16th August 2026 : Mark ch 10 v 46 - 52

Mark ch 10 v 46 - 52

The reading is taken from Mark 10, 46 to 52.

Then 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. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me". Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more "Son of David, have mercy on me". Jesus stopped and said, call him. So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up, on your feet, he's calling you". Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said "Rabbi, I want to see". "Go", said Jesus, your faith has healed you. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Thanks, Pat. Let's just pray and ask the anointing of God on that word.

Lord, it's your word. It's caused, inspired by you. You are the Lord of all glory. Lord, forbid it that your word should return to your void, but even the very reading of it, Lord, should search our hearts and reveal to us, Lord, and in us a word in season, something that just speaks. And Lord, in Jesus' name, add to that any blessings I cannot imagine or ask for, but go up and above all that we can ask or imagine in Jesus' name. Amen.

This is a passage I've looked at and preached from a lot of times, maybe a couple of times in this place. In fact, it is. So to see from the Lord really all through prayer, well, to come up against a roadblock, everything else I looked at yielded nothing and the Lord kept directing me to Bartimaeus. And I said to the Lord, well, we've done that. He didn't say just do it again, but he may as well have done because that's all I kept getting, Bartimaeus. So let's look at Bartimaeus.

He was blind and a lot of people are blind. I don't just mean physical blindness, I mean spiritual blindness. But that's just a preview of where we're heading really, or part of it. Let's look at the circumstances as well. Jesus had come from Capernaum, which is the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, and the straight and most direct route to Jerusalem from there was just straight down the middle of the country. But when he got to Samaria, the Samaritans wouldn't receive him. And his disciples there, that's the passage by the way where his disciples said, Lord, shall we call fire down from heaven like Elijah did? And Jesus said, no, don't do that. You don't know what kind of God you're serving.

And he took another road. Then he crossed the Jordan and came down through a Roman province, which at that time was called Perea, on the east side of the Jordan. And it meant that he had to cross the Jordan again to get to Jerusalem. And after he'd done that, he had to go through Jericho. That's why he was there. And you know, it's funny how the Lord, Father himself, orchestrates all our circumstances, isn't it? At no time did Jesus said, when the Samaritans were cursing him and you're not coming through here, we don't want your sort and stuff like that. His disciples were upset, but there's no sign at all that Jesus was disturbed in any way.

And why when you ask that question? Well, he's the perfect role model for us, isn't he? He trusted Father in every circumstance as the person who orchestrates those circumstances, and they can only result in good. The only outcome can be the purpose of Father's will.

All right, nothing can frustrate him as long as you are in fellowship with him. As long as you keep covenant with him, all your steps can be orchestrated by him. And some of them you might question and say, well, why then am I being forced out like Jesus from the Samaritans? Why do I have to cross to Jordan? What a nuisance. And when you... And when you're coming through down the other side of that great river, you think, what do I have to do this for? And by now you're probably doing John Cleese impressions, if you remember that guy, and wondering what you're doing and what's happening around you.

But if you're in covenant relationship with God, maybe you should ask this question, what purpose has God got in my circumstances? And what is it that God wants me to bring. I'm his hands and his feet in those circumstances. What is it that God is leading me to do or to say or a person that I've got to meet? Well, that's how Jesus arrived in Jericho. Are you moaning at the moment about your circumstances? Are you questioning God's purpose in them and thinking, why me and what's this for? Why this intense struggle? Isn't it supposed to go much more smoothly for God's people? That's what I keep hearing when I watch the God channel.

But when you read the Bible, you see God's people in all kinds of adverse circumstances and sometimes in a wilderness. Think about that famous passage in the prophet Ezekiel chapter 37 where God lifted him up in the spirit and the word of the Lord is, the strong hand of the Lord was upon me. Lovely that, isn't it? And I was lifted up and God put me down in a valley of dry bones. There was nothing there, it was all dead. But Elijah never said, oh, what am I doing here? Oh, this can't be right. I must have done something wrong. He didn't start beating himself up. He just listened to what God was saying in those circumstances. And of course, you know that passage very well, don't you?

We're not going there today. We're sticking with this one in Mark 10. But that's how Jesus arrived there. He just lived and walked and slept and breathed in covenant union with his Father. We might not do it as perfectly as him. But that's what we're called to. And remembering this, whatever circumstances you're in or whatever you face right now, God has a greater purpose for you in it. It's by faith we overcome. It's by faith we overcome. And we should pray, Lord, even as you led your own sweet son Jesus into that place, you did it for a reason. We're going to discover what that was, aren't we, in a minute. Lord, wherever you led me, whatever difficulties I face, show me the reason and show me how I may overcome. Amen.

So remember that word yourself, because you'll find yourself in a wilderness at some time. How did Bartimaeus get there? Into Jericho, the city of curse. Actually, in those days, it was in two parts. They remember in the Old Testament and Joshua destroyed the city and he put a curse on it. Anyone who rebuilds that place. You can check that out for homework. And Jeroboam, son of Nebat, did rebuild it. But that ancient part of the city was one section and the Romans added to it a new one. So don't like two cities in one place. But it's called the city of curse.

