THROW YOUR CLOAK ASIDE
MARK 10: 46-52
SOMETIMES THE MOST INSIGNIFICANT OF DETAILS, CAN BE PROFOUNDLY IMPORTANT TO THE CONTEXT OF THE STORY. WE MAY QUESTION WHY THE WRITER INCLUDED THEM, ONLY TO FIND OUT LATER THAT THESE DETAILS ARE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE. SUCH IS THE CASE FOR BARTIMAEUS TODAY.
THE ACCOUNT OF BARTIMAEUS INTRODUCES US TO OUR SINFUL CONDITION, HE WHO CAN BRING SALVATION TO US, THE CHANGE THAT OCCURS WHEN SALVATION HAPPENS, AND HOW WE AS A CHURCH SHOULD REACH OUT TO THE UNSAVED WORLD AROUND US.
BIBLICAL CONTEXT:
THIS IS JESUS’ FINAL TRIP TO JERUSALEM, TO CELEBRATE PASSOVER. IT WAS ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE HIS DEATH, AND THIS TIME THE PASCHAL LAMB THAT WAS TO BE SCARIFICED FOR THE SIN OF ALL HUMANKIND WOULD BE THE LORD HIMSELF. THIS PASSOVER WOULD OPEN THE DOOR TO THE USHERING IN OF THE NEW AGE OF SALVATION BY SPIRITUAL REBIRTH.
JESUS WAS AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POPULARITY, TEACHING GREAT CROWDS, AND HIS DISCIPLES. THE DISCIPLES SENSED AN URGENCY FROM JESUS ON THIS JOURNEY, THOUGH THEY COULD NOT IDENTIFY IT. WE KNOW IT WAS THE CROSS, BUT HIS CLOSEST FOLLOWERS COULD NOT FULLY COMPREHEND THIS.
LEAVING JERICHO ON HIS WAY TO JERUSALEM, HE PASSES A MAN REDUCED TO BEGGING BECAUSE OF BLINDNESS. HOW AND WHY HE BECAME BLIND WE DO NOT KNOW.
HIS NAME WE DO NOT KNOW. BARTIMAEUS WAS NOT THIS MAN’S NAME. IN HEBREW “BAR” MEANS “SON OF”, AND “TIMAEUS” MEANS “HONORABLE MAN”, SO WHAT WE ARE TOLD ABOUT THIS BLIND PERSON IS THAT HE IS THE SON OF AN HONORABLE MAN. MARK MAY HAVE USED THIS NAME TO CONTRAST JESUS BEING CALLED “SON OF DAVID” BUT WE CANNOT BE CERTAIN OF THIS.
WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT TO BE BLIND IN THOSE DAYS MEANT THAT YOU COULD NOT WORK, NOR GO ANYWHERE BY YOURSELF. THEY HAD NO HELP FROM SOCIAL AGENCIES, IN FACT THE OPPOSITE WAS THE CASE. IN JEWISH CIRCLES, BLINDNESS WAS A SIGN OF DISFAVOR FROM GOD.
JOHN 9:1-2:
AS HE WENT ALONG, HE SAW A MAN BLIND FROM BIRTH. 2 HIS DISCIPLES ASKED HIM, “RABBI, WHO SINNED, THIS MAN OR HIS PARENTS, THAT HE WAS BORN BLIND?”
NOW I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THE BLIND MAN SPOKEN OF HERE IN JOHN IS NOT THE SAME MAN MARK IS SPEAKING OF. THE CROSS-REFERENCES TO THE MARK PASSAGE MAKE NO MENTION OF THIS ONE IN JOHN. THE COMPLICATING FACTOR IN THIS IS THAT NUMEROUS TIMES JESUS HEALED THE SAME AFFLICTION EFFECTING DIFFERENT PEOPLE, MAKING MATTERS DIFFICULT.
WHAT THIS PASSAGE TELLS US IS THAT THE MAN’S BLINDNESS WAS SEEN BY THE PEOPLE TO BE GOD’S JUDGMENT AS A RESULT OF SIN. IT WAS A COMMON OCCURANCE FOR FATHERS TO PUT OUT FAMILY MEMBERS FOR BLINDNESS, AS THEY DID NOT WANT GOD’S DISFAVOR ON THEM.
