The following transcript was generated using AI from the sermon recording. Some grammatical and transcription erros may be found.
We're on our way to Jerusalem. Jesus told his disciples that he would be beaten, flogged, mocked, crucified, and buried. He has told his disciples this twice before today's passage. Each time he tells it, the disciples get a little clearer about who he is and what he is there for, but their vision is still clouded. They still fail to see what Jesus is trying to tell them. It happens again in this passage that we just read where James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come to Jesus and say grant us whatever we ask of you Now.
If my kids came to me and said, hey, I wanna ask you something. Still, I want you to say yes now; before I ask it, most of you would give a second thought before saying sure, and then Jesus does. What is it that you want? I want you to pay attention to that language and what Jesus' response is compared to the story of the healing of this blind beggar, Bartimaeus, because it's very similar in structure. Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that they will drink the cup that he drinks from. They will be baptized the way he's going to be baptized, meaning they will suffer and die for his sake. But it is not for him to decide who's at his left and who is at his right. Now, the other 10, having heard the two ask this, are still thinking of who will be most important, and they get angry at the two for asking.
But we transition to the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar. He's calling out in the crowd. He hears through the murmuring of the crowd that Jesus is passing through. He hears it all, and he knows that this is his chance. He had heard the stories of what Jesus had done in other towns. He had heard the stories that Jesus would not turn away from somebody who called out to him. And so he does just that, Son of David, have mercy on me. And he calls this out louder. He's getting so loud and obnoxious that the people around him try to shut him up. They're just trying to catch a glimpse of this Jesus walking by. Maybe follow along for a little while. It's not that. They're looking for something. They don't feel their need for Jesus, so they're trying to quiet the one calling out for mercy.
He calls out even louder for Jesus to have mercy on him. He is aware of his need for Jesus and of how crucial it is that he calls out to him and takes the chance that he has in these moments as the Savior passes him by. He could have called out Jesus, healed my eyes, Jesus gave me sight. But instead, he calls out have mercy on me, please call me to you. And I think one of the reasons he does this is while he's heard the stories of what Jesus can do, he's not exactly sure what Jesus would do. And so, rather than the disciples, who knew exactly what they wanted to ask of Jesus and hoped and knew that Jesus could give it to him, they came to Jesus saying well, say yes to whatever we ask of you.
The blind beggar approaches Christ humbly, not assuming what Jesus will do, but simply calling out for mercy, Son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus, who is walking along, has his eyes set on Jerusalem. It's only a day's journey, a nine-hour walk from Jericho to Jerusalem. He hears the blind beggar crying out for mercy, and he turns his head and tells him to come. Tell him to come to me. And then whisper down the lane of the crowd to this blind beggar saying the Master calls to you, the Master bids you to come. He has heard your pleas for mercy and draws you to himself.
Now Jesus, who we know has intimate knowledge of the disciples, is arguing about, or thinking, as they're having this conversation over to the side. Jesus says what are you guys talking about? And they first try to say, oh, nothing, it's not essential. What are you guys talking about? Well, we're just trying to decide who's most important. Jesus knew what they were talking about. And so there's Jesus, who seems to have this intimate knowledge of many different things. Ask the blind beggar this question: what do you want me to do for you? It's that same language that he asked the disciples.
And the blind man, known to be blind by everyone around him, says: Well, I'd like to see you again. I'd like you to recover my sight. Jesus heals him. Jesus says his faith has healed him, and the man immediately follows Jesus on the way. The man joins the journey up to Jerusalem, but more than that, Jesus said that he was the way, the truth, and the life. Christians were known as the people of the way. This is more than just this man traveling with Jesus to Jerusalem. He wholeheartedly gets behind Jesus as a follower.
But what does this story mean for us? We're not blind. We can see. We do need Christ.
I think that first calling Bartimaeus, son of David, and having mercy on me is where we often need to begin. We are unsure of what Jesus can do for us. We may not even be sure what we're going to ask for, recognizing that we are in complete need of Christ. The only thing we can do in these moments when we recognize our frailties, our failings, our inability to bring about change, what we can do, the only thing we can do, is cry out, Son of David, have mercy on me. When you're aware of your need for Christ but unable to express what your needs are, the starting step is to simply cry out for mercy, and not just once and not just timidly, but to cry out for mercy, to cry out for Christ, even as those around you would say be quiet, being annoying. We're trying to do what we're trying to do but insistently and persistently cry out, trusting that Jesus will hear, trusting that Jesus will call us to him, and knowing that Jesus can do something. We may not know what he will do, but we cry out in faith. This is the faith of Bartimaeus that made him well to cry out for mercy in spite of people telling him to quiet down. And Jesus hears and responds, just as he will do for us, as he hears us cry out for the change only he can bring about in our lives.
The next step for Bartimaeus was when Jesus said come. He threw off his cloak; he rose so fast, ran so fast that he just left behind his garments where he stood, and came running to Jesus. He didn't want that time with Jesus, that encounter with Jesus, that chance of redemption, healing, and restoration to pass him by because he was too slow. He comes to Jesus and asks for what he wants. He doesn't, so timidly, he says I want to see you again.
How often do we approach prayer, asking for what we believe we need timidly, either because we're not sure if God can do anything, or we're not sure God will do what we're asking, or we don't want to impose on God? How often do we hold back, saying God's not worried about what I'm worried about? My situation is too small to be of consequence to God's attention, so we hold back and miss out on the healing and life change that's possible. There's something else going on here. Jesus could have healed him at a distance. We had seen that happen before.
Jesus could have known what he needed, healed him at a distance, and said, " well, I'm going to continue on my journey. When Jesus called to him, Jesus could have touched him and healed him instead of asking him what do you want me to do for you? But Jesus didn't do any of that. When he called the man over, the man had to respond. And then, when he asked the man what he wanted, and the man had to respond, Jesus didn't have to do any of that. And yet he did. Why? Why would Jesus ask these questions?
It's not just about him imposing change upon us from a distance. It's an invitation to be a part of the healing that we seek. It's not just God doing whatever God wants. It's a partnership. No, all of that is contingent on God's action first, but it doesn't negate that we have a role in the very things we're discussing. We have a role in healing. We have a role in restoration. We have a role, even just to know what we need to ask for. If you're crying out to God, heal me of whatever it may be, restore me, for I am broken, I'm lost, I keep making the wrong choices, and I can't do anything else, it seems. But if you're not taking the steps as he calls out to you, why do you think he'll force that healing upon you if you're unwilling to take the steps?
Jesus had healing stories in multiple parts, where it didn't happen simultaneously. There was a blind man whom Jesus first spat in some mud, and he rubbed it on the man's eyes and said well, what do you see? And the man says, well, I kind of see people, but they look like trees walking around. And so then Jesus has to do it again. Sometimes healing happens immediately, sometimes in parts. Still, each step along the way requires an insistence of faith to say I know Jesus will do something. I know it is in the power of God to heal me and to bring me hope and restoration, to break my brokenness, to break my sin. I know it is in God's power to do that. We simply need to cry out, to go to him when he calls to us, to make our needs known with faith and insistence, and then to take that healing and follow him along the way.
The man's restoration and healing was only the first part of the mercy he asked for. There was the healing and then the place for him to follow, grow, experience more than he could ever hope for, and experience a transformation of life that perhaps he didn't even know was possible. And the same is true for us. But we need to claim the faith of our demise. We need to cry out for mercy. We have to recognize our needs and not stop crying out until God acknowledges us. When he calls us, we need to be willing to get up from where we are and take steps to him. We need to know our needs to God, trusting that he will do something. We need to be willing that he will do something beyond anything we can imagine, and then we have to go with him on the journey and not just go back to what our lives were before. This is the healing of Bartimaeus. This is the healing that is available to each and every one of us. Amen.