Message 48
Mark Series
3.17.19
Mark 10:46–52 (CSB)
46 They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many warned him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, “Have mercy on me, Son of David!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up; he’s calling for you.” 50 He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
51 Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Rabboni,”, the blind man said to him, “I want to see.”
52 Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has saved you.” Immediately he could see and began to follow Jesus on the road.
Introduction: When Things Get Personal, our personal interest goes up.
A. Let’s be honest:
- We are our favorite people.
- Your family is your favorite family (although after a bunch of snow days some of you moms are tired of your own kids).
- Your finances are more important to you than someone else’s.
- Your health matters more to you than the health of a random stranger or an acquittance.
B. When something involves us, we become more interested in what is going on.
1. The same goes for our relationship with Jesus.
1. It’s hard for us to celebrate the salvation of someone else’s brother when our own brother is lost and far from God.
2. It can be difficult praying for a miracle in someone else’s marriage when our own marriage is falling apart.
3. There is a challenge that happens in our minds when we pray for someone to be healed, and they are, when we have been praying for our own healing and the answer hasn’t yet come.
2. The amazing thing about Jesus is that He was not willing to stay an impersonal Messiah.
1. He was not some figurehead, off in the distance, echoing meaningless words that had no real substance.
2. Here was the Savior of the World who not only created universes out of nothing, but who also took time to stop and minister to a blind, beggar.
C. Today, I want to share this biblical story, and here is what I hope you get out of today:
1. I want to encourage you to chase after Jesus harder than ever before.
a. Some of you are letting all kinds of excuses and circumstances keep you from calling out to Jesus and receiving what He has for you.
b. So I hope today that the Holy Spirit will give you the push you need to not quit.
2. I want you to know that you are not forgotten.
a. There are some here today who feel forgotten.
a. You are suffering in silence, and you wonder if anyone notices.
b. You wonder if God cares about you.
c. You believe that God loves the world, but you aren’t sure if God loves you.
d. Jesus and God have become impersonal to you, and today God wants to remind YOU how much He loves YOU!!!!
3. I want you to experience a fresh start in life.
a. Some of you are tired of being known for what is wrong with you and you are ready to be made fresh and new.
Let’s look at this passage and see how this message speaks to everyone here today.
1. The Messiah approaches Jerusalem.
- Remember that Jesus is leading his people up to Jerusalem.
- The next chapter, is called the Triumphal Entry.
- On that day, the crowds would celebrate the one
they believed would overthrow Rome.
- Their picture of Jesus, the Messiah, was of a conquering and ruling King.
- They have prayed and dreamed of this day.
- The hopes of generations rested on Jesus’ shoulders.
- Along the road from Jericho to Jerusalem was a blind beggar.
1. He had absolutely nothing to offer society or Jesus.
2. There was no way this man could advance Jesus’ overthrow of Rome.
3. He wasn’t rich like the young ruler, or powerful, or influential.
4. He was broke and broken.
- Therefore, they believed their Messiah would not have the time to be concerned with a blind beggar.
1. Surely, Jesus was too busy to be bothered by someone as insignificant as a blind man.
2. Once again, Jesus’ followers thought they were doing Jesus a favor by screening his appointments and shielding him from those who had nothing to offer him.
3. What the disciples failed to understand was that Jesus has always used the broke and broken to advance His cause and His purpose.
4. That’s because Jesus looks at people differently than we do.
2. We often cannot look past what is wrong with people.
A. Notice how the crowds identified this man:
1. He was a blind beggar.
2. Blind is the guys adjective, beggar was his noun/identity.
a. In other words, he was defined by what he could not do.
b. He could not see, and he could not buy his own food or take care of himself.
3. When the world described this man, he was a blind beggar.
a. What other words do we use to describe people like this?
b. Free-loader, worthless, waste of space and oxygen…
c. We have all kinds of terms for people just like this.
B. But Mark records something NO ONE does:
1. The man’s name and his lineage.
2. Of all the blind, the deaf, and sick that Jesus healed, almost none of them are named in the Gospels.
a. We never know the name of Jairus’ daughter.
b. Or the demoniac.
c. Or any of the other healing miracles Jesus does.
3. But Mark records this man’s name and his lineage.
C. The Messiah that should have been too busy to heal a blind beggar, not only had time to heal him but also had time to know his name.
1. Jesus places infinitely more value on people than we do.
2. Where we are content labeling people by what is wrong with them and then moving on, Jesus chooses to know our name.
a. In fact, the Old Testament tells us that before we were born God knew us.
b. The Bible tells us That God knows every hair on our head.
c. The Bible tells us That he knows exactly how we were created and how we are put together.
3. Bartimaeus knew this about Jesus.
a. He had heard the stories of healing and deliverance.
b. He had heard the testimonies and he wanted that for his life.
c. And Bartimaeus was tired of being identified by his adjective (blind) and his noun, beggar.
d. In other words, Bartimaeus was thinking, “I have a name, and Jesus knows my name.”
