What do you see?

Bible Passage: Mk 10:46–52

Are you glad to be in the lords house today?

Ill try my best not to keep yall sitting still for too long, I just got told this story recently, its about a young preacher, he got called out to preach a revival out in a small town. He showed up and when it came time for him to start, no one was at the church. He waited 30mins- then waited an hour and finally one old farmer showed up. Anyway he kept on waiting and finally he told the farmer where is every one, I was supposed to preach almost two hours ago and no ones here, the farmer looked at him and said well, If i went out to feed my cows and only one showed up, I would still feed that one cow, so anyway the young preacher got inspired and fired up and he began his message. The young preacher went on for about and hour and a half. Then as the message was over the young preacher asked the farmer how he did, and the farmer looked at him and said son, I told you I would still feed that one cow that came out to eat, but I sure wouldn't give him the full load!!

Summary: Mark 10:46-52, this passage illustrates the powerful moment of healing for Bartimaeus, a blind man, who, despite physical limitations, perceives Jesus’ identity and worth. This passage serves to highlight the transformative power of faith, demonstrating how Jesus breaks through barriers to bring restoration and dignity to those in need.

lets look into the book of mark before we get going

Background on Mark and what it means to be blind in this time period.

Mark- The Gospel of Mark is widely considered to be the earliest written account of Jesus’ life and ministry, serving as a major source for the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Traditionally attributed to John Mark, a companion of both Peter and Paul, this Gospel is believed to have been written under Peter’s supervision.

Mark’s Gospel is characterized by its, rapid pace, and emphasis on Jesus’ actions rather than His discourses. I believe that the gospel of mark is to show Jesus’ authority. It is thought to have been written primarily for a Roman audience, as evidenced by its explanations of Jewish customs and use of Latin expressions.

The book portrays Jesus as the perfect and faithful Servant, with Mark 10:45 often cited as a key verse: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”. We will come back to that later on.

At this time, there were two Jerichos, one an ancient city and the other a newer one built by Herod the Great. Jericho was situated between the Jordan River and Jerusalem. The road leading from Jericho would have been well traveled by pilgrims heading to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. It would have been an ideal place for begging

Now we venture on to Bartimaeus, as it tells us in this passage, Bartimaeus was a beggar, he relied on peoples kindness and generosity to keep him alive and to keep him fed. He was always where the crowd was. Blind people in this time period almost weren't even considered as people, they were considered as more of a burden. as we look into this verse 47 we see his cry for compassion.

1. Crying for Compassion

Mk 10:46-48

We see this blind man that is looked down upon by society and he is told that it is the Jesus of Nazareth walking by he crys out to him saying “thou son of david, have mercy on me!” One of the most important thing in this passage that stuck out to me is that the crowd that is following Jesus hears him cry out and yet they tell him to be quiet. They tell to HOLD YOUR PEACE!

They see someone that they believe is of no use to Jesus or they see him as someone they all think they are better than him. They see him as a BURDEN! yet in him peril tone he cry's out yet again. “Thou son of David, HAVE MERCY ON ME!”

Look back on your life and think how many times or how many people do you know that needed or need Jesus, You see them going down a path that is leading to destruction and you just know by the way they are living they are crying out to Jesus begging for mercy and yet you turn around, or you walk away and don't talk to them or don't invite them to church just because of the way this crowd sees Bartimaeus. You see them as a burden or you see them as someone that isn't holy enough to come to church!

How spiritually blind can you be! This crowd was just following Jesus because they wanted to see a show. All of these people saw and heard a man that needed mercy and yet they tell him to be quiet. There were all these people there that had their vison and could see, yet it was the blind man that SAW Jesus.

Yet right after this second cry of compassion, Jesus hears him. He commanded that they bring Bartimaeus to him. It says “Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. Rise Jesus wants you.

as we look into the next part of this passage we see Bartimaeus cast off his cloak

2. Casting Off Cloaks

Mark 10:49–50 KJV 1900

And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

after Jesus heard him the second time he called him over, and it tells us that Bartimaeus got up threw off his cloak and came to Jesus. There something that stuck out to me about this here. The first one is just the fact that its a blind man throwing off his jacket not knowing if he will ever get it back, he knows he's blind and yet he throws his coat off on a busy street and doesn't know if he will get it back or not.

let that be an example to us, that him throwing off his cloak is us throwing off our old life and our old sinful ways. its us hearing Jesus call us and knowing that we may never live that life of sin again, knowing that our life that we had before is gone when we hear the call of the Lord Jesus.

This reminds me of the time When Simon Peter and Andrew were fishing on the sea of Galilee, in Mark 1:16–18 “Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

When Jesus called them it said they IMMEDIATELY dropped their nets and followed him. Remember they were fisherman, that was the way they made their living, yet in a sense they threw off their cloak and came to Jesus, not knowing if they were ever going to go back to their old ways. They chose to follow.

3. Choosing to Follow

Mark 10:51–52 “And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.”

after he threw off his cloak and went to Jesus, Jesus asked him what do you want me to do for you. Before I continue on I want to look at what Jesus said right there. As we talked about at the beginning, Blind people weren't even considered people back then yet the King of Kings, the Son of the most high, the one who is above all in all of his glory asked the blind man, he asked the walking burden!, What can i do for you. If that doesn't convict you then you then you might need to take some time to re-evaluate your faith. No matter your social standing, no matter your position, we are all sinners. Story of me and my friend working out.

What an example Jesus set for us to be more like him, this reminds me of John 13:4-5 where Jesus was washing feet. it says “He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

I thought about bringing Cameron up here as an example and start washing his feet but then these first couple of rows would wish they were Bartimaeus, they were gonna wish they were blind after seeing what them jokers look like. lol

But just before this passage, I told you I would be coming back to this, it says in Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

but going back to Bartimaeus, after Jesus healed his eyesight it said he immediately followed him. Notice how it didn’t mention him going back and grabbing his cloak. There is significance in that. After Jesus healed him and called out to him, he didn’t go running back to his old life. He immediately chose to follow Jesus.

as I began to close, There are three last things I want to point out to you, No i don’t have another sermon I promise, they will be a quick three points.

Number one is in this passage we have a apathetic crowd. This crowd showed no feeling or no interest, enthusiasm, or concern for the blind Bartimaeus. Number two is that we have an authentic cry from Bartimaeus to Jesus. He begs not once but twice to the son of David to have mercy on him. The last one is we have a authoritative Christ. He asked what can I do for you. Bartimaeus said, That I might receive my sight. And Jesus said, “Go thy way, your faith has made you well.”

I want you to ask yourself this, why are you here this morning, is it because you're like the crowd? Is it just to hear a sermon, or is it that its just routine to be here. or is that you just want to see a show.

or is it that you know what kind of sinner you are. or is it that you're like Bartimaeus. You know that there's nothing you can do without the wonder working power of the blood of Christ.

Don’t be like the crowd. Be like Bartimaeus. Understand that its not about what you are or what you've been or who you are. We are all sinners begging for forgiveness. Oh son of David, have mercy on me. If you don’t know the Lord today, come find him, he is worth it.