What Do You Want Me to Do for You?

 Teenage Joey asked for chores to earn money. Mom agreed. "Mom, what do you want me to for you?" Mom rattled off a list. "Do the laundry, clean the house, go to the grocery store, then fix dinner." Joey didn't miss a beat. "Then can I go to the ball?" Same question, but Joey was very different from Jesus in asking. Joey had limits on what he wanted to do. Jesus sets no limits. Let's look. In Mk 10:46-52, on Sunday 46aJesus, his disciples, & a large, growing crowd, are leaving Jericho for Jerusalem, ~15 miles SW. It's the last leg of the trek. On Friday, Passover will start. Pilgrims jam the road. They sing & chant as they walk. Some are solemn & reverent. Most are festive & joyful. Besides, there's exciting news. 'That young rabbi who keeps testing Jerusalem's leaders is in our group.' It might be a show, & crowds grow even more. The air is electric. Crowds also line the roadside. Parade watchers. Curiosity seekers. Those who can't go. (Poor? Sick? Disabled? Defiled?) Going through Jericho, the group grew much larger as priests & Levites who lived there headed to Jerusalem to serve in Passover. Most of them aren't smiling. As usual, 46bblind beggar & public nuisance Bar-Timaeus (Son of Timaeus) was sitting by the roadside begging. As it gets noisier, he 47ahears Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. His grating voice starts shouting over the noisy crowd. 47b"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" From 2 Sam 7:12 13. Jews knew God will raise up David's offspring & establish His kingdom forever. The Messiah. And Bar-Timaeus calls Jesus the Son of David! Till now, Jesus kept that a secret. But 'Bar-Timaeus keeps calling Him 'Messiah' at the top of his lungs. For the 1st time, Jesus accepts it! 48aMany rebuke blind Bart. "Be quiet!" Are they in a hurry? Don't want a delay? Is his yelling disturbing their "reverence"? Or are priests & Levites too near Jerusalem to let anyone call Jesus the Messiah? Doesn't matter. Bar-Timaeus won't be quiet. He sees what they can't. No spiritual darkness in him! He knows his problem. 48bHe kept shouting all the more. "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus? In Lk 9:51, 51He resolutely headed for Jerusalem. His healing ministry? Past. All His energy? Getting ready to suffer. So far, no one could slow Jesus' on His way to arrive at Passover. No one but Bar-Timaeus. One needy man, crying for mercy. 49aJesus stood [still]. 49b"Call him." For Bar-Timaeus, Jesus stops. 49cSo they called Bar-Timaeus. "Cheer up!" 'Take heart!' He's heard it before. Callous people tossed him a greeting instead of tossing a coin into his blanket. Few encouraged him. Only once in the NT has anyone in the NT other than Jesus told anyone to cheer up. But without hope, how can he? Faith. To cheer up, it'll take hope in what he can't yet see. 49c"Rise! (lit.) He's calling you." Here's his test. Except to shut him up, no one usually answers him. Is this a cruel hoax? Maybe. But this blind beggar has heard about Jesus. There's no place to go but up. The risk? Minimal. Jesus' call seems simple. "Rise. Come." It'll take faith. Acting like he's sure of his hope. (Walk by faith, not by sight?) 50aThrowing his cloak aside... He tosses aside the ragged cloak he's sitting on. The cloak that catches coins the crowds throw him. It keeps him warm at night. It's his only possession. His beggar's cloak. Up to now, it's his only security (even if a false security). He abandons his beggar's seat. His territory. 50bHe jumps to his feet. And he 50ccomes to Jesus. It takes faith. Jesus hasn't done anything for him. But how can Bar-Timaeus find Jesus to come? He's blind! Do others lead him? Maybe. Is his hearing so sharp he can pick his way? Possibly. As he walks, the crowd opens a path for him! As he walks, faith is starting to make him whole. Jesus is healing his feelings, will, & mind. Jesus also meets Bar-Timaeus' ready faith with a question. 51a"What do you want me to do for you?" Not long ago (v. 36), that's what Jesus asked James & John. They asked Jesus to give them whatever they asked for: the seats on His right & left. The top seats of power in Jesus' KoG. What does Bar-Timaeus want? 51b"Rabbi, I want to see." He's clear. It isn't, 'Help me.' Not, 'Bless me.' He's definite. 