Getting Hold of Jesus
Mark 10:46-52
Have you ever noticed that sometimes it’s hard to “get hold” of people?
You dial the number and a pleasant female voice comes online that says, "Hello, thank you for calling Joy, Inc. If you’re calling to check on your credit account, press 1 now. If you have questions about your order, press 2. If you would like to hear about new products, press 3. If you know your party’s extension key that in now." You key on and after 3 or 4 rings you hear "Hi, this is Joe. I’m away from my desk right now. But if you’ll leave a message, do so at the tone. If you prefer to wait, stay on the line and someone will be right with you." The tone beeps, and another voice chimes in: "I’m sorry we can’t get to your call immediately, but if you’ll hold, your call will be answered by the next available associate.”
Now a new website—www.gethuman.com lists numbers and procedures to get you in touch with a human being the first time you call. I haven’t tried it yet, but if it works, I predict it will be a very popular site.
Getting hold of the right person is not always easy to do. Sometimes it seems that way with God. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could reach God whenever you needed to get hold of Him? In life’s emergencies, you don’t have time to wait for the next available operator. How can you and I get hold of Jesus when we need Him?
I believe the answer to this important question can be found in the story of a blind man named Bartimaeus found in Mark 10:46-52. In these verses, Mark explains 3 truths you and I need to grasp about “getting hold” of the Lord:
I. IF YOU WANT TO GET HOLD OF JESUS, YOU HAVE TO CALL HIM. (v. 46-48)
Bill Hybels writes: My dad was a very busy man who traveled all over the world. In order to get him at work, you had to go through a switchboard unless you knew the private number, which rang a phone right on his desk. He gave the number to a few select business partners, but all of his children had it. I still know that number: 345-5366. We knew no matter how busy he was, we could call him any time on that direct line.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you had that open line to the ears of Jesus? This passage tells us that we do. Jesus invites you and I to call on Him in faith. f you want to “get hold” of Him, you have to do what Bartimaeus does-call Him.
Jesus and His disciples pass through the ancient city of Jericho on their way to Jerusalem and eventually the Cross of Calvary. Crowds come out to see the wonder-working prophet, and along the way they pass a blind beggar named Bartimaeus= son of Timaeus. Bart sits at this spot because he knows many people are headed to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. Odds are most people will tend to dig a little deeper in their generosity.
As Bartimaeus sits beside the road listening and begging, he notices the crowd suddenly increases. Something big is happening. He calls out to the sound of a pair of running feet, what’s going on? To which somebody replies, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by!
What clicks in Bart’s mind as he hears that Name? Has he heard about the miracles? Does he dare to dream Jesus can give him his sight back? We don’t know for sure, but the Bible does tell us Bart begins to call out loudly and continuously Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! …son of David…That’s a name full of meaning for the Jews. It’s the title reserved for the Messiah, God’s Promised King, the One Who will be the Eternal King and Son of God. Bartimaeus may not understand everything about Jesus, but one thing he does know: Jesus is God’s ultimate King. He’s calling the right number.
And he also keeps calling. In fact, he makes a nuisance of himself. His voice yells out shrill and piercing, over and over: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! (3X) His loud pleas grate on everybody’s nerves. The crowd tries to quiet him down; Bart gets louder! Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me! This helpless, sightless, hopeless man possesses a persistence born of desperation. He has to get hold of Jesus!
How do you get hold of Jesus? You have to persistently call out to Him in faith.
First, you have to call out to Him. You have to call out to Him to be saved, for the promise is
Romans 10:13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
Anytime you pray, you should call out to the Lord if you expect to be heard:
Psalm 34:6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
But be sure you call the right number. You must recognize Jesus not as your Servant, but as God’s King. You must call to Him humbly, recognizing Him as the Lord of Lords. You won’t get hold of Him until you call the right number- the Lord Jesus.
Be persistent. Bart was determined to get an answer from the Lord. If you want to get hold of Jesus, you must persevere in prayer. Never doubt that He wants to hear from you.
Hybels also writes: The church [I serve] has graciously provided me with a private line. A few board members and elders have it for emergency purposes. My kids have that number. They can call me any time, for anything. You know what? No voices sound sweeter to me than my kids’ voices. When one of them says, "Hi, Dad" it won’t matter what I’m juggling, because they are an absolute priority.
Now multiply that out exponentially--and listen to me: No one’s voice sounds sweeter to God than your voice. "Hello, Father." There’s nothing going on in the cosmos that would keep him from directing his full attention to your conversation or your request.
Jesus invites us to call on Him in faith, persistently, because when we do, we will experience what Bartimaeus experienced:
II. IF YOU CALL JESUS, HE WILL ANSWER. (v. 49-52a)
A husband was convinced his wife was going deaf so he tried and experiment. One evening after he arrived home from work he opened the front door and called out: “Honey, what’s for dinner tonight?” He listened carefully, but there was no reply. He walked into the living room and repeated, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” He still received no answer. He then walked into the kitchen and asked, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” Still there was no answer. The man walked right up behind his wife and spoke directly into her ear: “Honey, what’s for dinner?” At this the wife turned around and yelled: “For the fourth time, I said we’re having spaghetti!”
Do you ever wonder if God really listens when you call out to Him? Bart’s story reminds us that if you call out to Jesus persistently, He will answer.
