Jesus travels toward Jerusalem.
With fiery resolve and unfettered determination, Jesus has set foot toward Jerusalem. The disciples are utterly astonished. Those who were following Jesus were terrified (See Mark 10:32). At this point, Jesus has repeatedly warned his disciples, "We are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise." Mark 10:33-34 (NIV)
What you may not know is that tens of thousands of Jews had also started their pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. During Passover, the Jews would commemorate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. With great fervor, they would proclaim their hope that God would raise up a messiah, a deliverer, a savior, a descendent of King David, who would do to Rome what God had done to Pharaoh in Egypt. The tables were about to be turned. God's people Israel were about to be set free from Roman oppression. King David's throne would be re-established for all eternity.
Tensions in Jerusalem were already high. The Roman authorities would have deployed extra garrisons of soldiers to immediately quell the first signs of rebellion. And so, this is the moment for which Jesus has been preparing his disciples! He's walking briskly toward Jerusalem with thousands of pilgrims in tow. Kingdoms are about to collide! In Mark 10:35-45 James and John are jockeying for power, arguing about who is going to sit at Jesus' right hand, and who will sit at his left. Everyone is getting swept up in their messianic hopes and aspirations.
Jesus is approached by a beggar.
Mark 10:46 (NIV) says, "Then they came to Jericho..." Jericho marked the final leg of the pilgrims' journey to Jerusalem. If you study a map of Israel, the Galilean Jews would have traveled along the east bank of the Jordan River in order to bypass Samaria. Then, as they would near Jericho, they would cross the Jordan River and begin the long ascent up the steep road to Jerusalem.
So Mark 10:46-48 (NIV) says, "... As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving Jericho (ascending to Jerusalem), a blind man, named Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by a 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!' "
Nice timing Bartimaeus. Even to this day, in the Middle East blind people are often left begging along busy roadways, in the shadow of great cities. Beggars were a pathetic sight in Jesus' day. They were illiterate, uneducated, irreligious, and unable to engage in traditional occupations. They were socially powerless, totally dependent on others for charity, guidance, and protection. Stripped of all personal dignity, these nameless individuals were considered an annoyance and an intrusion-- much like they right here in downtown Springfield.
If they were fortunate enough, and most were not, they owned an outer garment-- a cloak. During the day they would sit on their cloaks begging passersby for change. At night, these homeless individuals would use their cloaks as sleeping bags. Their cloaks were all the security they had in the world. The cloak captured the coins of generous passersby during the day, and it protected them from the elements by night.
So here we find Bartimaeus crying out for mercy. Meanwhile, the crowd is chiding him for being such a nuisance. Instead of bringing him to Jesus they scold him. "Shhhhh.... be quiet!"
Ministry is always an interruption.
So here is something we all have to come to terms with, and there is no way to sugarcoat this. Ministry is always a human interruption! The legitimate needs of others are never convenient! They never fit into our agenda or schedule. Like Jesus, like the disciples, like the Galilean Jews, like the Good Samaritan (remember him?) we're always on our way to something more important when suddenly, a person with a need interrupts us. Our tendency is to quiet people, to put them off, to walk on by, and to pretend we didn't hear or notice. Right?
Has there ever been anything of greater priority in all of history than what Christ was about to do in Jerusalem? Yet what does Mark tell us? In Mark 10:49 (NIV) Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." How often in a given day do we stop? The truth is more often than not, we're too self-important to stop. We're always rushing past people God wants us to touch.
Let me show you something we're going to be doing in our community groups this week. We're going to be passing out cards (cards shaped like a heart with prayer reminders) and we're going to be encouraging each other to stop and prayerfully consider the needs of others. We're too self-centered. We're too self-important. We'd rather quiet people than bring them to Jesus. We're going to work on changing this tendency in community groups this week. I hope you'll find a group and show up.
Do you need to stop begging and throw yourself on God's mercy?
Now, let's consider a different application that is equally important. Maybe you are Bartimaeus. Maybe you are someone everyone else is passing by, someone who's been hurt, who's been stripped of dignity, or who needs healing and hope. Maybe you've begun feeling like nobody cares about you, not even God.
There isn't way to sugarcoat this, so I won't! Maybe its time you interrupt God. Instead of wallowing in self-pity and defeat, maybe you need to cry out to God and beg for his mercy. Our buddy Bartimaeus could have sat around on his cloak waiting until Jesus passed by a second time, or a third time, or until it was less crowded, or whatever. But instead, he throws all caution to the wind, and despite the objection of others, shouts, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
One commentator observed, "Those who are healed in Mark act decisively and throw pride and caution to the wind to seize the one chance they get when Jesus passes by. Otherwise, the opportunity for healing will be lost."
Consider this. David Garland writes, "We have seen this dogged determination in the stories of other healings in the Gospel. The Syrophoenician woman will not give up hope that Jesus will heal her daughter even though she is not a Jew and Jesus initially rebuffs her (Mark 7:24–30). Jairus must ignore the mockery of the mourners who say that Jesus can do nothing for his dead child (Mark 5:35–43). Friends must force their way through a crowd and a roof to bring their paralyzed companion to Jesus (Mark 2:1–12). The leper and the woman with the flow of blood must disregard laws that forbid them from having contact with Jesus in order to receive his help (Mark 1:40–45 and Mark 5:25–34). A desperate father must overcome his doubt that Jesus can do anything to help his tormented son, when he has already seen the disciples fail (Mark 9:14–29). Healing comes to those who are persistent and who are not quickly discouraged by whatever hurdles others may place in their way. How many want to see so desperately that they will ignore the put-downs of the crowd to secure that vision?" [Garland, D. E. (1996). The NIV Application Commentary: Mark (423). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.]
This story reminds me of Acts 22:16 (NIV) where Paul says, "And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name." We're always hesitating, always procrastinating. Instead, we should be interrupting God with cries for mercy. "God save me... heal me... forgive me... wash my sins away... give me a new heart and new mind... give me eyes to see."
Bartimaeus is healed.
Mark 10:49-52 (NIV) says, "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."
I guess a lot of this comes down to what you believe about Jesus. Do you believe he's calling you? 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV) says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."
Ephesians 1:18 (NIV) says, "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints..."
The crowd tells Bart, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you!" Do you realize how many people around us every single day need to hear these words? What do you think people would rather hear? "Shhhh! Shut up, you're annoying me." or "Cheer up! On your feet! Jesus is calling you!"
In John 16:33 (NIV) Jesus uses this very same word. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart (cheer up)! I have overcome the world." This is the gospel. This is the good news!
Bartimaeus' faith healed him.
Notice that Bart throws his cloak to the side, jumps to his feet, and immediately comes to Jesus. In Mark 10:52 (NIV) Jesus says, " '...your faith has healed you.' And immediately the man received his sight and followed Jesus along the road."
I want to finish by making two points. First, in some ways, we are all a Bartimaeus, needing to claim Christ's mercy.
Second, we all know a Bartimaeus who needs to claim Christ's mercy.