And Bartimaeus was there because he was a beggar. And I suspect that he was in the old part, the cursed part, the poor bit, and not the well-heeled section where the Romans lived. That's where he was put. That's where he was left. He was a prisoner. He was in darkness for want of seeing physically, like those who are in darkness for want of seeing spiritually. They don't know the Lord. Or if they do know the Lord, they're in confusion. And they're in confusion because they've rather than overcome, they've given in. And when you give in like that, you're soon led in back into the world and all its stuff and all your former associations and even the sins.

Bartimaeus was put there. He was a prisoner. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't earn anything. It's not like these days where blind people have got a lot of opportunities. Then they were just put down in the street as beggars. Imagine having to live like that as a beggar. But that's how he'd come there. And God had a greater purpose in it. We might question his suffering and you can go on with that question all day and all night. But God had a greater purpose and it's given to us and it's everlastingly put to us in the Bible. What generation after generation will read this and understand that God heals in spirit, soul and body, from head to foot, tip to toe completely and translates a person from a kingdom of darkness into a kingdom of light. Only God can do that.

And it's no accident that Bartimaeus was there on that road at that time. And it's no accident that Jesus came down that road at that time to meet him. This is one of those divine encounters. You know something, beloved, unless a person encounters Jesus, they cannot be saved.

I shudder every time I hear some evangelist say, just raise your hand and say amen to the prayer that I'm saying and don't worry, you're saved. Doesn't God have to do something? Hasn't he got something to do with it? I shudder every time I hear that or see it because it's an encounter with the Lord, after which a person can say, I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that I know him. I've met with him. Actually, he meets with us. Like Jesus encountered Bartimaeus, but he calls out the faith that Father gives and plants in the heart.

And this is what happened when Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was coming. Can you imagine? If you knew that the Lord was about to enter the road that you're on and right now it might be a slippery path and you might be asking all those questions I marked on before. But if you knew that Jesus was at the other end of that road, wouldn't you call out to him? Of course you would. And what would happen if people would say, that's unseemly. You don't do that kind of thing in the church, you know. That's a little bit, what would you do? Would you still call out to him? Would you shout? Would you be embarrassed? Would you worry about what people thought? And when people came up to you and said, oh, no, that's over the top these days.

What would you do? Think about it carefully. Put yourself not in his shoes, your own shoes. When you need to cry out, when you need God to answer your situation, when you need him to meet with you, what would you do? I don't know the answer myself. Sometimes I worry about what other people think, don't you? So it's a funny thing. We all suffer from the human condition.

But look at Bartimaeus. I love him to pieces. I wish we had 50 like him in the church. You know, he was shouting. Good heavens above. That's a bit unseemly, isn't it? You know, he was shouting and people were saying, stop it. And you know, he had something, even though he was blind, that they didn't have. He had faith. Where did he get that from? The gift of God. And what about the crowd? They're only called a crowd in this passage. They're not a congregation. They're just following after Jesus. They're with him, they're surround him, they're jostling him. But hey, there's just a crowd and they don't get the picture at all. You hear someone crying out like that. You don't tell them to shut up. You don't say, no, stop right where you are, stay blind, keep begging, we're on our way somewhere else.

Goodness me, when people call out like that, there's a reason for it. And that's where God's people come in, gather around in prayer. That's where we meet with Jesus. Well, he shouted all the more and louder. He wasn't embarrassed at all. They didn't care what people thought. His faith extended this far. I want the Lord to meet me here and nothing will stop me. I don't care what people think or say or even think of me when they know about me. I want to meet with him here and now. He was so determined that he broke through.

Have you broken through to Jesus? Have you had that encounter with him? A breakthrough like that is by no means a simple thing. You can read this passage. It's a very simply put passage, but it's very profound and very powerful indeed. People who get to Christ call out to him and they persist with him until he stands still and says, come on then. Come on then, this is what you want. All right. And that's the way God answers. There is never a no, is there? Look for one in your Bible and show me. When people call out to him, there's never a no, is there? If they search for me, I shall be found by them. That's the scripture, that's the prophet. 2 Corinthians 2 verse 14 says the Lord leads people like us in triumph, taking us captives, leading us in a procession.

Why? To do his good. But you know, when he called out to Jesus, he was the only person in that place that got saved. Nobody else is recorded. What did all the other beggars do? I don't know. What did all the people do? What did the crowd do? Maybe some of them, I don't know, might have had a boil on the bottom or something. I don't know. And they never called out to the Lord at all because they were embarrassed. They were just a crowd. But he broke through. He broke through to Jesus and when the Lord called him and the Lord must call you, anybody that's going to be saved or dealt with by God, they must hear from God, the call, the voice.

