As we come to God's Word this morning, we will be in the book of Mark, chapter 10, verse 46.
Mark, chapter 10, verse 46.
We've just finished a series on the Psalms through the summer,
looking at individual ones, different ones each Sunday.
And starting next Sunday, Lord willing, we'll be beginning our journey through the pastoral epistles,
looking at 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus,
and learning what they have, what God has to say through those letters to us.
But this morning, we're looking at a small moment, seemingly, in the story of Jesus.
So Mark, chapter 10, verse 46.
I'm going to read it, and then we'll pray, and then we'll jump in.
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.
Father in heaven, as we look now into your word,
we pray that your spirit would open our hearts to what you have said.
Help us to see what you did, to understand it.
And we pray that our hearts would be changed and touched by it.
We know that you have not just spoken to the people who originally received this back then,
but that your word is for us today.
And so may we see that connection to our own lives and our own story.
We ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Now to many of us, this may sound like a cute little story we hear in Sunday school.
We may struggle to grasp the significance of it, the point.
We've grown up hearing many of these little miracles of Jesus,
these things that he did.
To really grasp this, what it's all about, we need to go back.
We need to understand the full story of Jesus leading up to this point.
It was about three years prior to this that Jesus of Nazareth appeared,
seemingly out of nowhere to the nation, on the bank of the Jordan River.
And John, the baptizing prophet, he began to point his followers to this man, Jesus.
John said that this was the one that they'd all been waiting for,
the one that God had chosen and sent.
And very quickly, the attention of the whole nation all of a sudden shifted
from John, the baptizing prophet, to now Jesus, this man from Nazareth.
And people came from all over the nation to see Jesus, to hear Jesus.
Some for miracles of healing, others just to hear his teaching.
His teachings resonated deeply with many as having divine authority,
God's authority in them, God's wisdom in them.
Not only that, but of course, Jesus began to do miracles.
All kinds of things.
Great signs.
Countless people were healed of all kinds of sicknesses, illnesses, diseases.
Evil spirits were being cast out of people.
On one occasion, the feeding of thousands with a boy's lunch out in the middle of nowhere.
And other spectacular things.
Walking on water.
Even on one occasion, raising a little girl from the dead.
Jesus took the spotlight of the nation.
And the question that was rolling around in people's minds,
who is this man?
Is he a prophet sent by God?
Is he the Messiah, the long-awaited Messiah?
Or is he just a yokel, local, from the north, that's hoodwinking, gullible people?
These are the discussions that they were having at dinner tables all over the country.
And as time went on, many of you know the story.
Jesus began to be loved by some, but hated by others.
His followers who believed in him loved him.
But the religious leaders and those who followed them, the religious leaders of the Jews,
they didn't believe in him.
And they got madder and madder at Jesus.
And the tensions just kept rising between Jesus and his opponents.
Until this moment, Jesus was on his way for the last time south to Jerusalem.
Where he would be crucified.
And on his way, Mark tells us that they came to the city of Jericho.
Something special happened at the city gate of Jericho that Mark never forgot.
Jesus and his disciples, they were just leaving the city.
And there was a large crowd together with them.
And there by the roadside, sitting on the ground, begging, was a blind man.
A guy named Bartimaeus.
Now we don't know, but somehow, Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus.
He'd heard how Jesus had been curing people of all kinds of sicknesses and illnesses, even disabilities.
And there he sat, Mark tells us, on the roadside, begging.
I want to invite you right now just to close your eyes and imagine for a moment what it would be like to be blind.
Unable to see the light of the sun.
Unable to see the colors of things all around you.
Unable to see the expressions on people's faces.
Unable to judge just how far things are away from you.
Everything's dark.
You're totally dependent on sound and touch.
Can you imagine having to go through your entire life like this?
You can open your eyes now.
We don't know the details of Bartimaeus' life.
What put him to the streets to beg.
But we do know that it was common for people in these days who had disabilities
to be in poverty and to end up on the side of the road as beggars.
Can you imagine that this is the way that you've found to put food in your stomach?
Every day to get up and go to the gate of the city
and call out to people for their spare change.
