WHAT CAN A POOR, BLIND BEGGAR DO TO IMPROVE HIS LIFE?

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Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem. When He gets there, Jesus will be rejected by the Jews, betrayed, and crucified on a Roman cross. Jesus is heading to His death on Calvary.

As He steadily advances in this direction, He is surrounded by people who cannot understand exactly who He is.

The Jews are blind to who He is, even though He has tried to tell them and show them on many occasions.

The disciples are blind to who He is, even though they have seen Him demonstrate His identity countless times.

The people around Him did not recognize who Jesus really was until He died on the cross and was resurrected.

As Jesus makes His way to Jerusalem, He and His disciples pass through the city of Jericho. (It is said to be the oldest city in the world…)

On this particular day, the roads of the city were crowded with pilgrims. All of Israel was on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover, and the road through Jericho was one of the main routes to the Temple.

People crowded along the roads to see Jesus as He passed.

The people may not have known exactly who He was, but they knew He was someone special, and they flocked to see Him as He passed by.

Surely the news had gone before Him!

Earlier, when Jesus entered the city, He met one of the wealthiest men in the city.

A small man named Zacchaeus, who was also a tax collector in Rome, climbed a tree to see Jesus as He passed by.

Jesus stopped and called Zacchaeus down from the tree, and saved his soul.

Now, all the people are trying to see Jesus as He passes by.

As I said, most people were blind to recognize who Jesus was.

Only a few people in that large crowd recognized the Son of God as He moved among men.

But there was one man in the crowd who received 20/20 spiritual vision that day.

This is his story…

As we look at this encounter between Jesus and a blind man named Bartimaeus, I want you to look at your own heart.

Let God speak to you and show you that what He did for this blind man, He can do for all who call upon Him in faith.

Topic: What can a poor, blind beggar do to Improve his life?

I. v. 46 BARTIMAEUS AND HIS CONDITION

Mark 10:46 NIV

46 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.

A. He was blind -

Bartimaeus was a blind man.

Due to disease and poor sanitation, blindness was very common in Israel in biblical times. And it still is today!

Here is a man who has never seen a sunrise or a sunset.

He has never seen the smile on a baby’s face.

He has never seen the beauty of God’s creation.

Bartimaeus lived in a very narrow world.

He lived in a world of darkness.

B. He was a beggar -

“he was sitting by the roadside begging”

Bartimaeus was unable to go out and find a job.

There were no social programs or welfare programs to help him survive.

He was forced to sit by the roadside and beg to survive.

When the Bible says he was “begging,” it means he was constantly begging and asking for money from those who passed by.

Bartimaeus lived a life of abject poverty.

I can imagine him being taken to the roadside in the morning to spend the day begging. Or he would often use a cane to find his way to where he was begging.

He was a pitiful man with a tragic condition, living in a cruel and heartless world.

Now, please Note the following passage:

2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV

4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Spiritually speaking, Bartimaeus is a picture of every person who does not have a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Like poor Bartimaeus, every lost sinner is spiritually blind.

Bartimaeus had a problem with his physical eyes; the sinner without Christ has a unresolved problem with the eyes of his soul.

Bartimaeus had something wrong with his eyes; the sinner without Christ has something wrong with his heart.

There are people all around us who see just fine with their physical eyes, but they cannot see with their spiritual eyes.

According to the Bible, they are blind!

They cannot see the HORRORS OF SIN.

They cannot see what their sinful acts are doing to them and to others.

They cannot see the wasted years, the wasted days, the ruined lives, the pain, the grief, and the sadness.

For sure they can’t see that there is a place called Hell at the end of the road!

They can’t see that they are headed for death, destruction, and condemnation,

Matthew 7:13–14 NIV

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

2 Thessalonians 1:8–9 NIV

8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might

They Can’t see that they remain under wrath even while they live in this world,

John 3:18 NIV

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

John 3:36 NIV

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

They cannot see the BEAUTY OF THE SAVIOR.

They do not see how wonderful He is.

I am here today, preaching to you, worshiping Jesus, because He once healed my blindness and allowed me to see His beauty.

Everywhere I look in the world, I can see His glory.

I look around this auditorium and see where He has worked. I see the lives transformed.

I see His power on display and I praise His name for it.

The person without Christ in their heart cannot see the beauty of the Savior because they are blind!

Not only are they blind, they are also beggars!

Most of the people around us are able to pay their bills.

Some even accumulate money and others obtain great wealth.

They may not need to beg for money, food, clothing, or shelter, but in a spiritual sense, they are poor.

Without Jesus, they are morally and spiritually bankrupt!

The sinfulness of humanity without Christ has left them spiritually poor in the eyes of God.

This is what happened in Eden.

God made man in His image. God placed man in a beautiful garden where every need was met.

Man sinned against God and threw it all away.

Sin stripped man of everything spiritual he had and left him spiritually poor.

Without Jesus, you have nothing! Your life is like an empty pocket with a hole in it.