I'd been following the Lord for some time when I first became a Christian. I'd met real Christians. First time in my life I started going to a church because my wife was going there and I thought I'll get one of these Bibles and look at it and see what these bunch of lunatics are all on about. I started reading through it and I thought it's a really good read. I read it cover to cover and never questioned it. And I don't know, well, I didn't know why at the time. And I just put ticks in boxes. Yeah, that sounds okay. There's nothing wrong with that. Tick, tick, tick.

And then one day I was reading the Bible and the Lord called me. Don't you know I've forgiven you everything you've ever done. Stood up. still in my hands, the Word, and the Spirit comes in at that point. He entered in, there must be an encounter with Jesus when he calls you.

Okay, and the Lord might call upon you many times, but he called on Bartimaeus. And it is at that point he makes the right response. Don't you just love it? He gets up and he throws his cloak off. All this past identity is wrapped up in that cloak. What I was, I'm throwing off and I'm coming to Christ. I'm getting rid of that and I don't know what I'm going to become. He didn't did it. All he knew was he was going to see.

And a lot of people still don't see. They're still wearing a cloak. They're in the crowd. They're following Jesus. They've got all that old identity that they wear and then they beat themselves up because they think it's by some performance. It isn't by performance, it's by reality, it's by relationship.

Beloved, if you're still wearing a cloak, that's, by now it's wearing out. If you come to Christ, you can't take that old cloak with you. You can't wear that anymore. throw it off with all it means and all that it's plagued you with and everything you've beat yourself up for in the past. That coming out from, that's something that God puts before you when he calls you, get out of that. And he threw it off and his past fell to the ground in the same street where he'd been a beggar and he was never going back. Never going back.

Don't you ever contemplate going back. If that were possible, the way would be made open for you. But if you're in Christ, that is not possible. Don't even covet it. Don't even think about it. And when the devil tempts you, just reply, that old rag, I threw that off ages ago. It's back there.

Okay. And you know, somebody who responds to the Lord like that, you can see, it's not enthusiasm. It's more than that. You can have enthusiasm and that won't get you very far. But the desire for the reality of the Lord in your own experience, never mind theirs, what they say, what they think, what about you, that desire, it's so powerful when God calls, you'll throw it off, you'll throw it away, it's no good. And it turns out in the end, it turns out in the end when Jesus said, your faith has made you well. And he did have faith.

But then immediately he received his sight and he followed Jesus along the road. Different road now. Not a beggar now, not blind now, a disciple of Jesus. The last we see of him in the Bible is following Jesus. So were the crowd. But he's got it for real. What did they have? Who else did they tell to shut up and keep quiet? Don't bother the Lord. But the word of God says, do bother him, do shout, do call out, do get to meet him, do get something done.

And remember this, in all your circumstance, God has a purpose. There's a road that he wants you to go down. And that's a road of discipleship. That's where Bartimaeus leaves the scriptures. But where did he go? Where did that road lead? Interesting, isn't it, beloved? I believe he followed him all the way to Jerusalem. And what happened there? Maybe he was one of the witnesses that saw Jesus crucified. Goodness me. Fancy being a saved person and actually watch him do it. You're already saved by what he's going to do and then you'll watch him do it and bleed to death for you.

Well, I don't know for sure whether Bartimaeus made it to Jerusalem, but he did follow Christ down that same road. That's the way I'm going. No one can stop me. You can tell me to shut up. You can tell me it's over the top. You don't need to go that far these days, but he did. And that's good enough for me.

Beloved, what's good enough for you? How far have you gone? Is that rag still hanging around your shoulders or dangling on the arm or the wrist? You haven't quite, you know, thrown it off. Get rid of it. Get rid of it and let God lead you in that triumph and that procession like a captive of Jesus.

I just want to pray right now.

Lord, there are people in this room today beating themselves up. Beating themselves up, condemning themselves. And yet what did we just sing? You will not require payment. Him by faith alone redeems. Lord, that's all we've got. We are just human. But Lord, as you grant to us faith, and your purposes that we use it. We approach your throne of grace afresh, receiving that call afresh. We've heard you speak before. Lord, we're listening now. Is anyone in this room wearing old rags? Lord, may it be that they are like Joshua, the priest, where his robes were put on him and his rags were removed. And like a stick taken from the fire, you hold him up before a throne of grace with no condemnation. Lord, in Jesus' name, I just pray, Lord, just break every bond, everything that stands in the way, every power we rebuke in the name of Jesus. every false thought, every experience which is contrary, every word of discouragement and disquiet, every experience, Lord, which has come upon us suddenly and taken us by surprise when we weren't prepared. People still beating themselves up. Lord, in Jesus' name, you've redeemed that people. Speak to that people. Lord, claim that people as your very own and wrap them in the love of God. That though they might go through terrible and sometimes unexplainable circumstances, show your purpose in triumph in their lives and experience. In Jesus' name.

Thank you, Father. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord. Amen.