Imagine that you are Bart, sitting there in the darkness of your condition
and all of a sudden you hear this commotion.
You hear the sounds.
You hear the voices.
You hear the footsteps.
The murmur of a huge crowd approaching
and it's getting louder and louder.
And you wonder, what is this?
What's happening?
Well, somebody made it known to Bart that it was Jesus of Nazareth going by.
And immediately a spark is lit in Bartimaeus
that probably caught everybody around him off guard.
Bartimaeus begins to shout.
He begins to cry out with a loud voice.
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
This is a good time to notice Mark's precise language.
He began to shout.
Not just that he shouted once,
but he started to shout it
and he continued to shout it repeatedly in this moment.
And Bartimaeus must have been shouting it loudly
and causing quite a commotion
because as Mark tells us in verse 48,
many rebuked him and told him to be quiet.
Apparently, Bartimaeus was getting on people's nerves.
He was dominating the moment.
He was distracting people from what they wanted to be focused on.
They wanted to be focused on Jesus now moving through the streets,
walking through their city gates.
But then this guy here, he's making too much noise.
And notice who is rebuking Bartimaeus.
It says many were rebuking him
and telling him to be quiet.
So just imagine for a moment that you are Bartimaeus.
You're sitting there on the side of the road,
calling out to Jesus.
And everybody around you, it seems,
is turning on you.
They're saying things like,
man, would you shut up?
Be quiet.
I'm trying to hear.
I'm trying to see.
You're making too much noise.
And yet none of this dissuaded Bartimaeus
from continuing on.
It says he shouted all the more,
son of David, have mercy on me.
I love the persistence and the courage of Bartimaeus.
There's probably also some desperation there as well.
All of a sudden, Jesus stops.
Jesus stopped and said, call him.
So they called to the blind man,
cheer up on your feet.
He's calling you.
Suddenly the attitude of the people near Bartimaeus
just changes completely.
Cheer up on your feet.
He's calling you.
Can you imagine how Bartimaeus
must have felt in this moment?
Think of how many times
there on the side of the road
people had passed him by.
And now here is the one person
he wants to see most in the whole world.
And yes, with all the people here,
with the whole crowd here,
he's stopping for me.
He's calling me.
Throwing his cloak aside,
he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
We don't have cloaks like they did
back in their day and place,
but usually in the Bible,
it's that piece of clothing
that hinders your movement.
And so you either tuck it in
or you throw it off.
And that's what Bart does.
He throws it to the side,
he jumps to his feet
and he goes to Jesus.
We see his eagerness.
He's not going to miss this opportunity.
He gets to Jesus.
Jesus asks what he wants.
And he says,
Rabbi,
I want to see.
Beggars usually only ask
for one thing.
I don't know what your experience has been.
Occasionally,
something else maybe.
But usually,
it's one thing.
Money.
Bartimaeus asks for something
far greater.
Something way bigger than money.
He asks for something
that no amount of money
could ever buy.
I want to see,
says Bartimaeus.
That's what I want you to do for me,
Jesus.
And amazingly,
Jesus gives Bartimaeus
exactly what he asks for.
Go, said Jesus.
Your faith has healed you.
Immediately,
he received his sight
and followed Jesus
along the road.
Now,
I hope that our first response
to this story
is awe
and wonder.
Awe and wonder
that Jesus can do this.
He restored sight
to a blind person.
I mean,
this is no easy thing
to really appreciate this.
Some of us might have to
take another visit
to the optometrist.
You know,
nearsightedness,
farsightedness,
astigmatism,
those kinds of things
can be corrected
with a device
that they give you
to put over top
of your nose
or in your eyeballs.
Worst problems,
glaucoma,
cataracts,
and certain types
of retinal detachment
can sometimes
be cleared up
or mended
with surgery.
But here's a man
who had no sight.
He was blind.
And Jesus restores
his sight to him
in a moment
with a word.
This is the power
of God
at work
in this moment.
So I hope
that our first response
is awe
and wonder.
Next,
we've got to ask
the question,
what's the meaning
of this miracle?
What is this all about?
If God is at work
here in this moment,
what's he doing?