Without Him, you have nothing.

No matter what you may accumulate in this life, if you die without Jesus you will go to a place far from His presence and have nothing to show for your life but spiritual blindness and spiritual poverty.)

(Note: Bartimaeus was in a sad situation, but the lost sinner is MUCH WORSE than he.

- The sinner without Christ is blind, he cannot see God.

- He is deaf, he cannot hear God.

- He is a spiritual cripple, he cannot run after God.

- He has withered hands, he cannot work for God.

- His mind is defiled, he cannot think about God.

- He has a stammering tongue, he cannot talk to God.

- He has a wounded heart, he cannot live for God.

- He is a leper; he is unclean and defiled in the presence of God.

- Worst of all, the man without Christ is a dead man, Eph 2:1-3.

- He cannot sense God, feel God, know God, desire God, love God, or come to God for himself.

- The man/woman without Christ is in a tragic condition.)

II. v. 47-48 BARTIMAEUS AND HIS CRY

Mark 10:47–48 NIV

47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

A. It Was a Cry Full of Emotion

As Bartimaeus sat begging that day, he heard the crowds passing by and heard the excited voices of the people.

The record in Luke 18:36ff says that

Luke 18:36 “When he heard the crowds passing by, he asked what was happening,” someone told him it was Jesus - When he heard it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Why did he cry out to Jesus?

I suspect that Bartimaeus had heard some things about Jesus.

He may have heard that Jesus had healed some lepers.

He may have heard about the demons Jesus had cast out.

He may have heard about the way Jesus walked on water and multiplied the loaves and fishes.

He may have heard about how He saved Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector.

Of course, he may have heard about how Jesus restored sight to other blind people.

(III. You know that Jesus has healed more blindness than any other type of physical illness.) Hope began to grow in Bartimaeus’ heart.

Perhaps he said, “If Jesus can do all the things I have heard about Him, then He can heal me too.” So he cried out for healing.

People tried to stop him, but he cried out even louder.

This was his only hope, and he knew it!

He desperate wanted Jesus to help him.

(Note: I guarantee that Jesus has passed through your heart at some point.

It may have been in a song.

It may have been in a sermon.

It may have been in a personal testimony.

Somewhere, somehow, Jesus has passed through you!

I thank God for that!

I praise God for the day He passed through my life and I knew who He was for the first time.

I couldn’t help but cry out until I got what I needed.

Have you ever had that experience?

What a blessing that Jesus passes through the place where the poor, the dead, and the sinners sit to beg their way through life, but He does it (John 1:9; Rom1:10)

B. It Was a Specific Cry -

Bartimaeus may have been blind, but he saw some things about Jesus that others with 20/20 vision did not.

Bartimaeus came to see that Jesus was the Messiah.

That is why he called Him “the son of David.”

Somehow, Bartimaeus took the things he had heard about Jesus and it all fit together in his mind.

He understood the truth that most people of that day missed.

He saw the truth that Jesus was the Messiah!

Since he believed this, he believed that Jesus could heal his blindness. Why?

One of the signs of the Messiah would be that He would open the eyes of the blind, Isa. 35:4-6; Matt. 11:5.

(Note: Before a lost person can cry out to the Lord for salvation, they must first understand who He is.

They must see Him as their only hope.

They must understand that He alone can save their soul and forgive their sins.

They must see that Jesus is more than a teacher or a poor guy who was killed on a cross.

They must understand that He is the Son of God.

They must see that He died for their sins.

They must see that He rose from the dead.

This is what the Bible teaches, Rom. 10:9.

How can a lost man see all this?

It is in the Bible, but he probably won’t understand it when he does, 2 Cor. 2:14.

He may hear it from a preacher, but he probably won’t understand it, 1 Cor. 1:18.

If a lost sinner wants to see Jesus and understand who He is and what He can do for him, the Holy Spirit will have to show him. That is why Jesus said what it said in John 6:44.

It takes the Spirit of God to touch the dead heart of the sinner and make him understand the truth, Ephesians 2:1.

When this happens, they will call on Jesus.

At least, that was my experience. What about you?)

C. It Was a Personal Cry -

Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus and says,

"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me."

Did you notice that Bartimaeus did not try to demand his "rights"?

Bartimaeus knows he is in no position to demand anything.

He is seeking "mercy."- The word means "to bring help to the wretched."

Bartimaeus knew he needed something he could not provide and had no right to demand.

He cried out to Jesus for help in his wretched condition!

(Note: We have women's rights, civil rights, children's rights, gay rights, and every other kind of rights imaginable. When it comes to spiritual things, I don't want my "rights." I want "mercy" and I want "grace."

If I got what I deserved and if I got what was coming to me, I would be in Hell today. And so would you!

We have no right to Heaven.

We have no right to Jesus.

We have no right to salvation.

We have a right to live a lost and miserable life and we have a right to an eternity in Hell. I don't want my rights! I want mercy and I want grace!