JESUS WAS PASSING ON THE ROAD FROM JERICHO TO JERUSALEM. HE WAS QUITE POPULAR NOW AND GREAT CROWDS WOULD COME TO SEE HIM. THE BLIND MAN’S FRIENDS BROUGHT HIM TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT HE COULD GET A FEW EXTRA PENNIES BEGGING THERE. HE HOWEVER HAD OTHER PLANS.
ANALYZING THE TEXT:
THIS PASSAGE IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST THE HEALING OF A BLIND PERSON. IT REPRESENTS OUR SPIRITUAL WALK, BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER SALVATION. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN LOOKING FOR SOMETHING AND NOT BE ABLE TO SEE IT, WHEN IT WAS IN PLAIN SIGHT ALL THE TIME. I REMEMBER LOOKING FOR MY GLASSES, MUST HAVE BEEN HALF AN HOUR, BEFORE I REALIZED I WAS WEARING THEM.
THIS PASSAGE REMINDS US THAT THOUGH WE MAY PHYSICALLY BE ABLE TO SEE, WE MAY HAVE NO SPIRITUAL SIGHT AT ALL.
BARTIMAEUS CAME TO THAT ROAD THAT DAY WITH A PURPOSE. HE HAD HEARD THE TALK OF THE MIRACLES AND TEACHING JESUS HAD DONE. HE HAD HEARD OF JESUS’ COMPASSION AND KINDNESS, AND DARED TO HOPE THAT JESUS MIGHT SIT DOWN AND TALK WITH HIM, PERHAPS EVEN HEAL HIM. HE MAY HAVE REMEMBERED THE WORDS OF ISAIAH
ISAIAH 42:6-7:
6 “I, THE LORD, HAVE CALLED YOU IN RIGHTEOUSNESS; I WILL TAKE HOLD OF YOUR HAND. I WILL KEEP YOU AND WILL MAKE YOU TO BE COVENANT FOR THE PEOPLE AND A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, 7 TO OPEN EYES THAT ARE BLIND, TO FREE CAPTIVES FROM PRISON AND TO RELEASE FROM THE DUNGEON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS.
BARTIMAEUS WAS: POOR
BLIND
POWERLESS
AN OUTCAST
A MAN WITH NO HOPE
NOW I ASK YOU, IS THAT NOT THE STATE OF THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW CHRIST. THE BIBLE STATES CLEARLY IN EPHESIANS THAT WE ARE DEAD IN OUR SIN.
EPHESIANS 2:1-3:
AS FOR YOU, YOU WERE DEAD IN YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS AND SINS, 2 IN WHICH YOU USED TO LIVE WHEN YOU FOLLOWED THE WAYS OF THIS WORLD AND OF THE RULER OF THE KINGDOM OF THE AIR, THE SPIRIT WHO IS NOW AT WORK IN THOSE WHO ARE DISOBEDIENT. 3 ALL OF US ALSO LIVED AMONG THEM AT ONE TIME, GRATIFYING THE CRAVINGS OF OUR FLESH M AND FOLLOWING ITS DESIRES AND THOUGHTS. LIKE THE REST, WE WERE BY NATURE DESERVING OF WRATH
THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE CAN NOTE ABOUT BARTIMAEUS THAT IS NECESSARY FOR US AS WELL.
POINT ONE: HE WAS DETERMINED TO CHANGE HIS LIFE.
BARTIMAEUS KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING MORE IN LIFE TO BE DESIRED. FOR HIM IT WAS OBVIOUS, HE WANTED TO SEE.
FOR THOSE OF YOU LISTENING TODAY WHO ARE NOT CHRISTIANS, I WOULD DARE SAY THAT YOU REALIZE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING MISSING IN YOUR LIFE. YOU MAY THINK THAT EVERYTHING IS GOING WELL, AND IT MAY BE, BUT DEEP IN YOUR HEART YOU KNOW THAT SOMETHING IS MISSING. YOU HAVE A DESIRE THAT YOU CAN’T FILL NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY.
