Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: Mark 10:46-52; Psalm 34:1-8; 19-22

Theme: The Story of Bartimaeus is a story of The Human Race, Courage and Perseverance, Transformation, Discipleship and Destiny

Date: 05/09/19 File name: GospelOfMark28.wpd

ID Number:

Sometimes a bible story is more than a story.

This is true of the passage before us.

Bartimaeus’ story is our story as humans created to be a reflection of God's glory and honor.

It is our story as seekers.

It is our story as followers.

It is the story of what Jesus can do in the life of a willing and surrendered person.

The Story of Bartimaeus is a multi-dimensional story:

It is the Story of the brokenness of humanity

It is the story of courage, faith and perseverance

It is the story of transformation

It is the story of radical discipleship

By happenstance, tonight’s message finds us back in the city of Jericho.

But this is not the Jericho of Joshua, chapter 2. That city had never been rebuilt due to the curse Joshua had laid on it ... “At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: “At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates.””

(Joshua 6:26, NIV84).

The Jericho of Jesus’ day was a thoroughly Jewish city, very prosperous, and the home of over ten thousand priests and Levites.

The ruins of old Jericho were on the outskirts of the city, and stood as a silent witness to God’s providence in the life of Israel.

It’s a lush oasis city which the Jewish historian Josephus referred to as “a little paradise.”

Mark 10:46 sets up the story for us, “Then they came to Jericho.

As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging.”

(Mark 10:46, NIV84)

Though his followers don’t know it, this trip was Jesus' final trip to the city of Jerusalem and to the Temple.

It would be his final time to celebrate Passover with His Disciples.

In just a week Jesus would become the paschal lamb slain for the sin of the world.

This Passover would be more than just the celebration of an ancient ritual commemorating how God rescued the ancient Israelites to bring them into the Promise Land.

At this upcoming Passover, Jesus would defeat once and for all the powers of evil on the Cross.

Jesus would open the way for humans everywhere to be free from the power and penalty of sin.

Jesus would usher in the Age of the Holy Spirit when anyone who called upon the name of Jesus could experience New Birth from above and be filled with God's Holy Spirit.

On His way to accomplish all of this Jesus is once again stopped.

And once again Jesus does what Jesus always does; He pauses to meet the needs of those who need Him the most.

Only this time in the life of this one man we see the lives of all men.

In this story of Bartimaeus we see that all of humanity is represented.

I. THE STORY OF BARTIMAEUS IS A MICROCOSM OF THE STORY OF THE HUMAN RACE

1. look carefully at the life of Bartimaeus

a. consider what the term blind says about this man

b. because Bartimaeus is blind, he is powerless, he is broken, he is an outcast, he is poor, and he is a vagabond

1) his condition excluded him from almost all of Jewish community life

2) his job is to beg — it’s all he can do, and it’s all he’s expected to do

ILLUS.

No sheltered workshop, no vocational thereby.

c. worst of all he is a sinner whom God’s judgement rests upon

1) in 1st century Israel almost any kind of physical disability or personal tragedy was considered God’s judgement upon sin in that person’s life — even if the sin was not obvious

2) that Bartimaeus is blind was proof that God’s curse was upon his life

A. BARTIMAEUS IS A PERFECT PICTURE OF THE HUMAN RACE

1. at one time he could see

a. the Greek word that is used to describe his condition is a word that speaks of shadows, of a person whose sight has been slowly taken away from them

ILLUS.

All of us have known of family or friends who have experienced cataract surgery.

It’s one of the most prevalent surgeries in America, and in most cases is done as an out-patient procedure.

And though cataract surgery has actually been around for hundreds of years, it wasn’t until the 1960's that it became safe, reliable and relatively inexpensive.

There was a time in America, however, when the onset of cataracts meant an ever increasing inability to see.

Another possibility was macular degeneration.

When we were in Adrian, we had a retired minister in the congregation who has macular degeneration.

Toward the end of his life he was nearly blind, being able to see only faintly things right in front of him.

2. by the time we meet Bartimaeus he is completely blind

a. he has lost his ability to see the world around him

b. he now lived in a world of shadows at best and darkness at worst

3. this evening, sin has done that to the human race

a. at one time, in Adam and Eve, we could see God, we could see and experience truth and purity, and walk with the Father in perfect fellowship

1) but no longer

b.

sin has blinded our eyes and darkened our hearts

1) like Bartimaeus we no longer can take care of ourselves

2) we no longer have the power or the position that God originally gave us as His Highest Creations on His Good Earth

B. BARTIMAEUS IS A PICTURE OF THE MAN WHO DISCOVERS HIS DEEPEST NEED

1. listen again the Bartimaeus words in vs. 51 - "Rabbi, let me recover my sight."

(ESV)

a. in those words are a deep longing ...

1) Rabbi, Let me recover what I once possessed

2) Rabbi, Let me recover what I have lost

3) Rabbi, Let me once again enjoy the life that I once lived

4) Rabbi, Let me enjoy the ability to see and experience fully the world around me

5) Rabbi, Let me once again enjoy going to Temple and being with my family and loved ones

b. in a spiritual sense, Bartimaeus is asking for what all humans have lost

1) we have lost our ability to see

2) we have lost our ability to enjoy the fruits of the life God had designed for us in the Garden

3) we have lost the ability to experience and worship God freely and wholly

4) we have lost the ability to be at peace with one another

5) we have lost the ability to be at peace with ourselves

c.

Bartimaeus is a perfect example of what it means to be a post-Eden human — blind, broken and a spiritual outcast

2. Mark paints for us a picture of everyone who has lived and will live on this side of the Garden

a. humanity, in its wretchedness, is plagued with a blindness — spiritual, emotional, physical and mental

ILLUS.

Think about what is going to take place over the next seven days.

Israel, especially her leaders, will turn a blind eye to Jesus.

He will not measure up to their preconceived idea of what Israel’s Messiah will do.

Certainly it did not involve arrest, trial and crucifixion.

How significant that just before Israel would blindly turn away from him, that Jesus would give sight to a blind man.

1) humanity in its wretchedness finds itself incapable to truly change and transform

2) humanity in its wretchedness lives the life of an outcast, an outcast of Paradise and Holiness

3) humanity in its wretchedness is the life of a spiritual vagabond; a life that has no hope and that is ultimately going nowhere

b. as a result we do not have the innate power to create a world of peace and love

1) we are powerless to transform our hearts and lives

2) no matter how much money we throw at the brokenness of our world we are incapable of doing anything more than putting band aids on the problems

c. the human race in its own power is blind, broken and powerless

1) we may not like to think about that and most don’t