church

INI
20th Sunday after Trinity
October 17, 2010
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

BARTIMAEUS: A BLIND MAN
WITH PERFECT VISION
Mark 10:46-52

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God the Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, Amen. Today we look to the tenth chapter
of the Gospel of Mark, beginning with the 46th verse, as follows:

Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a
great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and
say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Then many warned him to be
quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 So
Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind
man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” 50 And
throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. 51 So Jesus answered
and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to
Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go
your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight
and followed Jesus on the road. So far the Holy Word.

In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came "to give freedom to the
captives and sight to the blind," Dear Fellow Redeemed,

Jonathan Swift, a British author of the early 18th Century, once said, "Vision is
the art of seeing things that are invisible." Any businessman can read a stock
report; but the one who can see a stock that will double in value within a year
has vision. Any architect can look at a parking lot in downtown New York; but
the one who can see a towering skyscraper there in its place has vision.

Mr. Swift isn't the only one with a definition of vision. The Bible has one, too
-- only in the Bible, it's called "faith." The writer to the Hebrews says, "Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." --
11:1. Christian faith sees things that are invisible, too. In fact, faith is the only
way to see the things that are most important in life - infinitely more important
than money or real estate could ever be! You think I'm exaggerating? -If so, then
you'd better pay attention. Because today our Lord gives us a lesson on vision --
from a blind man! Our theme is:

BARTIMAEUS: A BLIND MAN
WITH PERFECT VISION

I. He saw himself perfectly.
II. He saw his Savior perfectly.
III. He saw his prayer answered perfectly.

The events of our text occurred during the last week before Jesus' crucifixion.
Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, and His route took Him through the town
of Jericho. As He was leaving Jericho, with His disciples and a big crowd of
people around Him, there was a sudden commotion. Somebody was yelling His
name! And that's how Jesus met Bartimaeus - a blind man with perfect vision.

It's hard to imagine a worse physical handicap than blindness. Scientists say
that 90% of the information the brain receives comes from the eyes, and only
10% from the other four senses of hearing, smell, taste and touch. To a blind
man, the world of color and beauty is closed. The only color he knows is black,
the only shade, darkness. In our society we have programs to help offset the
tragedy of blindness - social security, federal aid, job training, etc. But in
ancient Israel, there was only one way to survive if you were a blind man -- and
that was to beg.

Bartimaeus was a blind man. Because of that he was also a penniless beggar,
unable to earn a living except from the small gifts of others. Now they came to
Jericho. As [Jesus] went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude,
blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he
heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of
David, have mercy on me!”

One thing about being blind is that it's pretty hard to kid yourself about it. You
can't fool yourself into thinking you can see when you can't. You can't pretend
to be a rich man when you're gnawing at a crust of bread. When Bartimaeus
heard that Jesus was passing by, he didn't pretend to be something that he
wasn't. He didn't show any pride before Jesus, because he had nothing to be
proud of. He didn't offer Jesus anything - he had nothing to offer. He merely
begged for Jesus' mercy. Bartimaeus knew exactly who and what he was, and in
that respect, at least, he was a blind man with perfect vision. Because he saw
himself perfectly!

Unfortunately, there aren't many people in our world of today who share that
vision of themselves. Most think they can see their way through life pretty well
without Jesus - failing to realize that without Christ, they are blind. Paul says
that, whether they know it or not, unbelievers "...walk in the futility of their
mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of
God, because of the ignorance that is in them." -- Eph 4:17-18.

What about us faithful churchgoers? Are we exempt? Not if we come to church
with pride in our hearts, thinking that we're giving something to God, rather
than receiving. Not if we pretend that it's our righteousness, our good works,
our upright lives that gain us God's favor -- Then we're much more blind than
Bartimaeus. At least he saw what his real condition was!

Jesus is passing by our town today. Will we take advantage of this tremendous
opportunity? -Only if we have the vision to see ourselves as we really are: blind
beggars. By nature we are spiritually blind, and only God's Word can open our
eyes. Left to ourselves we are beggars, bankrupt in righteousness and up to our
ears in debt on account of the sins each of us has committed. We come to
God's house today holding out empty hands to the Lord. Like Bartimaeus, let us
only beg for His mercy. Bartimaeus wasn't turned away, and we won't be either!

Bartimaeus was a blind man with perfect vision. Not only because he saw
himself perfectly, but because He saw his Savior perfectly. He knew just who
Jesus was, and He knew what Jesus could do for him. How can we tell that?
This is interesting: we can tell it by the name he used when he called out to
Jesus. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Then many warned him to be
quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

"Son of David" was a term used throughout the Old Testament. And it was
only used to refer to one specific Person: the coming Messiah, the Savior from
sin that the Lord had promised to send. Jesus was the Messiah, and Bartimaeus
knew it! Here in his own hometown was the very Son of God, with sovereign
power to forgive sins and heal diseases. There may not have been many in the
crowd who saw that important fact, but blind Bartimaeus saw it. He saw the
chance of a lifetime, so he grabbed it. And he wasn't shy about it, either - he
yelled for mercy at the top of his lungs! He made such a scene that the people
around him were downright embarrassed. They tried to shut him up, but he just
yelled louder.

