Glorifying God
Study Scripture: Mark 10: 46 – 52
Background Scripture: Mark 10: 46 – 52
Lesson 3 September 18, 2021
Key Verse
And replying to him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you? And the man who was blind said to him, Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!”.
Mark 10:51
INTRODUCTION
We are now looking at a scene which interrupts the path of Jesus and His disciples who are traveling to Jerusalem. Jesus’ destination is the final encounter with the rulers of Israel which He knows will end with the Cross.
Jesus had not before declared public and emphatically that He is the Messiah promised by His Father the Lord God Almighty. Jesus has been teaching His disciples about the ways of God and the kind of ministry that He would have to fulfill but according to Mark the disciples were not being too receptive to these ideas. They had in fact been blind to certain spiritual truths for when Jesus told the disciples of His coming death and its necessity in 8:31-33, 9:30-32 and 10:32-34 their response was less than what we would consider appropriate or fitting.
We are therefore faced with several important issues which relate directly to us. We therefore should pay special attention to the lessons that we can learn when we examine Jesus’ way to the Cross and the meaning of His encounters with people.
It is interesting to note that Mark included two stories of blind men as he comes close to concluding His gospel to show us that the disciples or followers of Jesus can be quite blind even though some of His inner circle had been with Jesus at the Transfiguration recorded in Chapter 9:2-8..
The subject of our Study Scripture therefore is quite appropriately the last healing miracle of Jesus which immediately precedes Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem which enraged the scribes and Pharisees , members of the Sanhedrin, and the religious and political rulers an event which ends with Jesus’ crucifixion.
Are we in fact like the disciples who at this stage in their spiritual development were not spiritually receptive enough to the teachings of Jesus and who had not really wanted Jesus to carry out the plan of the Father in Heaven. We recall that Jesus had to strongly rebuke Peter for this position which we can clearly see was also the position of the rest of the disciples
So what do you see in the plan of God and the government of God that does not seem quite right to you and which you would think you can improve on?
Remember that we face this issue every day because there are many small and large events in our lives which sometimes happen and we think that God should not have allowed those things to happen to us in that way, if they should happen at all.
We note in context the significance of Jesus previously healing another blind man from Bethsaida in Mark 8:22-32 but in that case the blind man’s behaviour was quite passive and Jesus’ first attempt to heal the man ended in him seeing imperfectly and Jesus had needed to act again in order for him to have perfect vision . In that case Jesus instructed the man not to spread the word of what Jesus had done. Jesus’ work had to stress an important lesson to the disciples.
Jesus then made great efforts to teach His disciples of what awaited Him in the future as He carried out the will of the Father, but to no avail.
We therefore now looking at a miracle designed to perform a blunt kind of teaching about spiritual truth. It involves another blind man named Bartimaeus.
Will we learn about being perceptive of spiritual Truth?
Will Jesus now have to reveal Himself as He had never done before publicly accepting the use of a prophetic messianic title to open the spiritual eye of His disciples?
Will the man who wanted to be healed also want a position of honour and glory from someone who he clearly regarded as Messiah in contrast to what the disciples wanted?
Why is this blind man regarded as the greatest example or the paragon of faith in this gospel of Mark?
Where did his faith come from? After all, being blind he could never have seen the things that Jesus did. The most we can say is that he might have heard about some of them.
So then, what is necessary for faith?
This blind man is not to be totally pitied for he knows how to deal with people who try to silence him.
Is there this substance of persistence a part of your faith which makes you quite bold in expressing your faith? Or does your “faith” lack this quality?
Do you grasp who Jesus is even though the data about Him that you have is quite limited and those around you seem to lack spiritual perception about Him?
What does the limitation in your knowledge about Jesus mean? What is the significance of your spiritual ignorance about Jesus’ identity mean for Him to show you mercy and healing?
Are you prepared to persist despite the hindrances about you?
Do you really want to be transformed?
Have you considered that you should ask Jesus for the “right thing”?
Do you consider that faith means you cling to Jesus no matter what?
Will your faith lead you to follow Jesus without any doubt after your healing?
Consider these matters carefully.
There are of course many lessons we can apply when we examine the event in this Study and see how it relates to what happens in our day-to-day life. So we encourage that you do not hesitate to cry out to God for help.
THE TEXT
Verses 46.
