Untitled Sermon (5)

Mark 10:46–52 KJV 1900

46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 49 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. 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

And Jesus Stood Still

Mark 10:46 tells us that Jesus, his disciples and a great crowd are passing through Jericho. And as they make their way out of Jericho, this account according to the writing of Mark tells us that there sitting by the road side begging is a man named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus…and that he is blind, he is sitting and he is begging.

And then the son of Timaeus is passing by, and he begins to cry out “Jesus, thou son of David have mercy on me”.

I want to linger right here for just a moment to build some foundation to give greater meaning to the urgent cries of Bartimaeus...

I want to pause here on this particular point on the road that departing out of Jericho and stretching toward Jerusalem.

The bible tells us that this particular road leading out of Jericho was a highway…while that obviously didn’t mean for them what it means for us now…but the principle was the same…it was a roadway meant for unimpeded travel. A road that pilgrims and travellers would journey in their passage to the Holy City...

You might remember in Luke chapter 10, in the story of the Good samaritan…it was on this same highway stretching from Jericho to Jerusalem, that a traveller fell among thieves which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead…The priest, followed by the Levite, in the passing lane…heading to the city of David to perform their religious ceremonies…This is the highway…you either run or you get run over....

In this particular passage, the crowd that is leaving Jericho with Jesus, we would find as we continue into the 11th chapter of Mark, will accompany Jesus all the way to Bethany. An approximately 15 mile journey that would begin some 800 ft. below sea level before ending near Jerusalem over 3,000 ft. higher in elevation. It was a journey that was estimated to take some 5 hours to travel.

Yet, here in Mark chapter 10…when the crowd is just leaving Jericho…with a long journey with Jesus before them...to the crowd pressing in on upon Jesus, this spot in the road was insignificant. They have 5 hours to walk with Jesus…5 hours to touch the miracle worker. 5 hours to hear his masterful teaching. 15 miles to ask questions of the Great I am.

To them this spot on the road is of little importance…its just a few steps in the thousands of steps that they will take as they make their way with Jesus to Bethany....

But to Bartimaeus…this was it.

They had 15 miles to wait for their turn to touch him…to talk to him…to ask of him....But to Bartimaues…this was it. This was his only moment! If I don’t get ahold of Jesus, here…I never will. If I don’t gain the attention of Jesus NOW, I never will!

And if we aren’t careful our journey with Jesus creates a climate of apathy…If I don’t get what I need from Jesus now…no big deal....its a long journey

If I don’t get what I touch Jesus this Sunday…no problem…there is always next Sunday...

If I don’t find my way into his presence this week…its not that big of a deal…there is always next Sunday!

But to Bartimaeus, this was more than just another spot on the road. More than just a mile maker on the Jericho road…This spot was his spot on the road…His whole world centered around this place…this was where he came to survive…this is where he came to find the strength he would need to make it…and on this day…this is where his greatest moment of opportunity would pass by.

This awareness that this is my moment created a sense of urgency...

And apathy doesn’t understand urgency...

Apathy gets uncomfortable when urgency walks in the room!

Apathy starts fidgeting when urgency shows up!

If nothing else comes out of this quarantine time…I pray that it creates a climate of urgency…that it crushes spiritual apathy...

I don’t know how long I’ve got with JEsus....with the body of Christ…with the church…but what I do know is that I’ve got THIS MOMENT!

I think it important that of the three Gospels that record this healing of the blind man, the account according to Matthew chapter 20 tells us that there were two blind men involved in this scenario.

Commentaries conjecture that the likely reason that Mark and Luke focus in on Bartimaeus, is not in dispute of how many blind men there were, but simply that they focused on the one that had been vocal.

Here is the important part of this…one cried out, but according to Matthew both were healed.

I want to the thank God for the Bartimaeus in my life!

When I was too tired to cry out…you cried out for me!

When I was too distracted to cry out...

When I was too fearful and too overwhelmed to cry out!!

Thank God…when you are stuck by the roadside of life, that you’ve got someone in your life that is willing to cry out!

When we get back together…you need to find yourself a seat next to the craziest worshipper in the church…Because Bartimaues cries out, we both benefit!

We need each other!

There might be times that my faith is strong and I’ll be the one crying out…There might be times that I am weak and I’m going to need you to cry out...

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 NLT

9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.

And I want to take just a minute to cry out…I realize that there are many that are on the highway…you’ve already adjusted…but I want to cry out for those that are today are stuck by the roadside...

And I’m not going to preach a whole lot longer today…but I want to just very quickly look at a few elements of this passage surrounding this one statement that would forever change the world of Bartimaues…The phrasie that begins vs. 49 “And Jesus stood still”.

