Faith that Sees

Call to Worship

To all who are weary and in need of rest

To all who are mourning and longing for comfort

To all who fail and desire strength

To all who sin and need a Savior

We, Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church, open wide our arms

With a welcome from Jesus Christ.

He is the ally to the guilty and failing

He is the comfort to those who are mourning

He is the joy of our hearts

And He is the friend of sinners

So Come, worship Him with us.

Scripture Reading & Reader

Scripture Reader, Woody Tausend

Mark 10:46–52 NIV

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “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.

Post-Scripture Prayer

Pray.

Sermon Start

Slide 1: How to Pray for Israel & Gaza Slide 2: Pray for Israeli Families whose loved ones may have been killed or are being held hostage Pray for believers in Gaza who are caught in the conflict Pray that God would protect the innocent Slide 3: Pray that God might turn hearts towards Himself Pray for those without homes and basic necessities Pray for those in political leadership in the Middle East and across the world -- that God might use them as instruments of peace and reconciliation Slide 4: Prince of Peace, we cry out to You today for the people of Israel and Gaza; these very lands You know so well. To those grieving: First, we pray with all our hearts for those grieving the sudden loss of loved ones, those who’ve been captured, and those whose homes have suddenly been destroyed. A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. Matthew 2:18 (NIV) Slide 5: To those leading: Lord, only you can turn the hearts of men and women to yourself. Tragedy looms over Gaza and Israel and we know Lord, that you are not far from them. Terrible things are being done, many hundreds have died, hospitals are overflowing, many are suddenly grieving. Violence is provoking violence but we pray for reason to prevail over rage and revenge. May those with a vested interest in escalating this crisis somehow be restrained. (CONGREGATION) Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Mark 4:39 (NIV) Slide 6: For peace: Finally, Lord, we pray for active and effective peacemaking at an international political level. May the measured voices of diplomacy constrain violence on every side. Lord, provide the Comforter, ease our hearts as you work. (CONGREGATION) Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:7,9 (NIV) Slide 7: (CONGREGATION) And now, as I prepare to take this important time of prayer into the coming day, the Lord who loves me reassures me, saying: When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed… Mark 13:7 (NIV) Father, help me to live this day to the full, being true to You, in every way. Jesus, help me to give myself away to others, practicing mercy to everyone I meet. Spirit, help me to love the lost, proclaiming Christ in all I do and say. Amen. —

Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark 10:46-52. We are in our final message in a series we have called, “The Suffering Servant.”

Eight weeks ago we started a series in Mark 8-10, that began with a story about the healing of a blind man, and today our series ends with the healing of a blind man. And over the last 8 weeks we have seen a repeated call for followers of Jesus to lay down their lives for Jesus who will lay down His life for ours.

Over the course of these past 8 weeks, we have seen a building up, of why Jesus is worth following, why this whole thing we call discipleship will require courage and sacrifice, and we’ve been left to reflect on whether or not being His disciples is really for us… this morning we have a hope filled reminder that following Jesus can be for us, it can be for anyone who is willing to cry out to Him in need, and who will lay everything aside to follow Him.

Let’s jump into our text this morning. Would you please turn with me to Mark 10, verses 46-47. Mark 10:46-47

Mark 10:46–47 NIV

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

As Jesus has been heading from Galilee to Jerusalem, they have come to the city of Jericho, which has been said to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest city, in the world, that sits about 15 miles away from Jerusalem… and Jerusalem is still another 3500 more feet in elevation.

Jesus is traveling towards His death, and is interrupted. He is interrupted for His last healing miracle in the Book of Mark.

Verse 46 does something very unique to the Book of Mark, and fairly unique in terms of the rest of the gospels, it names the person who interrupts Jesus. Not only does it tell us his name, Bartimaeus, it also tells us the name of his father, Timaeus.

