Two Sons, Two Responses

Beggars cant be choosers…this was one of those sayings that I had heard, but never really experienced.

Obviously, it means that if you are in need of help, its wrong to second-guess the help that someone is giving you. I ran into this once when I was in seminary. There were several apartment complexes near the seminary in Fort Worth where immigrants from Iraq would get dropped off. They had, literally, nothing. Just the clothes on their backs. So, Christians from local churches stepped up to take care of their needs. We would collect used clothing and kitchen goods, and as often as possible, get them used furniture, so that they could at least have a table and a sofa and beds.

One Saturday, we were able to get not one, but two sofas! I remember how excited we were because these were good sofas and the families had nothing. We had these sofas on the trailer and we got them to the apartment complex. The stair wells were tight, we had to work to get this sofa upstairs and then turn it and twist it to get it in the apartment. My friend and I got it against the wall, and I remember we were standing sweating and out of breath, noticed she was talking with the translator and pointing at the trailer…she wanted the other sofa!

End result was that I didnt want to help that lady ever again!

My friend and I came in victorious and went out defeated.

So obviously, we can see why a beggar cant be a chooser.

But in our passage today, we are going to see that even though a beggar cant be a chooser, a beggar can choose to follow Christ. So, please stand and read Mark 10:46-52…..with me.

Our main idea:

Those who see Jesus by faith, receive his mercy

In our story, we are going to talk about two sons, and two responses.

I. The Son of David

This is a special title that has not been used yet in the Gospel of Mark.

A. Emphasizes his royal heritage

1. Prophesied-2nd Sam 7:5-17 (Reading is shortened)

-2 Samuel 7:12-17

2 Samuel 7:12–17 (ESV)

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

-A descendant who comes from David, who will be a son of God, whose Kingdom will be established forever, who will be disciplined and suffer

-Was this fulfilled in Solomon or any of his other descendants? Vastly wealthy…But over time he led Israel in rebellion against the Lord. He accumulated wealth and military power and wives, all in ways that the Kings of Israel were forbidden to do. In time, he began to worship idols, following the influence of his foreign wives. At his death, his wicked and foolish son Rehoboam split the Kingdom because of his stubborness and cruelty. Thus this cannot be Solomon that fulfills the prophecy because his Kingdom immediately is torn apart.

-So Israel was looking for the Messiah, the Anointed One who would sit on the throne of Israel, forever. What they looked and hoped and waited for, we have found in the person of Christ Jesus our Lord! Jesus is the one who sits on the throne now and forever!

2. Anointed One

-Like a King, the pouring of the oil on the head symbolizes Authority and divine blessing. The King is the chosen one, given the authority of Heaven, to take care of God’s people.

-And this is why Jesus is called the Messiah. He is the Chosen King sent to do God’s will. And like we have already said before in our study of Mark, the Anointed One is the place where heaven and earth meet. Jesus is the chosen one who brings heaven down to us and takes us up to heaven!

B. Emphasizes his connection to David

1. Links Jesus to the great militaristic king of Israel’s past

-Israel had gotten kicked around a lot! They had been invaded and conquered and dominated and taxed and even exiled. All by outsiders. Honestly, they sound a lot like Dallas Cowboy fans. It had been an awful six hundred years for Israel. But they could look back and remember a time in their history when they were safe from invasion and lived in peace. This was when mighty David sat on the throne and Israel’s enemies feared them.

-By calling Jesus the Son of David, Jesus is connected with the greatest warrior and protector that Israel ever had. And in the same way that David, though young and unimpressive looking, went out alone and delivered Israel by killing a giant, winning a victory for God’s people. So Jesus, his descendant, who was also physically unimpressive, will go out alone against the powerful giant of sin and death, and bring that giant crashing down forever. In the same way that the nation of Israel won a great victory based entirely on the achievement of David, so we win the victory over judgement and hell based entirely on the achievement of Jesus our Lord, the Son of David.

