Moments with the Master: Bartimaeus

Lessons from a Blind Man

Mark 10:46-52

Opening Words: I read recently there are approximately 800,000 words in the English language. Don’t feel bad if you don’t know that all. Approximately 300,000 of those words are technical in nature. The average person only knows about 10,000 words and uses only half that number each day. However, it is not the number of words we know that matters. What matters is the numbers of discussions we have with the people in our lives. How many people do you talk to on an average day?

Throughout the season of Lent we are looking at various discussions that individuals had with Jesus. This morning we look at the story of Bartimaeus. His story illustrates for us the importance of seizes the opportunities that come our way. Has there ever been a time in your life when you failed to seize an opportunity? May God give you ears to hear this story from the tenth chapter of Luke, verses forty-six through fifty-two. Let me call this message, “Lessons from a Blind Man”

Mark 10:46-52 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.

I love the story of the man, who held a grudge against his pastor for twenty-five long years. In time the man contracted a terminal disease and contacted the hated pastor. He wanted the pastor to visit him as death drew near. The handsome intelligent pastor quickly responded to the call. He was so pleased the man had forgotten about his hard feelings. When the pastor arrived the at bedside of the parishioner he said, "You sent for me?" "Yes," answered the dying man, whose breath was now short and difficult. "I have but a few hours to live, and I sent for you for one reason. This is your last your last chance to apologize to me!" Can anyone here relate to that story?

Have you ever missed=2 0out on a once in a lifetime opportunity? Your story maybe the same as the parishioner and the handsome intelligent preacher. Is there someone in your life that still needs to hear those three little words, I am sorry? Or maybe your opportunity is more financial in nature. You had the opportunity to make an investment that went big time. You played it safe and missed out. Or maybe your opportunity is educational in nature. You dropped out of college for one semester to make a few dollars but you never returned. You have regretted it for years. Or maybe your opportunity revolves around relocating. When you were young you should have relocated to a warmer more exciting spot but now you feel trapped here in the Mahoning Valley. With every snow flake you regret it. Or maybe your opportunity is a matter of the heart. You never found words to speak to your one true love and now you are alone. Or maybe you lost opportunity is spiritual in nature. You never found the nerve to make that public confession and now you hope you are a believer. Do I have to go on? Has there ever been a time in your life when you missed out on a once in a lifetime opportunity?

That is not the story of Bartimaeus. He seized his one opportunity to meet Jesus and was healed. If you use your sanctified imagination you can see the scene. There are two dominant characters. The first character that dominates the scene is Jesus. Verse forty-six says the Master is accompanied by a large crowd and his twelve disciples. They are headed to Jerusalem for Jesus’ great showdown with the orthodox leaders of the Jewish faith. The next story in the Gospel of Mark is his account of Palm Sunday. The energy in Jesus’ group must have been sky high! The first character that dominates the scene is Jesus.

The second character that dominates the scene is Bartimaeus. While Jesus’ group has high energy, Bartimaeus has no energy. His life, itself, was not exciting because it had fallen into a certain boring pattern. That day began like every other day. He must have assumed that day would end like every other day. Everyday was just alike. He sat there on the side of the road begging for money. He was dependant on the compassion of the travelers headed to the Golden City, Jerusalem. He was not worried about his retirement funds but he was preoccupied with survival. He is not alone. How many people in our world are just trying to survive? Bartimaeus is blind but his ears are working well. He hears something that changes everything. Jesus is coming! He didn’t have to hear it twice. He heard it the first time. Jesus is coming! This was his one and only opportunity for a better life.

This morning I want to talk about three lessons this blind man can teach us about life. I believe if you apply these lessons to your life that you will position yourself to seize every opportunity that c omes your way. I believe you will live a happier more fulfilled life, the kind of life Jesus intended you to live from the very beginning. So if you are ready to learn three lessons from a blind man say, “Amen!”

Grit

This is the first lesson from the blind man. Bartimaeus tells us if you are going to exist in life then you better be a person of grit. Bartimaeus was the poster boy for grit. There is not a single person here this morning that would trade places with him. Day after day he begged from unseen strangers. Let me make it more clear. He was dependant of unseen strangers. Bartimaeus was the living illustration of grit. If someone calls you a gritty person they are complimenting you. They are saying you have backbone, fortitude or stamina. If you are going to exist in this world then you better have some grit because life is hard. If you would agree life is hard say, “Amen! “

The other day I was talking to a woman in the church hallway. Let me call her Michelle. We were talking about nothing when suddenly Michelle’s demeanor completely changed. She looked at me square in the face and said out of the blue, “They think my father has liver cancer.” She caught me off guard; I didn’t know what to say. She said with tears in her eyes, “He has always been there for me. He has20always been there for me, I want to be there for him.” I collected some basic information. I had met her father once. He is sixty-four and was considering retiring a year ago. She said, “I should have known something was wrong. He has been losing weight over the past year and is sleeping more and more. He hasn’t touched his golf clubs in a year.“ Michelle ended by saying, “I looked at him the other day and I noticed for the first time he looks old. I have worried so much about my children growing up that I never thought about my parents growing old.” I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do. She said, “Russ, this is hard. I said, “Life is hard.” And we prayed.

