Mark 10:32-52

I'll tell you that this week, Thursday night, I was hit by a truck driven by a big burly guy who goes by the radio handle ragweed.

! And I've suffered for it. You guys really, I'm sorry, you really thought I was hit by a truck. I wasn't really hit by a truck.

It kind of flattened me just the same. On Friday, I'm still suffering from that now. A couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of

a quote by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones who said,

Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire. And this morning, I feel like I'm just smoldering.

But we'll get through it together. We do believe in the primacy of preaching in our corporate meetings.

The preached Word of God is incredibly important to the people of God, and we live in a day where that seems to be on the decline.

And as it is, it also seems that the church is on the decline. And so even amidst suffering, rough voices, the preaching of the Word is of great, great importance.

Now today will probably be a briefer sermon than we've had in the past. I think you all are due that.

I think over the past, if I'm remembering correctly, over the past three weeks, I've preached for two hours and 48 minutes, I think.

So I'm going to try to bring it in for you tonight. Although ironically, we're going to cover more text the Sunday than we have in the past Sunday.

So join me at the beginning of verse 32 of Mark chapter 10 as I read through the end of the chapter.

Mark 10 · chapter mention

Woe is right.

And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them.

And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.

And taking the twelve again, He began to tell them what was to happen to Him, saying,

See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes,

and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles.

And they will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him.

And after three days, He will rise.

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to Him and said to Him,

Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.

And He said to them, What do you want Me to do for you?

And they said to Him, Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.

Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking.

Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?

And they said to Him, We are able.

And Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink you will drink.

And with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.

But to sit at My right hand or at My left is not Mine to grant,

for it is for those for whom it has been prepared.

And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.

And Jesus called them to Him and said to them,

You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,

and their great ones exercise authority over them.

But it shall not be so among you.

But whoever will be great among you must be your servant.

And whoever will be first among you must be slave of all.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve,

and to give up His life as a ransom for many.

And they came to Jericho.

And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples, a great crowd,

Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.

And when He heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, He began to cry out and said,

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on Me.

And many rebuked Him, telling Him to be silent.

But He cried out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on Me.

And Jesus stopped and said, Call Him.

And they called the blind man, saying to Him,

Take heart, get up, He is calling you.

And throwing off His cloak, He sprang up and came to Jesus.

And Jesus said to him, What do you want Me to do for you?

And the blind man said to him, Rabbi, let me recover My sight.

And Jesus said to him, Go your way, your faith has made you well.

And immediately He recovered His sight and followed Him on the way.

This is God's Word to us, written for His glory and our good.

We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

Let's pray together.

Father God, we are in all ways and at all times beholden to Your strength.

We are completely weak apart from You.

But there are certainly moments in our lives that we feel that more readily.

And Father, this is probably the best place for us to be wholly dependent,

recognizing that we need You and we need You this morning to preach through me,

to apply the preaching of Your Word to our hearts,

to change us from one degree of glory to another.

We throw ourselves on Your promises.

We know that You love Your people.

And You want to see Your people come into perfection.

We know that You love Your glory, that You're zealous for it.

And You want a people that will honor You with their lives and with their lips.

And so have Your way with us this morning as we open Your Word.

And we pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.

So, as we've discussed previously, Mark's Gospel is written in a sort of three-act way.

Now, I don't think he laid it out specifically in this way,

but you can kind of see some divisions.

And we've worked our way through Act 1 up through chapter 8, verse 21,

which largely accounts for Jesus' public ministry.

We certainly pick up some teaching in there.

We see lots of miracles.

All these miracles, they gave affirmation to the words that He was saying.

But since chapter 8, verse 22,

we've come into what we've kind of seen to be the second act,

where Jesus' public ministry is minimized

and His attention to disciples is emphasized.

We can see this in chapter 9, verse 30 and 31.

They went on from there and passed through Galilee.

And He did not want anyone to know,

for He was teaching His disciples.

This was the major thrust of His ministry at this time.

And in this act that goes through the end of chapter 10,

we see it punctuated by Jesus' passion predictions.

That is, His predictions of His suffering, His death, and His resurrection.

We saw that in chapter 8, verse 31.

And in 9, verse 31.

And then before us this morning in verses 33 and 34 of chapter 10.

So it seems to be marked out by these passion predictions.

And in each case of Mark's account,

these passion predictions are followed by a record of the misunderstanding of the disciples.

And I find it very easy to wag my head at the disciples

and not be able to comprehend how it is that they were so misled and so confused.