OUR HEARTS WERE DESIGNED TO CONTAIN GOD. AT THE TIME OF THE FALL A VOID OCCURRED IN OUR HEARTS THAT ONLY GOD CAN FILL. WE OFTEN REFER TO IT AS A “GOD SHAPED VOID.” WE DON’T UNDERSTAND IT, DON’T REALLY FEEL IT, IT’S JUST A NAGGING PRESENCE
PAUL TEACHES:
1 CORINTHIANS 2:14-15:
THE PERSON WITHOUT THE SPIRIT DOES NOT ACCEPT THE THINGS THAT COME FROM THE SPIRIT OF GOD BUT CONSIDERS THEM FOOLISHNESS, AND CANNOT UNDERSTAND THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE DISCERNED ONLY THROUGH THE SPIRIT. 15 THE PERSON WITH THE SPIRIT MAKES JUDGMENTS ABOUT ALL THINGS, BUT SUCH A PERSON IS NOT SUBJECT TO MERELY HUMAN JUDGMENTS
BARTIMAEUS BELIEVED AND KNEW THAT THERE WAS SOMEONE WHO COULD HELP HIM. HE WAS GOING TO BE ON THAT ROAD TODAY, AND HE WOULD DO EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO MEET HIM.
THE SAME IS TRUE FOR THE UNSAVED TODAY. THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL ENLIGHTEN US TO OUR NEED, BUT WE MUST BE DETERMINED TO DISCOVER OUR ANSWER IS CHRIST. THOSE WHO TRULY SEEK CHRIST WILL FIND HIM.
JEREMIAH 29:13-14:
YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME WHEN YOU SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART. 14 I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU,” DECLARES THE LORD, “AND WILL BRING YOU BACK FROM CAPTIVITY. I WILL GATHER YOU FROM ALL THE NATIONS AND PLACES WHERE I HAVE BANISHED YOU,” DECLARES THE LORD, “AND WILL BRING YOU BACK TO THE PLACE FROM WHICH I CARRIED YOU INTO EXILE.
IN HIS DETERMINATION HE RECOGNIZED:
HIS CONDITION
WHO JESUS WAS
WHAT JESUS COULD DO
HE KNEW: THAT HIS GREATEST OPPORTUNITY HAD COME
THAT THIS OPPORTUNITY COULD EASILY PASS HIM BY
THAT THIS OPPORTUNITY MIGHT NEVER RETURN
HE DID NOT KNOW IT, BUT WE DO THAT JESUS WOULD DIE A WEEK LATER AT CALVARY.
THE QUESTION YOU FACE IS DO YOU KNOW AS BARTIMAEUS DID?
DO YOU KNOW WHO JESUS IS?
HE IS THE LORD OF THE AGES.
HE IS THE KING OF KINGS
HE HASD DEFEATED THE POWERS OF SIN AND DEATH AND NOW HE IS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER MAKING INTERCESSION FOR YOU.
DO YOU KNOW THAT TODAY YOU HAVE THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY OF YOUR LIFE. YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACCEPT JESUS AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR AND LORD.
2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-2:
AS GOD’S CO-WORKERS WE URGE YOU NOT TO RECEIVE GOD’S GRACE IN VAIN. 2 FOR HE SAYS, “IN THE TIME OF MY FAVOR I HEARD YOU, AND IN THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” I TELL YOU, NOW IS THE TIME OF GOD’S FAVOR, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION
POINT TWO: HE CALLED OUT TO JESUS:
WHEN HE HEARD JESUS NEARBY, HE BEGAN TO CALL OUT TO HIM. HE KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING REMARKABLE ABOUT JESUS AND SAUGHT HIS HELP. HE BELIEVED IN JESUS AND KNEW HE WOULD BE DIFFERENT IN SOME WAY.
