Mark 10:46-52.                  He followed Jesus!!!                                      25/10/15

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”⁵⁰ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

⁵² “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Throughout this last month we have been focussing on Jesus’ teaching in Mark’s Gospel, chapter ten. Throughout there has been this constant thread of the last shall be first and the first shall be last, turning upside down the popular thinking of our world. Constantly Jesus is confronting the views of the whole broad sphere of humanity and its concept of putting self first and up on a pedestal; even against God.

At the beginning of the chapter there were those who put their views of divorce above what God and his Word says on this issue. Then we have the disciples trying to dismiss children from Jesus’ presence, because obviously they don’t have the intellectual capacity of a grown up. Then we had the rich young man who thought his wealth and good living was what was going to give him a good life here and in heaven: Followed by James and John want positions of power and glory in God’s kingdom.

Right in the middle of all of this Jesus says: "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."

Humanity has visions of grandeur and glory; and a focus on ourselves and what we think and do. Jesus focus and mission is to do what is best for us, even though that encompasses suffering and death: being punished for what we have done wrong and deserve to come our way.

Jesus is always wanting us to see that on our own and focussed on ourselves we will always come up short. Sin and selfishness continually messes everything up for us and brings troubles and death on us. Nothing is surer; no matter how hard we try or how far we go in trying to twist and shape life so as to be able to accomplish what we would like, it never works out. We can never achieve the happiness, fulfilment and eternal life that we know should be there for us.

Blind Bartimaeus knows this all too well. He typifies us all, even though we are not physically blind like he was, or have to beg for our existence as he had to. He knows full well that his life is going nowhere and humanly speaking there is no way out of his predicament: he can’t try harder or be more positive in his thinking. He is blind and that is the end of the story. He is last with no way forward.

However he hears all that chatter that is going around about this Jesus performing many miracles. Then wonder of wonders he hears that this Jesus is coming his way.

Though being last, unworthy and not deserving he simply calls out and calls out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Even when everyone around him tells him to shut up, he becomes even more insistent. Here is his only hope.

But what is even more significant is the fact that he calls him Son of David. Even though he can’t see for himself, or read about it, or any such thing, he recognises that this one who does all the miracles that everyone says he is doing, can only be one who is sent by God himself. Here then surely is the Promised One of the line of King David. He surely was the Messiah that was promised over and over again that God would send at the right time to bring salvation to his people.

Bartimaeus acknowledges and accepts Jesus for who he is. He doesn’t play games with Jesus or focus on himself and his own knowledge, reasoning or goodness. He simply cries out for mercy; for help that only God can give. He is blind, unworthy, and even a sinner, but only God, in Jesus, can help him. So he calls out.

Then Jesus calls him over and asks what it is that he wants Jesus to do for him. His reply is simple and clear: “Rabbi, I want to see.” No self-justification, or bargaining, or rash promises. He just asks for what he believes that Jesus can do for him.

At this point all Jesus does is to say: “Go, your faith has healed you”. With a simple word; no mud, hand laying or any such thing. Just “Go, your faith has healed you”. And Immediately he received his sight. Jesus recognises that this man simply trusts that Jesus can do what only God can do. With a simple word God can create sight out of darkness.

Then comes that which is truly significant in this case: Bartimaeus immediately can see and immediately he follows Jesus along the road. Here there is no going back to gather his few belongings, and see family and then going on to live his life to the full making up for lost ground. Here there is no life that is all about ‘me’ and what ‘I’ want. No, he immediately follows Jesus.

He is taken captive by this one who has given him life. How can he do anything but follow Jesus. This is the greatest thing that could ever happen to him: so then this Jesus is now all important for him and for his life. He who was completely last, is now considered as first in God’s kingdom. So now he immediately allows Jesus and all that he says to be that which he follows from this point on.

So, now, the whole point in all of this for us today is the question; are we going to see Jesus as the Lord God Almighty come into our lives and are we prepared to follow him? Or are we going to be like the Pharisees with their attitude of ‘did God really say’ try to make God’s word be suitable to ours and our society’s whims? Or even the disciples and quibble over who is the greatest and wanting to be and show our own importance? Or perhaps be like the rich man and not want to give up the importance of our wealth and comfortable life-style?

Surely for us, we too, recognise that we are like the blind man and have no real life or hope from a purely humanistic approach to life. Without God we are here but for a few years; and even they are lives that are filled with aimless wanderings, hoping that somehow it all means something.

Recently I attended a funeral service that was led by a celebrant, where she put forward a whole range of ideas of what life was about, without any substance or coherence between all the different views, which were somehow meant to give meaning to the person’s life and death. There was no mention at all of God. It really was a sad and empty view of life. Is it any wonder then the futility, addictions and meaninglessness that many have in their lives today.

We surely recognise that this is the consequence of our sin and rebellion against God. All of us, all too often, seek to live by and for ourselves and our own rules. The results of this are that we have blinded ourselves to the life that is meant to be there for us.

But because we have seen and come to understand the greatness of God’s love for us and the help that he has extended to us through our Lord Jesus Christ, our lives have been changed dramatically. Jesus death and resurrection surely now has turned our lives upside down, Where there was darkness, now there is light and life.

Here is not the false hope that the world gives about going up there somewhere when we die; even though we have never taken Jesus and his death seriously. We however are given this eternal life as a guarantee because of Jesus death and resurrection and our connection to that through our baptisms. We know for sure that we have life and salvation, because we know as a certainty that Jesus died for our forgiveness and was raised again from the dead so that we can have the certainty that all of this is real for us.

So now even though we were last because of our sin and death, now we are first because of what Jesus has done for us. What joy is now ours! What light has broken into our darkness! Now we have life in all of its fullness guaranteed for all eternity. This is amazing indeed.

So surely now we also will react immediately to this wonderful thing that has happened to us. Surely now we will want to follow Jesus. This Jesus and his death and resurrection will be that which is all important for us. We will want him and his word to dictate what we do, at all times. Every day, in every way, our first thoughts will be in subjection to him who is now all important for us.

We will follow him in everything, rather than impose our thinking and reasoning over him and what he has to say to us. Our first reaction will always be what has Jesus said and done in regard to whatever the topic is. Then we will simply and humbly follow. We like this formerly blind man and the disciples will give up on following the world and its ways and seek to subject ourselves to him and what he has to say.

How can we do anything but, for he has transformed us out of darkness into light? In our sinful nature we were blind, but now we can see that he alone has that which is important for us. Even though we too were last, in connection to him and his way, we are first. So now let us go from here to seek to follow him always.

To him be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish