In Sight

Our Scripture reading this morning comes from the gospel of Mark, chapter ten, starting in verse 46. Hear these words. They came to Jericho, and as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd. Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he cried out all the more. Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stopped and said, call him. And they called the blind man, saying to him, take heart. Get up. He is calling you and throwing off his cloak. He sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, what do you want me to do for you? And the blind man said to him, Rabbi, let me recover my sight. And Jesus said to him, go your way. Your faith has made you well. And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. This is the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Now, if you’ve been around a while, you’ve heard this part of my story before. No, I didn’t run out of material. When it hit me in a new way. This week, getting ready for the message that is before us. And so I share this new way with you. To become clear to me that that God was calling me to Cambodia. I accepted, I applied for and accepted a six month internship. That’s it. That’s all I had. I know I’ve got a job for six months, but I have no prospects. I have no promises for anything beyond that. And so what that meant to me, was about getting squared away with everything I needed for the travel. Was getting a round trip ticket. Makes sense. Right? I don’t know what’s going to happen after this, and I need to be prepared just in case. So in other words, I followed where God was leading. But I had begun the journey with an exit plan already in place. I was willing to go and do whatever God was asking me to go and do, but not without the assurance that I would be able to return to the life I knew before the journey began.

But I also did that thing they warn you about, right? I told God I was, willing to stay, and that’s what he wanted me to do. Even though I had this exit plan. And so, as some friends were telling me about a school I should try to go, work for, right? I start thinking, okay. So I start, wondering, well, okay, what’s the best approach here? How do I go in for the interview? How do I get this done? Apply for the job. And then one day, at random, I hear a little voice in my head say, oh, just stop by the school and see. And by at random church, I mean that I had been outside all day on my little moto scooter, right? And if you’re outside all day now, a little moto scooter in a developing third world country, guess what happens? You walk into a school unannounced and you meet the headmaster, sweaty and dirty, wearing a t shirt, shorts and flip flops. And the best line I could come up with was, so I hear you’re looking for teachers. Would you have hired me?

Luckily, he didn’t write me off as the unprofessional, crazy person that I appeared to be. He accepted the random walk in interview, and he even set up, the next round of interviews later that day for me to meet the international director. And as I was leaving, as politely as he knew how to do it, he stopped me. And he, you know, maybe clean yourself up a little bit before you come back. I did, I got the job. I stayed there for the next five years. It worked. What have we learned? Appearances matter. How we perceive the world around us matters. Psychologist will tell you that humans, like every other animal, developed survival instincts based on this very idea. Okay, stay away from these creatures over here and all the ones that fit into that category. And you might as well stay away from the ones that look like they might fit into that category, because this category will kill you, right? Don’t do that. Right. Or we go over here, we go. We look at these people and go, well, those don’t look like my kind of people. You don’t belong here. You don’t look like you belong here. And perhaps it’s. Maybe we walk in, we go. Oh, I don’t belong here. Either way, we can’t get away from it. It’s how we’ve survived. From one generation to the next. But if we want to be a people who move from surviving to thriving, then sometimes when our assumptions and our presupposition are being challenged, then instead of blindly standing firm on what we’ve always known, what we’ve always believed, perhaps we need to stop.

Take a look around at what’s really going on. As Jesus and his disciples are passing through Jericho on the way to Jerusalem, they come across this blind beggar sitting on the side of the road. And as Bartimaeus hears that it is indeed Jesus of Nazareth who is passing by. He calls out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. See, the title Son of David came to be a phrase reserved for the Messiah. And we don’t see too many people in Mark’s gospel calling Jesus the Messiah. Not yet. This is the one who was prophesied about in second Samuel seven. Isaiah 35. Psalm 89. This is the Messiah who will come from the line of David, whose rule will know no end, and who has been appointed, anointed by the spirit of the Lord, to proclaim good news to the captives liberty to the are good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind.

