The Faith of Bartimaeus

Introduction

This morning I want to take us to another miracle of our Lord, and this one is unique in that this is one of the last miracles the Lord does as He is approaching the cross.

In just a little while he will enter the city on what we know as Palm Sunday, the day our Lord’s triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem.

And for us too, we re approaching Palm Sunday and then the wonderful celebration of Easter.

Now for us today, we are going to look at Luke chapter 18, and it is here in this chapter that Jesus comes across a blind man, a man with a great need and we know his name, his name is Bartimaeus....

Now He is a special character in Scripture, so much so that there have been songs written about this man, Bartimaeus.

Bartimaeus is a special man because he has faith, and his faith meat that he would be persistent in trying to find Jesus. And his faith would be rewarded and he would regain his sight...

How wonderful my friends....

So lets turn to Luke chapter 18 and lets find verses 35 - 43.

Luke 18:35–43 ESV

35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

So lets see what is happening this day…

As we begin this story we can see exactly where Jesus and his disciples are this day.

Verse 35 tells us that Jesus was drawing close to Jericho. Now Jericho is the first city the children of Israel conquered as they came into the land of Canaan, the lower Jordan valley. But this isnt that particular Jericho because that city was utterly destroyed and cursed.

So where is this city?

This new Jericho was established by Herod the great, the same one who was in power when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It was situated a little less than 2 miles south of the old city and it lay on the road that went upward to Jerusalem.

And this day, Jesus is passing by this city and there are people there, those that followed him, those that were curious about him, those who wanted to get a glimpse of the one who had raised people from the dead, who had made the lame walk, the who is had spoke and helped people draw closer and closer to His kingdom.

So lets begin here....

Here is my first thought....

1. A Unique Picture....

Now I say unique, because in verses 35 and 36 you see two different groups.

As you look at the picture, you see a crowd of people who were waiting for Jesus, they see Him coming in the distance, and they cannot wait to see Him up close. They hope to see him, they hope to perhaps talk to him, and maybe even touch him.

And then we see a blind man, one whose name is Bartimaeus.

Being blind he cannot do all that other men can, he has great difficulty providing for himself and family. And sadly, this day he cannot tell what everyone else is getting excited about...

And as Jesus grew near, the excitement in the city increased, the talk is getting louder, it is something all could see and hear, well except this one man, Bartimaeus.

Now lets go back to verses 35 and 36.....

Luke 18:35–36 ESV

35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.

Bartimaeus heard the crowd, he heard their excitement but had no idea what was happening.... so we inquired as to what was happening...

That is natural, when the crowd is loud or something is happening, people want to know what is going on...

now verse 37 tells us

Luke 18:37 ESV

37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

Bartimaeus asked about the excitement, what was going on and they (those in the crowd) told him it is Jesus, He is coming this way, He is here....

Wow...

I can only imagine how the people felt to see Jesus coming near… and for us, can you imagine the joy of seeing Jesus..

Oh one day we will, one day we will see Jesus....

Now lets move on....

2. A Cry for Help....

Have you ever been in need? I don’t mean you just needed help to do something around the house or to the car. no not that at all...

I mean you were really in need....

You were sick, and you asked for prayer.

You were broke, financially in need and you asked for help,

You were at the bottom of the barrel emotionally… you were in need.... and you asked for help.

And you asked for help.

You got to a point and asked for help… that is what is happening in our text this morning...

Lets have a look....

Luke 18:35–39 ESV

35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

This man Bartimaeus, he is in need… can you imagine just how different his life would be if he could only see.... ???

So this day, He is doing what he does several times a week, he is sitting out by the road, begging, dependent on the generosity of those passing by him. He is asking for Alms for the poor

And as he hears the commotion of the crowd,”look, there he is, I can’t wait to see him...” all this excitement and Bartimaeus asks, “what’s happening, who are you talking about, who is coming this way?”

Finally someone says… it is Jesus, Jesus is coming this way.”

And upon hearing this news. look what he does....

Verse 38.... He cried out, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Now you see just what others thought of him, those in front told him to be silent, be quiet, ....

What they are saying is this.... hush, you’re not important, he doesn’t want to see you, just be quiet, there are more important people that need to meet Jesus...

Now I love the end of verse 39, But he cried out all the more… “Son of David have mercy on Him!”

He cried out all the more.... He would not be silent, he had a need, he was desperate and he cried out to Jesus...

Friends, so many times, we wait till we are desperate, in need before we turn to Jesus. Before we look up for where our help comes...

Truthfully, we need to look to Jesus today…

Do you have a need today, are you ready to follow where he is leading?

Now just one last thought today....

3. A Divine Miracle....

Miracles are beautiful events! I am thankful the Lord allowed these to be recorded, here’s why....

Miracles excite us,

Miracles remind us He is a God of miracles,

That He is a God is heals!

Miracles teach us to have faith and to trust Him.

And miracles remind us to look to God in all things… And that He cares for us!

So they are indeed a beautiful witness...

Now Bartimaeus he refused to be quiet, You know why? He had faith. He had faith that Jesus could heal him, that he could make him whole again...

So Bartimaeus called out all the more...

Lets look at our text....

Luke 18:39–43 ESV

39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

How precious… He called out and Jesus answered!

And today, if you call out to Jesus, He will answer! Do you believe that?

He cried out and verse 40, Jesus stopped and commanded that Bartimaeus be brought to Him..

Now I believe the Lord knew Bartimaeus was there and waiting for a miracle in his life, in fact I believe that Jesus, as he approached the crowd, He knew every life, every thought and every need…

And this day He told them to bring Bartimaeus to him… and Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Now look at the end of verse 41.... “Lord, let me recover my sight...”

Bartimaeus is asking that he might see… from all indications he is probably been blind from birth, but regardless he wants to see. He wants to be made whole, to be like others, to be able to go and do, to work and bless those around him, not be dependent on other....

“Lord, let me recover my sight.....”

Now look at verse 42....

Luke 18:42 ESV

42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.”

The Lord tells him to see, your faith as made you well… And at that moment, his eyes were opened and he was able to see......

The Lord saw his faith..... . Bartimaeus had not seen Jesus heal anyone, but he had heard about him… He had heard the stories and he trusted Him, He had faith that Jesus could make him well.

Now look at verse 43 again...

Luke 18:43 ESV

43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

His eyes were opened, he could see and followed Him!

Now that word “followed” is a powerful word, it speaks to a person who submits himself to another, that person becomes a disciple.

So Bartimaeus

And Bartimaeus glorified God… He praised God for his healing, He poured out praise from His heart for the change made in his life that day...

My friends,the Scriptures tell us that we were dead in our trespasses and sin, we had no hope and no future.

But we found Jesus, He found him and called out to Him and He heard our cry and raised us out of our death and restored “true life” unto our hearts… oh my how precious...

Jesus healed our soul and are alive in Christ… listen to

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Jesus healed our hearts, our soul and raised us up … hallelujah

Ephesians 2:5 ESV

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Let me ask you a question today, do you have a need?

Jesus is ready to meet that need.....

Let us pray