September 13, 2012
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. -- Mark 10: 46-52 (NIV)
It seems most of us are going through something these days. This Christian walk was never promised to be an easy one. We struggle. We fall down sometimes. We hurt and are in pain. The problem is that we bury our wounded far too easily in Christianity, which leads people to not want to raise their hands and say they need some help, or some comforting, or even some understanding. Instead we throw on the church mask and play the role we are supposed to play. We raise our hands, shout hallelujah, and then go home just as broken as when we walked into church. Sometimes beloved, we have to realize our inner Bartimaeus.
Bartimaeus was a blind man. We may not have a visual problem but we all can relate to being in need. Bartimaeus was most definitely in need. Within this short story, we find some truths for us to consider when we find ourselves in need as well. The first thing to take away from this is we need to bring our problems to the problem solver. Bartimaeus was in a very large crowd. He had no shortage of people around him. But they had no real power to solve his problem and he knew that. When he heard this Jesus fellow was walking nearby, he knew there was someone who could solve his problem. We too have no shortage of people around us in this life. Yet because the problem is not something so obviously in need of a miracle, such as blindness, we can tend to go to other sources before we turn to God. We can look to our friends first for advice or maybe our family. Perhaps if it gets real bad we can take it to a pastoral level. If we are not as mature in Christ we can take it to the world. We can ask unsaved co workers, check the horoscope or even resort to Oprah or Dr. Phil. Listen very well. Our friends, family and even pastors may have some great advice. The world will always have their suggestions that do not lead to God. Only Christ has the power to solve the problem and give you peace while it is being solved:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -- Philippians 4: 6-7 (NIV)
The peace the world sells us is fleeting and often causes more problems. Our peace is not found in a pill bottle. It is not found on a therapist couch. It is found in Christ Jesus, the maker of the heavens and the earth. But we have to realize that we must bring it to Him.
Secondly, we may need to shout above our circumstances! Whenever we are facing the trials of this life we will have forces align against us. Remember we fight in a spiritual war. There are struggles going on in the spiritual realm that we cannot see. The world system encourages the opposite of what God wants for His children. The enemy to our souls is constantly fighting to keep us stuck in whatever blindness we find ourselves in. Many will rise up to tell us to be quiet too. Our own flesh will rise up against us to keep us in our misery. We will convince ourselves that we have taken the matter to God but deep down we know we have not travailed in prayer. We have not labored in seeking the Lord. We wanted a quick fix and when we didn't get it, we simply stopped seeking. We certainly did not shout as Bartimaeus did here. Shout above our problems. Shout without fear of reproach or even what might appear "appropriate." God doesn't always want appropriate -- sometimes He wants desperation! Sometimes He wants to see us on our face -- seeking the only one who can truly resolve our problems. When your situation gets to the point that you cannot take it anymore maybe then the niceties of social protocol will be dropped. Maybe then we can run to Him as we would our Father when we were but a child. Sometimes, we need to dump our proud selves and cry in the arms of our Abba.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." -- Romans 8: 15 (NLT)
Instead we remain slaves to our situations and forget who our Father is. We forget that we have been adopted to live the abundant life now. So we stay quiet and suffer instead of shouting out to Jesus. The last point for us to consider today is contained in the exchange between Jesus and Bartimaeus. I always try and dive a bit deeper when I see Jesus ask a question you know He already knows the answer to. Bartimaeus was blind. Everyone knew he was blind. The crowd certainly knew and there is no doubt that Jesus knew. But did Bartimaeus? Did he truly understand what he needed from God? So Jesus asks him point blank -- what do you want me to do for you? He is asking us that same question today. What do you want me to do for you? It may seem silly but sometimes we can be so needy as people. We can trump up issues into things they need not be. We can address symptoms instead of problems. We can confuse the desires of the flesh with the needs of the spirit and Jesus wants to make sure that we understand what it is that we truly want Him to do for us.
You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can't get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong--you want only what will give you pleasure. -- James 4: 2-3 (NLT)
Don't look at other people and their lives. What do you want Him to do for you today? Is it for your pleasures or for His will? We all feel at certain points like we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death. The story of blind Bartimaeus teaches us three very important lessons for navigating that valley. We must stop seeking solutions from sources that do not have the power to solve our problems. Advice is nice but only Jesus can solve our problems and give us peace during the process. Remember the world wants to teach you how to live with your problems but God wants to take them from you. Secondly, we may have to be radical in our pursuit of Jesus. We may have to shout out to Him above the noise we constantly create in our lives. Lastly, we must be prepared when we get His attention because He has a question for us" What do you want me to do for you? Answer Him today.
Rev. Anthony
