The Jesus Response: Jesus Asked Questions

Introduction:

Call to Worship

All Authority Merciful and Sovereign Father You proclaim and answer with authority You reveal the way of righteousness All authority in heaven and earth is yours

Please receive our worship today, the proclaimation of your Word, on a day when we celebrate all of your churches today, as we recognize CBOQ…

Regardless of denomination, might we remember the importance of placing Jesus first in all things, that every church will be led in Spirit and truth. This can only be done through your Holy Spirit who guides us in this fashion. Might we unite on scriptural absolutes and leave the secondary matters in a place of less conflict.

Father, You deliver and heal with authority You call for our turning and transforming.

We are so blessed and truly thankful to live in North America…The Global North. We have our issues, but how incredible we can come to worship each Sunday without fear and freely declare the Name above all Names. We pray that you will work a miracle in that actions which seemed so grounded, such as the Lord;s Prayer in schools, Christianity openly discussed anywhere without pushback, might return. Lord how wonderful it would be to have our children and other places of public forum beginning their day with a prayer to you. The prayer Jesus taught. What a different world it would be. Lord, guide us in these matters and help us as a church family to fill in the blanks that society has decided is unnecessary. Where God is proclaimed, Good things happen. Give us strength, wisdom and courage To continue the battle of faith.

As we celebrate CBOQ Sunday we are joining 300 other churches across this province and quebec. What a testimony to you! As our motto states, may we be transformed by Christ revealing His Kingdom.

We are a family at LBC and we are family with all the other churches by your Holy Spirit. Together may we be that dynamic family, serving our community, our world, empowered by YOU. Partnering together, keeps us from a lone wolf movement. Remind us that more is done to together, as a united Body of churches.

Might we pray daily for CBM, our baptist missionaries who serve all over the world, even in places that are unstable, or in states of war. Protect our missionaries and all those who claim Christ as their Lord. Through mission might Jesus be proclaimed and accepted by those who hear. Give them the strength by your Holy Spirit to serve you, even when it’s risky business. We know you will bless those under threat with mercies beyond our understanding.

We are thankful for this Sunday knowing that we have an umbrella at CBOQ that helps to equip and encourage your church. We thank you for the meetings we have had this past year to specifically guide Lakefield Baptist Church. Helping us to vision the plan YOU have for building the church of Jesus Christ right here in the Village.

Father, we thank you for the answered prayer: Ken Wingett who is now home and recovering from a concerning cardiac episode. We pray for continued recovery. These are the times we are so thankful for our medical people right here in the church and those who treated Ken at the hospital. Bless them and encourage them in such a busy, vital service.

Lord we have so much to be thankful for....might we take a moment, silently and thank you for all good things. For the times this week where Jesus showed up in our lives. We also come before you with our prayer requests....Church take some quiet time and speak with our God, who hears every request and every praise...... (Pause) You breathe and share your authority You send us to work and witness in your world All authority in heaven and earth is yours For the honor and glory of your name For the building of your kingdom In Jesus Name, the name above all. Amen

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia (edited and adapted by P. Moore for CBOQ Sunday)

Copyright All Authority © 2020 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia.

The Questions Jesus Asked

Week 1: A Question about Desires

Big Idea: This is the story of Jesus’ healing of blind Bartimaeus. It begins with Jesus asking what seems to be an obvious question, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Prayer: “Father, help us today to put ourselves into this story and do the hard work of self-reflection. What do we really want? And what can you do for us that only you can do? We open ourselves to all your probing questions this day.”

Scripture: Mark 10:46-52

Introduction

This short narrative of Bartimaeus we can actually consider as an opportunity for self-reflection. As we often say, there are endless sermons, messages, or takeaways from scripture, no matter how many times we have heard or read the Word.

Most of us have heard of Socrates, who lived 300 years before Jesus. Whether Jesus knew of him, Jesus was known for being an expert in the SO-CRATIC method of teaching.