Can anyone here disagree with that statement? Life is hard and it seems to be getting harder everyday. Can anyone tell me your life is getting easier? It isn’t just a matter of health. We seem to be under attached on every front, including economic. If you are going to exist in this world then you need to be a person of grit. The blind man was right! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Grace

This is the second lesson from the blind man. Bartimaeus tells us that if you are going to succeed in this world then you=2 0better be able to identify the grace in your life. On the world stage he was a no body. Bartimaeus could have easily lived and died and no one would have noticed or cared. The only thing that makes him notable is this chance encounter with Jesus. I read the text countless times this week and I noticed one thing every time. The encounter almost didn’t happen. Imagine the scene with me. He wasn’t just one beggar sitting on the side of the road. He was just one of the beggars sitting on the side of the road in a sea of beggars. The only reason the encounter happens is that Bartimaeus is an irritating pest. Maybe that is why I like this guy? He refuses to let this once in a lifetime opportunity slip by so he calls out to Jesus and experiences grace. His attitude and grit changed his life. I have seen it a million times. Your attitude about life is shaping your life. I have always found it amazing that two people can have the same experience and have two completely different experiences.

Several years ago I preached at the community Thanksgiving service. I told the story about visiting my father-in-law, Vern. He has the ability to ruin any happy occasion with his bad attitude. He hasn’t seen any grace in his life for years. He lives at Copeland Oaks and I visit him regularly. One night he looked at me and said, “Russ, this place is falling apart. Pray you never have to live here. The food is horrible! There is no thing to do. They want you to grow a garden and I think they steal your vegetables at night and feed them to their dumb kids. The building is falling apart. The other day a few of the old codgers got caught in the elevator with some fat kitchen girl. They couldn’t get them out for hours. I heard she tried to eat their candy.” The man is exhausting. I couldn’t listen to this every longer.

I excused myself and visited a family friend by the name of Earl. He lives at Copeland Oaks too. He used to carpool with my dad and has known me my entire life. Earl has the ability to make any difficult situation better. When I saw him I said, “Earl, how have you been? What is new at Copeland Oaks?” He said, “I have never been better. My only regret is I didn’t move here sooner. The food is great! The doctor said I could loose a few! The other residents are the finest people I have ever known.” I said, “Earl, do you have a garden?” He said, “Well, I wouldn’t call it a garden. It is more like a spot. We sell the vegetables and give the money to Sebring marching band. They are called the marching Trojan pride.” He went on and on about how great Copeland Oaks was. I tried top excuse myself but he wouldn’t let me leave. He said, “Russ, before you go let me tell you what happened the other day. I was coming back from playing pool, I got into th e elevator with the other guys and the elevator got stuck between floors. I think it got stuck because we squeeze too many people in. One of the people in the elevator was a girl who works in the kitchen. Her name is Debbie and she is quite a looker. I prayed they wouldn’t fix the elevator too fast. Debbie was pressed up against him. I haven’t been that close to a pretty girl in a long time. Unfortunately, they fixed the elevator in a few minutes. “He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Debbie got he so excited so had to got back to my room, take a pill and a nap.” Can someone answer a question for me? How can two people take the same experience and come to two different conclusions?

If you want to experience grace in your life then you may need an attitude adjustment. Here is the truth. We have all experienced grace in our lives. The problem some are as blind as Bartimaeus. Their attitudes are making them blind to all of God’s blessings. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Gratitude

This is the third lesson from the blind man. Bartimaeus tells us that if you want to be a person of integrity then you better express some gratitude. Look at the text with me one more time. Bartimaeus gets Jesus’ attention because he=2 0was a pest. Jesus calls Bartimaeus to him and asks him want he wants. To no surprise to me the blind man answers, “Rabbi, I want to see.” He is instantly healed. How does the once blind man respond? Verse fifty-two says, “He followed Jesus along the road.” That is the Bible’s way of saying he became a disciple. That was the best way to say, “Thank-you.” Thanksgiving is not just a holiday during the month of November, it is a way of life. As a person of integrity you must respond to all the blessings God has given you. If you are a disciple because of what Jesus has done for you say, “Amen!”

This week was an emotional week. The truth is this week was a very sad week. We said good-bye to two men who played a large role in this ministry in the past. A son of one the men stood up and said something I have had a hard time forgetting. He said, “My dad was a good man. If our world had more good men like my dad, we would have a better world. If am a good man it is only because of him.”

I believe that is why we are all disciples. At some point in our lives we had to stand in front of our crowd and tell them about this good man named Jesus. If we had more people like Jesus then we would have a better world. If we are good people it is only because of Him. What you do with your life doesn’t just20tell your parents you appreciate what they did for you. What you do with your life tells God you appreciate what He did for you. Everyday we get up we need to find a new way to thank God for saving our sin sick souls. When was the last time you thanked God? Let me end with this story.

An artist solicited permission to paint a portrait of the queen. The favor was granted, and the favor was great, for it would make the man rich. A place and time was fixed. The queen appeared but the artist was not there. He was not ready yet. When he did arrive, a message was communicated to him that Her Majesty had departed and would not return. He missed his opportunity.

I hope you don’t miss your opportunity. Your life is one big opportunity. I hope you get the most out of it. If you are going to get the most out of your life then remember three lessons from the blind man. First, if you are going to exist in this world then you better be a person of grit. Life is hard. Second, if you are going to succeed then you better be a person of grace. We have all benefited from God’s blessings. Attitude is everything. Third, if you are going to a person of integrity then you better be a person of gratitude. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”