Mark 10:32-52
Bartimaeus was blind, but he knew who he was looking for. While the disciples argued over who might be recognized as the greatest follower of Jesus, this blind man could see that Jesus was his only hope and addressed him as his Messiah.
The crowd dismissed him, and tried to push him out of the way, as they often do to people who begin to recognize Jesus as their Messiah. It seems the crowd and the disciples confused themselves into thinking that the Kingdom of God had something to do with status. But Jesus reminds us, as he calls to Bartimaeus, that we our worthy because our Creator made us and loves us. The Kingdom of God is about salvation, not status. The proud people in the crowd who thought they were protecting Jesus by turning this beggar away remain nameless to us, while Jesus invites this unremarkable man to come closer and, through the Holy Spirit, compels Mark to record his name for us forever.
Bartimaeus' request was for sight, but the cry of his heart was for mercy from his Messiah. As Jesus healed this man's eyes and Bartimaeus was blessed to have his eyes opened to see the face of God, he knew that the only appropriate response, the purpose of his life, was to follow the One who rescued him. When we remember where we were when God met us and first helped us to see, we recognize that there is no room for pride or arrogance. Our only response, our life's purpose, is to follow our Savior, to serve our great God and the people He loves.
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1 comment:
Great Post! The other messages that I see in this text is how we like to sit in a place of honor v37 and many times we come to Jesus when things are going a little rough and if we want more blessings and look over the question of "Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering that he was baptized with?" And when things seem bad we Question where God is, when our suffering may be being used for his glory.
Many times I have wanted to be involved with leading someone to christ and I want it to happen fast but when reading this passage it helps me to see how I need to put time into serving the people first and then allowing God to lead me in his time. To sum it up I need to use the words of Bartimaeus and say "Jesus Son of David Have Mercy on Me!!
Mark T.
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