Sunday, Sept 8th

Living Hope Fellowship I Want to See Mark 10:46-52 Pastor Shawn Yoder Mark 10:46-52 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 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. Introduction – I Once Was Blind, But Now I see This week as I have been thinking about this man, Bartimaeus, I’ve had the lyric to a familiar hymn going through my head, • Amazing Grace • And the line of course is “I once was lost but now am found…was blind but now I see.” I imagine that Bartimaeus could have been singing this song at the conclusion of our account in Mark. Can you imagine what that must have been like for him. To wake up that morning, the same way he had every morning, in complete darkness. But then, suddenly, his world his filled with light. How incredible that must have been. But you know, that song tells us, we do know something about what that is like. Amazing Grace doesn’t say – “He once was blind but now he saw.” Or even, Jesus is able to make the blind see. But John Newton puts the words – I once was blind…but now I see. • There is something about experiencing the amazing grace of Jesus that is like the blind seeing. • There is something about every Christians experience that is found in this story of Bartimaeus. We were blind…but now we see. And if this is true, then that means that much of the world is still living in some sort of blindness. • Much of the world, those who have not experienced the Amazing Grace of Jesus, are living in a darkness. Maybe some of you here this morning are still in that darkness. Our passage this morning tells us that Jesus has come to free us from that darkness. He came to give sight to the blind. Physically blind yes. But even more so, spiritually blind. In fact, this story finishes up a section of Mark that is revealing our spiritual blindness that Jesus has come to cure. Put your finger in Mark 10, and flip back a few pages in your Bibles to Mark chapter 8, verse 22. There you will find a similar story, Jesus healing a blind man. In fact, verse 22 starts almost the exact same way as our passage started: • And they came to…Bethsaida. ◦ Only in our story it’s Jericho. • These two stories of Jesus healing a blind man serve as bookends to a section of the Gospel of Mark. ◦ A section that begins with a blind man receiving sight, and ends with a blind man receiving sight. And when we see bookends like this in the Bible, usually what the biblical author is telling us…is that there is a theme that runs between the bookends. • On my bookcase I have sections devoted to certain subjects and topics, and at the beginning and end of each section I have bookends, signifying that these books belong together because of their common subject matter. So here in Mark 8-10 we have stories put together because there is a theme that ties them altogether. And that theme has to do with sight, and Jesus giving sight to those who do not have it. • Physical sight, yes. But there is another sight that is even more important than physical sight. In what we might say is the prologue to this section, Jesus clues us in on the sight that he has really come to restore, as he looks at his disciples and says to them: Mark 8:18 “Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?” Now these disciples can see, physically. But they are having a hard time seeing him spiritually. • Like the blind man in the first story who tells Jesus I can see…but everything’s a bit blurry. ◦ Remember his story. Jesus touched him once, and the man regained partial sight – that partial sight we said, illustrated the disciples level of spiritual sight. ◦ They see Jesus, but everything’s a little blurry. ▪ They don’t quite get it yet. And that blurriness is made evident in Mark 8 through 10. Where over and over again Jesus presents himself before them as the Messiah who has come to suffer, die and rise again. • But over and over again, the disciples miss it. • And over and over again, in these verses instead of seeing the greatness of Jesus, they are concerned about their own greatness. • They are struggling to see Jesus. Maybe this morning you come here aware of your own spiritual blindness. • Perhaps you are like Bartimaeus in this story, Jesus is nearby…but you can’t see him. • You hear talk of him, ◦ you know His Name, ◦ but you can’t see him. • You are blind this morning to the person of Jesus. Or maybe this morning you are like the man in the earlier story in Mark. • You see, but it’s still a little bit blurry. ◦ You can’t see clearly Jesus’ presence and work in your life and in the world around you. One of the things I noticed as I studied