2. Links Jesus to the man who was after God’s own heart

-In addition to being the great warrior of Israel’s past, David was unique because among all the prophets of the Old Testament, David was the man who God said “was after his own heart.”

-David was a deeply flawed man. He commited adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband. He was a terrible father whose house was filled with violence. In these and other ways, we can look at him and be shocked that he is held up as THE MODEL of a man whose heart is aligned with God. And yet, for all of his failures, David loved God deeply, all of his life. He was committed to God, to the end, no matter what. And when he failed, his repentance was always sincere and he always returned to the Lord. The direction of David’s life was set by the fact that he loved God, more than he loved anyone or anything else. And for this reason, it is David’s poems which make up the majority of the Psalms, which have been read, and sung, and prayed to God without stop for 3,000 years, and to this day are the middle of our Bibles.

-And we see that just like David was a man after God’s own heart, Jesus is too. Bartimaeus, is literally described as a blind beggar. It doesnt get worse or lower in his society than this. And Jesus, the Son of David is walking to Jerusalem specifically to die. Jesus knows exactly what is awaiting him. The whip and the crown of thorns and the nails and the cross. From this point, Jesus has less than ten days left to live.

Years ago, I went to seminary with a man named Chris. The whole extent of our relationship was that we saw each other in the gym. I had not seen him for a while and we bumped into each other on campus and I said “Man, you look like you have dropped some weight” and he said that his cancer had come back aggressively and that he had only weeks to live. Chris was on borrowed time and without saying a thing, he and I both knew that he did not have time to spend talking with me. We just shook hands and he went to be with his family.

Jesus, in our passage today, is on borrowed time more than anyone. Death and humiliation are just ahead, and yet amazingly, we see him stop and show kindness to the guy that everyone else overlooks.

Because he has the heart of his Father in heaven, even on the way to his own suffering, Jesus has time to stop and help the suffering of someone else.

The way that Jesus responds to this man, shows that in addition to being the conquering Son of David, he is also Christ our Healer, gentle and kind.

II. The Son of Timaeus

Bartiameus is one of my favorite people in the Gospel of Mark because of how he responds to Jesus. I think that we can learn a lot by following his example!

A. Sees Jesus

When others do not

It’s so interesting that as Jesus is walking by, Bartimaeus who is just sitting by the road side starts to call out to Jesus the Son of David. It means that blind Bartimaeus sees Jesus as the descendant of David, promised in the Old Testament. It means that he sees Jesus as the Messiah, sent by God to make all things right for his people. And it means that he sees Jesus as the King who has come to take the throne and rule forever. Amazingly, almost no one else in the Gospel has seen Jesus this clearly, even among the disciples. In our last story, the disciples James and John were so focused on themselves that they were asking Jesus if they could sit next to him in glory! Their selfishness had caused them to take their eyes of the glory of Jesus and think instead about their own glory. But Bartimaeus is different.

Through faith, this blind man is the only one who is seeing Jesus clearly.

B. Sees his need

have mercy on me!

But in addition to seeing Jesus clearly, Bartimaeus also sees himself clearly. Unlike James and John who think that they should get to sit next to Jesus on the platform, that somehow, even though they might not be equals, they are still pretty special. Bartiameus sees himself as a nobody. He does not try to make a deal with Jesus. He does not try to bargain with him and say something like “Jesus, I am a good man! You owe me this!” Instead, all he does, is ask for mercy.

And Belmont, this is the atittude of someone who comes to Christ in faith, rightly understanding themselves in light of the holiness of the Lord. Bartimaeus knows that he is a weak man, dependent on the kindness of a very great Savior: As the old hymn says:

Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die.

C. Refuses to be turned aside (Cried out all the louder)

-Notice that Jesus is walking by, and Bartimaues will not stop calling out to him, no matter what the people around him think. He refuses to be silenced because his requests for help make other people uncomfortable. Bartimaeus is starving for the healing that can only come to him through Jesus. And he will not be turned away, no matter the opposition he faces. He is willing for other people to think that he is annoying or foolish if it means that he gets to personally experience the power of Jesus.