HE DOES NOT STOP CALLING FOR JESUS UNTIL JESUS RESPONDS. IT BEGINS A UNIQUE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS.
BARTIMAEUS CALLS, AND THE PEOPLE INITIALLY REBUKE HIM. THEY TELL HIM TO BE QUIET. PERHAPS THEY ARE THINKING THAT THE LORD HAS BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN DEAL WITH A MAN IN DIVINE DISFAVOR.
HE RECOGNIZED JESUS MESSIAHSHIP AS HE REFERS TO HIM AS “SON OF DAVID.” IN CALLING JESUS THIS HE WAS ACTUALLY REFERRING TO THE FACT THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD COME FROM THE LINE OF DAVID.
NOW NOTE WHAT HAPPENS. IN V. 49 THEY SAY “CHEER UP! ON YOUR FEET! HE’S CALLING YOU. I’VE WONDERED HOW HE KNEW WHERE JESUS WAS, BUT SOMEONE MUST HAVE LED HIM TO CHRIST.
NOTE THAT IN V. 50 HE THROWS HIS CLOAK ASIDE. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT HE IS STILL BLIND AT THIS TIME, AND THIS SEEMS LIKE AN INSIGNIFIGANT POINT TO MENTION AT THIS TIME.
IT, IN FACT, IS BARTIMAEUS PUTTING HIS FAITH IN ACTION. AT THE TIME OF JESUS THOSE WHO WERE BLIND WOULD WEAR A GARMENT THAT WAS A SYMBOL OF HIS BLINDNESS. TODAY WE COULD ASSOCIATE IT WITH DARK GLASSES, OR A WHITE CANE.
BARTIMAEUS WAS PUTTING HIS FAITH IN ACTION. HE WAS TELLING EVERYONE THAT HE WAS GOING TO SEE AGAIN.
JESUS THEN ASKED WHAT SEEMS LIKE A REDICULOUS QUESTION:
“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU?
WHAT DO YOU THINK I WANT YOU TO DO. I WANT TO SEE!
THROUGHOUT THE AGES CHRIST ASKS THAT SAME QUESTION TO ONE AND ALL, “WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU?”
THE STORY IS TOLD OF A FATHER OVERHEARING HIS LITTLE SON’S PRAYER AT BEDTIME. HE BOY SAID “ I WANT A NEW RED 10 SPEED BIKE. I NEED A BASKET ON IT AND I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A BELL AS WELL. BUT I WARN YOU, DON’T TRY TO FOOL ME WITH A GIRL’S BIKE, BECAUSE I KNOW ONLY BOYS BIKES HAVE THE BAR IN THE MIDDLE.”
HIS FATHER HEARD HIM REPEAT THE PRAYER SEVERAL TIMES, AND SO HE WENT OUT AND PURCHASED IT FOR HIS SON.
A FEW MONTHS LATER HIS SON HEARD HIS FATHER AND MOTHER TALKING ABOUT BUYING A NEW CAR. THE FATHER SAID “I LIKE IT, BUT I WISH IT WAS BLUE AND THE DEALER SAID HE COULDN’T GET ONE IN.”
THE LITTLE BOY SAID “DAD DID YOU ASK GOD FOR IT IN BLUE?” THE FATHER SAID NO. THEN THE LITTLE BOY SAID “WE COULD ASK GOD FOR IT IN BLUE. AND WHILE WE’RE AT IT I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO SEE MOVIES IN THE BACK SEAT.”
THE FATHER SAID “I DON’T THINK WE SHOULD BOTHER GOD WITH SUCH REQUESTS”. THE LITTLE BOY REPLIED “I ASKED HIM FOR A NEW BIKE WITH A LOT OF THINGS ON IT AND HE GAVE IT TO ME. THIS IS BIGGER, BUT I KNOW HE CAN DO IT.”
THE FATHER DECIDED HE BETTER TELL HIS SON THE TRUTH. “I HEARD YOU PRAYING FOR YOUR BIKE, AND SO I GOT IT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY. GOD DIDN’T GET IT FOR YOU”
THE LITTLE BOY SMILED AND REPLIED, “GOD DID GET IT FOR ME, HE JUST USED YOU TO DO THE LEG WORK.”
