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The Story of Bartimaeus

Part 2 - "Call Him"

Mark 10v46-52

Part 2

16th April 2021

Mark 10v46-52
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the 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.

Despite all His trials, despite the knowledge of what was to come, and much to the surprise of the onlookers, Jesus stopped on His way to Jerusalem and crucifixion, because He heard hear a blind beggar called Bartimaeus cry out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus told His disciples "Call him." And there is absolutely no doubt that He says the same to us:

Matthew 28:18-19
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"

Your mission in life, and mine, is to come to Jesus, and then to call other people to come to Jesus.

The people who had previously been telling Bartimaeus to shut up now told him, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." No matter who a person is, no matter what a mess he's in, no matter what he's done, Jesus can make him whole.

Not many of us are called to go out into the street and call out to random strangers, "Cheer up! Jesus calling you." although some of us are. But those people in Jericho weren't speaking to a random person; they were calling the one person in the street at that moment who was crying out for mercy, the one person Jesus had told them to call. We can all do that, and we all should, when the opportunity arises.

I'm not an expert in evangelism, but this makes sense to me. There's no point inviting somebody to come to Jesus until they know they need Him. That's why we put on church socials, and Alpha Courses, and other events. If people get involved with God's people, and if God's people act and speak like they're God's people, full of gentleness, respect and humility, then at least some of the people who associate with us will come to realise that they need Jesus, too. And then they reach the point when they realise they need God's mercy, His forgiveness, love and power. And when they cry out, we lead them to Jesus.

Bartimaeus threw his cloak aside, jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. He knew Jesus would help. He would receive mercy. Do you remember the first time you knew that Jesus would show you mercy? It's a precious moment.

But then Jesus asked him what you might consider a rather strange question: "What do you want me to do for you?"

Of course, God knows everything, including everything we need. But God wants us to pray. He wants us to tell Him what we need, and what others need. The act of praying does us good. I hope it's obvious that communicating with Almighty God is bound to do us good. It's good to think through what we really need, what we really want, what are our priorities, and then to speak them out loud to God. Actually, you don't need to pray out loud, God can hear your thoughts. But it's good for us to pray out loud when we can. Then we hear ourselves more clearly, and we find out what's really in our hearts.

Bartimaeus simply answered, "Rabbi, I want to see."

He'd called Jesus by his name, "Jesus". He'd called Him "Son of David". Now he calls Jesus "Rabbi", which means "teacher". By using that name, he was saying that He wanted to be a disciple of Jesus. But he didn't say that explicitly; he just said that he wanted to see. Perhaps he wasn't sure at that stage if Jesus would take him as a disciple. Nobody deserves to be a Christian, but perhaps Bartimaeus was more aware of his own unworthiness than some people are.

He was talking about his physical blindness. But you and I need to cry out to Jesus for healing of our spiritual blindness. When we say, "Teacher, I want to see", we mean that we want to understand God, and people, and life and death, and good and evil, and how God's grace and power change lives. Don't we?

Jesus replied, "Go, your faith has healed you." And Bartimaeus was instantly healed. But Mark tells us that the first thing he did was the opposite of what Jesus told him. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

This wasn't disobedience. When Jesus told him, "go" he meant "you're free to go, you can go, because your prayer has been answered". He didn't mean "Clear off!"

By God's grace, Bartimaeus had been given healing for his physical problem of blindness. As a result, he could get a proper job and give up begging for ever. He didn't have to be poor any more. He didn't need to sit by the roadside, calling out to strangers who would tell him to be quiet. But he wanted more.

We all need more than physical help. We need healing for our souls. Bartimaeus hadn't just found physical sight, he'd found his Rabbi, his teacher, the Son of David, the Messiah, the Saviour ("Jesus" means saviour). And instead of getting a job and settling down to an ordinary, comfortable life, he chose instead to follow wherever Jesus went. And Jesus accepted him.

Bartimaeus the blind Beggar became Bartimaeus the disciple of Jesus. His life would never be the same. That's what God does for those who will cry out "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Has Jesus opened the eyes of your heart? Has He given you saving faith? Do you acknowledge Him as Saviour as King and as Teacher? Will you follow wherever He leads?

The next stop on Jesus's journey was Jerusalem. He would enter His capital as King, riding on a donkey. A few days later, He'd be crucified. Three days after that, He would rise triumphant from the dead. And, presumably, Bartimaeus was there to witness these things. By following Jesus he would have his heart broken, and restored, he would see the worst the world could do, the worst the church could be, and the best that God could do. And maybe he saw Jesus ascend into heaven, where He sat down at the right hand of God, and now rules the universe in majesty and total authority.

All because when a blind beggar cried out at the side of the road. Jesus stopped for him.

There are four sorts of people in this story. Which one are you?

Here's my answer: Some of the time, I'm in the place of the beggar, totally in need of mercy. Some of the time I'm in the place of Jesus, helping others to find God's grace. But some of the time I'm in the place of the disciples, judging and rejecting others instead in including them. And too much of the time I'm in the crowd, watching but doing nothing.

How do we know Bartimaeus's name? I think we know it because Bartimaeus became a follower of Jesus, was included in the church, and told his story. And Mark heard it. Who knows? Perhaps they became friends.

Jesus took this blind beggar, healed his illness, allowed Him to follow, included him among His people, and put him in the Bible.

Wherever you are, whatever state you're in, Jesus can take you to places you never dreampt of.