'I want to see.' What he needs. Out of ambition, James & John asked for power & glory. In faith, Bar-Timaeus begs for his needs. He needs sight. James & John wanted seats of honor in God's coming KoG. Jesus doesn't meet wants. Not James' & John's. Not ours. But He wastes no time in meeting Bar-Timaeus' need. 2a"Go," said Jesus. "Your faith has healed you." He's healed. Σωζω. Saved! Jesus gives Bar-Timaeus more than sight. He totally heals him. Spiritually? Free. Physically? He can see. Humanly? Dignified. Bar-Timaeus is healed, healthy, & whole. Saved. 52bImmediately he receives his sight, he starts following Jesus along the road. Once a blind beggar, he's now a seeing disciple. Bar-Timaeus followed. Only 12x in NT does anyone follow someone. 11x , it's a disciple who follows Jesus. More proof he's a disciple? We know his name. How? He became part of the early church, a believer. For now, he's a pilgrim. He's seeing, walking, & singing. He's living proof that Jesus is Servant & Savior, the Messiah! Isa 42:6-7 & other OT prophecies said the Messiah would open the eyes of the blind. But in the OT no blind man's sight was restored. Why then does Jesus pause on His way to Jerusalem to heal Bar-Timaeus? Jesus answers in v. 52. Faith. What can we learn? God responds to faith. I think we can learn 3 things about exercising our faith. 1st, Bar-Timaeus clearly says Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah. Does he know he's introducing Israel's Messiah to the Holy City? Does he know it's Palm Sunday? That he set the stage for Jesus' triumphal entry? Hours later, in Mt 21:9 the crowd takes it up. Hosannah to the Son of David! The conquering king who'll bring God's KoG on earth. Jesus isn't that king. Without proof, Bar-Timaeus says Jesus is the One. His theology may not be perfect. But by faith he's accepted regardless of poor theology. (Lesson for us about minor theology differences?) 2nd, look how Jesus answers. 'What do you want Me to do for you?' In faith, Bar-Timaeus gives Jesus his need. Not his wants. He humbly asks Jesus to meet his need. Faith does that. Faith admits our neediness. Faith then takes each need to Jesus to meet it. If we try to meet the need ourselves, we'll produce an Ishmael. (How has that worked out in the millennia since?) If we meet needs ourselves, we won't produce an Isaac. Faith takes each need to Jesus. 3rd, in v. 51 (NIV) Bar-Timaeus called Jesus "Rabbouni." Not just Rabbi. It's an intensive form of rabbi. "My Rabbi. My Teacher." It's respectful. Yet Jews never spoke of people as my teacher. That's for God, in prayer. We'd say Lord. They'd say My Teacher. Bar-Timaeus may have lacked eyesight. But he had insight. Discernment. Someone once asked blind & deaf Helen Keller, "Isn't it terrible to be blind?" Her answer? "Better to be blind & see with your heart, than have 2 good eyes & see nothing." Bar-Timaeus saw with his heart. In faith, he saw more a conqueror Messiah-conqueror like Israel wanted. He saw Someone he could pray to. 3rd, Bar-Timaeus acted on faith. Before He went to Jesus, he tossed his beggar's cloak aside. No holding onto false security just in case. He stands & goes to Jesus. Once healed, he'll follow Jesus. What's the result of faith like that? The Father gave him a miracle. Jesus gave him sight. But that wasn't the greatest miracle. What was? Jesus saved him & made him whole. Our lesson? Jesus asks everyone, "What do you want Me to do for you?" Then & now. In faith, will we forego trying to meet our needs? Humbly, will we present them to Jesus? Will we ask for His best for us? Not just the good? Not just our greatest wants? Will we act in faith before He grants our request? Will we toss aside any false security we are clinging to? Our beggar's blanket? In gratitude will we start following wherever Jesus leads? Doing all these things won't turn God into a vending machine. Yet faith, humility, gratitude, & starting to follow Jesus are usually there whenever God chooses to bend the rules (a miracle). But remember: faith starts with our answer to Jesus' question. What do you want me to do for you? What Do You Want Me to Do for You? - Mark 10:46-52 Page 1 of 1