Imagine the scene: a mob crowding around Jesus, numerous voices speaking from all directions. Suddenly He stops dead in His tracks. Everybody else stops, too, but He’s not listening to them. Then they hear what He hears: somebody yelling at the top of their lungs Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Of all the voices clamoring for Jesus’ attention, He hears this one poor man, crying out for Him. He turns to somebody and says Go get that man and bring him to Me! Word spreads through the crowd, finally making it to Bartimaeus, who is still braying pitifully like some lost lamb for its mother. Get up! Jesus hears you! He’s calling for you to come to Him!
How long do you suppose it takes him to reach Jesus? Did anybody help guide him? The Bible doesn’t say. But somehow he gets to the Lord and stands face to face with the Man he cannot see. Then Jesus asks the all-important question: What do you want Me to do for you?
What would you ask for? The Lord of the universe offers him a blank check, but Bart knows and he believes Jesus can give him what he wants! With sightless eyes, and a heart full of faith, Bartimaeus replies Rabboni= My Great Master- I want to see!
Mark doesn’t describe how Jesus does it. All we know is Jesus replies: your faith has made you well. With those words, the first thing this blind man lays eyes on is the loving face of the Lord Jesus Christ. A marvelous miracle happens because Bart gets hold of Jesus.
Marvelous things happen when you get hold of Jesus. When you call on Jesus in faith, with persistence, He listens. I don’t know how He hears each person on this planet call to Him, but He does. When you and I call on Him the way Bartimaeus called on Him, He listens to us. Not only does He listen- He acts. He works in this world and in your life when you call on Him. Whenever His children call out to Him, He always answers.
Psalm 34:17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
He will not always give you what you want, but even when He doesn’t, He gives you something better, something you would ask for if you had enough sense. Even if the answer is “no” or “not yet.” And if you look carefully, you will find in whatever His answer the loving face of your Lord.
A young pastor friend has ... been through the trial of his life. When I saw him recently, he asked me, "What do you do when God doesn’t say yes--doesn’t give it, doesn’t make it happen?" Then he answered his own question: "Through agony I’ve gotten to know God better; I love him more. ..." He showed me a piece of paper he keeps in his wallet. It says, "Look to his face, not to his hand."
Marvelous things happen when you call out to Jesus and get hold of Him. He often gives us what we ask for. But He always shows us His love and mercy. But Bartimaeus shows us one more important truth about getting hold of Jesus:
III. WHEN YOU GET HOLD OF HIM, JESUS GETS HOLD OF YOU. (v. 52b)
Most of the people who are healed in the Gospel of Mark are anonymous. Why is Bartimaeus an exception? Many NT scholars speculate Bartimaeus is named is because the people of the early church knew him. It is very possible that Bartimaeus was a well-known follower of Jesus in the early church. That theory seems more credible by the last words of Mark 10:52 …and [he] followed Jesus on the road. Bart is not satisfied just being able to see again- he wants to walk with Jesus from now on. He becomes Jesus’ apprentice. Bartimaeus gets hold of Jesus, and now Jesus gets hold of Bartimaeus.
When you truly get hold of Christ, He gets hold of you. You want to follow Him; you want to please Him. You offer your heart, mind, and soul to Him. You become His apprentice. That is part of what it means to be a Christian—to become an apprentice of Jesus Christ.
The problem is that a lot of us want to get hold of Jesus, but we don’t want to let Jesus get hold of us. We want Him to answer when we call, to help us when we ask, to give us what we want. But when He calls us, He gets a busy signal. He calls us to follow Him, and we hang up on Him. You leave a message:” I’ll get back to you when I’m ready to follow You, Lord.”
But getting hold of Jesus doesn’t work that way. If you want to get hold of Jesus, you have to let Him get hold of you. A relationship with Christ involves both privileges and responsibilities.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 … you are not your own? 20For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
2 Corinthians 5:15 …He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
Does Jesus Christ have hold of you today? Or are there some areas of your life that need to be surrendered to Him?
The great expositor Dr. F. B. Meyer tells how he came to a crucial time when it seemed that Christ seemed to say to him, “Let me have the keys to your life,” Christ said. The experience was so realistic he reached into his pocket and took out a set of keys! “Are all the keys here?” “Yes, Lord-- all except the key to one small room in my life.” Christ said: “If you cannot trust me in all rooms of your life, I cannot accept any of the keys.” Dr. Meyer finally cried, “Come Lord, and take the keys to all the rooms of my life!”—
If you want to get hold of Jesus, you must let Him have all the keys of your life. That’s how you get hold of Him; that’s how He gets hold of you.
In Jeff MacNelly’s "Shoe" comic strip, the answering machine says, "Hi, you’ve reached Professor Cosmo Fishawk. I can’t come to the phone right now because I’m listening intently to this machine to see if you’re someone I want to talk with. So after the beep, start talking. If I want to talk with you, I’ll probably come on the line with some lame excuse such as ’I was just on the way out the door when I heard the phone.’ If you make it all the way through your message and I don’t pick up, it’s because I don’t want to talk to you." Shoe says, "At last, an honest phone machine!"
Right now I want you to know you can call on Jesus in faith, and He will answer. You’ll never get an answering machine or a busy signal. You will get Jesus Himself. But when you get hold of Him, remember He will get hold of you, too. Do you need to call on Him today?
Do you need to get hold of Him for forgiveness? Do you need to get hold of Him for some specific need, in your life, or in the life of a loved one? Does He need to get hold of you? Are you ready to come to Christ and walk with Him not only as your Savior, but as your Master? The promise of God this morning is for you and I:
Jer. 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things that you do not know.