But as we've noted, the culture was informing them about who the Messiah would be.

They thought the Messiah was going to come and reign militarily.

They thought He was going to sit on a throne on this earth in that time.

And He was going to lead a great army and overthrow Rome.

That He was going to set the Jews free from their earthly oppression.

But because God's Word is written for us,

we ought not merely just muse at the response of the disciples.

Look at the poor, pitiful disciples and their muted understanding.

But we also ought to apply Jesus' teaching to our own hearts.

To ask the question,

do we rightly understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?

We have been called from our nets on the seashore.

We are now following Him.

But do we follow Him rightly?

And so we see their journey continuing in verse 32.

And for the first time, we see the name of the place that they are headed to.

I have been saying to you all along that this last six months,

as He's putting His major focus on the disciples,

that He's moving towards Jerusalem.

This is how we know that to be the case in verse 32.

They're moving from the east, headed towards Jerusalem.

If you're looking at a map,

it would look as if they're heading southwest.

But you see it says they're going up to Jerusalem.

But everything was up to Jerusalem in this day.

Jerusalem was the great pinnacle of civilization.

And furthermore, since they're coming from the east,

there actually was a climb.

They had quite a steep road on their journey to Jerusalem.

So they're traveling up to Jerusalem.

And we see in verse 32 a difference in the way in which they're walking.

Mark records that Jesus was walking ahead of them.

It doesn't seem to be a stroll amongst the disciples any longer,

where He's teaching them as they talk along the way.

But now He's walking out ahead of them.

He's now determined where He's going and what He's going to go and do.

You will note, for the original language,

we see that this fear and amazement is the fear of the disciples

and is the amazement of the crowd.

And these things should be read in light of the following words

that Jesus is going to speak to them.

Saying to them,

See, we're going up to Jerusalem.

And He makes this prediction once again,

a more expanded version of the predictions that He's made earlier

in chapter 8, verse 31,

and chapter 9, verse 31.

And we know from our hindsight,

from our position in redemptive history,

that all of these things came to pass.

Turn with me to Mark 15.

We'll look in a short text here

and see all of the realizations of all of these things.

Mark 15, beginning in verse 15,

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd,

released for them Barabbas.

And having scourged Jesus,

they flogged Him.

He delivered Him to be crucified.

And the soldiers led Him away inside the palace,

that is the governor's headquarters.

And they called together the whole battalion.

And they clothed Him in a purple cloak

and twisted together a crown of thorns.

They put it on Him.

And they began to salute Him.

Hail, King of the Jews!

They mocked Him.

And they were striking His head with a reed

and spitting on Him.

They spit on Him

and kneeling down in homage to Him.

And when they had mocked Him,

they stripped Him of the purple cloak

and put His own clothes on Him.

And they led Him out to crucify Him.

We know what follows.

They did in fact kill Him.

So this tragic prediction that Jesus makes for us

in chapter 10 certainly comes true.

And the disciples are having a hard time understanding

why.

Why would the King of the Jews,

why would the Messiah,

the One who has come to deliver us,

die?

It seems that the fear of the disciples

is rooted in their temporal mindsets

of what this death march Jerusalem

was going to mean for them.

They had yet to fully comprehend

and understand the eternal purposes

of God and Jesus Christ.

They had yet to understand

that Jesus came to inaugurate

a spiritual kingdom

that would be consummated

someday in the future.

They seemed to miss that Jesus

had always finished

His passion predictions

with His resurrection.

He never fails.

Never fails to say it.

After three days,

He will rise.

He never leaves them hopeless.

After three days,

I will rise.

This is the exclamation mark

on the end of these predictions

of suffering.

Death will have no dominion

over me.

And therefore,

death has no dominion

over us.

Peter put it this way

in 1 Peter 1.3,

Blessed be the God and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

According to His great mercy,

He has caused us

to be born again

to a living hope

through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

from the dead.

In Jesus' resurrection,

we ourselves

have been resurrected.

We were put to death

and we have been raised again

to live with Him.

This is the beautiful promise

of the Gospel

when Jesus is giving it

to them right here

and He's laying it out

before them

and they have just yet

to fully understand.

And we see it again.

This is the third time now.

Look at the response

of James and John.

These brothers,

the sons of Zebedee,

they make a request of Him.

They want to sit,

one at the right,

one at the left hand,

in glory.

They want to reign with Him

in glory.

Perhaps because they're familiar

with 1 Samuel 2.8.

Which says,

He raises up the poor

from the dust.

