Introduction: Bartimaeus the Blind Man

At this point, please turn with me in your Bibles to the end of Mark Chapter 10, concerning a man named Bartimaeus. So far in Mark, here, we’ve seen how Jesus Christ is presented to us as both truly God and truly man. And the reason why he came down – the reason why the divine Son of God took on human flesh – is because he came to give his life for us. He came to live out the obedient life we couldn’t live, and to die the sacrificial death we couldn’t afford to die. And by offering himself, Jesus has purchased forgiveness for us, for all our crimes against God, and he’s purchased our freedom from our dirtiness, from the devil, and from death. This is how Jesus served us. This is how Jesus loved us. He gave his life. That’s what we saw in our text last week.

But there’s another thing we’ve seen in Mark’s gospel recently. We’ve also seen how difficult it is for people who have earthly wealth and success to enter heaven. Because without divine intervention, it’s impossible for rich people to see their spiritual poverty. It’s impossible for successful people with good table manners to recognize how dead and destitute they are apart from Christ, and his saving mercy. Two weeks ago, in our text, a very wealthy, very religious man couldn’t bring himself to follow Christ. Because he wasn’t willing to let go of his self-reliance – his reliance on his money and his morality. He couldn’t see his desperate neediness for Jesus.

But in our text this morning, we’re introduced to a different man who does see his neediness. And interestingly enough, this man who sees is actually a man who’s blind. So let’s get into our text. Again, I’ll be reading from Mark, Chapter 10. I’ll be reading the last section of the Chapter here, starting at verse 46. But before I read from our text, let’s ask for God to help us this morning:

[Pray and Read Text]

The Unlikely Contributions of Bartimaeus

If you’ve ever read or seen the Chronicles of Narnia before – in two of the books, Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, there’s a character named Reepicheep. And he’s a mouse, a talking mouse. The book explains that in Narnia, the talking animals are bit bigger than the animals in our world. But still, he’s no more than two feet tall. He’s a small figure, seemingly insignificant. Most people would assume he has very little to contribute.

And yet over the course of these two books, Reepicheep the mouse is held up as the epitome of unwavering courage. In situations where grown men, experienced soldiers, are shrinking back in fear – this mouse, this unlikely figure, Reepicheep, is the one who sets the example for what bravery should look like. Even when faced with the ominous nightmares of Dark Island, in a crew of many valiant men, Reepicheep is the only one who votes to continue on to reach the island while everyone else trembles in fear. It seems so unlikely. He’s just a mouse! And when C.S. Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, I don’t think that Reepicheep was just intended to be an interesting character. I don’t think that this was just intended to be ironic. But I think that C.S. Lewis was demonstrating an important Biblical reality. God often uses ordinary people – even unlikely people – people who are weak, who are small, who are suffering – God often works through people like that to be vivid examples of integrity and virtue and wisdom for the good of his people.

And that’s exactly what we see here in our text. The man we’re introduced to in our text, Bartimaeus – he’s a beggar, and he’s blind. And yet this blind man sets an example for us in what means to see Christ rightly. Even though he has no physical eyesight, he sees Christ through eyes of faith. You’ll see in our text, that’s ultimately what Jesus commends for – his faith. And so that’s what signals to us, this is how our faith should operate, too. So as we work through these verses, we’ll consider six descriptions of what saving faith looks like, as it works in the life of a Christian. Six descriptions.

Faith Calls Out to the Son of David

So here’s number one: First, faith calls out to the Son of David.

In verse 46, we’re told that they – Jesus and his disciples – they came to Jericho. You may remember from last week, Jesus and his disciples are traveling to Jerusalem. He’s been traveling south along the Jordan River, and as he’s coming up to Jericho, it’ll just be another 15 or 20 miles before he arrives. As I mentioned last week, Jerusalem was the city of kings. In fact, the first Jewish king who sat in Jerusalem, nearly 1000 years earlier, was King David. And at that time, God had promised David, that one day a king would come from David’s family line who usher in an everlasting kingdom.

Of course, the reason why that’s significant, is because Jesus himself was actually a descendant from David’s line. In fact, he was the one God promised to send. And here, we see, Jesus is marching to Jerusalem. Now because of this, some of Jesus’s disciples assumed that Jesus was, perhaps, on his way to throw off the Roman Empire, and to establish an earthly throne. But actually, Jesus was ushering in a better kingdom than that – not just a here-and-now earthly kingdom, still subject to decay and dishonesty and darkness. But by going to the cross, Jesus was opening the way to a perfect kingdom – a kingdom that, even as we speak, is being preserved for his people in heaven. Jesus really is the great Son of David, the keeper of God’s promises, the hope of God’s people.