Greatness is incompatible with selfish ambition. The man of God does not crave for power, position, and the right to control and dominate others. That style belongs to the world. Greatness belongs to those who want to be servants, who want to minister to other men, to show them the ways of God without thought to reward, and to gently point them to the truth of Scripture and the person of Jesus Christ.
This is the road that believers in God follow, because this is the road that Jesus Christ walked. It has been demonstrated that it is certainly not a road of “sight”, but a road of faith, or trust in reliance on the word of God.
Mark illustrates this by telling the story of the blind beggar, which some, because of his name, believe was the blind son of a blind father.
Jesus and His disciples came from Jericho after they had met with Zaccheus and had converted him. This is when they had departed that city to head towards Jerusalem. Many people were following Jesus out of the city, perhaps for healing or looking for more miracles of some sort or because they believed the words of the Good Master, and wanted to hear more. However, what can possibly be said is that all these people who followed Jesus could see physically. Matthew 20 also speaks to this encounter with Bartimaeus, but he speaks of two blind men, while Mark speaks of only the one blind man.
Bartimaeus was blind from birth, but to add depth to the situation it is believed that his father, Timaeus, was also blind. Bartimaeus was by the road begging, for perhaps this way of life to survive was passed along from his father. Be that as it may we should note that begging was not regarded as a disgraceful way to live in that culture even though it would sometimes be unpleasant. One writer comments on this blind man’s name and his situation:
“Bar means son and timao means honour, so Bartimaeus means son of honor. The man’s circumstances (a blind beggar) stands at odds with his pretentious name (son of honour). As a blind beggar he lives on the margins of society. But Jesus would show him respect and restore his sight so that the man might reclaim the honour accorded by his name.
Mark does not usually name beneficiaries of miracles– he names only Jairus and Bartimaeus in this Gospel. It could be that Bartimaeus is active in the church and is known to Mark’s readers”.
What Jesus did with Bartimaeus was no different than what He did with the people in Jericho or even Zaccheus. He opened the eyes of the people to the truth of God to provide them with a better more wonderful life. Jesus’ actions here yet typify the spiritual cures wrought by the grace of Christ.
Verse 47.
This man knew his condition, that he was blind. He was not like the disciples or the rest of the world. He was clearly shut up in the world of total darkness but being on the road side where blind beggars congregated to get alms he would doubtlessly have heard people talk about Jesus and he likely would ask them to tell him some stories about what Jesus did. He might even have heard that Jesus had healed a blind man previously. So there was hope in his heart and he determined that if Jesus passed along his road he would call out to Him and beg Him to open his eyes.
One can just imagine that when Bartimaeus sat on the roadside he would never miss an opportunity to call to the people passing by and ask them over and over again to tell him the story of Jesus healing the man that had been born blind. Then when the people told him that story he would listen with a smile of hope and his determination would grow as to what he would say if Jesus ever passed by him.
Note that this blind beggar who grew up in the Jewish community certainly know from Isaiah 61:1-2 that the Messiah when He came would open the eyes of the blind.
He would certainly meditate on this Scripture and he developed a keen spiritual insight for he came to believe that Jesus must be the Messiah. This man therefore became a secret disciple of Jesus.
He would never join in with the religious rulers who were hostile to Jesus. He would never join in with those that called Jesus a fake and a deceiver for he knew from his common sense that a deceiver could never have opened the eyes of a blind man as Jesus had done. Bartimaeus kept thinking that Jesus must be the promised Messiah. He dreamed everyday for many years that Messiah would come and he would receive his sight.
His Prayer would certainly change things and Jesus who kew all things would know that this blind beggar was there waiting on Him to come.
So think about it! You have heard about Jesus’ miracles, His spotless life, His death on the Cross, His bodily resurrection, His ascension, and of those disciples and apostles who did miracles and who spread knowledge of Him all over the world. You know the effect of His life on the entire world. You have heard that Jesus can forgive your sins, cleanse you of your sins no matter how serious they might have been, and bring you into the family of God. You have heard that you can have eternal life through believing on His name
So what will you do?
So look at this Study on this story of this blind beggar.
When he heard that Jesus was nearby he began to cry out and would not be restrained, and he continued to demand attention from Jesus.