These 4 words would frame the very essence of transformation in the life of Bartimaeus...

Before Jesus stood still…it was just a noisome crowd passing by.

Before Jesus stood still…the crowd represented discouragement and opposition.

When Bartimaeus begins crying out “jesus thou son of David, have mercy on me” the bible says the crowd (those that were going places…those, to whom this was just another spot on the highway, charged him to hold his peace…Luke’s account says they rebuked him…The Greek words used to describe the opposition of the crowd toward Bartimaeus convey that they warned him forcefully…they were aggressive and threatening in their opposition to the cry of Bartimaeus.

Before Jesus stands still…its just another opportunity passing by.

Another rebuke…another voice of opposition.

But what was it that caused Jesus to stand still?

Notice what Bartimaeus didn’t say....

Jesus…I’m a beggar

Jesus…I’m blind!

Jesus....I need help!

Bartimaeus didn’t appeal based upon his condition, his problem, his plight...

Bartimaeus didn’t appeal based upon his condition or his attributes…He appealed to the attributes of Jesus!

It wasn’t his plight that brought Jesus to a stand still!

It wasn’t his lack of privilege that brought Jesus to a screeching halt!

It wasn’t how unfairly he was being treated!

NO…Bartimaeus focused on the attributes of Jesus!!

Thou Son of David…Have mercy on me.

There was revelation in the words of Bartimaeus....Because when he called upon Jesus as the Son of David…he was speaking with revelation that this man named Jesus was messiah.

The crowd with their eyesight was too blind to see who Jesus was...

And I know the old saying says believe half of what you see and none of what you hear...

But in this case it was what Bartimaeus heard that caused Jesus to stand still...

1. I heard the prophet Malachi say in Malachi chapter 4 and verse 2 that the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings.

2. I heard the prophet Isaiah say of this messiah...and his name shall be called...wonderful...counselor...The might God....everlasting father...and prince of peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, that he would sit on the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth and forevermore

3. And I heard the prophet Isaiah say in Isaiah 7 vs 14 of this son of David...messiah. That his name would be called immanuel God with us.

4. I heard the psalmist say of this messiah in Psalms chapter 2 and verse 6 that he would be a king set upon the holy hill of Zion.

5. And I heard the Psalmist say in Psalms chapter 110 verse 4 that he would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek.

6. I heard the Psalmist declare in the 22nd Psalm he would be mocked and ridiculed. The prophet Isaiah said of messiah in the 53rd chapter that the son of David would be wounded for my transgressions...bruised for my iniquities. He would make his grave with The wicked and buried among the rich.

7. But the prophet Isaiah didn’t end the 53rd chapter with messiah in the grave...vs 10. He shall see his seed he shall prolong his days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand…what does that mean Bartimaeus…Well…what it means is…yes, he will suffer…yes, he will bleed and he will die....Yes, they will put his body in the grave and lay him in the tomb…But thats not how the story ends…Messiah will suffer but he wont stay there…Messiah will be placed in a tomb…but he wont end there…3 days later…messiah will get up!

8. And Bartimaeus said…Oh…and I heard the prophet Isaiah say in the 29th chapter and the 18th verse…An in the day of Messiah, the death shall heard and the BLIND SHALL see!

Thou son of David…Have mercy on me!!!

have mercy on me.

Do you know that the only reason we can really call on God is because of His mercy. Mercy is withheld judgment. Because not any of us really deserve to be here this morning. We are here this morning because of God’s mercy. We are here this morning because God has withheld His judgment. You nor I have not lived well enough today to warrant being here this morning; but we are here because of God’s mercy.

The crowd is gathered around Jesus…they are going places…they’ve got their vision but they don’t really see who Jesus is..they’ve got access to Jesus…they can touch Jesus if they want to…They can draw close to Jesus anytime they choose to…The crowd represents us in our entitled mindset...

But Bartimaeus cries out from a posture of humility…Jesus…have mercy upon me! I’m not worthy…I’m just a beggar…I’m just a blind man...

But when Bartimaeus appealed to the might and the mercy of Jesus…Jesus stood still!

And when Jesus stood still…everything changed!

Jesus calls for Bartimaeus...

And the same crowd that was discouraging him begins to encourage him. The same crowd that was aggressive and forcefully warning him…is now motivating him and cheering for him.

Be of good comfort = be confident

From be quiet to be confident...

And I know we good look at that with cynicism and skepticism…fickle people…so fake…now that jesus wants him, they are happy for him...

Or we can understand that this is the nature of a Jesus that begins moving in our lives…Everything changes when Jesus stands still!