What does it mean?
And we're not going
to look at all
the passages
this afternoon.
We've done that
over the last couple years
as we work through
the Gospel of John.
But the clear teaching
of the New Testament
is that Jesus' miracles
served as signs.
They were confirmation
from God
that he really was
who he said he was,
that he really was
the one God had chosen.
And so the miracles
authenticated him
to the people.
Of course, yes,
they were also
acts of mercy
for the benefit
of the people
who received those healings.
No doubt about that.
But God wasn't going
to just call them
to believe
without giving them
evidence
that yes,
he is the one
I'm speaking through.
His words are my words.
And so that's
the general meaning
of the miracles
of Jesus
that the Bible
steers us towards.
And if we're meant
to look at this miracle
in that framework,
through that lens,
as a sign
that points to something
about Jesus,
what are we meant
to see
or conclude
about Jesus
through this?
I think the significance
of this entire passage,
this entire moment,
is found in the title
that Bartimaeus gives
to Jesus.
Let's look again
at verse 47.
Jesus,
son of David,
have mercy
on me.
So Bartimaeus
calls Jesus
the son
of David.
And we don't have time
this morning
to fully unpack that.
We could go back
into the Old Testament
and look through
all those passages.
Hopefully you're
noticing this,
those of you
who are reading
through the Bible.
There's a whole
backstory here.
There's a covenant
that God made
with David
almost a thousand years
before all this.
God sent his prophet
Samuel
to anoint David,
to pour oil
over David's head,
which signified
that he is
my chosen king
for my people,
Israel.
And God would go on
to make that special
covenant with David
and promise
that his kingdom
would endure forever,
from generation
to generation,
forever.
And then from that time
on,
as we keep working
our way through history,
God sent prophets
and he added promises
to that covenant
and that promise.
Prophecies,
many of them
expanding upon
all of that,
that one day
God is going to restore
the kingdom of Israel.
Even after it had been
conquered by foreign empires,
one day he's going
to restore the kingdom
to Israel
and through Israel
establish the greatest
kingdom that this world
has ever known
and it will be
the last kingdom
on earth.
So great,
so big,
that it will fill up
the whole world.
And on the throne
of this kingdom,
ruling over
all of the nations
of the world,
will be the king
of God's choosing,
the anointed one,
a descendant of David,
a son of David.
That was the promise.
That's what the word
Messiah means.
It means anointed one.
Same with the word Christ.
And so there was
great expectation
and great hope
when John,
the baptizing prophet,
appeared
and he started
announcing that
the Messiah was coming.
The people were
eager to see,
is this the time
that God will send
his chosen king
and establish
and renew
this great kingdom
that he has promised
for all these generations?
So this title,
Son of David,
it carries with it
the meaning of Messiah.
that is king
chosen by God
for Israel.
And this is what
Bartimaeus calls Jesus.
Jesus,
son of David,
have mercy on me.
He believed
Jesus
was the Messiah.
And in case
there's any doubt,
we can just look
quickly to a couple
other places.
In Matthew's gospel,
chapter 12,
verse 23,
on another occasion,
all the people
were astonished
when they saw
something of Jesus
and said,
could this be
the son of David?
So that title,
it was loaded.
In their minds,
it meant,
could it be
the promised one,
the Messiah?
That was the big question.
Bartimaeus' answer
to this question
was yes.
He is the son of David.
That's what he called him.
If we look ahead
to Matthew,
chapter 21,
verse 15,
we see that the children
were there
shouting in the temple courts,
Hosanna
to the son of David.
And when the chief priests
and the teachers
of the law
heard this,
they were indignant.
They hated that
the children
would call Jesus that
because they didn't believe
Jesus was the Messiah.
though this is
the bigger story,
the context of this miracle
with Bartimaeus,
it's not just a lesson
of faith,
though it is that,
but it's about
who is this Jesus
and is the faith
of this man
who calls out to him
well-placed.
And the answer of God
through the miracle
that's performed
is yes,
he is the king
of my choosing.
He is the son of David.
He is the one
I've selected
for my people.