this passage is that Bartimaeus asks Jesus to let him see again – • let me recover my sight. • Phillips Translation – Let me see again! Implying that perhaps at one time he had been able to see. Maybe that is you. • You’ve lost your sight. ◦ At one point in your life you saw Jesus so clearly, but now, everything is a fog. ◦ You’ve allowed your vision to be filled with the things of this world, and in that, have pushed Jesus out of your sightlines. If that is you this morning, I want to encourage you with the example of blind Bartimaeus. Jesus heals Bartimaeus, but yet Bartimaeus does things to bring about that healing in his life. And he does something in response to that healing. So, this morning it’s the actions of Bartimaeus that will be our stopping points as we work through this passage. Blind Bartimaeus’s Persistent Cry And the first action that we see of Bartimaeus is his persistent cry. Blind Bartimaeus’ Persistent Cry. This story takes place outside of Jericho. • If you know your Bibles, you remember Jericho as the city in the Old Testament where the walls came tumbling down. • The Jericho of the New Testament is in that same area, but it was rebuilt a few miles south of old Jericho. ◦ And it was rebuilt in the 1st century BC by Herod the Great as a luxurious resort. ▪ It was known as the “City of Roses” in the time of Jesus. • It was no longer defined by crumbling walls but by beautiful gardens. And it was the last major city before you arrived in Jerusalem. Between Jericho and Jerusalem, there was about 15 miles of upward climb. • So often, pilgrims who were on their way to Jerusalem, would stop in Jericho to rest up before they finished the last leg of their journey. Because of its location it was also a place where beggars would sit on the side of the road, hoping that pious Jews, on their way to worship, would be generous and put some coins in their money cups. Our story takes place at the time of the Passover, which means that there were a lot of Jews making their way from Jericho to Jerusalem, so the streets would have been full of travelers…and full of beggars. • This was their busy season. ◦ This is where they made most of their money. ◦ Unable to work because of their illnesses and handicaps, these were dependent upon the gifts of these travelers for their survival. And one of these beggars was a blind man named Bartimaeus, which Mark tells us Gentile readers that what that name means is that he was the son – that’s what bar means - of Timeaus. And as Bartimaeus is by the roadside begging, just like he has done every other day of his life, he hears something in the conversation of those traveling on the road. • Jesus is coming. ◦ “Jesus?” – Bartimaeus asks into the dark ▪ “Did somebody say Jesus? ▪ “Jesus of Nazareth?” ▪ “The Jesus of Nazareth.” • “The one gives sight to the blind?” • “That Jesus is coming?” And Bartimaeus begins to shout – “Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 47) The title “Son of David” was a Messianic term. • In fact, it was the most common Messianic term of the day. ◦ The Messiah who would come would be the one who would sit on the throne of his father David. ◦ And Bartimaeus recognizes that that Messiah, is this Jesus of Nazareth. ▪ He’s put two and two together. ◦ Even though he can’t see, he recognizes Jesus by what he’s heard about him. ▪ Only the Messiah does these things. And he’s coming down his street. • And Bartimaeus begins to shout – “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy.” • The crowd tries to quiet him down (v. 48), ◦ but he shouts all the louder – “Son of David, have mercy on me!” • His fellow beggars try to quiet him, ◦ you’re going to ruin this for all of us! Be quiet and don’t scare them all away. ▪ But he’s adamant – “Jesus, Son of David…have mercy on me!” He’s blind, he doesn’t know where to look, so he shouts this way and that. Hoping his cry reaches the Saviors ears. “Jesus…Son of David…have mercy on me!” He’s persistent. And he’s persistent…because he’s desperate. And that desperation, gets the Savior’s attention. This persistence has been a theme throughout Mark. This desperation to get to Jesus. You may not have noticed it, but begin to turn back the pages with me in Mark and look. It’s all throughout the pages of Mark. • Mark 7:24-30 – we have the story of the Syrophoenician woman. ◦ A woman who has to cross all kinds of barriers to get to Jesus. ▪ She’s a Gentile, she’s a woman, she’s from Tyre – longstanding enemies of the Jews. ▪ And Jesus’ initial response to her is one that could have driven her away. • He refers to her as a dog, you remember that right? Should I give the food to the dogs and not the children? ▪ But she falls at Jesus feet and begs him. ▪ Because her daughter has an unclean spirit and only Jesus can do something about it. ◦ Persistence. • Mark 5:35-43 – Jarius and his daughter. ◦ As Jesus is on the way to heal here, she dies. ◦ Jesus says, she will rise again, believe me ▪ …the crowd mocks him, ▪ Jarius’ heart dissuades him, ◦ yet he is persistent in his belief. • Mark 2:1-12 – When a crowd keeps a group of men and their crippled friends from getting to Jesus what do they do? ◦ They tear a hole in the roof. • Mark 1:40-45 – a leper breaks all the social and ceremonial laws and falls at Jesus feet. Desperate to be healed. • Mark 5:25-34 – The woman with the discharge of blood does the same. ◦ It was unlawful for a man to touch a woman who is bleeding. ◦ But, she knows, if I just touch the hem of his garment. ▪ Persistent faith. • Mark 9:14-29 – The father with the demon-possessed boy. ◦ The disciples tried to cast him out and couldn’t. ◦ The Father could have left, discouraged. ◦ But he stays in the valley, waiting for Jesus to come down off the Mount of Transfiguration. Mark is a book of desperate faith, that leads to persistent faith. • Marks readers are those who have desperate faith. ◦ They are being tortured, slaughtered, persecuted. • And Mark calls to the desperate…be persistent. Because Jesus has come for the desperate. William Barclay says of Bartimaeus: “there is the sheer persistence of Bartimaeus. Nothing would stop his clamour to come face to face with Jesus. He was utterly determined to meet the one person whom he longed to confront with his trouble. In the mind of Bartimaeus there was not just a nebulous, wistful, sentimental wish to see Jesus. It was a desperate desire, and it is this desperate desire that gets things done.” And for Bartimaeus, what got done, was that the attention of Jesus is gotten. Mark 10:49 “And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” We’re looking this morning at the action of Bartimaeus, but just stop for a moment and see the heart of Jesus. It’s found in those first three words of verse 49. “And. Jesus. Stopped.” • He’s on his way out of Jericho. • He’s on his way to Jerusalem. ◦ We saw last week that he’s on his way there with determination. ◦ His face is set like flint to go to Jerusalem and carry out the will of the Father. • On his mind is the cross. • On his mind is the suffering. • On his mind is the cup of God’s wrath that he is about to drink. But yet he hears the voice of Bartimaeus. Jesus…Son of David…Mercy. And he stops. • And Jesus stopped. Do you see the love of Jesus? • He stops. ◦ For this one man. ▪ This one beggar. ◦ This one desperate man. ▪ He stops. Do you see this example for us? • Danny Akin says in this “Jesus taught His disciples the art of stopping.” ◦ Do you know that art? ▪ To stop, and look to the ones in need of mercy. • To stop, from your agenda, • from your schedule, • from your to-do list, ◦ and reach out to one who is hurting? Do you see the example set for you? But…do you see the Savior who has come for you? The one who stops to hear your cry. This morning if you are in a place of desperation, let me call you to persistence. To cry out, for mercy. • Don’t allow your sleepless nights to simply be nights of worry, but let them be nights of persistent prayer. • Don’t allow your tears to be tears shed in hopelessness, but to be tears of desperation for the Savior. • Don’t allow your desperation to take you to despair, but let it drive you to persistence. Jesus stopped. And he will stop for you. • He might not fix everything the way you want it to be fixed. ◦ But he will do what he did next for Bartimaeus. Jesus stopped, and brought Bartimaeus near to him. • Bartimaeus goes from a beggar on the side of the road, to a beggar at the side of Jesus. And the crowd goes from rebuking Bartimaeus, to encouraging. “Cheer up, Bart. Take heart! Jesus is calling you.” And what’s Bartimaeus’s response? I love his response. It’s immediate. And that’s the second action to take notice of. Blind Bartimaeus’ Immediate Response Mark 10:50 “And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.” I love the language of Mark. But more than that I love the response of Bartimaeus. It’s immediate. He doesn’t say: • Well, let me think about it for a second. ◦ Maybe later. I need to fill my coffer cup first, • I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find my way back to my spot. ◦ Hold on a second Jesus. No, Bartimaeus knew, that he must get to Jesus now. This was Bartimaeus’ one shot at getting to Jesus. • This is the only time in the gospels that it’s recorded that Jesus comes through Jericho. ◦ He hasn’t been here before. • And where is he heading? He’s heading to the cross. He’s heading to die. ◦ Jesus won’t pass through Jericho again. • Bartimaeus has to get to Jesus. Do you need to get to Jesus? You might have come to church this morning, and you’re not really sure why you’re here. • You’re here with a friend • you’re here with family. Maybe you’ve been coming for a long time, maybe your whole life. Has been in church • But you’ve merely been hanging around Jesus. • You’ve never actually come to Jesus. • You’ve never actually trusted Him as you’re Savior. Let me urge you…don’t pass this season by. Don’t put it off. Don’t kick the can down the road until a more opportune time. This may be the only time that you have. • This season where Jesus is calling you, where He is drawing you to himself, may not come again. • This season where your heart is tender to the call of God, you have a desire for him, may never come again. ◦ Instead God may allow your heart to harden towards Him. ◦ Never to soften again. That’s why the author of Hebrews urges us: Hebrews 4:7 “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.” Today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today. Because there may not be another “today” where you hear his voice. We cannot come to Jesus unless he calls. But when Jesus calls we must respond. And he came to Jesus. • Our response is not to religion • our response is not to a church ◦ though those things are important, ▪ religion is essential to our faith ▪ church is vital • I would say that it’s nearly impossible if not impossible to be a Christian and disregard the church and the gathering together with fellow believers. ◦ Those things are essential, but they are not enough. • Religion, church, even faith itself, is all meant to take you somewhere. And that somewhere is a Someone. ◦ Get to Jesus. And when he comes to Jesus, he comes aware of his true need. Blind Bartimaeus’ Awareness of His True Need Jesus asked Bartimaeus what might seem like a silly question when he comes to him: Mark 10:51 “And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Well, duh Jesus”, we might say. What do you think he wants you to do? He wants to see. But not so fast. Think about how outrageous of a request that is. • To see? • To give him his sight back? • To heal his blindness? That’s no small request. • To ask that means that Bartimaeus must believe that Jesus actually has the ability to heal him. But also think about how others have responded to that request. James and John. Did you notice, the this is the exact same question Jesus asked them? Mark 10:36 “And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” Mark 10:51 “And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Exact same question. But very different answers. Why? Because only one knew they were blind. Donald Garland writes: “What do you want me to do for you?” is the most important question God ever asks us, and the one to which we most frequently give the wrong answer. Bartimaeus… • he might have wanted some money for his coffer. ◦ He’d rather not have to beg the rest of the Passover season, couldn’t Jesus just take care of all of his needs right then and there? • He might have wanted some worldly comforts? ◦ He was tired of living on the streets. There were all kinds of things that Bartimaeus might have wanted. But of course, all of those things would have been foolish for him to ask for, when his greatest need was so obvious. • But what about us? ◦ What kind of foolish things do we ask for, all the while disregarding our greatest need. Jesus, I need to see. Jesus, I need to see you today. • In the midst of the chaos and confusion of my life, I need to see you. ◦ I don’t merely need you to “fix” everything. I need you. Bartimaeus’ blindness was actually his greatest blessing, because it helped him to see his greatest need. And his greatest need, is our greatest need. We need to see. We need to see Jesus. And notice what happens once Blind Bartimaeus has his sight restored to him. What is the action that defines physical sight for Bartimaeus? Spiritual sight. He sees Jesus physically, but then he keeps seeing him. He keeps his eyes on Jesus, and follows him on the way. Seeing Bartimaeus’ Follows Jesus on the Way • He goes from “sitting by the roadside” in verse 46, to “follow[ing Jesus] on the way.” (52) ◦ That’s the language of a disciple. ◦ One who follows their Rabbi on the way. Have you wondered how we know Bartimaeus’ name? • This is the only case where we are given