Sight
October 26, 2003
Mark 10:46-52
20th Sunday after Pentecost
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
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Mark 10:46-52
Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight
46Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large
crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of
Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47When he heard that it was Jesus
of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
48Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son
of David, have mercy on me!"
49Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer
up! On your feet! He's calling you." 50Throwing 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.
Jesus is in the business
of healing blind people.
Isn’t that what Christian education is all about?
In 2004 we are trusting God to help us
accomplish three goals:
1) write a Mission Statement
2) build teams that transform
3) train every leader communication skills
These are education based goals.
When Jesus was on his way to Jericho
huge crowds formed.
In the middle of that crowd
sat a man who was completely out of it.
He didn’t know what was happening.
I can relate to this man!
Sometimes, big things swirl around me,
right in front of me,
and I don’t get it!
The blind man wasn’t stupid.
He could hear the noise made by hundreds of people.
He could smell the crowds.
He could taste the dust,
and feel the people passing by.
So he asked someone nearby, “What’s happening?”
The Bible says:
They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
Now here is where this story becomes magnificent.
In this man’s heart,
this was the moment:
the crowds went away
the bitterness, the hardship,
the impossibility and the pain of his life
didn’t matter any more.
Public opinion and common sense
took a back seat
and hope became foremost.
It was when his faith blossomed.
Mark 10:48 says
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of
David, have mercy on me!"
The blind man did TWO THINGS RIGHT.
1) Number ONE. He cried out.
We have to cry out.
The blind man wanted to see.
He wanted that more than anything else.
He didn’t care that he was making a scene.
He didn’t fall for the trick that
the people nearby tried to play on him
saying, “shhhh be quiet, don’t bother the Master.”
We, the people of Mt Olivet / Olivet Church
need to follow that example.
We have to really want to see,
to learn, to comprehend,
what God has for us.
We have to admit we have a need.
And we need to CRY OUT !
This isn’t pretty. And it won’t make us popular.
Let’s do it anyway!
We will not learn any other way.
Let me read you a little story taken from
the book by Bruce Wilkinson entitled The Prayer of Jabez, page 25.
There's a little fable about a Mr. Jones who dies and goes to heaven. Peter is
waiting at the gates to give him a tour. Amid the splendor of golden streets,
beautiful mansions, and choirs of angels that Peter shows him, Mr. Jones notices
and odd-looking building. He thinks it looks like an enormous warehouse - it has
no windows and only one door. But when he asks to see inside, Peter hesitates.
"You really don't want to see what's in there," he tells the new arrival. Why
would there be any secrets in heaven? Jones wonders. What incredible surprise
could be waiting for me in there? When the official tour is over he's still
wondering, so he asks again to see inside the structure. Finally Peter relents.
When the apostle opens the door, Mr. Jones almost knocks him over in the haste
to enter. It turns out that the enormous building is filled with row after row
of shelves, floor to ceiling, each stacked neatly with white boxes tied in red
ribbons. "These boxes all have names on them," Mr. Jones muses aloud. Then
turning to Peter he asks, "Do I have one?" "Yes you do." Peter tries to guide
Mr. Jones back outside. "Frankly," Peter says, "if I were you... . " But Mr.
Jones is already dashing toward the "J" aisle to find his box. Peter follows,
shaking his head. He catches up with Mr. Jones just as he is slipping the red
ribbon off his box and popping the lid. Looking inside, Jones has a moment of
instant recognition, and he lets out a deep sigh like the ones Peter has heard
so may times before. Because there in Mr. Jones's white box are all the
blessings that God wanted to give to him while he was on earth... but Mr. Jones
had never asked.
In Matthew 7:7 Jesus said
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door
will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and
to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
The first thing that the blind man did right
was to cry out. He asked.
2) Number TWO.
The second thing that the blind man did right
was that he cried out to Jesus.
We need to cry out
to the right person.
The blind man said,
"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
You see faith all by itself is ineffective.
Faith in the wrong thing is disasterous.
Faith in something dependable is always rewarded.
Have faith in Jesus.
He is God.
He is trustworthy and true.
It will do us no good to cry out
if we cry out to the wrong person
or the wrong power.
Jesus, the Son of David,
really is the Messiah of Jewish expectation.
He made our eyes, brain, and mind.
Jesus gives us all we have
and he has a plan
for our life
for our relationships
and a plan for our Church.
Jesus is WORTHY of our faith
so we need to cry out to him.
Conclusion
Dear ones,
I have good news.
The same thing that happened to Bartimaeus
is happening to you and me.
The crowd is stopping.
Someone is taking us by the hand and saying:
"Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you."
PRAYER
Thank you, dear Father, for our eyes.
Thank you for the beauty we see every day.
Thank you for the sky, the fields, the rivers, the trees.
Thank you for our country; for peace, freedom, and prosperity.
Thank you for our family and every friend we have.
Lord, help us see what others miss.
Open our eyes to see your sovereign plan.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.