And as Jesus is about to leave Jericho, to go on to Jerusalem, there’s someone in the crowd who recognizes Jesus for who he is. Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus was probably positioned by the outside gate of the city. Because that’s where many beggars would sit, since a lot of people would travel in and out of the gate. It was a good place to ask for money. And Bartimaeus, of course, was a beggar because of his eyesight. He couldn’t work. He apparently had no marketable skills. Except there’s one thing he had learned to do very well. He had learned to beg.

And so as Jesus comes that way, somehow Bartimaeus hears about who it is, that’s approaching. Somehow, Bartimaeus has already learned something about Jesus’s identity. And as Jesus passes by, Bartimaeus calls out to him – he calls out to Jesus as the Son of David.

Now, the significant thing, here, isn’t that Bartimaeus calls out. That was a very common thing for beggars to do. Especially if a rabbi, a businessman, or someone with important status walked by – it was normal for beggars to single out people like that, and to call them by their name or their title. But the thing that’s worth noting here, is that Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus, not as a Rabbi, not as a Teacher – but he calls out to him as Jesus, the Son of David. And by connecting Jesus to David, Bartimaeus is associating Jesus with the royal family line. He’s connecting Jesus to the promise God had made to set a son of David on an everlasting throne. And what Bartimaeus is doing, is he’s recognizing Jesus as the king – the king sent from heaven, to rescue God’s people, to rule over God’s people, to restore hope to God’s people. By faith, Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus as the king. As his king.

And this is precisely what saving faith looks when it’s operating rightly in the life of a Christian. Faith calls to Jesus particularly – it calls out to Christ alone for assistance. It doesn’t sometimes call out to mother Mary or the saints. It doesn’t seek out Buddha or human philosophy. It doesn’t even cry out to angels or deceased family members. But saving faith reaches for and rests on Jesus, particularly – on Jesus alone.

And you’ll also see here – faith calls to Jesus properly, according to his official position as king. Right, Bartimaeus affirms that Jesus is king, the Son of David. We don’t want to have a view of Jesus that’s lower than this. Because that’s an issue that’s all too common! It can be tempting to imagine that Jesus is basically just a therapist who helps us work through our anxiety and self-esteem issues. Or maybe he’s something like a life coach, who helps us overcome bad habits or addictions. But no! Jesus has come with supreme authority and majesty. He’s come to earth as God’s chosen king. And I understand that many Americans have trouble with the idea of kings. Earthly kings don’t exactly have the best track record. But this king from heaven – King Jesus – he’s a king who’s really worth serving, a king who’s perfect. And he’s ultimately the king we need to rescue us from evil, to rule over us for our good, and to raise us into glory. We could say that Jesus is more than this – more than a king. But he’s not less than that. And so if you aren’t calling out to Jesus, recognizing him as your king, kneeling before his authority, delighting in his majesty, and seeking to carry out his decrees – if you’re not treating him like a king, then you’re missing something very important. In fact, the Jesus you’ve been calling out to, might not actually be the real Jesus of the Bible.  Faith calls out to Jesus properly – according to his kingly position. We see that in our text.

Faith Cries for Mercy

But notice, also, what Bartimaeus cries out for – because this is the second description we see, for how saving faith operates in the Christian life. We see here that faith cries out for mercy. (This is my second point – faith cries for mercy). At the end of verse 47, Bartimaeus pleads with Jesus, the Son of David, and he says, “have mercy on me.”

Now, I figure most of us have some idea of what mercy means. At a basic level, showing mercy means that you’re showing compassion or kindness to someone. And yet mercy is a specific form of kindness. Mercy is the sort of kindness that’s shown to someone who’s weak, to someone who’s low – perhaps even to someone who’s utterly unworthy to receive it.

And so as Bartimaeus cries out for mercy, he’s acknowledging his lowness as a beggar. He’s acknowledging his weakness as a blind man. And he’s acknowledging that he does not deserve any good thing from Jesus’s hand. If he did, he wouldn’t be asking Jesus for mercy, he’d be asking Jesus for his wages, his reward, his entitlements. But you see, Bartimaeus isn’t worthy to receive God’s kindness, and he knows it! And you might expect that Bartimaeus would be really discouraged by this. How can I expect Jesus to help me, when I’m so handicapped, so helpless – when I’m such a horrible sinner? Why should I even bother asking?