He lifts the needy

from the ash heap

to make them sit with princes

and inherit a seat of honor.

They were rightly asking

in some sense,

Lord, we want to reign with You.

We want the promise

of 1 Samuel 2.8

to come true for us.

But look at how Jesus responds

to them in verse 38.

You do not know

what you are asking.

If you are to receive

the blessing of reigning with Me

in glory,

do you understand

what that means?

And He asks them a question,

a rhetorical question,

which He answers

that they will in fact

be able to do.

Are you able to drink

the cup that I drink

or to be baptized

with the baptism

with which I am baptized?

And this question

is saturated

with Old Testament imagery

of suffering.

They would have understood

what He meant

when He talked about

drinking of a cup

and being baptized

with this baptism.

Drink the cup that I drink

means the cup of God's wrath.

This is what He's specifically

referring to in this case.

At the hands of men,

Jesus Christ on the cross

was going to experience

the full cup of God's wrath.

Psalm 75.8 reads,

For in the hand of the Lord

there is a cup

with foaming wine

well mixed

and He pours out from it

and all the wicked of the earth

shall drain it down

to the dregs.

This is why Jesus prays

in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Good record of this

is Luke 22.42.

Father, if You are willing,

remove this cup from Me.

Nevertheless,

not My will,

but Yours.

Let us be done.

Jesus knew that it was

the very wrath of God

that was going to be

poured out on Him

for our sins

that He was going to drink of.

And in His human nature

asked that if God's will

could be accomplished

in another way

that He wouldn't have

to do this thing.

But yet,

this being the will of God,

the preordained will of God,

Jesus drank it

to the very last drop.

How about the baptism

that He refers to here?

That's a clear allusion

to God's judgment

in the flood.

That Jesus was going to be

overwhelmed by God's judgment.

Again,

poured out on Him

because of the sinfulness

of mankind.

And James and John

respond to Him,

we are able.

We are able.

And I don't think that they

fully comprehended

what Jesus was talking about

in His suffering.

None of us can suffer

the way that Jesus suffered.

I don't know how many of you

saw the passion of the Christ

such a brutal depiction,

a fairly accurate depiction

of what crucifixion looked like.

The thing that was

heartbreaking to me

about that

is everybody said,

oh, look at this man

and what they did for me

and the things he did

in his flesh,

others would do.

I think James and John

understand that.

I would do that for you.

I would receive that kind

of physical suffering

for you,

but the thing that I could

never do for you

is to be punished

in my spirit

the way that Jesus was.

To drink of the full wrath

of God

for the sins of the church.

To have His judgment

wash over Him.

One who had been

in perfect union

with the Godhead

for all eternity.

Suddenly had God

turn His back on Him.

This is something

that none of us

could have ever bore

except for Jesus Christ.

So they say we are able

and if we're getting

to this point in the text

and we've yet to read

the rest of it,

we should say,

no you can't.

Impossible.

How could you possibly?

But what does Jesus

respond to them?

The cup that I drink,

you will drink.

With the baptism

with which I am baptized,

you will be baptized.

Now is He talking about

the exact same suffering

that He would go through?

No.

He's not.

But He is talking about

the physical suffering.

The persecution

that He'll receive

at the hands of the Gentiles.

They will receive

as well.

Surely you will.

James and John

were not lacking

in willingness.

But they didn't fully get

what they were saying.

They wanted a reward

for their part in the suffering.

It's if they're coming

to Him to say,

we want to guarantee

that if we're going to continue

to follow you to Jerusalem

and this is what's going

to happen to you,

that something really good

and positive is going

to happen for us.

We are willing,

we are able to suffer

if only we can have

the promise of glory.

You see,

they wanted to serve Jesus

for their sake

and not for the sake

of others.

And they certainly did.

James,

you can read about

in Acts 12.2,

was killed by King Herod

with a sword.

John was exiled

to the island of Patmos.

Tradition holds

that he's the only apostle

that was not martyred.

However,

he was tortured.

He suffered greatly.

It's believed that he died

of natural causes,

but he took on

all kinds of torment.

He had even been dipped

in hot oil

and the skin on his body

was removed

by that process.

They certainly suffered

for the sake of the name

of Jesus Christ,

but Jesus presses to them

that this suffering

does not guarantee

some special status,

a future glory to be sure,

but not some special status.

However,

humility does lead

to exaltation.

It turns me to Luke 14

while I take a water break

from my throat.