Well, what is this? Jesus asked questions of His disciples, His listeners; probing, personal and provocative questions. They were questions designed to make a listener go....HMMMMM....I have to think about that? Questions that make us go deep.

When we think of the great teachers in the classroom today, YES, there are lectures, that can last 3 hours, but often we were given a question and have to come up with answers in groups.

QUESTIONS OPEN CONVERSATIONS, whatever the forum,…. we learn from discussions. It also opens doors to difficult conversations that we would rather not have, but we need to!

The Questions Jesus Asked is a challenge to consider some of Jesus’ most important questions found in the gospels.

Today, a question about desires.

a modern parable, from John Eldridge in his book, The Journey of Desire;

“Once upon a time there lived a sea lion who had lost the sea. He lived in a country known as the barren lands. High on a plateau far from any coast, it was a place so dry and dusty that it could only be called a desert. A kind of coarse grass grew in patches here and there, and a few trees were scattered across the horizon. But mostly, it was dust. And sometimes wind, which together make one very thirsty. Of course, it must seem strange to you that such a beautiful creature should wind up in a desert at all. He was, mind you, a sea lion. But things like this do happen.

How the sea lion came to the barren lands, no one could remember. It all seemed so very long ago. So long, in fact, it appeared as though he had always been there. Not that he belonged in such an arid place. How could that be? He was, after all, a sea lion. But as you know, once you have lived so long in a certain spot, no matter how odd, you come to think of it as home.

[slowly…….]

The secret that begins to solve the riddle of our lives is simply this: we are the sea lion who lost the sea. Life as usual is not the life we truly want. It is not the life we truly need.

It is not the life we were made for, and this was true of Bartimaeus. So, Jesus’ question, “What do you want me to do for you?” may be one of the most important questions we could ever be asked.

And the fact that it came from Jesus makes it even more important!

Frederick Buechner offers a series of questions to help us focus on things that really matter, even if we’d rather not face them:

He had many questions, but I deleted many as they were just not appropriate for todays message, so I remained with these.

- Of all the things you have done in your life, which is the one you would like to undo? ( When I think of that question, I would have a novel written)

Which is the one that makes you happiest to remember?

- If this were the last day of your life, what would you do with it?

SO HOW DO THOSE QUESTIONS FIT INTO TODAYS SCRIPTURE CONCERNING OUR BLIND MAN BARTIMEAUS.

Main Teaching

Background: Verses 33-34: Jesus was going to Jerusalem to die, and he knew it. He tries to tell his disciples, but they don't understand.

Russian novelist writes about a similar experience that changed his life. As a young man, he was arrested for belonging to a group of radicals who were considered treasonous to Tsar Nicholas I. They were condemned to death by firing squad. As it turns out it was just a cruel joke, the guns were loaded with blanks. (By the way still horrible, terrible tactic goes on today, to obtain information or simply to torture-It’s awful)

The novelist describes it this way: He wakes up in the morning of his execution.

As he ate his last meal, he savored every bite.

On the way to the firing squad he breathed in the precious air, and studied every face he saw with intensity.

He felt the sun beating down on him and appreciated its warmth as never before.

Everything around him took on a magical quality; he was seeing the world as he had never seen it before. All his senses were heightened.

He was fully alive!

HERE IS THE CONNECTION......

Could it be that this is how Jesus felt? Maybe regularly…He knew His mission.... Certainly he felt the sting as he passed through Jericho on this day, and turned his face toward Jerusalem, just 15 miles away… He knew He was headed to die.

(describe what others think-joyful ceremony-within days He would be nailed to cross-no one was expecting that one-but Jesus knew)

ADD INTERESTING THAT WHEN I AM WITH THOSE WHO ARE AT THE END OF LIFE,...... I WATCH EVERY WORD AS IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED MANY TIMES THAT THOSE WHO SEEM RIGHT AT THE END…UNRESPONSIVE ARE STILL HEARING....MAYBE WITH THAT HEIGHTENED SENSE OF TAKING IT ALL IN!