THE RESULTS OF HIS FAITH:
BARTIMAEUS DIDN’T NEED HIS BLIND CLOTHES FOR AS SOON AS HE ASKED FOR HIS SIGHT GOD GAVE IT TO HIM. NOT ONLY HIS PHYSICAL SIGHT BUT HIS SPIRITUAL SIGHT AS WELL. AS SOON AS HE COULD SEE HE FOLLOWED CHRIST.
THAT CLOAK WAS FOR THE BLIND. BARTIMAEUS HAD NO RIGHT TO WEAR IT NOW. IHE TRADED HIS CLOAK OF BLINDNESS FOR A WEDDING GOWN OF SIGHT. NOW HE WAS PART OF THE KINGDOM. NOW HE WAS PART OF THE BRIDE OF CHRIST. HE HAD A NEW LIFE AND NEEDED NO TIES TO HIS PAST.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17: THEREFORE, IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, THE NEW CREATION HAS COME: THE OLD HAS GONE, THE NEW IS HERE!
CONCLUSION:
TODAY YOU MAY BE FACING THE GREATEST QUESTION OF YOUR LIFE. JESUS IS ASKING “WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?” ONLY YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT. ONLY YOU KNOW THE TRUE STATE OF YOUR SOUL. WHEN HE ASKS YOU THAT QUESTION, HOW WILL YOU ANSWER.
THE STORY IS TOLD OF A LITTLE BOY THAT HAD WANDERED FROM HIS HOME, NOT PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO WHERE HE HAD WANDERED TO AS HE FOLLOWED HIS DOG UNTIL HE NOTICED THAT HIS SURROUNDINGS WERE NO LONGER FAMILIAR TO HIM. HIS EYES WELLED UP WITH TEARS, HIS LITTLE HEART FILLED WITH FRIGHT. DIRECTLY, HIS EMOTIONS WERE NO LONGER CONTROLLABLE.
HE STOOD ON THE CORNER SOBBING UNCONTROLLABLY. SOON, A POLICE OFFICER NOTICED THE YOUNG BOY CRYING. “WHAT’S THE MATTER, SON?”
THROUGH HIS TEARS AND SOBBING, THE LITTLE BOY SAID, “I’M LOST! I HAD FOLLOWED MY DOG AWAY FROM HOME AND NOW I’M LOST.”
THE POLICE OFFICER KNELT DOWN BESIDE HIM AND GENTLY SAID, “SON, NOT TO WORRY. I’LL HELP YOU GET HOME. I’LL NOT HURT YOU. MY JOB IS TO SEE THAT YOU GET SAFELY HOME. PLEASE LET ME HELP.”
THE LITTLE BOY TOOK THE OFFICER BY THE HAND. “NOW WHERE DO YOU LIVE? WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE STREET.?” THE OFFICER ASKED. THE LITTLE BOY LOOKED AROUND AND SAID “ I CAN’T REMEMBER THE NAME OF MY STREET.”
“OK” SAID THE OFFICER. “WHAT IS YOUR PHONE NUMBER? WE CAN CALL YOUR MOM AND DAD AND THEY CAN COME AND GET YOU.” “WE DON’T HAVE A PHONE IN OUR HOUSE.”
“WELL THEN, CAN YOU GIVE ME A LANDMARK OF SOME KIND?” “YES” THE LITTLE ONE SAID AND BRIGHTENED UP. “NOT TOO FAR FROM OUR HOUSE IS A CHURCH WITH A HIGH STEEPLE WITH A CROSS ON TOP OF IT. DO YOU KNOW WHERE THAT STEEPLE MAY BE?”
“YES I DO SON” “WELL THEN SIR, PLEASE TAKE ME TO THE FOOT OF THAT CROSS AND I CAN MAKE IT FROM THERE.”
ISN’T IT TIME TO TRADE IN THE CLOAK OF BLINDNESS FOR THE BEAUTIFUL ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. YOU CAN FIND IT AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS.