He says to them,

it's not for me to decide

who will sit at the right hand

or the left hand of me

in glory.

This place has been prepared

beforehand.

But what does

humiliation

award us?

How can we

persevere

through persecution?

And there is a future promise

for us.

He tells a parable

beginning in verse 7,

Luke 14.

Now he told a parable

to those who were invited

when he noticed

how they chose

the places of honor,

saying to them,

when you are invited

by someone to a wedding feast,

do not sit down

in a place of honor,

lest someone more distinguished

than you

be invited by him.

People in this day

who were more distinguished

sat closer to the head

of the table.

Verse 9,

And he who invited you both

will come and say to you,

give your place

to this person,

and then you will begin

with shame

to take the lowest place.

But when you are invited,

go and sit in the lowest place

so that when the host comes,

he may say to you,

friend,

move up higher.

Then you will be honored

in the presence of all

who sit at table

with you.

For everyone

who exalts himself

will be humbled,

and he who humbles himself

will be exalted.

So the very thing

that they're asking for

is the self-exaltation.

And the point is further made

by the response

of the other ten.

This activity amongst

James and John

and the other disciples

leads Jesus

to the teaching

of verse 42, 43, 44, and 45.

It says when the ten heard it,

verse 41,

they began to be indignant

at James and John.

They became angry with them

because James and John

were asking for seats of honor.

It was the same problem

we saw back in chapter 9

where they're arguing

about who is the greatest

among them.

They're feuding in between

of their little band.

Who's going to be generals

and who's going to be colonels

in Jesus' army?

And Jesus calls to them together

and says,

You know those

who are considered

rulers of the Gentiles,

lord it over them.

They deal with them unjustly.

And their great ones

exercise authority over them.

You know it to be true

of this world

that people who are

in positions of power

rain down on people

who are lowly.

But God's kingdom

looks different.

Verse 43,

But it shall not be so

among you.

But whoever will be great

among you

must be your servant.

And whoever will be first

among you

must be slave

of all.

It seems to be

a little backwards

in God's economy

that if we want to be

first,

we must be last.

That we must

empty ourselves

and serve

others.

And then Jesus

gives for this

the great

example

of His own life.

For even

the Son of Man

came not to serve,

not to be served,

but to serve,

and to give His life

as a ransom

for many.

The Son of Man,

Jesus,

the Christ,

the Messiah

came not to rule

militarily,

not to be set up

on a throne

and worshipped

in the temporal,

but to serve

in the eternal.

To give up

His life

that we may

have life

in Him.

He secured

an eternal

redemption

for the church

in this great

climax

of redemptive

history.

He's just

driving the same

point.

It's the theme

of this second

act of Mark's

that He's made

previously to us.

Remember Mark

Mark 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8,

34 and 35.

This is in response

to the improper

understanding

of the disciples.

If anyone

would come after

Me,

let him deny

himself

and take up

his cross

and follow

Me.

That is,

empty him

of himself,

all of his

self-determination,

all of his

self-worship

and follow

Jesus.

Verse 35,

For whoever

would save

his life

will lose it.

But whoever

loses his life

for My sake

and the Gospels

will save it.

Again,

Mark chapter 9,

Mark 9 · chapter mention

after the inappropriate,

the misunderstanding

of the disciples,

their argument

about who

would be first

and who

would be the

greatest.

In verse 35

of chapter 9,

if anyone

would be first,

he must be

last of all

and servant

of all.

And Jesus

again drives

all of this

with the great

example of

His life

and the way

in which

He came

to serve.

Why do we

think,

why do we

misunderstand

understand

that we

would be

any greater

than this?

Jesus came

into this

world

and was

hated.

You see,

the thousands

that are following

Him through the

first part of

Mark are

following Him

because of the

things that they

do,

not because of

who He is.

For the things

that can be

granted to them,

not because they

want Him.

He's rejected

in His own

town.

People will

follow Him

for a while

and then when

He says

something difficult,

they will

leave.

He's got a

very small

group of

people that

are devoted

to Him.

We see in

the beginning

of Acts

probably about

120.

120!

Our normal

Sunday morning

congregation is

larger than

that.

This is

Jesus,

the Christ.

Why do we

think we

would be any

better?

He was

delivered to

the authorities.

He was

spit on.

He was

flogged.

He was

mocked.

And He was

finally killed.

Why do we

think anything

different would

come to us?

In case you

do,

Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10.

Turn there

please.

Jesus is not

unaware of what

will happen to

us as we

devote our

lives to

us,

as we

die to

ourselves,

take our

crosses,

as we

follow Him.