I can also say I have observed some divine happennings for those Christians about to cross over. I have often thought, what is going on in this room or this place that I cannot see. That 4th dimension....

Jesus would need heightened senses, as we can easily read this passage without considering the context and the cultural element in play. THIS IS PASSOVER!!!!! Jesus wasn’t on a leisurely stroll with His disciples.

The healing of the blind beggar Bartimaeus is significant because it is the final healing that Mark reports and it enters as an interruption into the events of Jesus’ Passion. Mark sets the scene when Jesus is leaving Jericho on the last leg of His journey to Jerusalem, just fifteen miles away. Passover is approaching and the road is jammed with pilgrims chanting on the way to the Holy City.

Along the road is another crowd—parade watchers, curiosity seekers, and those who are too poor, those considered too sinful, to unwell to make the journey to Jerusalem. By now, the size of the crowd following after Jesus has swelled to “a great multi-tude” (v. 46). it is a festival atmosphere and must have filled the air with triumph...... the news that the young rabbi who has challenged the religious establishment of the Jews is on His way to Jerusalem would create its own excitement.

The promise of a confrontation always draws a crowd. Isn’t it amazing how even today, rebellions, conflict, chaos, brings people out of their regular day…or the televisions and smart phones are fully activated....despite all the noise our lord hears, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 47). I remember back in my public school days, there would be chatter of a fight after school. Joe and Jack were going to go at it after school. So many would rush out....it would be the talk of the school all day.

ON THE JOURNEY THERE IS AN INTERUPTION THAT HAD MANY EXCITED....

A blind marginalized man, named Bartimaeus began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus, likely on full alert, had no trouble picking the voice out of the noisy of the crowd around him.

It has been said, “Perhaps what caught his attention was that this was the first time anyone publicly referred to Jesus as the “Son of David.”

Son of David was a common title for the Messiah. Everyone knew that. So, Blind Bartimaeus was the first to declare publicly his belief that Jesus was indeed the Savior of the World, the Messiah, and in a very loud and disturbing way.

This blind man’s faith allowed him to see something that no one else in the crowd could see.

LOUD

Application: Perhaps the most important thing to remember when we pray is to Who we are praying to. Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the World.

AND THE PRAYERS ARE HEARD-EVERY ONE! NOT BECAUSE HE MUST BUT BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU US so MUCH, HE DESIRES THAT INTERACTION AND RELATIONSHIP.

- then comesThe Rebuke

In this narrative we read a REBUKE.....Those around Jesus rebuked the man for his rude interruption. The culture of the day saw Bartimeaus as “out of order.”it violated the Jewish rules of decorum. It’s very court like as we use this word often in a courtroom, or in Roberts Rules....

This man was considered a “sinner” and unclean because of his blindness, presumed the punishment for some unspeakable sin.

The only real purpose he served in the current religious system was to make the so-called proper, lofty, religious folks feel good about themselves when they threw him a coin.

In studying this passage, We don’t know if it was Jesus’ disciples who rebuked the man or someone else, but we do know they had done this sort of thing before.

Remember,

Mark 10:13 “People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.”

On both occasions Jesus’ righteously rebukes the rebukers, by using the moment as an example of Christian Character. This would be a Jesus Response, as part of our recent messages...

On this occasion, with, Jesus said, “Call him.”

With the Children, we know this.... Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

What do you think that means; Does it mean, come with innocence and purity? What is it like to be around the kids, our children, grandchildren, youth in general....????

In fact, wasn’t this blind man behaving very much like a little child when being ignored and there is a real need! Not always a real need.... When Bartimeaus was rebuked he shouted even louder: “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

I have experienced this recently-avoiding a specific issue: mine was a little more complicated then this, but humilty played a role in it.

Perhaps being childlike just means being humble enough to ask for help when you need it, and to try something even when you can’t do it well.