And when we see this,
we realize that Bartimaeus,
even though he was
an outcast,
even though he was blind,
he had something
truly remarkable
about him.
His faith was much deeper,
much bigger
than we maybe thought
at first
as we read this.
Not only did he believe
that Jesus could do
something truly wonderful,
giving him sight,
but he believed
that Jesus was
God's Messiah,
the son of David.
Which means,
for Bartimaeus,
it wasn't just about
getting his sight back.
He wanted that.
Notice how the passage ends
in verse 52.
Immediately he received
his sight
and followed Jesus
along the road.
Think about that.
I mean,
he could have got his sight
and then he could have
just gone off
and done whatever
he wanted to do.
But it was about
more than just his sight.
He saw that Jesus
was more
than just a miracle man.
He saw that Jesus
was God's Messiah.
And now what should I do?
Now that God's king
has come,
I will follow him.
There's so much more
that we could look at
and talk about here.
But I want to just
bring this home
and keep it simple
this morning.
Do you,
sitting here today,
believe that Jesus
is God's chosen king?
that one
who will rule
over this coming kingdom
when he returns
as God has told us
through his word.
Do you believe that?
It's much more
than an ancient Israel thing.
The clear message
of the Bible
is that Jesus
is coming back
and he will rule.
He will reign
over all the nations
of the earth.
Sometimes we think
about this
around Christmas time
with Isaiah chapter 9.
His kingdom,
his governing
will be characterized
by righteousness,
goodness,
peace,
justice,
and love.
But the clear message
of the scriptures
is that only those
who believe
that he is
the Messiah,
that he is
the son of David
will enter
into this kingdom
and enjoy it
as a citizen
while the rest
will get
what we all deserve
for our sins
against God.
Do you see
what happened here
with Bartimaeus?
God confirmed
with his divine power
to heal
that Bartimaeus'
faith
was well placed.
He confirmed
that yes,
Jesus really
was that king,
the son of David.
Do you believe
that?
Do you believe
that Jesus
is the Messiah?
Will you acknowledge
that
as Bartimaeus did?
Now,
most of you
already know that
and believe that.
and once
we've settled
that,
then we can
go on to learn
from Bartimaeus
as an example
of faith.
What did Jesus
say to him?
He said,
your faith
has healed you.
Now,
we shouldn't
take that
as a guarantee
that if you
believe in Jesus,
you're going to get,
no matter what
kind of sickness
it is,
you'll get it
healed instantly.
we can chat
about that
afterwards.
You can come
talk to me
afterwards about
why not
if that's a
question that
you have.
But
Bartimaeus'
faith is
commended
by Jesus.
Your faith
has healed
you.
Which means
that he's
an example
to us
of what
any one
of us
can do
with the
troubles
that we
face
in our
lives.
Bartimaeus'
trouble
was his
blindness.
What's
yours?
Is there
something in
your life
that's got
you desperate?
something maybe
that you've
been struggling
with,
maybe even
for years.
Maybe it's
something that
you've tried
to fix,
but that
you've realized
money can't
fix it.
Or this
thing that I
tried to do,
it didn't
work.
I've tried.
It seems
like it just
can't be
fixed.
Let me
ask you,
have you
cried out
to Jesus
in faith
for help
with this
trouble?
Some of
you have,
and I don't
want to say
that if it
hasn't changed
yet that it's
because you
haven't,
but some
of us maybe
we just
realize,
I haven't
even asked
God for
help with
this.
Have you
cried out
to Jesus
in faith
for help
with whatever
you're going
through?
For mercy?
For grace?
For wisdom?
For strength?
Whatever it is
that you need.
Have you
asked him?
Maybe you
have asked
him?
Maybe you
have asked
him, but
you simply
quit asking.
But Bartimaeus
is an example,
isn't he?
Of how
persistent
real faith
is.
When we
are in
trouble
and in
need of
what only
God can
provide,
Bartimaeus
shows us
how to
do it.
Again
and again
he shouted,
Jesus,
son of
David,
have mercy.
And the
good news
is that
we see
from this
passage,
Jesus is
merciful.
He does
hear.
He is a
God of
compassion.