You and I need mercy and I praise the Lord that mercy is something our God is rich in, Eph 2:4.

It is His mercy that brings salvation into our lives, Titus 3:5.)

(Illustration: I read about a lady who went to a photographer one day and asked to have her picture taken. When he showed her the proofs, she became very unhappy and said, "Well, I don't like this! These proofs don't do me justice." He said, "Madam, what you need is not justice. What you need is mercy!" Me too!)

III. v. 49-52 BARTIMAEUS AND HIS HEALING

Mark 10:49–52 NIV

49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” 52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

A. v. 49-50 A Personal Healing -

Jesus heard the cry of poor, blind Bartimaeus and stopped in His path (He is on His way to the cross, but He still has time for a blind sinner! What a Savior!

Jesus stops and asks people to bring Bartimaeus to Him.

Imagine how Bartimaeus must have felt. Day after day, he sat by the side of the road.

People passed by and most of them simply ignored him. Every now and then, some kind soul would throw a coin into his basket.

But today, he caught the attention of the Lord of Glory! Just as Jesus "needed to go through Samaria," He also had an appointment in Jericho with a blind man named Bartimaeus.

Bartimaeus gets up and throws aside his cloak. After all, he is blind and that cloak could have tripped him. He threw off the things that could have hindered him and came to Jesus.

(Note: Well, I bless the day that Jesus passed where I I was!

I bless the day I had Heaven’s attention! I praise His name that He stopped where I was and called me to come to Him.

That is the only way sinners will come to Jesus. When He calls, they will come, John 6:37!

When you come to Him, you have to do as Bartimaeus did.

You have to turn your back on the things that keep you from coming to God. What things?

Sin! Fornication, adultery, drunkenness, drugs, swearing, wickedness, anything that stands between you and Him, all of these must be turned away, Luke 13:3.

If you want to come to Jesus, you have to come to Him His way. His way is for you to turn away from your sins.)

(III) A little boy got his hand stuck in a vase one day, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get the boy’s hand out of the vase. They pulled and tried, and pulled and tried, but they couldn’t get it out. Finally, they had to break the vase to free the boy’s hand, and when they broke the vase, they found a small fist rolled up like that. They opened the fist and there was a nickel in his hand. Some of you today are holding on to that little coin of sin.)

B. v. 51-52 A Powerful Healing -

When Bartimaeus comes to Jesus, Jesus asks what he wants. Bartimaeus responds in faith and asks for healing. He wants to see.

(Note: The same is true for the lost sinner. A simple prayer of faith is enough to save the soul, John 3:16; Rom. 10:13.

When the lost sinner calls on Jesus, salvation does not take all day to happen. It is instantaneous and powerful.

This was my experience and the experience of many people in the New Testament!)

C. v. 52 A Permanent Healing

Bartimaeus was never blind again.

How do I know this? It says it right there in verse 52. The word “all” is in the “perfect tense.”

This means that Bartimaeus was made “well” and remained in a “well” condition.

The word “received” is in a tense that refers to “a one-time action that provides lasting results.”

In other words, Bartimaeus began to see and never stopped! He just kept seeing!

(Note: When Jesus saves a soul, He does not do so just for a few days or until the saved person sins again. When Jesus saves a soul, He does so forever.

He gives those who believe in Him “eternal life,” John 3:16; John 6:47; John 10:28; 1 ​​Peter 1:5

Once you are made alive in Jesus, you are alive in Him forever!

Salvation provides eternal security to all who receive it.)

D. v. 52 A Profound Healing -

As soon as Bartimaeus is healed, he begins to follow Jesus.

He simply begins to follow the Lord.

Luke tells us that he "followed him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they praised God," Luke 18:43.

Bartimaeus received the vision, fell in love with Jesus, began to praise the Lord, and became a witness, all in a matter of moments.

That's profound, if you ask me!

(Note: This is what Jesus does when He saves a soul too.

He takes that old sinner, washes away his sins, and puts the Holy Spirit into him.

This child of God begins a new path in life. He wants to follow Jesus.

He wants to tell others what the Lord has done for him.

He can't help but brag about Jesus for His grace and blessings.

He is a new creation, and everyone who sees him knows he is different.

This is the power of our Savior, 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10; Psalm 51:10.

God only cares about one thing: Do you know Jesus? Have you been saved by His grace? (3. Galatians 6:15; 1 John 5:12).

Conclusion:

So what is a poor, blind beggar to do to improve his life?

Exactly what Bartimaeus did!

Cry out to Jesus today and trust Him to save your soul.

Trust Him to wash away your sins.

Trust Him to give you eternal life and take you to heaven someday.

Trust Him to change your life.

Is He passing through your heart today?

Is He calling you to come to Him?

He has been, hasn’t He?

Today is your day, friend!

Today is the day Jesus is near!

Today is the day of your salvation.

Come to Him and come now!