SermonTry2

Good Morning, Happy July 4th weekend. Let me pray and then we will get started. I wanna start with a story. (Tell story)

Mark 10:46–52 (NIV)

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

We’re all a little blind

Let’s set the stage here. This is the last recorded healing in the book of Mark. There are a few things that I think are important to note here as we dive in.

At this point in Mark Jesus was leaving Jericho and heading to Jerusalem. This was his last trip before he was going to be crucified.

The road leading south from Jericho would have been well traveled by pilgrims heading to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival.

This makes it the ideal place to beg, but it also makes it the ideal place to steal or rob. So it was also considered a bit dangerous to travel alone.

Because of all this we see that a crowd had formed and was following Jesus as he left the city. It most likely consisted of many other pilgrims making their way towards Jerusalem, as well as the disciples.

The second thing thats important to note is that Blindness was not just blindness in this day and age; It also meant you were on the fringes of Society.

People who were blind were considered social outcasts and spiritual outcasts. They couldn't join in on the spiritual or social activities of the time. So Bartimaeus was stuck as an outcast begging from the sideline.

We also don’t know his real name, just his fathers name, which means the people Mark was writing too, knew his father Timaeus. It’s an eye witness account. And it also means that the son of Timeaus was most likely known in the later church, after all this happened.

However, at this point he was so unimportant that we only know him by his fathers name, yet we see that he was important to Jesus.

The final thing that I want to notice as we start here is that the disciples were spiritually blind.

They wanted to get to the business of setting up the Kingdom. In their minds, they were on their way to see Jesus take back Jerusalem.

And we see their obstructive attitude to the mothers bringing children in Mark 10:13, and to the man who was not a disciple and was yet casting out devils, in Mark 9:38. All of it points to the position of their hearts at this time.

They had missed the point of what Jesus’ kingdom was really about. However, Stopping for a blind beggar is exactly the sort of thing Jesus’ Kingdom is actually about.

I think we often times do the same types of things the disciples were doing.

We put ourselves before someone else. Often times we think, “ah, I’m better then that person because...” or

Thinking we know what should happen instead of letting God show us what should happen.

Hopeless. Let’s read verse 47. Bartimaeus was stuck. He on his own could not get out of where he was.

Like we mentioned earlier he wasn’t able to participate in the spiritual customs or in normal community because of his condition.

He was stuck in a hopeless situation

However, we can see that he had heard of Jesus.

The ears of the blind are necessarily quick. In being where he was he had heard people talk about the miracles of Jesus. Often times beggars were near a city gate or Market place which is the perfect place to hear people talkin.

Not only that, but he also had heard that Jesus was the Messiah. Bart uses the words “Son of David” which shows that he knew who Jesus said he was. And on top of that, Bart believed it. To call Jesus by this name was in itself an expression of faith

He knew he had nothing to offer as he says “have mercy on me!”

This is his last ditch effort, he doesn’t have any other chance to be healed. He begs for compassion, for pity, for help in his difficult circumstances. In desperation he cries out to Jesus.

Many of us feel hopeless about a ton of different things in our lives.

Maybe for us, It’s the death of a loved one. A father, or mother, a child, a grand parent, a best friend.

Lot’s of us have felt that sting over these last few years. We think how can I survive this? Or we have pity on those that are walking through it thinking, “I hope I never have to go through something like this.

Or maybe it’s because of an addiction. Drugs, alcohol, porn,

We believe the lie that we will never be free from it. That our struggle has no cure. That this is just the way it will always be.

Or maybe that we will always be lonely, insecure, full of anxiety, in pain(chronic or acute).

Or maybe it’s in our relationships

I will always fight with my mom or dad, we just can’t get along. Or my kid will always be a failure or not be able to live up to my expectations.

Or maybe we feel hopeless about our politics

Our country will always be broken.

Some of us are on the other side of the coin Instead of hopelessness, we are unaware of what Jesus is trying to accomplish, In Verse 48 we read. Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

I think there are a few things here for us.