Bartimaeus was blind, and for how long, we don’t know… maybe he was blind since birth, maybe this was a recent development due to a work injury or an act of violence, or maybe the sun got in his eyes when he was catching a pop fly and now he’s blind — whatever it is, we know that his life has been consigned to begging on one of the busiest and most violent roads in the First Century.

This stretch of road was known as the Way of Blood, because of the robbers who would wait for people making their way to the Holy City — either on pilgrimage or to go to Jerusalem to observe a feast or festival.

Who knows what Bartimaeus received at the hands of evil people? He had probably been robbed, likely been beaten, and at some point he becomes so useless to pilgrim and thief alike — an eyesore on the side of the road and someone with so little that he can’t even be taken advantage of, that he’s altogether forgotten and ignored.

What’s so interesting to me is how Mark names Bartimaeus — he tells us who he is, that he is someone’s child — Mark tells us that Bartimaeus matters. Jesus does not forget, ignore, people made in His image. And what is expressed about Bartimaeus here is that he has every ounce of value and purpose as the crowd who surrounds Jesus does.

God knows the name of every person that the world has written off as “the least of these,” — He knows their stories. Jesus stops and gives time and attention to this man, who has nothing to offer to him.

Look with me at verse 47...

Jesus and His large group were leaving the city and no doubt there had been some chatter about who was in Jericho and why this was such a big deal, and when they crowd gets nearer, Bartimaeus knows who He is. He calls Him, “the Son of David,” and He cries out, “have mercy on me!”

The Son of David is similar to other titles we’ve seen in Mark, this is similar to Son of Man, — it’s a title for the Messiah, the delivering King, the One who will come as God’s appointed man to wrong all rights. There’s a scene in Isaiah, a promise, that helps paint the picture of why Bartimaeus says what he says.

Isaiah 42:16 (NIV)

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,

along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into light before them

and make the rough places smooth.

These are the things I will do;

I will not forsake them.

Isaiah is informing his audience about a decision God has made, concerning their freedom from Babylonian oppression. Isaiah’s words providence a level of confidence that only God can do these things.

Only the Messiah can heal the blind. Only the Messiah can deliver the oppressed.

We don’t know how Bartimaeus knows this information. Only that he does… like a spiritual 6th sense.

Bartimaeus calls for God-alone to save him, and says, “have mercy on me,” and if you look with me at verse 48, we’ll say that because the crowd attempts to silence him, he has to say it again.

The crowd believes that Bartimaeus will be inconvenience to Jesus. Often, we take on the personality of the crowd. “Jesus is too busy to take on my cries for help.” “There are other people with bigger problems than me. I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.”

Scholar David Garland writes, “No one is too insignificant to Jesus to command his attention.”

Jesus has not left us in our distress.

Where we might appear to be expendable to the world, no one is expendable to Jesus.

Jesus stops and calls the man to Him.

What a word, for everyone in distress, who might feel too insignificant, with nothing to contribute, — Jesus hears us and calls us to Himself.

He is not repelled by you, friend.

He is not repulsed by your condition.

He is not annoyed at your every ask.

Look with me at the second half of verse 49 through 51.

Mark 10:49–51 (NIV)

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

It is interesting to note in verse 49 how the behavior of the crowd changes when Jesus makes His request.

It changes from, “shut up, and know your place,” to “be encouraged, get up, and Jesus is calling you.”

This is where we see a picture of what Jesus has come to do — it’s not to entertain a crowd, it’s not to lead a militaristic takeover. We have already heard in verse 45, where we spent all of last week, “that He has come to serve, not to be served, and to give His life as a ransom for the many.”

The response of the sacrificial service of Jesus is only the call to discipleship...

and what does Bartimaeus do in verse 50? He answers the call to what is required to being disciples. It is the most courageous, the most sacrificial thing, that the Son of Timaeus can do:

Look at verse 50 with me. Mark 10:50

Mark 10:50 NIV

Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

He laid down his whole life, all that He had, and the text says, “he jumped to his feet and went to Jesus.” What more is this than the call to being Jesus’ disciples? This is what we talked about several weeks ago when we gave a definition for what the process of discipleship is.