the name of someone who is healed by Jesus. ◦ The only one. ▪ Why? Well most scholars think that it’s because Bartimaeus was someone who was known by Mark and Peter who are writing this Gospel, and possibly known by the first readers of this Gospel. Many think that Bartimaeus continued to follow Jesus, and became a familiar member of the early church. It’s as if Mark is saying: “You know Bart don’t you? Well, let me tell you where his story began.” • He was once a blind man who was given sight by Jesus. And think about all that seeing Bartimaeus went on to see as he followed Jesus out of Jericho. • He went from Jericho to Jerusalem, where he saw the Messiah, his Lord and Savior killed. • But then, just three days later, he saw him again, alive. He had risen from the dead. • Then, maybe, he was there on the day of Pentecost, one of the 120 gathered in the upper room in Acts 1. ◦ And he experienced the Holy Spirit being poured out in Jerusalem. • And he was there when Peter gave the Pentecost sermon and saw the thousands upon thousands come to faith in Jesus. ◦ His Jesus. ◦ The one that called Him from beside the road. ◦ The one who changed his life. Oh, what seeing Bartimaeus saw… But… is this not the story of each and every one of us who have come to faith in Jesus? • We were blind, but now we see. ◦ And oh, what we have seen. When Jesus opened our eyes, we saw the cross for what it truly was. • Not simply a place where a kind man once died. • But the place where our sins were atoned for. ◦ The place where God’s judgement for all that I had done against Him was dealt, not on me, but on his only Son Jesus. ◦ 2nd Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” ▪ We’ve seen that. But then we saw the empty tomb. • And we saw the promise of life. • Life in eternity, because no longer is death the end, but there is life beyond the grave. • But life here, and now. Abundant life. ◦ 1 Peter 1:3 “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” ▪ We’ve seen that! We’ve seen the church, and become a part of it. • 1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” And we’ve seen God work in the church to save others and to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. We’ve seen it span the globe: • going to places where it’s not supposed to go, • and thriving in places where it’s not supposed to grow. We’ve had the Spirit poured out on each and every one of us. Titus 3:5-6 “the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” We’ve seen it, we’ve experienced it. We were blind. But now we see. And oh, what we have seen. Conclusion Have you seen him? Have you seen Jesus? Do you see Him now? Just as with Bartimaeus, the place to begin seeing him, is not with our eyes, but with our ears. We see Jesus by hearing him proclaimed. Paul says that: Romans 10:17 “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Maybe this morning you have seen him, and seen him for the first time, as you have heard the word of Christ proclaimed. If so, let me encourage you, don’t delay our response to Him. • Talk to someone, ◦ someone who you’re here with, ◦ talk to me or Larry. Take what you have heard and go to Jesus. Perhaps this morning you realize that you have not seen Jesus so clearly lately, and as you see Romans 10 on the screen you realize that it’s because you haven’t been listening. • You haven’t been opening God’s Word. ◦ Make a change. ◦ Rearrange your schedule, so you have time to hear, and in hearing see. And then as you see, follow. The response to seeing Jesus, is following him. But we follow, by keeping on seeing. Hebrews 12:1-2 “and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” This is how we run the Christian race. This is how we live the Christian life. The same way as Bartimaeus. • Realizing our blindness. • Crying out to Jesus for Mercy. • And then seeing him. • And keep on seeing him. Let me close this morning with words from the OT saint Job, which very easily could have been words from Bartimaeus, and hopefully words from you. As Job says to God: Job 42:5 “I had heard rumors about You, but now my eyes have seen You.” Bartimaeus, had heard the rumors of Jesus. But then he saw Him. I pray this morning that you have seen Jesus. That Jesus is no longer a rumor, but a known truth in your life. As we close this morning, let me invite the worship team to come forward, and we’re going take time to seal this message on our hearts, by singing together. And what better song to sing this morning, than Come, Behold the Wondrous Mystery. Come and see the wonderful mystery that is Jesus Christ our Savior. As they are coming, let me pray.