Some of us either don’t want Jesus’ agenda to get in the way of our own agenda or we just don’t know what Jesus’ agenda really is.

We have a vision for how this whole thing is supposed to play out. So we lose sight of what is really going on.

The disciples thought Jesus was going to take over by force and those other guys are goin to get whats coming to them.

Often times we want to get our way, or we actually believe we know whats best for us.

so we ?

Some of us don’t want to be inconvenienced by moving over and letting others in.

Just like earlier in Mark 10 when the disciples tried to stop the little children from being with Jesus or even earlier in Mark 9 when the man who was not a disciple was casting out demons.

There is an interesting thing here in mark’s gospel. At the beginning of verse 48 he uses the word many instead of differentiating between the crowd and the disciples. Like he had done at the beginning of this passage.

It could be to signify that the disciples lack of understanding of the "kingdom of God" makes them indistinguishable from the crowd.

The disciples tried to hush up Bartimeaus as he cried out to Jesus. Just like the rest of the crowd. Or just as bad, some of them may have been silent.

But this is what Jesus’ Kingdom is all about! It’s about making room in our lives for those around us.

For welcoming in those that are different from us.

That we don’t agree with.

That are outcast by the rest of society, and often times the church.

Jesus says, “The Kingdom of God belongs to those such as these.” Luke 18:16

Luke 18:16

But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

An Offer of Hope

I wanna ask us this question today. What would it take for us to move from hopelessness to desperation?

At the end of verse 48, we see that Ol’ Bart doesn’t get discouraged when he is met with rebuke.

When we get "rebuked" ie. we don't hear Jesus right away, or Satan lies to us, or something happens that we didn't expect, do we give up and get quiet? Or do we yell all the louder. Begging Jesus to come save us.

Bart didn't lose hope when it didn't go his way. He knew Jesus was the only one who could save him. Him shouting louder “Son of David” is proof that he understood the Messianic lineage of Jesus. So he doubled down and yelled for Jesus all the louder to have mercy on him.

Bart was in a posture of surrender, He had faith that only Jesus was his answer. So in spite of all the discouragement, he had the grace and perseverance to chase after Jesus with his whole heart.

For us, This is where that tiny bit of hope moves to desperation.

So where does that tiny bit of hope come from? How do let go of the hopelessness that we have been clinging onto. It’s found here in verse 49. It says, Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” And this is the part that gets me. The part of this story that has wrecked me.

Jesus stopped and Said, “Call him.” Man, there are some powerful things happening here. The first is:

Jesus is available

Jesus is on his way to be crucified. He knows this. He has been preparing for this journey to Jerusalem. He knows how hard it’s going to be for him over in the coming days. He is on his way to die. Yet he stopped.

The destiny of the world hung in the balance, yet Jesus, stopped for a blind beggar.

Often in our world we think of sacrificing the one for the many. That if we could save the world but one would be sacrificed, then it would be worth it.

However, in the Kingdom of God, we see that even the 1 is worth saving. Jesus would leave the 99 to go and find the 1 missing.

Let me put this in context for you. This is the King of the world, the Messiah, the one who has performed all these miracles, the one who created you. Is stopping for you. Let that sink in.

Imaginative prayer? Imagine you are in your spot of hopelessness. Be it, addiction, insecurities, anxiety, anger, whatever it is that has you feeling stuck. Imagine being in that place, and then you hear that it doesn’t have to be this way. That you could be set free. That someone could save you from this thing that you have been stuck with for so long. Then he walks by and notices you. He stops and looks at you. He says I see you. I value you. I love you. What rises up in you as you imagine that?

Jesus, the hope of the world, would take the time for me. He cares about me and what i’m going through enough to let himself be interrupted so that I may be with him.

He pauses everything that’s going on in his mind about whats to come, to be present with me and invite me to come to him.

Jesus is Patient. That’s the second thing I notice here.

He did not say “Hurry bring that beggar to me so we can keep moving.” He didn’t passively aggressively sigh and say “ugh, yea I can help but hurry it up”

No, he patiently and, I can imagine, eyes filled with compassion said “call him”.

