A CRY FOR 20/20 VISION

A CRY FOR 20/20 VISION

Mark 10:46-52

Intro:

Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem. When Jesus arrives there, He will be rejected by the Jews, betrayed into the hands of the Gentiles and crucified on a Roman cross. Jesus is headed to His death at Calvary.

As He moves steadily in that direction, He is surrounded by people who cannot understand just Who He is. The Jews are blind to Who He is, though He tried to tell them and show them on many occasions. The disciples are blind to Who He is, though they have seen Him demonstrate His identity time after time. Those around Him would not recognize just Who Jesus was until after He has died on the cross and rose again.

As Jesus makes His way to Jerusalem, He and His disciples pass through the city of Jericho.

On this particular day, the roads of the city were jammed 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 through. The people might not have known exactly Who He was, but they knew He was someone special and they turned out to see Him as He passed by.

Surely the news had preceded Him! Earlier, when Jesus had entered the city, He encountered one of the richest men in town. A little man named Zacchaeus, who was also a tax collector for Rome, climbed a tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus as He passed by. Jesus stopped and called Zacchaeus down from that tree and saved his soul. Now, all the people are trying to get a glimpse of Jesus as He passes by.

As I said, most people were blind to just Who Jesus was. Only a very few people in that great throng recognized the Son of God as He moved among men. But, there was one man in that crowd that received 20/20 spiritual vision that day. This is his story.

I. THE CONDITION OF BARTIMAEUS-VS. 46

A. He Was Blind

Bartimaeus was a blind man. Due to disease and poor sanitary conditions, blindness was very common in Israel in Bible times. 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

Bartimaeus was not able to go out and find a job. There were no social programs and no welfare programs to help him survive. He was forced to sit beside the road and beg for his living.

I can imagine him being led to the side of the highway in the morning to spend his day begging for alms. Or many he used a cane to find his way to the place where he begged. He was a pitiful man, with a tragic condition, living in a cruel and heartless world.

(Note: Bartimaeus is a living example of every person who is not in a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Like poor Bartimaeus, every lost sinner spiritually blind.

2 Corinthians 4:4 KJV 1900

4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Not only are they blind. they are also beggars! People all around us manage to pay their bills. Some even accumulate saving and others obtain great wealth. They may not have to beg for money, food, clothing or shelter, but in a spiritual sense, they are poverty stricken. Without Jesus, they are morally and spiritually bankrupt! The sinfulness of lost humanity has left them spiritual paupers in the sight of God.

That 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 that he had and left him a spiritual pauper. Without Jesus, you have nothing! Your life is like an empty pocket with a hole it. Without Him, you have nothing. No matter what you might accumulate in this life, you will die without Jesus and you will go to Hell and have nothing to show for your life but spiritual blindness and spiritual poverty.)

(Note: Bartimaeus was in a sad condition, but the lost sinner is far worse off than he was.

• Worst of all, the lost man is a dead man,

Ephesians 2:1–3 KJV 1900

1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

• He cannot sense God, feel God, know God, desire God, love God, or come to God on his own.

• The lost sinner is in a tragic condition!

The Condition of Bartimaeus

II. THE CRY FROM BARTIMAEUS-VS. 47-48

A. It Was A Passionate Cry

As Bartimaeus sat there begging that day, he heard the crowds pass by and he heard the excited voices of the people. Luke 18:36 tells us that “he asked what it meant' Someone told him that it was Jesus and Bartimaeus began to cry out.

Why did he call out to Jesus?

Bartimaeus had been hearing some things about Jesus.

He might have heard how Jesus had healed some lepers.

He might have heard about the demoniacs Jesus had delivered.

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

He might have heard about how He saved old Zacchaeus.

Of course, he might have heard about how Jesus had restored sight to other blind men.

(III. You do know that Jesus healed more blindness than He did any other kind of physical ailment.)

I think that hope was beginning to build in the heart of Bartimaeus. Maybe he said, “If Jesus can do all the things I have heard about Him, maybe He can heal me too.” So he cried out for healing.

The people tried to stop him, but he cried out even louder. This was his only hope and he knew it. He wasn't taking any chances. He wanted Jesus to help him.

He heard about Jesus and it all came together in his mind. He understood the truth that most people in that day missed. He saw the truth that Jesus was the Messiah! Since he believed that, 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,

Isaiah 35:4–6 KJV 1900

4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: Behold, your God will come with vengeance, Even God with a recompence; He will come and save you. 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, And the tongue of the dumb sing: For in the wilderness shall waters break out, And streams in the desert.

Matthew 11:5 KJV 1900

5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

(Note: Before a lost person can call out to the Lord for salvation, they must

first understand just Who He is. They must see Jesus as their only hope.)

That is how I got what I needed. Have you ever had Bible teaches, Rom. 10:9.

Romans 10:9 KJV 1900

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

B. It Was A Personal Cry-vs. 47

Bartimaeus cries to Jesus and says, “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.”

Did you notice that Bartimaeus did not try to demand his “rights”? Bartimaeus knows that he is no position to demand anything.

He is seeking “mercy”. The word means “to bring help to the wretched.”

Bartimaeus knew that he needed something he could not provide and had no right to demand. He cried out to Jesus asking for help for his wretched condition!