But in faith, Bartimaeus turns his face to Jesus, and he shouts – he yells! – “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Mercy. And Bartimaeus – he does this confidently. Why? Where does this confidence come from? Well, you have to realize, up to this point, Bartimaeus had been a beggar for his whole life. Year after year, he’d been at the gates, calling out to strangers, asking for money. And even though these strangers didn’t know him, even though they didn’t owe him anything, they had shown Bartimaeus mercy. They had pitied him, and given him food, and given him money. And so, of course, Bartimaeus realizes – if selfish, greedy men are willing to show kindness like this, how much more certain is it, that the perfect Lord of heaven will show mercy to those who ask? Surely my king will hear, if I call to him.

And so you see, Bartimaeus calls out for mercy. Because he rightly has a low view of his worthiness and a high view of God’s willingness. And the faith of a Christian will look the same way. It’ll never takes the posture of a braggard or a boaster. But faith will always take the posture of a beggar. Instead of saying, “Deal with me according to what I’ve done, according to what I deserve,” the Christian’s prayer will always be, “Deal with me according to your mercy, Lord.” “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

Faith Continues Amidst Obstacles

In verse 48 of our text, though, the people who are around Bartimaeus get rather annoyed with him. I don’t have a good idea of what Bartimaeus looked or sounded like. But my guess is that he looked like a mess. Blind beggars probably didn’t do much to groom themselves in those days. And his yelling probably was only slightly less obnoxious than a foghorn. And so for these people lined up along the roads to see Jesus pass, they wanted Bartimaeus to quiet down. They tell him to stop.

And yet what Bartimaeus shows us here, is a third key description of saving faith. He shows us that faith continues amidst obstacles. This is my third point: faith continues amidst obstacles. Because despite the fact that “many rebuked him, telling him to be silent,” verse 48 says that Bartimaeus cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

You can imagine Bartimaeus doing this. Right? He’s sitting on his cloak, which is spread out on the ground. And his blind eyes are staring off into space. And he’s yelling out, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And you can just see him. Bartimaeus pauses just for a moment. And he puts his hand to his ear to listen – maybe Jesus will call out to him. But there’s no response. At least, there’s no response from Jesus. Instead, all that he hears are voices from the crowd along the road. And they’re shouting against him, “Shush! Be quiet! Why must you be annoying? Stop it!” But Bartimaeus cries out again, “Mercy!  Mercy, Son of David!” And again he stops. He listens. But he doesn’t hear the Savior. Instead, the irritated crowd around him is even more forceful, “Blind man, why even bother? The rabbi doesn’t want to hear you – and we don’t either. Just knock it off. Give it up.” And yet by faith Bartimaeus holds on to hope. Even though these crowds have no compassion, Jesus will be different. Jesus will listen. And so he calls out again and again and again. “Son of David, mercy! Have mercy on me!”

We see here that the faith of Bartimaeus continues – it overcomes, even in the face of opposition. And this is an important feature of saving faith in the life of a Christian. It continues. It triumphs over obstacles. And this key feature of faith has been articulated throughout the history of the Church. At the Westminster Assembly in the 1600s, more than a hundred bible-believing pastors and theologians wrote out a statement to summarize the core teachings of Scripture. And the Westminster theologians highlighted this aspect of how saving faith works. They explained: “This faith is different in degrees, weak or strong; [it] may be often and many ways assailed and weakened,” – I think many of us have experienced this – “but [it] gets the victory: growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance, through Christ, who is both the author and [the] finisher of our faith.”

You’ll see here that our forefathers in the church affirm the victoriousness of faith. But at the end of this statement, they actually go further than that and they explain why true faith is triumphant faith by quoting directly from Hebrews 12, verse 2. It’s because Jesus is the author of faith. He’s the one who initiates and arouses faith in us, as a gift. He works in sinful hearts by His Spirit to make us willing and able to believe. He’s the author of our faith. And it’s because Jesus is also the finisher of our faith. Even when hostile voices surround us, even when our personal resources have been depleted, the true faith of a Christian will never be lost. Because it’s upheld by the power and mercy of Jesus.