I think it’s also important to note that Jesus didn’t go to him. There was intentionality about Jesus letting the blind man make the choice to go to Jesus. The Greek word for “Stopped” is histemi which means to stand still, or stand there.

He loves us and respects us enough to let us decide if we want to run to him.

He doesn’t force us into anything that we don’t want. He cares enough about us to allow us to have that choice.

And while we are taking our (sometimes) sweet time trying to decide if we are desperate enough to need saving, he is patient and waits for us. Standing there in front of us inviting us, with compassion in his eyes, to be with him.

At the end of verse 49 I think we see a response that many of us have when God offers us a way out. It says “So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”

When I look at this I see a ton of disbelief. I can see myself saying very similar things.

It’s almost like they are saying, “lucky you! Jesus actually heard you.” or “you did enough so now Jesus will heal you”

Need to expand on this? Just not sure which direction to take it.

Where does this come from in us? This doubt.

An Opportunity to Respond

So how do we respond? As Jesus invites us to come to him we have an opportunity to respond.

In Verse 50 we see how Ol’ Bart responds. It says, “Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.” The first thing we see here is that bart responds with wild abandon.

The garment mentioned here was a cloak or some kind of outer garment. It would have been used to keep him warm when it was chilly or even as a bed at night. It was something that not a lot of beggars owned, and yet he cast it away.

A cloak such as this, especially in the warm afternoon, would most likely have been laid out in front of a beggar in order to collect anything that a passerby might give.

See I think that in this case, what he had been using for protection or even collecting. The things that had been his livelihood could have been a hinderance in him getting to Jesus.

He could have taken the time to picked it all up but he didn’t. He could have even tripped on it had he taken it, so instead he leaves everything he owns, tosses it all aside, and with reckless abandon, he jumps to his feet and goes to Jesus.

This is in stark contrast to the rich young ruler who could not cast away anything he owned to gain what he wanted.

There is a joyous extravagance in Barty’s response. Similar to how the disciples responded to Jesus when he first called them. Simon and Andrew leave their nets (Mark 1:18), James and John leave their boat (Mark 1:20), Levi leaves his tax office (Mark 2:14).

Barty didn’t have anyway to know what was between him and Jesus. He had to step into the unknown. He went to where he last heard Jesus speak. That was enough for him to trust Jesus and take those steps of faith.

Stepping into the unknown to where we last heard Jesus can be scary for us. But I think that’s what we are finally able to do when we move from hopelessness to desperation. And desperation when used correctly turns into faith.

Second, we see Bart respond with humility.

In verse 51 we read, “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” Rabbi here is translated as Master, showing great respect to Jesus.

Bart humbles himself before Jesus and different then before when he called Jesus, Song of David, showing he knew Jesus as Lord of all the world.

He now calls him Rabbi or in some translations, Rabboni, showing us that he knew Jesus has his personal Lord. His Master.

It might seem strange for Jesus to ask BartiMcmeaus what he wanted here. But I think there is something super powerful going on behind the scene.

Bart had to admit his need.

Jesus could have just straight up healed him, but this question is really important. It’s only after we admit our need for Jesus that we can see real change in our lives.

Bart could have asked for money, for success, or any number of other things, but Jesus asked him for his deepest desire.

And Bart knew what it was. He wanted to see. He wasn’t afraid of looking “weak” by asking for help.

This is very different then when Lindsey, my wife and I are trying to decide where to eat after church on Sundays. Please! Make a decision!

The third way we see Bart respond is with a willingness to change

He was willing to leave his old life behind. He had to leave his way for doing things, and accept the change that Jesus was offering him.

After this moment, he would have to go get a Job, become a functioning member of society. He no longer had an excuse.

It’s really easy for us to grow comfortable in our suffering. We cling to that hopelessness. We revel in our pain cause it makes us strong, or we feel like we deserve it.

Sometimes we get scared that we wont be “ourselves” anymore if we don’t have it. We’ve began to cling to the masks we are wearing as if that’s what makes us “who we are”

But God is calling us out of that self loathing and self deprecating mind set. To a place where he get’s to define who we are. We have to be willing to say yes. I want that.