If you think about it, I mean, that is why the crowds are following Jesus right now. Some believe it more than others, and some are there because, well, yeah, that’s how large crowds work. That’s how hype happens. We’re just following to follow. But the foundation that’s running beneath all the miracles, all the wise teachings of Jesus is this understanding that only the Messiah would be able to do these things in this way. And so this Jesus of Nazareth just might be the one we’ve been looking for after all these years. But if they really do believe that that’s true, then it’s curious why they react the way they do to this blind beggar who’s calling out to the Messiah for mercy. See, they don’t just silence him since they rebuke him. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Shut up! Fool! Do you know who this is? He really knew who that was. You know how important this man is. You know he’s got more important things to do than tend to the likes of you. Get back on the side of the road. Let Jesus pass. But he cried out all the more. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

See, unlike the crowd, Bartimaeus knows that if this really is the Messiah, that he cannot let this moment pass, I must meet him. He is my only hope. I can’t let anything stop me, including the crowd of people that seem to be following him. The closest. Oh. I think it was Gandhi who said something like, you know, Jesus, I like it’s these Christians. I got a problem with. And it seems like it’s getting easier to run into that person, doesn’t it? That person that makes you say, well, if that’s Christianity, you can have it. If that’s what it looks like to follow Jesus, then I don’t want any part of it. And sadly, I know how probable it is that we have been that person at some point in our lives, or perhaps some interaction. Even for me. And I know the thing that has stopped me more than once from losing it at the Walmart or in one of our drive thrus is remember, I am wearing my Trinity t shirt and well, that’s not going to play out well, is it? Right? Or even if I’m not, you know, and I don’t know anybody in the store. I know how Ruston works and you know who I am. And you recognize me or somebody. We to go, oh, hey, I know him. That’s one of the pastors at Trinity. Yeah. I’m not going to go to that church. And after I saw that. I don’t want to do something that seemingly would add proof to their argument. See, it doesn’t matter where you go. All churches are the same. They’re all hypocrites, including the pastors. And so let me just say, if that’s you, you feel that way somehow come to church this morning or you found it online, because we made all these cool little reels of pity sagging that that we do. Right. Like, take heart. I know the church has done a lot of messed up things, and we did it in the name of Jesus.

But that’s because we were wrong, not Jesus. Don’t stop crying out to Jesus. Don’t stop calling his name and asking for mercy because he came so that you might have it. God put on flesh and walked among us so that you might know what it is to come into his saving grace and experience a renewal of life. The truth of the matter is, is that we are all sinners and that we’re all in a journey, in our relationship with Christ, being more fully consumed with his love. And no one has it down every second of every day, all the time. And so that means before us good churchgoing people move past this interaction between Bartimaeus and the crowd too quickly. We need to take a second and understand what is lurking beneath the surface. We need to understand that what entangles us more often than we realize, is a blindness to the haunting idea that we can be part of the crowd who is following Jesus. And even in our most honest pursuits of trying to follow Christ, how we move about in the world ends up becoming a barrier for someone else to meet. Jesus. I mean, the man is crying out for mercy to the only one who can do anything about it. And at least some people in the crowd know that that’s true. And yet their initial response of those who are following Jesus closest is to rebuke him, not make a way for him. It is extremely humbling. It should stop you in your tracks that we can be so focused on our walk with Christ that we end up missing the people around us who are crying out to Jesus for mercy, son of David, have mercy on me.

Who said that? Where? Where’d that come from, sir? Was it you? Do you? Come on. Right this way. Come to Jesus. Do you need help? Do you need a sit? Okay, you stay there. We’ll come to you. Let me get us a Jesus. I got somebody over here that needs mercy. Come on. Jesus. Let’s go. That should be the response. No. I wonder what would happen if that became the standard response to all these crowds of people today who are trying to follow Jesus? John Wesley picked up on this idea, and he would go on to teach the people called Methodist that if our works of mercy, if the works of mercy get in the way of the works of piety, choose the works of mercy. Yes, go to church, read your Bible, pray, and do not neglect meeting together in your band. But if push comes to shove and it comes to your quiet time with the Lord and being of service to those in need, then be of service to those in need. Because as Jesus hears to this man, cry out for mercy. It says in verse 49 that Jesus stopped. More precisely, Jesus hears this man cry for mercy. He hears it rise above the crowds who are trying to silence him. And Jesus stood still. See, I agree with the premise of the crowds, right? Jesus is a pretty important person and this work that he is going to do, the dying on the cross for our sins, the rising from the grave. That’s pretty important work that needs to be accomplished. Okay, but even still, in the middle of it all, the cry for mercy stops Jesus in his tracks. Jesus goes from the act of traveling on this journey to death and resurrection, to the act of standing still, availing himself to the needs of the people. And I love the rest of verse 49.