Are you
calling out
to Jesus
about the
trouble in
your life
unashamedly
and repeatedly
and with
all the
faith in
your heart.
Let me
remind you of
something Jesus
said on
another occasion.
He said,
ask and it
will be
given to
you.
Seek and
you will
find.
Knock and
the door
will be
opened to
you.
For
everyone who
asks
receives.
The one
who seeks
finds.
And to
the one
who knocks
the door
will be
opened.
God is
not stingy.
He wants
to answer.
He wants
to meet
your need.
Are you
calling out
to him?
Now we
can't
manipulate
God.
We can't
twist his
arm.
We can't
force his
hand.
But we
can do
like this
poor beggar
did.
We can
be
persistent
and we
can humbly
beg and
ask for
mercy in
whatever
trial,
whatever
trouble we
are faced
with.
We can
call out
to him
again and
again.
And he
hears us.
And so I
want to
urge you to
do that.
With
whatever
troubles
you're
going
through,
big or
small,
bring them
to Jesus.
Ask for
his help.
if Jesus
cares for
the blind
Bart on
the roadside,
we better be
sure he cares
for every one
of us.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
we do this
now.
We ask
for your
grace.
We ask
for your
help.
for your
strength,
for your
wisdom,
for your
love,
for your
touch,
for your
healing.
You know
the trouble
in each
one of our
lives.
We bring
those things
to you.
We ask
for your
help.
And we
trust that
in your
time,
you will
answer,
you will
stop,
you will
look upon
us,
and you
will give
love.
Your word
is promised
that you
are a
compassionate
and gracious
God,
slow to
anger,
rich in
love,
abounding
in love.
Help us
to look
to you,
to wait
on you.
And we
pray for
your power
to be at
work in
us and in
our lives.
we ask
this in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.
We are
going to
now move
into the
Lord's
table.
And we're
going to do
it a little
bit differently
today.
we're going
to do it
through song.
Sometimes we
have a quiet
time of
reflection,
but we're
going to
sing.
Before we
do that,
I just
want to
kind of
explain how
it will
go.
This is
something that
we do
once a
month.
We break
out bread
and grape
juice,
and those
things are
symbols.
We do
this to
remember
Jesus and
his love
for us.
That he
went from
Jericho to
Jerusalem and
was crucified
and died in
order that we
might be
forgiven of
our sins.
The bread
represents his
body, which
was broken,
and the
cup represents
his blood,
which was
shed, so
that our
sins would
be atoned
for.
Jesus said
it represents
a new
covenant, a
new deal, a
new arrangement
with God,
better than
the old one
back in the
days of
Old Testament
Israel.
This is a
new one, and
the deal is
this.
We come to
God, we
come to
Jesus, and
we acknowledge
what we have
done, our
sins.
We acknowledge,
we confess
those things, we
ask for his
forgiveness, and
we believe that
he will take
care of it and
forgive us
completely by
what Jesus did
for us, and
that's it.
We believe
that, and we
receive that as
a gift of
grace.
And that's the
good news of
the gospel, that's
what Jesus has
done, that's what
we celebrate every
time we come to
the Lord's table.
And so if you're
here and you
believe that, and
that's something
that you are
trusting in, what
Jesus did for
you, then please
partake with us when
we come to the
table.
After we sing this
next song, the
elders are going
to come up, and
they'll pass out
the bread and
the cup, and if
you're a believer,
born again, belong
to Jesus, and have
surrendered your
heart to him, then
please join with us
in this.
And I'll ask that
you just hold on to
the bread and the
cup until everybody's
been served, and
then once that's
happened, we'll give
thanks, and we'll
eat and we'll drink
together in
remembrance of
Christ.
So I'll invite the
worship team to
come back, and
we'll sing one more
song in preparation
for that.
Thank you.
God bless you.
Thank you.
Thank you for citizenship, which was purchased for us at the cross.
We love you.
We praise your holy name.
Amen.
Thank you.
You can put your cups in the little holders that are just in the seats in front of you.
If you're looking for a place to set it, I'll invite the worship team to come up and we'll close our service with one final song.
Please stand.
Thank you.
Please stand.