BartiMcFly was also willing to give up control. He was willing to let Jesus be his Lord and Master and he even called him as such!

He gave up control of his own life, his own destiny, and said, “Jesus whatever it is you have for me. I want it. I want you Jesus.”

Bart had to choose to not be a victim.

It would have been really easy for him to stay stuck. To use that to stay on the fringes of society. The city of Jericho was broken into two parts.

The old city to the north had badly deteriorated by the first century. But extending southward, the new part of the city, built by Harod, that housed his winter palace, was renowned for its singular beauty and fertility. It was a prosperous town with a good climate and Judaism considered it righteous to help the poor and needy.

So taking all this into consideration, it’s likely that, the son of Timaeus received adequate support here.

So it would have been easy to allow self pity and apathy to creep into is heart and kill his hope, his faith. And it’s even possible that it had done just that at other points in his life.

But when he finally heard about Jesus he was able to take that first step. Allow just enough hope to creep into his heart that he would throw his hands up in the air as Jesus passed by and say, “What the heck, I’ve got nothing to lose, I’m gonna take my shot.”

And the thing that gave him that tiny bit a hope, was Jesus.

And then finally we see Bart respond with Gratitude. Verse 52 says, “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. There is two things I see here:

Ol’ Bart didn’t go back to grab his things, after he received his sight, it would have been really easy for him to go back and grab the things he had tossed aside.

That same faith that healed him, kept his eyes on Jesus.

The word Healed used here has a double meaning, it also means to “Save or deliver” someone. Mark probably used this word to show that Bartimeaus had been healed physically, but also saved spiritually.

The second is that Barty followed Jesus.

Barty joined up with the disciples and other crowd and followed Jesus, abandoning his old life.

The word that mark uses here for followed also has a double meaning.

The first is that Bart literally followed Jesus down the road.

And the second refers to the process of following someone as a disciple. To obey them.

Bart let this one interaction with Jesus change the trajectory of his entire life moving forward. That little seed of Hope allowed him too recklessly chase after God.

Ministry Time

And so just like Bartimeaus did, I wanna invite us to hope again today. And Maybe for some of us we hear that and think “Eh, that all sounds nice but I could never hope again.”

Are we able to identify what holds us back from asking God for what we really want?

Maybe it’s a fear of failure

This one is a big one for me, Often times I believe the lie that if i can’t do something right, then I just shouldn’t even try.

Maybe its fear of losing control or that what you get from Jesus wont be what you thought you wanted!

It could be fear of embarrassment

We might look weak for asking for what we actually need, or want

Or people might think less or us if they really knew what was going on inside us

For some of us it’s not knowing what we want

Sometimes we haven’t taken the time to really look inside us to ask God what it is that is holding us back.

We are either “to busy” to ask or we are afraid of the answer

On the other hand, many of us are not being Honest about what we want

We lie to ourselves or believe the lies that satan tells us.

That we don’t need help, or that we deserve to be where we are, or that Jesus can’t actually be who he says he is.

Or maybe its cynicism - we have a fear of hope. Cause if we open ourselves up to hope then we have a chance to get hurt again.

Maybe we've heard other people say that they have been healed, or they have felt loved by Jesus and that sounds pretty sweet. But that could never happen for me.

Or maybe you are hearing that for the first time today. That Jesus Cares and loves you and wants to bring healing to you. Wants to give you what your heart desires. That you are worth stopping for.

That first seed of hope is all we need to start. Then we let that desperation turn into faith and we chase after Jesus into the unknown.

So here is what I wanna do. Please join me in standing if you are able. I’m going to invite the Prayer team to make there way forward and the worship team to come up front.

And as they are I want us to take a moment to reflect. What is it that we want.

Identify that area of hopelessness in you. where have you been stuck. Just like we did with that imaginative prayer.

Now this is the scary part. You have to move your feet and step into the unknown. We have people up front here who are trained to pray with you.

As we continue to worship, let yourself be desperate enough to ask Jesus for what it is you truly want.