Did you catch it? Jesus tells the crowd to call the man to come. I mean, Jesus could have quieted the crowd. He could have called the man himself, but he makes the crowd do it. The very same crowd who is trying to silence him and push him away. Isn’t it good news that even though Jesus has to correct us sometimes and say, what in the world are you doing? It’s clearly not how I have taught you to act, but Jesus still gives us another chance to get it right. Yeah, okay. Okay. You messed that one up, arm. Come on now. But I can still use you. All right? We can still get this done. All is not lost. Isn’t it good news that if we wake up one day and find ourselves in the wrong section of the crowd, that Jesus still wants us to be co laborers in the mission, and his grace really is that amazing? He still wants to do it with us. I mean, he does the same thing with Bartimaeus. It’s the same response. Bartimaeus. In verse 51, Jesus asked him, what do you want me to do for you? I know what you need, and I can do it. What do you want me to do for you? I want you to say it not just to prove your faith, but to be part of the process of what I’m going to do in your life. Jesus doesn’t just heal us. He invites us into the process because Jesus doesn’t just transform us. He empowers us. See, one of the biggest mistakes we make in the life of the church revolves around this idea of doing ministry for someone. The ministry that happens in Jesus name and therefore by the transforming power of his mercy isn’t done for people.

It’s done with people. We don’t want to just go out and give the homeless something to eat. We want to go out and give them someone to eat with. Yes, Jesus comes along and does stuff for us that we cannot do for ourselves, but he does it while restoring our dignity and our agency. Seen as people created in the image of God. Did you know that in all the synoptic Gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Bartimaeus is the only one who is healed and also given a name? Jesus heals a lot of beggars, heals more than one blind person. What a mess. He’s the only one who has given a name. It’s actually two words. It’s bar. Tomatoes are tomatoes. It means son of tomatoes. Son of tomatoes and tomato is just so happens to me. And get this valuable, honored. Son of value. Son of honor. I wonder what Mark is trying to teach us about the beggars on the side of the road and the poor that Jesus said we would always have among us? You know, for the past two weeks, we’ve been talking about stewardship and what it looks like, to follow Jesus as his disciple, giving him everything we have and everything we are to be of service to his kingdom. And ironically, it’s the blind beggar Bartimaeus who has the greatest insight of what this looks like. You remember the encounter Jesus had with the rich young man about two weeks ago, right? We looked at that passage. Jesus knew exactly what was holding this man back from becoming a disciple. So all that you have and follow me? Well, Bartimaeus doesn’t seem to have that problem.

See, in verse 50 it says that, throwing off his cloak, Bartimaeus sprang up and he came to Jesus. And you don’t get too far in historical and cultural studies before you learned that the cloak was everything. Deuteronomy 24 went as far as to say that when a poor man gives you his cloak as a pledge to secure alone, you shall restore to him the pledge, as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you, and it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God. So you heard, was something that someone owned, that by the very provision of God’s Word you didn’t dare mess with. And beyond being a piece of clothing that helps them survive the night, it was common for beggars to use their cloak as a way of collecting alms. And so we have a picture here. We couldn’t find an exact picture of what this looked like, but this is as close as we could find of what this might have looked like in that time. There it is behind me. Right? And so this guy kind of has a gap here, in, in, in front of him. So I imagine that the cloak would go all the way around, and it’s covering even in his lap. Right. And so he would sit there with his cloak covering like this, and he’s got a little divot in here that somebody could go by and drop, whatever money is or whatever they were going to give. And so in throwing off his cloak, he’s not only casting aside the most important garment he has the very thing that will help him keep help, keep him alive. He’s also just thrown away whatever money he has as well. He’s literally just thrown away everything he has that is of value to him. All of his resources for a chance to see Jesus. And I remind you that that’s the entry level test of becoming a disciple, giving everything you have and everything you are. And Bartimaeus has just passed with flying colors. But let’s see how he does in round two, You may have noticed you good Bible reading people that Jesus asked Bartimaeus the same question. We saw him ask James and John last in our passage last week. Right? What do you want me to do for you? Instead of asking for a place in his glory, Bartimaeus says, what? Let me recover my sight. I believe you are the one we’ve been waiting for. The one who has been anointed to give recovery of sight to the blind. He believes that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah.

You say, well, wait a minute, I don’t. I know if you’re comparing the two. James and John believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They gave up everything. They had all their resources follow him. And I say, well, yes, and James and John are going to go on to be great leaders of the church, but it’s the faith of Bartimaeus through which Jesus, shows us the most elusive challenge that we face as disciples. Look how Jesus responds to him in verse 52. Right now, when Jesus heals all the others in the gospel, he says what he says, go, your faith has made you well. But Mark put something interesting in here. It says, but with Bartimaeus, Jesus doesn’t just say go. He says what? He says, go your way. Go your way. It’s almost as if Jesus is saying, your faith is healed you. Now go on about living your life and enjoy it all the more, for you were blind, but now you see, and I wonder if it isn’t another test, because that’s not how life works. After we encounter Jesus, is it you don’t meet? Jesus experienced the healing power of salvation and then go on about your same old life in the same old way. You can’t. Faith isn’t just about being convinced that something is true, believing that it is true. It’s a conviction that changes the very fabric of your being and how you live your life. Bartimaeus does not take the healing, saving power of Jesus and then go on about his same old life in the same old way. But you know, he just feels real good about it. And his heart warmed, and he just enjoys life all the more because of what Jesus has done for him. Yes, I’m picking on us and our cultural understanding how this works. He doesn’t go back and find his cloak. He doesn’t dust off whatever coins may have fell out immediately. He recovered his sight and followed Jesus on the way. So here it is. Don’t miss it. Having true insight that Jesus is the Son of God, takes away the sins of the world, comes with the responsibility of keeping him in sight. As we walk down this path of salvation, let me give it to you again. You’re not sure I’ll give it to you again. Having true insight that Jesus is the Son of God, takes away the sins of the world, comes with the responsibility of keeping him in sight. As we walk down the path of salvation. See, as wonderful as this story is, a blind beggar on the side of the road who becomes a son of honor and a son of value, following Jesus. I’m willing to bet that just like James and John and you and me, everybody else in the crowd, that Bartimaeus got distracted a few times along the way never happened to you.

That’s my point. Like it’s easy when we first come to Jesus, right? Or rather, I should say, it’s reasonable that, you know, you know, you’re blind and you know Jesus is the only one that can save you. That’s a pretty clear decision. But as this journey gets longer, as your eyes get opened, you start to see all these attractive endeavors tempting you to wander off the narrow path. You get distracted by fame, fortune, false assurance. And as you start to see all the horrors of what can go wrong, you try to fight against it by building safety nets, an exit plans, you know, just in case. This whole following Jesus saying doesn’t work out the way that you thought it would. But the more I set with it right, the beauty behind all these tests along the way that scares us. Oh, no, there’s test. No, no, no. The beauty behind the test is that you cannot flunk out of discipleship school. God’s grace won’t allow it. And they aren’t meant to shame you. They are meant to shape you into who God is calling you to be. Because salvation isn’t about being healed by Jesus, so we can be the best version of ourselves or live our best lives. Now. It’s about following Jesus and an entirely new way of life, leaving behind the old and putting on the new. Let’s pray.

O God. We thank you for the work you have already done in our lives and the commitment, the promise, the covenant you have made to continue to work in our lives that you, that you have begun in us, you will see to completion. And so, open our hearts and our minds, convict us. You give us your grace. Let us know the surpassing greatness of your love and that we are never lost. We are never alone. Once we turn our eyes to you and follow you on this path, the sake of righteousness. Continue to move us. That in everything we do and everything we are, we make your name known and to the ends of the earth.

Amen.