He continued to cry out, calling Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David. Some commentaries refer to Bartimaeus’ plea as a prayer. He cried for mercy from Jesus, not for money or food, but for something that only Jesus could offer him, and so as the Bible attests, he could not and would not be silenced until he got his moment with Jesus.
He knew that Jesus, the Son of David, would have mercy on him, he who it was foretold, that, when he should come would save the people; this is who his cries went out to, not Jesus of Nazareth. Who Bartimeus was looking toward was the Messiah for mercy, Isa. 35:5. The blind man knew he needed mercy from Jesus. He didn’t think that God owed him; he wanted mercy.
Verse 48.
We are therefore now looking at the response of faith. This blind beggar was not worrying about collecting money from the vast throng of people going toward Jerusalem for Passover now.
He was not worrying about whether anything good could come out of Nazareth like some did. He knew that Jesus was the One to whom the prophets had pointed to, and he knew that Jesus was the pivotal and crucial core of the plan of God for He was the Promised One, the son of David.
His spiritual eyes were open. In this respect his spiritual eyes made him well ahead of the disciples that followed Jesus.
His belief was strong. When he heard that Jesus was passing by he knew his prayers were answered. The more the people tried to stop his cries, the more he cried out to Jesus. He kept repeating that Jesus was the Son of David, the Messiah, the Trustee of mercy and grace and that he required mercy on him.
Matthew deals with this encounter between Bartimaeus and Jesus. So does Luke. In this particular verse as dealt with in Luke,
William Barclay points out there is a difference in the ancient Greek words used to describe the action of the blind man in Luke 18:38 and 18:39, and show the blind man’s great desperation.
· Cried out (Luke 18:38): “An ordinary loud shout to attract attention.”
· Cried out all the more (Luke 18:39): “The instinctive cry of ungovernable emotion, a scream, an almost animal cry.”
The language and intent of Bartimaeus is the same in this passage in Mark. Bartimaeus was seeking out Jesus’ attention knowing that He was present and that by all means necessary his life depended on that meeting.
Verse 49.
The ‘One’ who came to serve and to give His life a ransom for many, responded to the man who refused to be silenced. Jesus for the first time accepted the title given publicly to Him. This title would be a challenge to the rulers of the Jews.
Christ encouraged this blind beggar to hope that he would find mercy, for He stood still, and commanded that the man be called.
It was a little strange to understand how Jesus heard the cry despite the din and noise of the crowd heading toward Jerusalem and the Passover celebrations. But, Jesus heard the cry, just as He could distinguish between the touch of the woman with the issue of blood and the touch and the pushing on Him of the people crowding around Him.
The crowd that had been harassing the poor man to keep quiet now changed their tune, telling the blind beggar, the man that they had regarded as being at the bottom of the scrap heap to cheer up, for Jesus would help him.
The gracious invitations Christ gives us to come to Him, are great encouragements to our hope, so much so that we should hurry to Him, so that we can have salvation and our needs meet in the will of God. Let the guilty, the empty, the tempted, the hungry, the naked, be of good comfort, for He calls them to be pardoned, to be supplied, to be succoured, to be filled, to be clothed, to have all that done for them, which their case calls for.
Those whom Christ effectually calls by His grace, of which this instance is emblematical, have reason to be of good comfort, that the effectual calling is a ground of comfort and they can be assured that they are loved by God.
The call is evidence of God’s everlasting love to them, and that they are the chosen of God, for, whom He did predestinate, He calls; and that they are Christ’s, and are redeemed by Him, seeing He has called them by name: and they may expect all good things from Him; seeing they are called according to grace, given them in Him before the world began; and are called to the participation of the blessings of grace; and it is affirmed that all things work together for their good: wherefore they may live in the faith of eternal glory and happiness; since they that are called, are justified, and shall be glorified.
Verse 50.
The poor, blind beggar was so anxious for help from Jesus that he threw away from him his loose upper clothes, so that nothing could slow him down, or trip him up, hindering him from getting to Jesus.
Verses 51.
Jesus’ life demonstrated the necessity to serve the needs of others. That was His mission and He carried it out to the end.
Jesus asked the man a strange but deliberate question, to see if the man really knew what he wanted, and what was most important to him. There was real power in both the asking and in the answer of Jesus. God may ask us the same question, and we should be able to articulate an answer that glorifies Him.
Without hesitation the man replied that he wanted to receive sight. This was the opportunity of a lifetime and he would not make a mistake.