Pride keeps us far away from the blessings of God. I do clarify though-Encouragement is a must for everyone, including your church family. This doesn’t necesssarily mean stoking the person’s pride. We all need authentic encouragement at times.

The Question:

Jesus asks the man, “What do you want me to do for you?”

What a question!

It reveals God’s servant heart for humanity, especially in our brokenness, poverty, and blindness.

Jesus said he came “not to be served, but to serve.”

With this question, we see once again how serious he is.

What would you ask for? We too are poor, blind, and spirtually marginalized.

We too need to come before God in our brokenness, helplessness, blindness, and poverty.

We too need to call out to Christ to take pity on us.

(With Feeling) If we dare renounce our egos and selfishness and beg for God’s help, we too will hear God ask, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Jesus had asked this question before.

Mark 10:35 In the verses just before Jesus’ encounter with Bartimaeus, James and John came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

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

Their answer: “Let one of us sit on your right and the other on your left in your glory.”

1. They didn’t get what they asked for. Why? Because they didn’t ask in faith; they asked in ambition.

AN EXCELLENT QUOTE FROM COMMENTATORS:

Faith asks for what it NEEDS. Ambition asks for what it WANTS. REPEAT....

The Response:

The blind man responded in faith, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

THAT WAS A NEED. The problem we might have: We don’t know when we’re blind, so maybe we are asking for the wrong things.

Or worse yet, we ask for nothing at all.

Let’s consider a passage demonstrating the battle Jesus constantly encountered between religious hypocrisy, with the religious leaders of the day....

John 9:39-41 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

Jesus is saying

We become blind when we think we can do it all on our own and have it all together.

When in this frame of mind or spirtual state, In our pride, we never really call out to Jesus for help, because WE cannot humble ourselves enough to overcome our pride factor.

THIS WAS THE BATTLE JESUS HAD IN DEALING WITH THE PHARISEE’S, AND CERTAINLY WE CAN APPLY THIS ISSUE TO ALL HUMANITY SINCE TIME....

Conclusion

Bartimaeus’ simple, childlike question opened him to all the possibilities of God’s power. And Jesus said his childlike faith healed him. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. HE WAS seeing everything for the first time, because His faith was selfless, without pride. His marginalized life, formed Him into GIANT OF THE FAITH.

MAY ALL OF US, move beyond fear, beyond pride, and beyond doubt as we come to Jesus like a little child and with faith… We do this by bringing down the walls and lay before Him our sin, suffering, and brokenness.

THE LORD BLESS YOU CHURCH…FAITH IS SIMPLE-IF WE BECOME LIKE CHILDREN.

Let’s pray together.

BENEDICTION

“May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in com- plete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5-6

TO HEAL Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. —Mark 10:46–52 The healing of the blind beggar Bartimaeus is significant because it is the final healing that Mark reports and it enters as an interruption into the events of Jesus’ Passion. Mark sets the scene when Jesus is leaving Jericho on the last leg of His journey to Jerusalem, just fifteen miles away. Passover is approaching and the road is jammed with pilgrims chanting on the way to the Holy City. Alongside the road is another crowd—parade watchers, curiosity seekers, and those who are too poor, sinful, diseased, or handicapped to make the journey to Jerusalem. By now, the size of the crowd following after Jesus has swelled to “a great multi-tude” (v. 46). Putting all the dynamics of milling, moving people together in a festival atmosphere must have filled the air with a tingle of triumph. After all, the news that the young rabbi who has challenged the religious establishment of the Jews is on His way to Jerusalem would create its own excitement. The promise of a confrontation always draws a crowd. Amid the cacophony of sound, a disrupting voice grates against the ears, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 47). Someone has told Bartimaeus—blind man, beggar, and public nuisance—that the passing of Jesus caused the commotion. To avoid a smear on the reputation of Jericho or a blight on the festivities, many citizens try to silence the voice of Bartimaeus. But the blind man sees something that no one else has seen and cries all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” For the first time, Jesus is publicly called the Son of David. Whether Bartimaeus knows it or not, he introduces Jesus to Jerusalem and strikes the keynote for the triumphal entry. Jews in Jerusalem claim David as their father and his son as their Messiah. Both the plaintive sound and the prophetic salute of Bartimaeus stop Jesus in His tracks. Presumably, His healing ministry has been left behind Him and all of His energy now has to be marshaled for His own suffering. Nothing can deter or interrupt Him—except a needy man crying for mercy. In His hearing Bartimaeus’s pleas above the noise of the crowd, stopping the processional for a blind beggar, and calling the pitiful creature to come to Him while on the way to Jerusalem there is proof enough that Jesus, the Servant, and Jesus, the Savior, are inseparable. A call to faith. On Jesus’ instruction, someone tells the blind man that he is being summoned. Whoever carries the call sounds like Jesus Himself, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you” (v. 49). “Be of good cheer” is an appeal to emotions that Bartimaeus thought were gone forever. He has heard “Cheer up” before from callous people who tossed it into his face rather than throwing a coin into his begging blanket. Never before has he heard words of encouragement combined with the command, “Rise.” A serious call to faith requires an act of will as well as a word of hope. The information, then, that “He is calling you” (v. 49) tests the level of Bartimaeus’s cognitive skills. In his past experience, no one has ever responded to his call, except to demand silence. Perhaps even now, he thinks, a cruel hoax is in the making. Raw intelligence and refined intuition, however, tell Bartimaeus the truth. As a blind beggar, he has no place to go but up. The risk is minimal. As simple as it seems, the call to “Look up, get up, and go up” defines faith as an act of hope based upon limited information. A show of faith. If ever a person enthusiastically demonstrates a holistic show of faith, Bartimaeus does. Feeling for feeling, will for will, mind for mind, he answers the call from Jesus. In response to the word of encouragement, “Be of good cheer” (v. 49), he goes a step further to the daring act of throwing aside the ragged garment that serves functionally to catch coins and symbolically as a sign of his beggarliness. Equally bold, on the command, “Rise,” he abandons his sitting position as a beggar by springing up and standing like a man. Posture always gives clues to self-esteem. Never again will Bartimaeus be looked down upon as the scum of the earth. As Job responded to God’s challenge, Bartimaeus stands ready to answer as a man. To complete his show of faith, Bartimaeus comes to Jesus. All of his life, the blind beggar has counted on others to lead and feed him. If he still needed help, Peter would have remembered it and Mark would have reported it. No. Although still blind, Bartimaeus walks out his own Emancipation Proclamation. What a sight it must have been to see the crowd open a path for Bartimaeus as he comes to Jesus! In one sense, faith has already made him a whole man. His feelings, his will, and his mind are healed. The result of faith. Jesus meets the ready faith of Bartimaeus with the open-ended question, “What do you want Me to do for you?” (v. 51). Not long before, James and John had asked Him to grant them whatsoever they asked. The difference between Bartimaeus’s answer and the disciples’ request is the difference between faith and ambition. Faith asks for needs; ambition begs for wants. Bartimaeus needed his sight; James and John wanted the places of honor in the coming kingdom of God. Jesus exempted Himself from responding to the disciples’ wants, but He wastes no time in meeting Bartimaeus’ need. “Go your way; your faith has made you well” (v. 52) not only gives instant sight to a blind man, but recognizes the total healing of a person with a ready faith. Spiritually free, physically sound, and humanly dignified, Bartimaeus is pronounced “well” and “whole.” Mark reinforces the total healing of Bartimaeus by bringing the story full cycle in the conclusion, “And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road” (v. 52). A beggar becomes a disciple and a squatter becomes a pilgrim—living, seeing, walking, and singing proof that Jesus is Servant and Savior. Chapter Fifteen—Claim

David L. McKenna and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Mark, vol. 25, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1982), 211–215.