Bartimaeus, Who Was a Disciple! (Mk. 10:46~52) The timeline of Mark chapter ten is when Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to fulfill his essential mission on Earth as the Christ—the redemptive work on the cross. After Peter confessed, “Lord, you are the Christ the Son of the living God,” Jesus finally told the disciples about his coming death on the cross and his resurrection. Mk. 10:32~34 is the third time Jesus told the disciples this. However, we can see that the disciples were completely unaware of the significance of what Jesus was telling them and was distracted by something else. They thought Jesus was going to be a political messiah and become the King of Israel when he gets to Jerusalem, so they argued whether who’s the greatest among them—in other words, who will take the greatest seat of power after Jesus. Then again, John and James asked Jesus to let them be seated at either sides of Jesus; and the other disciples were furious about it. Even after they had been following Jesus for three years, they still didn’t understand who Jesus really was. But in today’s passage, we see a man who knew exactly who Jesus was. This man was Bartimaeus, the blind. Although he was blind, he knew exactly who Jesus was and confessed it before him. Then he followed Jesus in the path of discipleship. I bless all of you in the name of the Lord: may you take after Bartimaeus and realize the spiritual meaning of being a disciple and experience the power of the Gospel. 1. Bartimaeus, Whose Spiritual Eyes Were Open Jesus and the disciples reached Jericho. Jericho was like a gateway to Jerusalem, so it was always crowded, especially during the Jewish feasts. Hence, it was also heavily populated by beggars. Blind Bartimaeus was one of them. One day, he heard from the crowd that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. The moment he heard that, he began shouting, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” The interesting thing is that he heard other people say that it was “Jesus of Nazareth.” But he called Jesus, “Son of David.” Jesus was most often referred to as “Jesus of Nazareth,” because that was where he grew up; but this has an underlying ridicule behind it. There was a saying amongst the Jews: “Nothing good comes from Nazareth.” As such, Nazareth was looked down upon. But amazingly, Bartimaeus wasn’t bound by such prejudice and stereotype and shouted something that proved that he saw the spiritual essence. Why was the expression “Jesus, Son of David” so important? It’s because the Old Testament prophesied that the Messiah will come from David’s blood line (Isaiah 9:7, Isaiah 11:1). The fact that Bartimaeus called Jesus “Son of David” means he believed in the prophecy of the Messiah and he believed that Jesus was that prophesied Christ. Hence he asked for Jesus’ mercy. Although he was physically blind, his spiritual eyes were open. The song “Amazing Grace” has a phrase that says, “I once was blind, but now I see.” Such must be our lives after we have met Jesus. We are able to realize and see things differently through the Holy Spirit. And because our spiritual eyes are open, we recognize the importance of the Word; and we are able to hold on to it and pray. And we are able to share the answers we receive with others. As we do so, we realize the importance of training. I bless all of Yewon believers in the name of the Lord: may you realistically enjoy such healthy spiritual cycle. 2. One-hearted, Whole-hearted, and Continous Bartimaeus When everyone was bound by prejudice, Bartimaeus was sure that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah of the prophecy, who could solve all his problems. That is why when everyone rebuked him and told him to be quiet, he shouted even louder. And when Jesus called him over, he jumped up and ran to him. He was blind, but he didn’t hesitate. He threw off his cloak and followed Jesus’ voice. I hope such would be your walk of faith. I hope you’d have the passion and the earnestness of Bartimaeus every time you come to worship. This doesn’t mean you run to church because you’re late. It means you anticipate and long for the message. It means you are all in when you’re given a task at church. You must have passion. Rev. 3:16 reads, “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” The gospel-oriented passion of a single person among you can lead to healing and restoring someone else. I bless you in the name of the Lord: may you always be filled with the life force of the gospel and influence others spiritually. When Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted, Bartimaeus didn’t hesitate to say, “I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go; your faith has healed you.” And immediately, he received his sight. After that, he followed Jesus as a disciple. Through Bartimaeus, we can witness the one-hearted, whole-hearted, and continuous spiritual attitude. He was one-hearted that he correctly realized who Christ was and looked solely upon him. He whole-heartedly gave everything else away. And he continuously walked towards Jesus no matter what obstacle was placed before him. I bless you in the name of the Lord: may you have the one-hearted, whole-hearted, and continuous spiritual attitude like Bartimaeus and enjoy the blessing of a well-watered garden and a spring whose waters never fail. Conclusion Professor Kim, Chi-cook is blind but became the youngest contemporary music professor in Berklee College of Music. During the many interviews reporters had with him, their common impression of him was that he was a very optimistic person. He said himself, “There’s an American saying: ‘When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.’ As such, when hardships or problems come your way, turn it into lemonade through faith. I never focus on the problems but the solutions. And then I pray. Then God gives me the strength to overcome that problem and the problem actually turns into something positive with which I can influence others.” I hope you agree with this. When you look at things with the eyes of faith, problems are not problems but a platform to help others. Believe that Christ is the solution to all problems. And like Bartimaeus, follow Christ as His disciple one-heartedly, whole-heartedly, and continuously. I bless you in the name of the Lord: may you truly be such disciples and enjoy the blessing of a well-watered garden and a spring whose waters never fail.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 08:53:38 +0000
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