Many today are crying out: “Give me my rights _____________” When we ought to be crying out for Mercy and Grace!!!!

We have not right to Jesus, we have no right to Heaven, We have no right to a life of blessings!!

We forfeited those rights the moment that we committed a sin and we continue to forfeit those rights with every new sin that we commit!!!

Our Cry should be: Jesus, Son of the Living God, Have Mercy upon me!!!

You and I need mercy and I praise the Lord that mercy in one thing our God is rich in.

Ephesians 2:4 KJV 1900

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

It is His mercy that brings salvation to our lives.

Titus 3:5 KJV 1900

5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Bartimaeus knew that he needed mercy and he is raising a ruckus. He is causing an uproar. The people try to silence him. Jesus has come to Jericho and here this blind man is creating a scene. They tell him to shut up. The word “charge” means to “rebuke sharply.” They threatened him and said, “You better shut your mouth blind man! Don't bother Jesus! He's too busy for the likes of you!”

But, Bartimaeus just kept on calling out to Jesus. He believed Jesus could help him and he wasn't doing to allow Jesus to pass by without getting that help.

(Note: I remember just how he felt. The day I got saved, I knew what I needed to do. I knew Who I needed to go to. At that moment, I could have cared less who else was in the place. I had to get to Jesus and nothing was going to stop me.

If Jesus is passing by your heart today, you do not need to wait. Get to Him while He is near, He may never pass this way again Isa. 55:6.

Isaiah 55:6 KJV 1900

6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, Call ye upon him while he is near:

III. THE CURE FOR BARTIMAEUS-VS. 49-52

A. A Personal Cure-vs. 49-50

Jesus heard the cry, of poor, blind Bartimaeus and He stopped in His tracks!

He is on the way to the cross but He still takes time for one blind sinner! What a Savior!

Jesus stops and calls for The people to bring Bartimaeus to Him. Imagine how Bartimaeus must have felt. Day after day he sat by this road. The people pass by and most of them simply ignore him. Every now and then some kind soul will cast a coin in his basket. But today, he has caught the attention the Lord of Glory!

Jeremiah 33:3 KJV 1900

3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Acts 2:21 KJV 1900

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

When you come to Him, you have to do like old Bartimaeus did. You have to turn your back on the things that to hinder you from coming to God.

What things? Sin! Fornication, adultery, beer, liquor, drugs, cussing, meanness, anything that stands between you and Him, must all be repented of if you are going to come to Jesus, you have to come to Him His way.

His way is for you to let go of everything else, and grab hold of Him ONLY!

(III. A little boy got his hand caught in a vase one day and try as they could they could not get that little boy's hand out of that vase. They pulled and they tried, and they pulled and they tried, and they couldn't get it out. So finally they had to break the vase to get the little boy's hand loose and when they broke the vase they found a little fist balled up like that. They opened up his little fist and there was a nickel in his hand. Some of you today, you're holding on to that little old nickel of sin!)

B. A Powerful Cure-vs. 51-52

When Bartimaeus comes to Jesus, Jesus asks him 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 sufficient to save the soul, John 3:16; Rom. 10:13. When the lost sinner calls on Jesus, it does not take all day for salvation to happen. It is instantaneous `and it is powerful. That was my experience and that was the experience of people in the New Testament!)

C. v. 52 A Permanent Cure

C. A Permanent Cure-vs. 52

Bartimaeus never did go blind again. How do I know that? It says so right there in verse 52. The word “whole” is in the “perfect tense”. That means that Bartimaeus was made “whole” and he stayed in a “whole” condition. The word “received” is in a tense that refers to “a onetime action that provides lasting results.” In other words, Bartimaeus started seeing and he never stopped! He just kept on having sight!

(Note: When Jesus saves a soul He doesn't just do it for a few days or until the saved person sins again. When Jesus saves a soul, He does it forever. He gives those who believe in Him “everlasting life”.

John 3:16 KJV 1900

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 6:47 KJV 1900

47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

1 Peter 1:5 KJV 1900

5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Once you are made alive in Jesus, you are alive in Heaven for evermore!!!

D. A Profound Cure-vs. 52

As soon as Bartimaeus is healed, he starts to follow Jesus. He just begins to go after the Lord.

Luke 18:43 KJV 1900

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

Bartimaeus received his sight, fell in love with Jesus, began to praise the Lord and became a witness all in a few moments of time. That is profound, if you ask me!

(Note: That's what Jesus does when He saves a soul too. He takes that old sinner, washes his sins away and puts the Holy Ghost in him. That child of God begins to walk a new path through life. He wants to follow Jesus. He wants to tell others what the Lord has done for Him. He can't help but brag on Jesus for His grace and His blessings. He is a new creature and everyone who sees him knows that he is different.

That is the power of our Savior, 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10; Psa. 51:10.

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV 1900

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Ephesians 2:10 KJV 1900

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

CONCLUSION:

So, what's a poor, blind beggar to do? Exactly what Bartimaeus did. Call on Jesus today and trust Him to save your soul. Trust Him to wash away your sins. Trust Him to give you eternal life and to carry you to Heaven some day. Trust Him to change your life.

WHAT IS YOUR CRY IN 2020?

Is He passing by 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 when Jesus is near. Today is the day of your salvation. Come to Him and come now!