4. For those of you who feel forgotten and lost in the shuffle, I declare to you that not only does God know your situation, He knows your name.
3. Bartimaeus was tired of being identified by what he couldn’t do.
A. To begin with, Bartimaeus couldn’t see Jesus but he could call out to Him.
1. When you get desperate, nothing stops you.
2. Desperation can be a good thing:
1. It causes us to push ourselves further than we thought we could go.
2. It causes us to pray harder than ever before.
3. Desperation can be a powerful motivator, moving us closer to Jesus than we have ever been before.
4. “The kingdom of heaven, it has been said, is not for the well-meaning but for the desperate. Bartimaeus is desperate, and his desperation is a doorway to faith.”[1]
B. You have to get to the point where you are tired of being known for what you can’t do.
1. For his whole life, Bartimaeus was known for what he couldn’t do.
2. And he knew this was his chance.
3. Because Jesus was known for what He could do, not for what He couldn’t.
a. When we think of Jesus, we think of Him in terms of what He can do.
b. He can save, heal, transform, empower, tear down, and lift up.
c. Through Jesus, all things are possible.
d. What might be impossible for you is possible with God.
C. May our weakness motivate us to call out to Jesus.
1. V.s. 47 says that when Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus, he began to cry out.
2. Although he had lost his eyesight, Bartimaeus found his voice.
3. You don’t have to be able to see Jesus in order to cry out to Him!
a. So Bartimaeus used what HE had, and he cried out to Jesus.
b. In your prayer time, cry out to Jesus.
1. When the Holy Spirit moves in a service, don’t be afraid to cry out to Jesus out of desperation.
2. Don’t miss your opportunity.
3. Don’t miss your chance.
4. And don’t let the enemy stop you.
D. The crowd and some of the disciples tried to hold Bartimaeus back.
1. They warned him to be quiet.
2. They threatened him.
3. They mocked him.
4. They shouted over him.
5. They acted very unlovingly and unchristian.
6. But nothing worked. Nothing would stop this man from crying out to Jesus.
a. My prayer is that we become more like Bartimaeus and less like the crowd.
b. I want there to be passion in my prayers and my worship.
c. I want my prayers and worship to have a sense of desperation and hunger about them.
d. It isn’t that I just “want” Jesus, I “need” Him.
7. Bartimaeus’ need of Jesus stemmed from his view of who Jesus is.
4. Bartimaeus was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised Son of David.
A. An important sign of the Messiah would be the healing of the blind.
1. Of all the miracles, raising people from the dead and other healings, healing of the deaf and blind was reserved as signs for the Messiah.
2. Bartimaeus’ conviction was evidenced in the cry, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
3. The title, “Son of David”, was a historical phrase that expressed the hope that Jesus would be the one who would set the captives free, release prisoners from their slavery, and heal the deaf and blind.
B. In other words, if Jesus wasn’t the One then Bartimaeus had no hope.
1. Have you ever been in that place where Jesus is your only hope?
2. That place where you are completely dependent upon God acting on your behalf?
a. What Bartimaeus needed was not luck, fortune, or chance.
b. He didn’t need a millionaire to write him a check.
c. He didn’t need someone to give him the keys to a mansion.
d. He needed Jesus to be the Son of David, the Messiah, the deliverer, and the one who causes the blind to see and the deaf to hear.
3. And if this wasn’t who Jesus was, Bartimaeus would forever be known as a blind beggar.
C. Out of that conviction, Bartimaeus continued to cry out!
1. Son of David, have mercy on me.
2. Son of David, don’t ignore me.
3. Son of David, I need you now!
4. Jesus, before you triumphantly enter the city, would you please show me mercy.
D. It is my prayer that each of us will find the same kind of conviction to call out to Jesus in this way!
1. And when Jesus does respond to our cries,
2. We must be willing to throw aside everything in response to Jesus!
5. Bartimaeus was willing to throw everything aside in response to Jesus’ call.
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up; he’s calling for you.” 50 He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
A. Why would Bartimaeus throw off his cloak or overcoat to go to Jesus?
1. Could it be because he didn’t want anything to hinder him getting to Jesus?
2. He didn’t want to be held back from him responding to Jesus as soon as he could.
B. The writer of Hebrews says, “Let us throw off everything that entangles us…”
1. When Jesus calls, there can be nothing to hold us back from responding to Him.
a. Men, how many times do your wives ask you to do something right in the middle of watching a show or you are engaged in a game?
b. And then they don’t like it when we wait to until there is a convenient time to respond!
2. Too often we are too distracted to respond immediately when Jesus calls.
a. Bartimaeus didn’t want anything to hinder his response to Jesus.
b. Anything that slows down your response to God’s call needs to go.
6. Our prayers reveal our perspectives toward Jesus.
- What do you want from me?
- The very next passage is the triumphal entry.
- On that day, the people celebrated a conquering hero.
- They praised Jesus for the coming kingdom they believed He was enacting.
- They celebrate Jesus for the upcoming victory they believed were coming.
- In essence, they are asking Jesus to be someone and to do something He wasn’t yet called to be.
- He hadn’t come to overthrow Rome but to overthrow the power of Death, Hell, and the Grave.
- What we ask for demonstrates our heart towards Jesus.
- That is why Jesus asks Bartimaeus this question.
- He wanted to reveal Bartimaeus’ heart.
- Bartimaeus could have asked for riches, position, power, or pleasure.
- But any great man or ruler could bestow these things.
- But only the Messiah, the Chosen Son of God, could bring sight to a blind man.
- Jesus responded, “Your faith has saved you.”
- Salvation was not found in begging, for people beg all the time.
- Salvation was not found in asking, for everyone asks for something.
- Salvation was found in believing that JESUS IS the SON of GOD!
- And with salvation came miraculous healing.
C. What are you asking Jesus to do for you?
1. What are your prayers saying about Jesus?
2. Are you treating him like a genie in a bottle?
3. Often, we pray prayers that, if answered, means we don’t need to trust God any longer.
a. Think about it:
b. Lord, if you would just give me more money then I wouldn’t have to pray so hard.
c. Lord, if you would take my pain away, I could stop bothering you.
4. If Bartimaeus had asked for power, money, position, or prestige, he would have been asking for the very same things that people asked of earthly rulers.
5. But Bartimaeus asked for the one thing that knew only Jesus could do: Only Jesus, the Son of David, could heal a blind man like him.
a. Isn’t it time that God’s people started asking for things that only God can provide?
b. Isn’t it time that people of faith started acting in faith?
7. And when God answers your prayer, are you ready to follow Him?
A. The Gifts of Salvation and Healing are given with the responsibility of Discipleship.
52 Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has saved you.” Immediately he could see and began to follow Jesus on the road.
1. As soon as Bartimaeus received his healing, he started following Jesus.
2. Some of you have been praying for something and you are still waiting for the answer to prayer.
a. If God was to answer your prayer today, are you willing to follow Him with everything you have?
b. Remember that God’s gifts have responsibilities.
c. God’s gifts are only for those who are willing to follow and be disciples.
3. If you don’t plan on serving Jesus, then don’t plan on your prayers being answered.
B. The first thing Bartimaeus did with his newfound life was follow Jesus!
1. The blind beggar was now a seeing disciple of Jesus.
2. The Messiah was no longer something hoped for, but now someone he saw with his own eyes.
3. And when Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem to the shouts of the happy crowds, there was a former blind man named Bartimaeus shouting with them.
4. And to Bartimaeus, Jesus wasn’t some impersonal Messiah who was going to save Israel, but he was a personal Messiah who had already saved him.
5. Bartimaeus did not squander his healing, but used his new sight to worship Jesus and to follow him.
Closing:
A. My prayer for many here today is that Jesus will become personal.
1. Maybe Jesus is nothing more than the God of your parents, or your country.
a. For many, Jesus is someone we give respect to at a rodeo or when a tragedy strikes.
b. Then you don’t think about Him until another tragedy or event.
2. Many in the crowd that followed Jesus only saw Him in national terms and what they hoped he would do for their country.
a. But Bartimaeus saw Jesus as a personal Savior and Messiah.
b. Someone who could not only set Israel free, but could set him free too.
c. Today, I want you to know that the same Jesus who gave new life to a blind man is the same Jesus who is able to give you new life too.
B. So that is my prayer today:
1. That whatever it is that you are struggling with, that you will have the boldness and the courage to tell that to Jesus and be made whole.
This Wednesday, I felt impressed to pray for 2 groups of people:
The Lost and the lonely.
2. Maybe your “Adjective” right now is lost:
a. That could mean you are far from Jesus.
b. That could also mean you are simply lost:
1. You don’t know where you are, what you are doing, or where you are going.
2. You feel like you have no direction.
3. Maybe you are like the lost son in the story of the Prodigal, and you find yourself in a place you never wanted, surrounded by junk and mud and everything that you said you never wanted for yourself or your family.
c. In a moment, if you feel like you are “lost”, I want you to come to your right of the stage (my left) to be prayed for.
1. And it will be my prayer that you will be found.
2. That, like Bartimaeus, Jesus will call for you and change your life.
3. Maybe your adjective is “lonely”.
a. Although you may be surrounded by people, you feel like you are alone and nobody notices.
b. IT feels like your cries for help go unnoticed or maybe shouted down.
c. You are wondering, “Does God even see me?”
d. Does God really know my struggles, my pain, my fears?
e. If so, I want you to know that, Yes, Jesus knows you and loves.
f. If you are lonely, and want prayer, I’m going to ask you to come to your left (my right) and would you allow these pastors and elders and deacons pray for you?
4.
Let’s Pray
[1] James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 330.