Sermon from October 30, 2024

Sermon Based on Mark 10:46-52

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen. (Psalm 19:14)

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, for the appointed time for Him to suffer and die and rise again for the salvation of the world was very near. He was traveling the typical way of a Jew of His time, on a road that went through Jericho and near the Jordan River and on to Jerusalem. His disciples and a great crowd were following Him. It was only a short time before His entry into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday.

A blind man named Bartimaeus was sitting along the roadside and begging because that was probably the only way he could try to get a little help for himself. He heard the commotion of the crowd going by and also heard that Jesus of Nazareth was in the crowd. He must have heard of Jesus before and His reputation and ability to do miracles. He began to cry out, very accurately, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” It was a title used by Jews in speaking of their hopes about the Messiah, the Savior promised in the Old Testament. The Savior was predicted to be a descendant of King David, and people hoped He would restore a great earthly kingdom to God’s people, as David had long before.

Bartimaeus was speaking correctly of Jesus as the Son of David and just kept crying out for His help, but we hear that many in the crowd, and maybe some of the disciples (who had tried before to protect Jesus from those they thought He didn’t need to be bothered by like mothers and children and notorious sinners) - many rebuked the blind beggar, telling him to be silent and not to trouble Jesus.

If you remember the story recorded in John, Chapter 9, Jesus and the disciples saw another blind man, and the disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that He was born blind?” There was a sense among many that if there was blindness or other serious ills, someone must have done something terribly wrong and was being punished severely for it. Jesus, therefore, wouldn’t want to be bothered by such an evil person. But Jesus said the blindness was an opportunity for the work of God to be displayed in the man, and Jesus then healed that man both physically and spiritually.

In the case of Bartimaeus, Bartimaeus showed trust and confidence that Jesus really could help him. He is not discouraged by the rebukes of many and does not listen to them. Instead, he cried out all the more to Jesus and kept saying, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him!” Jesus was on His way to die and could have just been absorbed in all that was coming for Him, but He takes the time to help Bartimaeus in the last healing miracle that Mark tells about Him in his Gospel.

Some of the people then tell Bartimaeus, “Cheer up, have courage. Get up; Jesus is calling you!” And Bartimaeus didn’t just get up; he sprang up quickly and came to Jesus confidently. And the fact that he threw off his cloak, his outer robe or coat, was significant, too. Poor, blind beggars would have very few possessions and probably only one outer garment. Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak in seeming confidence that Jesus really would and could help him.

Jesus certainly knew what Bartimaeus was hoping for, but He asked, “What do you want Me to do for you?” giving Bartimaeus another chance to ask for help from Him. The blind man then said, “Rabbi” (Teacher), “let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well” - or very literally, “Your faith has saved you.” And immediately, Bartimaeus recovered his sight!

We know from other Scriptures that Jesus had given Bartimaeus the gift of saving faith in Him, not just physical sight. We know the words of the Apostle Paul, “By grace you have been saved, through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Bartimaeus was showing that gift of faith in calling Jesus “Son of David” and “Rabbi.” Literally, Bartimaeus used the Aramaic word “Rabboni” - my teacher - a word used sometimes in Jewish literature for God, meaning something like “Lord of the world.” It is the same word used by Mary Magdalene on Easter morning when her eyes were opened and she realized that she was talking with the risen, living Lord Jesus - “Rabboni” - my teacher - my Risen Lord (John 20:11-18, esp. v.16)!

Jesus called Bartimaeus to come to Him, and Bartimaeus eagerly came by God’s grace. Bartimaeus recovered his sight physically but also received the gift of saving faith in Jesus. And so, when Jesus said, “Go your way,” Bartimaeus knew that the only way to go was with Jesus as his Savior, and we hear that he followed Jesus on the way. Later on, in the Book of Acts, Christianity is called, four times, “the Way,” and believers as thus people “of the Way” - of Jesus. Some commentators also think that Bartimaeus is specifically named because he was still a strong believer and known to many when Mark wrote his Gospel in the later 60’s AD, many years after this event.

Christ Jesus died for all, the Scriptures say, and did His saving work for the sake of the whole world. How comforting it is to know, too, that He was also thinking of and reaching out to ordinary, individual people like you and me as He made His way to Jerusalem to die and rise again. He could have just thought about Himself and all He had to accomplish, but Luke, in his Gospel, tells us that He also noticed a very small man, Zacchaeus, who had climbed up in a tree just to get a glimpse of Jesus, and Jesus called him down, out of that tree, and brought him to faith and changed his life. That happened on this same trip through Jericho. And then, as Jesus left Jericho, he took the time to have mercy upon that poor, blind beggar, Bartimaeus, as well, and brought him to faith and salvation.

Surely, still today, Jesus knows and cares about each one of us, too, and has mercy upon us. He has already given His life for us, and he has made us His children in our Baptism and promises us His continued gifts through His Word and the Lord’s Supper. We come, too, as people of the Way, trusting in Jesus as our Way and Truth and Life.

Surely, whatever heavy burdens and fears and troubles we bring and carry with us today, and we all have some, Jesus will help us with, as we pray, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us,” too. Some of us, as we get older, even have eye troubles, too, but we are taught here to keep asking for help, whatever our needs. We may not get just what we want, but our Lord will care for us. Jesus said, on another occasion, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

That does not mean that all will be easy for us. Bartimaeus had people rebuking him and telling him to be silent and that he was wasting his time calling upon Jesus. We hear many of these same voices making fun of us as Christians still today. And Jesus Himself still faced the worst of His own troubles and voices condemning Him as he went to Jerusalem and to the cross. And yet He had His Easter victory soon after all the troubles.

And that victory will be ours, too, as we, like Bartimaeus, follow Jesus on the Way and keep calling on Him. And as believers, by the grace of God, we say to one another, as was said to Bartimaeus, “Take heart! Have courage! Jesus is calling us.” He will give us the strength we need, day by day, to stay with Him through Word and Sacrament, and one day give us the perfect victory in everlasting life with Christ.

We pray: Now may the peace of God, which passes all human understanding, keep our hearts and minds safe, only where they are safe, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.