Mark - I want to see

 

I want to see

Good morning and Happy Sabbath,

Question of the day: What is something beautiful that you saw this week?

Today we will finish chapter 10.  

It may be a short lesson but it is packed with some beautiful things to ponder and apply to our lives.  

READ: Mark 10: 46-52

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

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.

I love this story.  Simple, yes, but full of somethings I needed this week.  

What we know about this man.  We know his name, Bartimaeus. He lives in Jericho, he is blind, he has heard about Jesus and believes he is the Messiah, he was bold, he wanted to see, and he knew Jesus could heal him. 

What we don't know about him is how long he was blind, or much about his life before blindness.  We don't know how he heard about Jesus, or how long he had believed.  We don't know how long he followed Jesus after he was healed or what else happened in his life. 

Back to what we know.

He name Bartimaeus tells us something.  Bartimaeus, means son of "Timaeus" and Timaeus means unclean or defiled.  This makes me wonder.  Wonder about his family, if his father was called unclean or defiled, if that was his name, it doesn't sound like he had an easy life.  Names meant something then, so his father wouldn't have been named that because it sounded cool.  So we can deduct that Bartimaeus was not just blind, he started from a place of disgrace. 

Perhaps one of the most beautiful parts of this story is connected to his name.  See, this man has spent a lifetime being called, "son of the unclean or defiled."  He has had to shoulder the shame associated with his father every single day of his life.  I find it then incredibly beautiful that when he cries out to Jesus he doesn't call him Jesus, he also doesn't call him Messiah, but "Son of David."  Son of David, was the same as saying the Messiah, because that is how they would refer to the Messiah, but he called him "Son of David."  Here we see, son of the defiled and unclean calling out to son of beloved.  Wow what a contrast.  The son of the unclean crying out to the son of the beloved.  

What does it tell us that he was from Jericho?  Anything? 

Jericho was considered a city of refuge.  It was a beautiful place, where the rich and elite liked to get away to.  So we know that the streets going into and out of Jericho were often filled with beggars because it was a good place to encounter those who could help them.  This doesn't tell us much except that it is certain that he was not the only beggar crying out.  I know as a young girl growing up in Ethiopia, I can remember the site of streets lined with beggars, and the smell.  I can imagine, that as they were arriving and now leaving, the crowd was ignoring the beggars. This would not have been like a quiet stroll with just a few people.  I am sure this man was part of a line of many beggars all crying out for what they needed.  

So what made this man stand out?  What got him noticed?

"He began to shout." 

Shout.

Personal note...  This week grandma has several times gotten angry at me and told me to shush, that I was being too loud.  (I was not being loud at all, but asking for some cooperation and she didn't like what I was asking.)  It didn't matter.  It was awful to be told I was being too loud. I now you are thinking I need therapy, and I had some this week, and it helped me realize why it bothered me so much. 

The facts are I am sure the beggars were told to stop begging all the time! If they got too loud, or seemed too aggressive.  I know from experience watching them in Ethiopia, that they are always dancing on this fine line, between loud and aggressive enough to be seen and quiet and docile enough to not irritate people.  

It took being bold and a great determination, or desperation for this man to loud enough to get noticed with this large crowd passing by and to keep going when he was being shushed.  

It is important to note it is also not just that he shouted but what he shouted.  

"Son of David"

This was the equivalent to him shouting, "Messiah." He was letting Jesus know he knew who he was.  He believed who he was.  

This week when I was "rebuked" it made me retreat, but this man got louder.  This man put it all out on the line.  He didn't hold back.  

Then when Jesus and he meet, Jesus asks a question, "what do you want me to do for you?" 

If Jesus stopped by today how would you answer that question?

Would you have a hard time deciding what is the one thing, you would ask for, or would it have to be a list?  We have prayer lists all the time, so maybe you have a list too.  

Bartimaeus didn't ask for a list of things.  Just one thing!

"Rabbi, I want to see."

"Rabbi, I want to see."

I know he was blind, but so many rich people, so many spiritual leaders, so many beggars along that road could see, but were completely blind to who Jesus was, and Bartimaeus was blind but could "see" Jesus, the Messiah. 

Do you want to see?

Then Jesus heals his eyes and tells him, "Go, your faith has healed you."  

It may seem like a little thing, but here Jesus extends not only healing, but once again dignity.  Jesus could have said, "Go, I have healed you."  Yet he extends the grace and dignity to this man by pointing out that the son of the unclean, that Bartimaeus's faith healed him.  Remember unclean and defiled are spiritually unclean.  This man went his whole life being looked at as spiritually unclean and Jesus not only gives him his eyes, but publicly says this man has power filled faith. 

Then it ends with the man getting up and following Jesus. 

No matter where you are today.  No matter how dire your circumstances, no matter how long you have been away from God, or considered an outsider, or what physical or spiritual healing you need, when you encounter Jesus, when you believe in who He is, miraculous things happen.  

I want to challenge you to boldly, loudly, with conviction and faith, cry out to Jesus.  He will hear, he will listen, and he will answer.  

I know you are thinking that is great but I have asked for healing and not received it, or someone I loved hasn't received it. It is hard to understand when we don't see answers the way we want or hope for, but what I know for sure is that crying out to Jesus will change everything, even if it isn't what you hope for.  Test him.  Spend time with him daily, and I know you will find your life changing.  I know you will find a God who will restore dignity and give you eyes to see.