It is boldly inviting others into joyful surrender as we pursue Jesus.

He jumps right up, he’s eager to run towards Jesus in surrender.

This is his only possession. This is likely what he uses to collect money during the day, and what likely covers him at night. All that Bartimaeus will lose, which is all that he has, will not pale in comparison to what he will receive from Jesus.

Look with me at verse 51. I want to compare Jesus’ question to Bartimaeus to another question that James and John asked Jesus just 15 verses before this.

Jesus says, “What do you want me to do for you?”

And how the blind man answers, is very different from James and John answered that question.

James and John, if you remember, asked for honor and power; and Bartimaeus asks for sight.

This is all a difference in how James and John and Bartimaeus view Jesus. For James and John, Jesus very well might be a means to an end, they can ride in on the coattails of Jesus. Bartimaeus does not ask for honor, not for glory — but just for sight.

Jesus says to him in verse 52, Mark 10:52

Mark 10:52 NIV

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Another translation might read, “Your faith has made you well,” — a better way to read that in Greek is more like, “I make well,” and you’d likely form that into a coherent sentence because we don’t talk like cavemen… you’d say something like, “You trusted that I could help you.”

But the word used here for heal, isn’t limited to a physical sense, it’s spiritual — “You trusted that I could save you.”

And for Bartimaeus the call to discipleship comes full circle: he receives sight and follows Jesus.

He left everything he had to go with Jesus.

He does not go back to get his clothes.

He does not hope to travel the world after he gets his sight so he can see all of the ancient wonders of the world.

He doesn’t wait until Jesus is less busy, with less important things in His schedule.

This is the urgency of Mark. This is the use of immediately. This points us to the truth that the only thing to do is follow Jesus.

Everything we’ve read up until this point in our passage is not about a physical miracle.

This is about how the good news of Jesus, the gospel, affects those who hear it.

The gospel is the conversion from blindness to sight.

It is the conversion from death to life.

It is the conversion from darkness to light.

It is the conversion from hopeless to hopeful.

This makes the question that Jesus asks even more important, “What do you want me to do for you?”

One scholar said, “this is the most important question God ever asks us, and the one to which we most frequently give the wrong answer.”

That same scholar goes on to say, “We ask for all the wrong things in life.”

But our answer to this reveals what we want.

Do we want to ride the coattails of Jesus, hoping for glory and honor?

Or do we know that we have nothing to bring to Him, and the deepest cry of our heart is that we might really see.

Again, sight is an analogy to salvation. Do we want to be saved? Do we want to be made well?

The only thing we can do then is call on the only one who can save us, — have mercy on me!

He won’t forsake you.

He hasn’t forgotten your name.

He won’t turn you away when you call out to Him.

I think the end of Mark 10 is to motivate us towards evangelism. This should push us to be urgent about inviting our friends to know and follow Jesus.

In a world of anonymity, hidden levels of anxiety, where every relationship seems to be on the edges of breaking — Jesus is the One to say “I know your name,” and “I see you in your distress,” and “I can fix you!”

Here’s what I want to invite you to do this morning...

I want you to share the story of Blind Bartimaeus with one person this month.

It’s Mark 10:46-52, and maybe you invite them over to read it with you, maybe you send it to them in a text and ask them to read it and say you want to tell them something… and then I want you to tell a story in your life when you were in distress, when you felt abandoned by the world, when you thought no one could help you — and then I want you to tell them how Jesus showed up.

That’s it. You don’t have to ask them their own story. You want to be faithful to proclaim the truth that God has done in your life, and invite the Holy Spirit to get working on their lives. Maybe you pray a prayer like this, “Father, we pray for the help of the Holy Spirit, that you alone can turn our blindness into sight.” And better yet, pray about who it is that God is inviting you to share this scripture with.