The title Rabboni “is a strengthened form of ‘Rabbi,’ and means ‘my lord,’ ‘my master.’ ” (Lane) When Bartimaeus said this, he expressed his humble submission towards Jesus.
The specific nature of Bartimaeus’ request is a good example for our prayers. “Have mercy on me” is general, but his prayer moved from the general to the specific request, “that I may receive my sight.”
Verse 52.
Jesus had stopped to serve this ‘unimportant’ man, though He was going to Jerusalem and the Cross, arguably the most important event in His life.
The man had asked for sight, for that was the most important thing that his heart wished for. He did not wish for power, money, and fame, but just his sight. He knew that Jesus could give him the desires of his heart.
Jesus would wish that the disciples had similarly recognized the most important things for them personally. If they had, they would have known, that the road to the greatness they sought, led through immense sacrifice and suffering.
Jesus responded by healing him, recognizing his faith, shown by his persistent eagerness, and the fact that he had recognized Jesus as the Messiah. The man was not afraid to acknowledge who Jesus was, and to seek true healing from Him.
The faith of the blind man saved him because it was a specific kind of faith.
It was faith that was determined to reach Jesus (he cried out all the more).
· It was faith that knew who Jesus was (Son of David).
· It was faith that came humbly to Jesus (have mercy on me).
· It was faith that humbly submitted to Jesus (Rabboni).
· It was faith that could tell Jesus what it wanted (that I may receive my sight).
Now healed and saved, blind Bartimaeus then followed Jesus. The way of Jesus became his way. This was especially significant when we consider where Jesus was going at this time – to Jerusalem where a Cross waited for Him.
Christ put honour on Bartimaeus because of his faith; “Thy faith hath made thee whole” and when he had received his sight, he followed Jesus by the way. This is the double honour he put on himself, and honour he put on Jesus Christ.
By this he made it appear that he was thoroughly cured, that he no more needed one to lead him, but could go himself; and by this he evidenced the grateful sense he had of Christ’s kindness to him, that, when he had his sight, he made this use of it.
Note carefully that when Jesus made him whole this blind beggar received more than just physical sight. His spiritual eyes were open even wider and he followed Jesus. Being made whole is a most important thing for us to aim at.
It is not enough to come to Christ for spiritual healing, but, when we are healed, we must continue to follow Him; that we may do honour to Him, and receive instruction from Him. Those that have spiritual eye-sight, see that beauty in Christ, that will effectually draw them to run after Him.
CONCLUSION
Do you want to see?
Relying on faith in Jesus is most important. We do not have to see the result of our requests. We must walk in the ways of God and not lean to our own understanding.
Consider how faith is to be shown, built up, and how it is needed for faith to be shown to the community around us for they have needs for compassion and grace.
The Scriptures have told us certain things, and we must have a rock solid confidence in them. We must accept the testimony of God as truth and act on it. One writer tells us plainly:
“The man or woman who finds grace with God is the one whose desire for grace is greater than the obstacles to grace. His prayer will not be stopped by the opposition of family or friends or even religious authorities who try to silence him.
His prayer is desperate because he has come to understand his great need of Christ.
When your sinful flesh and Satan and your own heart would cause you to cling to the comfort of your rags of sin and be quiet, it is time to try out all of the louder, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”.
This man’s prayer was simple. He did not find his prayer in a prayer book. It was not a flowery oration. His prayer was not filled with impressive theological terms. He had simply recognized that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Son of David.
The words that came from his lips were first formed in his heart. They expressed his deepest desire for mercy.
Jesus will not ignore the earnest cry for help. He stops. He looks around. He sees a man who cannot see him. There on the roadside sits blind Bartimaeus, calling out to him. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”.
Remember the change in attitude of the crowd. They had tried to shut them up but now they heard that Jesus was calling for him they tried to have him telling him to, Cheer up, for Jesus was calling.
Don’t be discouraged. You would probably find that many of them that were trying to discourage you from coming to Christ will now support your actions and might even congratulate you now that they see the strength of your character. Many will find that the new you will be much more attractive than the “old you”. Our opinions and feelings are really of little importance. They can mislead us. We can only live, if we walk as Christ guides. God never forgets His promises. His words will never return to Him void. He is the only one who really knows what is happening around us and in the world. It therefore makes the most sense to trust Him alone.