Of course, sometimes our faith may feel like it’s barely holding on – just by a thread. Some circumstances in life can just be overwhelming. Especially if you’re hit by several things at once – body aches, bad sleep, grief over family members who don’t know Christ, infertility, loneliness, anxiety – those challenges are real. But think about how many times God has brought you through those trials with your faith intact. Be encouraged by it. Because one of the main reasons God provides those struggles in life, is so you and I can see evidence that our faith is genuine. By testing our faith, the Lord is giving opportunities for our faith to triumph, and for the trueness of our faith to be revealed. When we have saving faith in Christ, our cries for his mercy won’t ever be silenced. Our reliance on Jesus is something we won’t ever give up. But saving faith continues, even amidst obstacles.

Faith Forsakes Lesser Comforts and Hopes

From Bartimaeus, though, we can also pick out a fourth description of how saving faith operates. Point number four: faith forsakes lesser comforts and hopes. In our text, we see evidence that that Jesus heard Bartimaeus calling. Because in verse 49, we’re told that “Jesus stopped, and said, ‘Call him.’” – Call the blind man. And so from the crowd of people along the road, a few of them turn around and pass the word. They call the blind man and tell him, “Take heart. Get up, He’s calling you!”

Then look at what happens in verse 50, “And throwing off his cloak, he (Bartimaeus) sprang up and came to Jesus.” Now, the text here obviously shows us that Bartimaeus was quite excited that Jesus took notice of him. This language of springing up from the ground makes that pretty clear. But otherwise, the details that are given about Bartimaeus’s response may not seem so significant at first. But what Bartimaeus did is actually quite a big deal when you understand how begging worked back in these days.

Because notice, Mark mentions the detail that Bartimaeus threw off his cloak. Of course, for beggars in those days, their cloak was often one of their only possessions. During the cool nights, a beggar depended on his cloak to be like a blanket to keep himself warm. And then during the day, the beggars’ cloak was an important tool for collecting money – he would have it on his lap, and people would know to throw money into the cloak. He needed it to collect handouts from people. That was the social signal that told people he was a beggar. No cloak, no money.

And yet when Bartimaeus hears Jesus calling to him, notice what he does. He throws his cloak aside. If there was money in the cloak that he had already collected – that was all thrown aside, too. Bartimaeus doesn’t care. All he’s concerned about is coming to Jesus. Because he knows, Jesus is the one who can set his biggest problems right.

And as Bartimaeus approaches Christ, without his cloak, he makes it crystal clear that he’s not coming to Jesus for money. He has nothing to collect money with! It’s clear that he’s looking for something else. And so in verse 51, Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Most beggars just want money. Usually they’re just asking for one more meal, or one more $5 bill so they can keep hobbling along in life.

But at the end of verse 51, Bartimaeus pleads with Jesus, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” See, Bartimaeus doesn’t just want Jesus to help him along in his life as a beggar. He doesn’t just want Jesus to help him be a very talented beggar, or a very smart beggar, or even a very handsome, rich, powerful beggar. But no, Bartimaeus has left his cloak behind. He doesn’t want to go on living his old life. But Bartimaeus is insistent, he wants to be free from his beggarliness – healed of his blindness! He wants to be made whole. And so he forsakes his old comforts, and all other lesser hopes, and he comes to Jesus. This is the posture of true faith.

Now, what’s interesting is that every human being actually has something in common with Bartimaeus. Our default condition is to be spiritually blind and bankrupt. We’re beggars. The tragic thing about this, is for many people, that’s all they know, and that’s all that they want. As Jesus passes by, they just hold out their cloak. “Jesus, I have a great idea of how I should run my life. I want to stay here, and do my own thing. Just give me a little cash.” Right? For some people, all they really want is for Jesus to make their life as a beggar more comfortable or more successful.

But saving faith forsakes lesser hopes and comforts. And it cries out to Jesus, take away my blindness, take away my poverty, take away all my guilt and blame – and give me mercy. Restore my sight.

Faith Functions as a Means for Making Us Well

And in verse 52, we see that the plea of Bartimaeus bears fruit. Jesus responds to his request. And he tells him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well. And this brings us to a fifth description of saving faith – that faith functions as the means for making us well.