D. Responds in faith (Asks, and follows)

-And then we see in faith, in verse 51 that he actually asks Jesus for what he wants because he knows that Jesus can heal him. He doesnt go half way and say something to effect of “Well, maybe you could sort of help me out or something.” Bartimaeus jumps right in, and he dares to ask a great request of a great Lord. And his request, made with a believing heart is rewarded as Jesus says “Your faith has made you well.”

Belmont, Bartimaeus believed in Christ, and because of this, he experienced Christ’s healing power in his life.

A commentator pointed out something that I thought was really helpful. Notice where Bartimaeus begins the story, sitting down on the side of the road, as life passes him by. Other people are going places. But Bartimaeus is just…sitting. But then Bartimaues experiences the power of Jesus in his life and he immediately begins to follow him. And this man, once identified as a blind beggar, sitting by the road, finishes the story in the road, on the journey of discipleship, following Jesus. His new Lord has taken a man off of the sidelines and brought him into the game.

Belmont, Bartimaeus couldn't see anything, but he could see that Jesus was the answer he needed. He had the clarity to understand Christ’s greatness and his own need, and the humility to ask in faith, and to then follow in obedience. I want to live like this man, and I hope that you do too. I want to ask great things of God, and then attempt great things for him in the lifelong journey of discipleship.

III. First Response-Resistance

(The crowd of jerks)

Mark says in vs. 48 that there are many who listen to this vulnerable man crying out for deliverance from literal darkness and their response is to rebuke him. Their response is to tell this guy to knock if off because he is annoying them. These people in the crowd are once again a barrier to other people getting near Christ and experiencing his power. How can this be?

I thought of two groups of people today that can be barriers to people coming to faith:

A. Unbelievers

-Those who dont believe at all

These are the people in your life who say that Christianity is stupid. Its a fairy tale. Do you actually believe that stuff? Have you ever heard of the Crusades? How could a loving God allow so much suffering in the world? Why do you need to be so religious when you could just be spiritual, like me.

People like this are nothing new. They have always existed. Psalm 14, was written almost three thousand years ago and says 1  The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” People like this are foolish, and because they have been deceived, they want to deceive you too.

-Those who believe something wrong

I know that some of you in here, when you said that you wanted to believe in Christ or obey what you believed his Word said, received resistance. Often times from your families. The family will say something to the effect of “We believe this, and if you change that, then you are rejecting our identity. You are rejecting us.”

This can be tremendously painful, when others make relationship dependent upon holding to their beliefs. Many of you have come from a Catholic background and experienced this type of resistance. You felt drawn to know Christ through reading the Bible and a personal relationship with him, and you received resistance, often from your own families, for leaving the rituals of the Roman Catholic Church behind.

-Those who want you to stay the same way

There are those who believe something else, that will resist you, but there are also those who just like you the way that you were. Maybe it is your group of friends that you used to party with. When you met Christ, and stopped the drinking and the drugs and the partying, you got resistance. It wasnt “Wow, I respect that you are changing your life.” Instead, it was “Why have you changed? Do you think you are better than us now?”

I know that when you face resistance for your faith in Christ, that it can feel incredibly isolating. SHOW OF HANDS HERE TO SEE IF PEOPLE EXPERIENCED RESISTANCE AND IF THEY ARE ALONE OR NOT

B. Believers

Unfortunately, there is a lot that I think we could say here about believers getting in the way of others coming to Christ, just like the people in this crowd get in the way of Bartimaeus. I will limit it to just a couple.

Hypocrites-this is a drum that I will always beat. Belmont, we have to live consistently as Christians. We have to embrace being salt and light in the world. We have to be willing to follow Christ, even when it is hard. As Paul says in Colossians we must “Walk in a manner, worthy of our calling.” This is important in front of our friends and co-workers, but much more important in the sight of our close family, who watch us every day. If Christianity is just something that we put on like church clothes on Sunday morning, and the rest of the time we live just like those in the world, then there is a good chance that someone is watching us and being discouraged by us. And our inconsistent, hypocritical example, is an obstacle to them coming to faith. Let’s do everything we can to live obediently and consistently in front of the Lord and in front of others because there are few things as discouraging to someone who is spiritually open as hypocrisy in the believers who are around them, especially if they live under the same roof.