Each of us has embarrassing moments in our lives. But there is a wrong time to
be embarrassed. I took a course in CPR once. They told us that, when a person
is choking or in distress and leaves the room, you should always follow them.
People often excuse themselves to avoid embarrassment, and then collapse in
the bathroom with nobody to help them. It's a strange fact: most people would
literally rather die than cause a scene! Not Bartimaeus. He needed Jesus' help,
and he didn't care who knew about it.

What about you? Are you too embarrassed to ask for Christ's mercy? You'll die
if you don't. Will you let pressure from your friends and neighbors keep you
from making Christ the center of your life? Believe me, the pressure will come.
"A little religion's a good thing," they'll say, "but you don't have to be a fanatic
about it. It's nice to go to church once in a while, but don't let religion take over
your life!" Maybe they don't say it in so many words, but that's the attitude
most people take. After a while, you can even start thinking that way yourself.

But it's not true! Open the eyes of your faith, and see what the blind man saw.
In order to stand accepted before Almighty God, you need a perfect
righteousness. You need that righteousness more than the food you eat; you
need it more than the very air you breath. Jesus is the One who has the perfect
righteousness you need. Jesus is the One who died on Calvary's cross to free
you from the guilt of your sins. Jesus is the One who rose again the third day so
that you also could rise, one Day, to everlasting life. Jesus is the only One you
can turn to for forgiveness, peace of conscience, and eternal life. Everything
else in your life - your job, your hobbies, your leisure activities - is isignificant
compared to that. Toward the end of His ministry, Jesus saw many people turn
away from Him in disillusion and embarrassment. They had other things to do,
other agendas to fulfill. Jesus asked His disciples, "Will you also go away?"
Peter replied, "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!"

They say that if you need something from somebody, you first have to get their
attention. And Scripture tells us that nothing gets Jesus' attention like a sinner's
humble cry for mercy. Of such a person the Lord says, "He shall call upon Me,
and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor
him." Psa 91:15. It works every time; it certainly worked for Bartimaeus! Our
text says, but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” So
Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Jesus was busy. He had work
to do and an agenda to fulfill. But nothing on His agenda is more important
than a humble sinner calling for mercy! Then they called the blind man, saying
to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” 50 And throwing aside his
garment, he rose and came to Jesus. He may have been a blind man, but
Bartimaeus had perfect vision. With the eyes of faith, he saw himself perfectly,
and he saw his Savior perfectly. Now he was about to see something else - he
was about to see his prayer answered perfectly!

So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The
blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” Then Jesus said
to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he
received his sight.

Do want to take a Bible challenge? Pull out your Bible when you get home and
try to find one instance where a humble sinner asked for something from Jesus
-- and failed to get what he asked for! I tried, but I couldn't do it. The tax
collector humbly asked forgiveness for his sins, and he got it. The Canaanite
woman asked that her daughter be healed, and she got it. Jairus with his
daughter, the ten lepers on the road, the paralytic let down through the roof, the
woman with an issue of blood, the man with the demon-possessed son, the thief
on the cross - and on and on and on and on! It's monotonous! They all asked for
Jesus' mercy, and every single one of them received what they asked for! Maybe
you’re beginning to get the message. God is in the mercy business. God will
have mercy on you - yes, even on you! Jesus loves to answer prayer; so ask Him!
Put Him to the test every day. As the hymnist puts it: "You are coming to a
King - LARGE petitions with you bring!"

Moreover, Jesus cares what happens to you, because He has a stake in you. He
is a King who has made you His subject by buying you with own blood. You are
extremely valuable to Him! He loves you dearly, and nothing could please Him
more than to answer your prayers. The Bible says, "Let us therefore come
boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help
in time of need." -- Heb 4:16.

Is there an especially grievous sin on your conscience? Come in repentance and
ask His forgiveness. Jesus says, "He who comes to Me I will by no means cast
out." -- John 6:37. Do you need wisdom to see your way through a problem,
relief from a sorrow in your life, help for making it through a tough time? Then I
can only say to you what they said to the blind beggar, Bartimaeus: "BE OF
GOOD CHEER. Rise, He is calling for you!" Jesus is calling for you. He is
waiting to answer your prayer. He is ready and waiting to provide you with
exactly the correct solution to whatever the problem is that you are facing right
now!

The other day I was reading about a man who was a medical missionary to a
remote part of northern India. At the time, the area was particularly affected by
a disease that caused progressive blindness. He developed a surgical procedure
that would arrest the disease, and naturally people flocked to him for the
procedure. Well, you can imagine their immense gratitude at being spared a life
of blindness. But their particular Indian dialect has no word for “thank you.”
Their expression for gratitude is, “I will tell your name.” So that’s what his
patients said to him, “I will tell your name.” And that’s they did. Wherever they
travelled, they told his name – they shared the good news about a physician
who had the power to cure blindness.

My Christian friends, you and I have the Greatest Physician. Our Lord Jesus
has cured the blindness of unbelief and healed us of disease of sin. We must tell
His name. We must tell His name! God has given us the faith of Bartimaeus -
the ability to see Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin, to see the riches that
belong to us in Christ, to see the eternal mansions that our Savior is preparing
for our arrival. Let us keep the eyes of our faith fixed on Jesus. And may God
grant to our eyes ever more perfect vision, until they see the dawning of His
eternal Day. AMEN.