Mark 10:46-52 — Have Mercy On Me!

Mark 10:46-52

And 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 and say,

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“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.

Comments:

It originally took me a couple of days to consider this passage. It is such a familiar gospel story, and I have preached on it enough that it was hard at first for me to see anything new and fresh to consider. But after letting it soak in and thinking it over several things rose to the top.

First, this was Bartimaeus' last chance to see Jesus. Jesus would not be back. He gave it his all, not knowing if he would ever get a chance like this again. Jesus was passing right in front of him! When we sense that the Lord is near, do we take it for granted or do we act as though we might never get another chance to commune with the Lord like this again?

Second, blind Bart made a committed decision. He had only heard that it was Jesus, he hadn't seen him or touched him or heard him—only heard that it was him. Yet he cried out to the Lord unashamedly, he cast aside his old garment immediately, he came quickly to the Lord in obedience and eager faith, and then he followed the Lord willingly and I'm sure joyfully. Are we so quick to commit ourselves to respond to Jesus? Do we recognize our spiritual blindness as Bart knew his physical blindness? I am reminded of Jesus' assessment of the Laodicean church in Revelation 3:17-19,

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

Are we as eager as Bartimaeus to turn away from that blindness or is ignorance bliss to our handicapped hearts? Do we publicly recognize our need? That last one is the tough one for me.

Third, as Jesus opened Bartimaeus' eyes and Bart followed him. Jesus said, "Go your way" but the text says that Bart's way from that moment was to follow Jesus on the way. This moment completely redirected this man's life. As a result of his choice to follow Jesus, one of the first things Bartimaeus had the privilege of seeing was what we call the "Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem and you can bet that he contributed his share of Hosannas! 

I wonder how many triumphal entries of praise I miss because I don't commit myself to get to the Lord and obtain his mercy as readily as blind Bart.