Haters-These are Christians who have lost the joy of the Lord and they resent seeing it in others. They dont want you to be excited about Jesus because your joy convicts them. These are people who even if they do not mean to, act like King David’s wife who judged him when he danced publicly because of the joy of the Lord. Belmont, many of us have been Christians all of our lives. But that is no excuse for our salvation to somehow become something that we take for granted. The longer we are in the Faith, the more we should realize our own sin and God’s kindness in saving us.

Rather than God’s grace becoming ordinary in our eyes, with each passing year we experience it, it should become that much more extraordinary.

IV. Second Response- Help

Jesus calls Bartimaeus through those who are around him, which would be through his disciples in vs 49

On their own, the disciples cannot fix this man’s problems.

But they can bring him to the One who can. This reminds me of the feeding of the five thousand which we already covered early in Mark Chpt 6 when Jesus gave the food to the disciples to give to the crowd. Jesus could just do everything on his own, if he wanted to. He could reveal himself to people in the same way that he could have put food in front of the crowd without anyone else getting involved. But the Lord has chosen to use people like you and like me as his instruments to bring other people into contact with his healing power.

Belmont, this is why we must share the Gospel. We have been entrusted with it. And when we are faithful to share this message, the Lord is faithful to use it to bring people who are dead back to life. I am reminded of 2 Cor 5:20, where Paul says that believers are Christ’s ambassadors and that God is making his appeal through us. If we are his ambassadors it means that we represent him! he could represent himself, but he has chosen to use us for this purpose.

So then, how are we responding to people who need the healing power of Christ in their lives? Are we acting like those in the crowd who tell them to be quiet and to stop being so annoying. Or are we going out and finding people who have needs and bringing them to the One who can heal them?

*Conclusion*

Now as our worship team comes up, there are three types of people in our story.

Bartimaues who NEEDS Jesus, and cries out to him until his needs are met.

The people in the crowd who are resisting Bartimaeus, obstacles in his path to salvation.

And those who help bring this blind man into the presence of the only one who can heal them.

Which person are you? Be honest with yourself. Do you make it easy for others to come to Christ, or because of your behavior and attitude are you an obstacle? Is your walk consistent with your witness? If not, then repent, TODAY! Turn from being a selfish resistor to being a selfless helper of others. Ask God to do this for you and inside of you and I am confident that he will.

If you are one of those who wants to bring other people into contact with Christ, then good for you. So my question for you is what are you doing about it? Are you getting out where the lost people are, or are you staying where its safe and easy? This was one of the reasons I was so encouraged by our neighborhood parties. We were out in the community where there are strange and broken people. This isnt easy, but how can we bring people like this into contact with Jesus if we are never around them?

Finally, if you are in here and do not know Jesus. Then you are like Bartimaus at the start of our sermon. You are blind and in spiritual poverty. But you do not have to stay that way. Every person in this room was once just like you because all of us are born sinners. this means that we have rebelled against God. We have broken his commands and turned away from him to serve ourselves. This is part of what it means to be spiritually blind. But I want to tell you the Good News! The Good News is that you dont have to stay this way! There is a song whose lyrics you probably know. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I was once lost but now and found, was blind, but now i see! Your blindness can be taken away! All you have to do is look to Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, who died for your sins on the cross, was buried, and three days later rose again. If you will turn from your sinful lifestyle, and put your belief in Jesus to save you, then the Bible says that he will do so. And the way that Bartimaeus in our story is physically healed is exactly how he will heal you spiritually. If you are a person like this, cry out to Jesus today, and dont stop until you receive the healing that he offers.

Would you pray with me?

Hebrews 12:28–29 ESV

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

30. Psalm 121:7-8 - The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.