This idea of faith making a person well – it’s not just a unique situation for Bartimaeus. But back in Mark Chapter 5, Jesus healed a woman of a bleeding issue, and he told her the same thing. “Your faith has made you well.” This is an important theme that we’re supposed to pick up on. Faith is what makes people well. Not just physically – but spiritually, eternally. Even though every human heart is naturally corrupt, sick, twisted, and dead – through faith, even the blindest, baddest beggar will be made well.

But it’s important to be clear where the wellness comes from. Because it’s not actually faith itself, as some sort of mental activity, or inner focus – it’s not faith itself that has the power to make people well. In fact, if we have faith in the wrong thing, if we’re trusting in ourselves and our good works – it doesn’t matter how powerful or passionate our faith is – that faith won’t help us. The only way we can be made right is if we have Christ. Only in Jesus Christ, will you find the perfect fullness you need to be made well. And faith is simply the way that that you and I receive him.

So you can think about it this way. Faith is basically like a straw in a cup of water. And so, of course, what brings us life isn’t the straw itself. You’re not going to get any benefit, just by chewing on the straw. But the straw brings life to us, in that it brings us life-giving water. And in the same way, wellness and life come to us from Christ, as we take him in through the straw of faith. That’s how we’re made well. Christ makes his people well, through faith.

And so I just want to press you a bit – do you personally know what it means for Jesus to make you well? Because you’re not naturally well on our own. None of us are. Do you know what it’s like to grieve over your spiritual blindness and bankruptcy without Christ? Have you come as a beggar to Jesus, not to make excuses, not to impress anyone – but simply to admit your poverty, and to plead for mercy – to trust in his mercy? Because if you’ve come to Jesus like this, then you’ll also know the profound joy of being filled from Christ’s fullness. Because faith in Christ is the means by which he makes his people well. It’s simply the empty tube – the pipeline – through which Jesus pumps the gushing waters of life and joy. Friends, if you haven’t admitted your emptiness – if you haven’t trusted in Jesus like this – don’t hold back. Don’t look for wholeness and wellness from anything else. But ground your faith in Jesus. And all will be well.

Faith Follows Jesus, as Bartimaeus Did

But in the second half of verse 52, here, there’s one more description of saving faith that we see in our text. Faith follows Jesus. We’re told in our text that immediately Bartimaeus recovered his sight, and followed him – he followed Jesus on the way.

Now, keep in mind – Bartimaeus wasn’t forced to do this. Jesus didn’t tell him, “Bartimaeus, if you want to get your sight back, you have to follow me.” But no, this is after Bartimaeus has already been healed. Of his accord, he leaves his cloak and his hometown behind – and he follows Jesus. Now why does he tie himself down like this? He could have gone wherever he wanted.

But, you see, he did go where he wanted. He went with Jesus because he wanted to. And this is the normal effect that saving faith has in the life of a Christian. It’s not always perfectly constant or linear, but the overall principle is true – the more we lean on Jesus’s saving mercy, and see the fulness of his love for us, the more we’re going to be filled with love for him – with love for his word, and love for his people. For the Christian, it’s not as though obeying Jesus is something we have to do, but it’s something that we get to do. A life of faith will be a life of following Jesus. A life of obeying Jesus, a life of treasuring Jesus – a life of suffering for Jesus. We’ll do it, not because we have to, but because we love to. Because we love the Lord, we love his Word, and we love his people.

Now with this being said, I think that we generally understand that there’s a connection between faith in Jesus, and following Jesus. I think we all recognize that being with Jesus and living for him is important. And yet sometimes, I think we’re tempted to imagine that prioritizing and serving Jesus like this – it’s just for an elite group of super-Christians. It’s just for pastors – or it’s just for really gifted, really spiritual people.

But don’t forget who this guy is who sets such a powerful example of faith. He’s a beggar! He’s a man with a severe handicap! He’s illiterate! This wasn’t a man of special aptitude or abilities. But here’s what Bartimaeus was good at. He knew how to beg for mercy. And he knew who to beg from. And simply because of those two things, Bartimaeus is held up to us as a hero of the faith – an encourager for us, to keep on believing, to keep on following.

And for all of us, at our church in Mt Pleasant, MI, let this be an encouragement. If God can use a blind beggar to be an example to the world of triumphant faith – who’s to say that God can’t use you? If a blind man can teach us how to see Jesus rightly, don’t underestimate how God might use you, as you walk in faith, and as you follow King Jesus. Let’s pray: