surface.
They are shallow and not too deep and so they heal after a brief moment of pain or sorrow.
Others wounds are deep, destructive wounds that hurt, sometimes they leave us bleeding and broken.
The deeper the wound the more difficult it is to heal.
The deeper the wound the more likely it is to fester.
But we do not have to walk around with pain, and bitterness, and anger.
God is intentional about wanting to heal you.
That is why there are so many places in the bible where it shows us Jesus healing the blind,
the lame, the withered hand, the diseased.
For people in the world today…
Life can be so out of control…, so beyond your means…,
no matter how hard you try…, there is always going to something that you can NOT do anything about.
Like two trains steaming full speed…, out of control…, straight for each other…
Being a Pastor or Church Leader in this kind of world is difficult and often a great challenge.
The same in true of all believers.
Knowing what to do and say can save lives…, reduce damage and suffering and loss…,
when things are headed toward a crash.
And even sometimes prevent it from happening.
The crash may be a in a relationship or marriage
A relationship that is broken…, heartaches and children caught up in the middle of a separation or divorce…
It may be a crash or it may be a temptation…
It may be a drug crash…, where your son or daughter addicted to marijuana, meth, or alcohol, or prescription drugs
It may be a financial crash…, Spending habits that are out of control.
You made wrong choices and you are over extended…
Or you lost your job or a spouse died or divorce, and now you have more bills than income.
The crash may be in your finances.
It may be a medical crash…, where the doctor says Cancer, or Heart Attack, or incurable disease…
My sister Brenda has been diagnosed with the worst kind of Rheumatoid Arthritis
She has to live with a certain amount of pain for the rest of her life…
The crash can also be spiritual.
Spiritual apathy, lack of emotion, loss of interest, the absence of joy.
A spiritual life that has become so routine, so comfortable, that there is no longer growth.
EVERYONE LOOK UP HERE…
Spiritual derailment can be real.
Spiritual blind spots can happen to all of us.
I know I have spiritual blind spots.
Places where faith and temptations collide.
And whether the result is a partial derailment, or a spiritual disaster
depends on the people I surround myself with.
When Christians encourage one another
When people of God pray for one another…
Then the outcome is more likely to be repentance, forgiveness, restoration and healing.
Learn this Lesson: Jesus is the turning point.
Where will they find the answers?
Where will they turn?
How do they stop the crash?
You will not find your answer by reading a horoscope
You not find your answer in a fortune cookie
They will either call their psychic
There is only one place to turn to and that is Jesus.
I have seen the absolute best in people and the absolute worst.
I have been at places when I had more than I needed and I have had time when I had absolutely nothing.
My faith has soared to great heights and has been shaken to its core.
I have made new friends and lost loved ones.
I experienced great success and monumental failure.
I have cried out in desperation!
My prayer was something like this, “Jesus I need your help.”
And Jesus heard him, and he stopped and said, “Tell him to come to me.” Mark 10:49
So they called the blind man, “Cheer up,” Come on, Jesus is calling you!”
What do you want me to do for you? Jesus asked.
Jesus, “I want to see!”
And Jesus said unto him, “Go your way. Your faith has healed you.”
And instantly the blind man could see! Then he followed Jesus down the road.
Jericho is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world.
It was the first city Israel conquered after Moses died
It was conquered under the new leadership of Joshua.
Jericho is in the lower part of the Jordon Valley about 16 miles from Jerusalem
and about 6 miles from the Dead Sea.
The town is over 800 feet below sea level which makes it one of the lowest places on earth.
Genesis 13:10 tells us that “Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the LORD”
Herod the Great had built a palace about a mile and half away
He had built aqueducts to divert water that would have flowed down the wadi Qelt
and eventually have ended up in the Jordon river to irrigate about 2500 acres of land around his citadel.
In the time Jesus was there
Jericho was in ruin
The once a green resort town
Fragrant with flowers and fruitful gardens had turned to shambles
With very little commerce. it had become a type of refuge for the poor, the outcast, the forsaken.
So, it is not surprising that Jesus would visit this place.
We read many times that Jesus went to where the sick and the lost are.
setting the example of taking the Gospel to the people today.
I have been to area between the Jordan River and the West Bank of Israel
and the old city of Jericho and walked among its ancient ruins.
I have stood at the very place where they say Jesus gave sight to blind Bartimaeus.
Jesus told Bartimaeus to “Go your way. Your faith has healed you.”
The Original Greek Word: 5217 ?p??? for hupagó: indicates a change of relation.
It is not the same word used in Matthew 28:19 the Original Greek Word: 4198: p??e??µa?
poreúomai which was the Great Commission. “Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit.”
That Commission was giving to mature disciples. To travel and spread the Gospel. It was a journey to go die if necessary for the preaching of the Good News.
No Baritmaeus commission was to “Go” with authority to begin his new life as a new born again believer.
I mention this mainly because the bible says, that Bartimaues, “then followed Jesus down the road” as they were leaving Jericho.
Where did Jesus go after he left Jericho?
Where was Jesus going?
Jesus was going to Jerusalem.
Just about a day’s walk away.
Jesus would ride a donkey into Jerusalem.
The crowds would soon wave the palm branches and Praise God
Like Bartemaues the crowds would shout Jesus Son of David.
They would shout that Jesus their King, their Messiah, their savior.
Just as Bartemaus had before Jesus healed him.
Imagine this was one the first parades that Bartimaeus had ever saw with his new eyes.
But after leaving Jericho Jesus headed to Jerusalem
And in Jerusalem awaited the crucifixion.
Imagine leaving Jericho and following Jesus to Jerusalem.
And just a week later after receiving your eyesight.
Looking up at the cross with your new eyes.
And seeing your healer crucified.
Would that present a crisis of faith?
Closing: Today everyone of us here has the opportunity to follow Jesus…
Faith is a journey. Healing is a journey.
Everyone is wounded or broken or hurt in one way or another and needs Jesus.
After seeing the cross and crucifixion would a new believer stay around
and continue to have faith and believe?
One of the harshest things for a man who had just been given his sight
would be to see Jesus hanging on a cross.
Would he understand the crucifixion?
Do you know the meaning of the cross?
Do you understand the sacrifice?
Do you see the blood?
Would he later be one who “sees” Jesus after the resurrection?
Will you stay around long enough to be in the crowd who sees the risen Saviour?
Will you come back and be among the disciples at Easter?
