The Healing of Bartimaeus and a Friend....
Notes
Transcript
Healing of 2 Blind Men
Healing of 2 Blind Men
Good morning everyone, I hope you’ve had a good week.
It has been a busy week for certain and I want to take the time to thank every one who helped cook, get things ready and served Christine’s family.
I know they were very thankful to gather and share a meal with each other, and I am grateful for your selfless service to this family.
Life is of course filled with life and death my friends, and we are called to live for Jesus no matter our state.
I also want to remind you all to please come out and help with Upward basketball, come help keep score, be a time keeper, or help in the kitchen. It is a great opportunity to share the love of Jesus in a practical way.
Now today we come back to the very last portion of the Gospel of Matthew chapter 20 and Jesus encounters 2 blind men.
Now this healing is found in three of the Gospels, Matthew 20, Mark 10 and then finally Luke 18
And between theses acounts we find some differences, Matthew records two men being present in this encounter with Jesus, and for reasons we are uncertain of, Mark and Luke tell us of just one man, whose man is well known, Bartimaeus.
What we are certain of today is that there were two men, one whose name was Bartimaeus.
So lets look at the text today....
29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
So there we have the story, this one day as Jesus is making His way to Jerusalem, as all that God has prepared is coming into place. The cross if every close, we are within the last week of Jesus earthy life as He prepares for the cross. Another faithful meeting take place..
1. A Wonderful Meeting...
As we open the text we see exactly where Jesus is, he is coming into Jericho. Jericho lay on the west bank of the Jordan river and it was about 15 miles from there to the holy city of Jerusalem. Also we know that Jericho is in a much lower elevation. We know this because we find in Scripture that they are always going up to Jerusalem. So just a little piece of information for you. Don’t worry, it was free…
Now we know from other passages, there were always people following Jesus, and there were always those who longed to see Him as he passed through different areas of the country.
And this day really isn’t much different than other days, A group is following him and as He comes into the city, people gather hearing that He is there.
Here we are given a close glimpse of Jesus and his love, His compassion for those around Him. a glimpse of His healing and work. And this is pivotal as He goes into Jerusalem very soon some of those who are with Him, following him are those who have been healed.
Now Matthew tells us there are two men in the city of Jericho that are blind, they are together, and they are sitting by the roadside.
Look at the text…verses 29-30
29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
So get a glimpse of these men’s lives, bling they are unable to really support themselves or family, they sat by the road side begging for alms.
Now alms are an important part of Jewish life, they were commanded to give in love to those in need according to the law.
So the crowds are following Jesus, excitement is growing as He approached and comes into the city and these two blind men can hear it. These two bling men what to know what is happening they are at a bit of a disadvantage… And they hear it is Jesus and they are excited…
They are excited because there is hope...
You see with Jesus there is hope. Always hope....
Bartimaeus and the other man suddenly have hope and how special that because of this meeting, they are remembered and there is even a little song about Bartimaeus.
They need healing, they need help and they need Jesus.
My friends that is just like us, in our hour of despair, when we were at our lowest, Jesus showed up in our hour of need.
Aren’t you glad Jesus showed up....
Now lets move to our second thought for the day...
2. A Call for Mercy....
Mercy is a unique thing my friends. Mercy is where someone extends compassion or forgiveness toward another when they desired nothing at all in return
So these men ask that is happening.... they know it is something wonderful and they are told this in Luke 18:37
37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
Now as Jesus draws close to where these blind men are, they cry out for help...
Bartimaeus and the other man begin to holler, to shout ...
Lets go back to our text… verse 30
30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
These men couldn’t see Jesus, they couldn’t find him Jesus as He came close by they, so they did only what they could, they cried out… Jesus help us, Jesus have mercy on us - O’ Son of David
And as they cried out… one of the most unusual things happened.. the people rebuked them...
Lets go back to the text… verse 31
31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
The crowd rebuked them .... shhhh, be quiet, Jesus doesn’t have time for you, don’t bother Him, He’s to busy attending to more important people. Just be quiet.
There were often those we see in the Scriptures that felt like they were greater, better than others. Besides if you have a problem it must be because of sin, you got what you deserved....
Isn’t that sad? But that’s how humanity is in our sin… It was like that with Job.. remember his friends, Ole Job, In Job chapter 4 they bring some of those accusations against him..... What did you do to deserve this?
Those guys just knew it was sin....
But here is what happened, as they people rebuked the two blind men, those blind men cried out all the more....
They would not be quite…
And listen to what they are saying…the end of verse 31, they cried all the louder, they wouldn’t stop crying out, …Son of David, have mercy on me.
When Bartimaeus says this, He is identifying that Jesus is the descendant of David, and the one who is to inherit and fulfill the promises made to David. He would be the Savior of Israel...
Jesus would sit on the throne of His Father one day, and He will rule and reign!
They knew Jesus could help them… so Bartimaeus and the other man are crying out…they needed help, they needed healing, they needed Jesus!!
The same is true of us, no matter where we are, no matter who we are, and no matter what is happening in our lives. The answer is always Jesus and we need Him!
And the best news is this, He is there for us...
Just one last thought today my friends...
3. A Divine Miracle....
Bartimaeus and the other man cried out and even as the crown rebuked them, they would not be quite.. They cried out all the more...
Luke 18:39 says
39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
But they continued to cry out!
You know why?
Faith, they had heard about Jesus, and they knew he could heal them, the believed it.
I would challenge you today my friends, and I would ask you what do you believe? What do you believe about Jesus?
Do you believe He is able to take your life and make it whole, make it well , make it usable, make it His life....
Yes He can.....
Now Jesus heard their cries, and I believe He knew their faith… I really think he came there
32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
Jesus stopped there and he called for them.
Mark’s account reveals a change in the attitude of the crowd, they went from jeering and telling them to be quite to saying.. He is calling for you..
Listen to Mark 10:49-50
49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
Could you imagine the scene. Suddenly they heard. Jesus is calling for you, He is calling for you. Hurry and get up.
Man, I bet those gentlemen wasted no time!
Suddenly hope filled their hearts and minds… they felt instant joy, instant hope.. and they sprang to their feet and with the help of others made their way to Jesus.
And Jesus asked them…
What do you want me to do for you?
Well that answer was easy for Bartimaeus and the other man. They were blind. They had spent days begging to try and help provide for their needs and perhaps the needs of an elderly parent.
They had struggled every day forced to be dependent on others.....
All these men wanted was to be whole, to be able to work and serve and help like all the rest of the men around them...
And so the answer was easy.... Take we might receive our sight....
They wanted to see....
Look again to verse 34
34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
The Master touched them, Jesus touched them. and instantly, immediately and Matthew wants us to know, so that without a doubt people would know that what Jesus does is immediate.
They were healed, those eyes that had never seen, never had witness the face of others were healed and can you imagine this.. the first sight they see is the face of the Savior… They saw Jesus.
Man, it doesn’t get much better than that....
These two mean were healed immediately and having their lives touched in such a powerful way… they followed Him.
These two men, Bartimaeus and the other man became His disciples and they followed Him...
They became his disciples and bore witness to his power.
QQ.... Here is an important question for you today....
What has Jesus done in your life and are you bearing witness to that power?
Think on that… What has He done in your life… And are you bearing witness to that power, to that help, to that miracle of Healing and yes, to that Salvation!
Lets pray