Beginning of

verse 16,

Matthew 10,

Behold,

I am sending

you out as

sheep in

the midst

of wolves.

So be

wise as

serpents and

innocent as

doves.

Do you know

what happens to

sheep in the

midst of wolves?

Beware of

men, for they

will deliver you

over to courts

and flog you

in their

synagogues.

And you

will be

dragged before

governors and

kings for

my sake,

to bear witness

before them

and the

Gentiles.

When they

deliver you

over, do

not be

anxious how

you are to

speak or what

you are to

say, for what

you are to

say will be

given to you

in that hour.

For it is not

you who speak,

but the spirit of

your father

speaking through

you.

Brother will

deliver brother

over to death

and the father

his child,

and children will

rise against

parents and have

them put to

death, and you

will be hated

by all for

my name's

sake.

But the one

who endures to

the end will

be saved.

When they

persecute you

in one town,

flee to the

next.

For truly I

say to you,

you will not

have gone

through all

the towns

of Israel

before the

Son of

Man comes.

A disciple

is not above

his teacher,

nor a servant

above his

master.

It is enough

for the

disciple to

be like his

teacher,

and the

servant like

his master.

If they

have called

the master

of the house

Beelzebul,

how much

more will

they malign

those of

his household?

He says

again,

John 15

18-20,

If the

world hates

you,

you know

that it

has hated

me before

it hated

you.

If you

were of

the world,

the world

would love

you as

its own.

But because

you are not

of the world,

but I chose

you out of

the world,

therefore the

world hates

you.

Remember the

word that I

said to you,

a servant

is not greater

than his

master.

If they

persecuted

me,

they will

also

persecute

you.

So if we

belong to

the Lord,

if we are

following Jesus

in his way,

we will

suffer.

There's no

wiggle room

in this.

There's no

way around

it.

And so what

does it

mean for

us if we

don't

suffer?

v. 19

of John

15,

if you

were of

the world,

the world

would love

you as

its own.

It is

possible to

be a

disciple of

Jesus Christ,

to have

made a

profession of

faith in

him,

to be

truly saved,

and to

have stopped

following

him altogether.

That

possibility

exists that

you become

so ensnared

by the

traps of

this world

that he

has gone

on ahead

of you,

and you're

just sitting

in the

luxury of

the things

around you.

If the

world doesn't

hate you,

it's because

you look

like the

world.

If you're

following

Christ and

you look

like him,

you will

be

persecuted.

Now,

what does

this look

like for

us as

American

Christians?

We have

laws that

prevent

by and

large

physical

persecution.

It's not

likely that

any of

us would

be beheaded,

drug out

of our

homes,

thrown

into

prison,

certainly

not

crucified.

There are

laws that

prevent

such

things,

but yet

persecution

should

exist

in other

forms by

us being

thought

strange,

being made

fun of,

people thinking

that their

intellect is

so much

larger than

ours,

because we

do things

like skip

watching the

Super Bowl

to be with

God's people

on a Sunday

evening,

because we

don't let

sports get

in the way

of our

child's

spiritual

growth,

because we

don't go out

late on

Saturdays,

because we

care about

our activity

on Sunday

morning,

because we

don't go

along with

every narrative

taught to

us in

the classroom,

we don't

make the

best grades

sometimes,

because we

don't put

down the

answer the

professor wants

to hear,

because we

work extra

hard,

even at

menial tasks,

even when

no one is

watching,

because ladies,

you don't fit

in on the

beach,

because you

care about

modesty,

because you

would rather

serve others

than be

served,

because you

warn people

of their

certain

destruction

unless they

repent and

believe in

Jesus Christ.

Beloved,

there are so

many things,

these are

examples that

popped into

my head,

ways in which

we should be

living that

sets us apart

from this

world,

following in

the ways of

God,

being disciples

of Jesus

Christ,

is going to

make us

strange.

We should

suffer in the

world.

We ask this

question,

do you feel

more comfortable

in your

other spheres,

the other

circles that

you run in,

than you do

when you

come and

you're with

the church?

So many

times,

I've heard

the accusation,

people will

come here and

not come back

because they

don't make

them feel good

about themselves.

It's not my

job to make

you feel good

about yourself.

It's make

you feel good

about Jesus,

to love Him,

to see your

own failing.

But shouldn't

we walk in

here together

and feel

comfortable

in our

failing?

Shouldn't

we walk in

here together

and want

to be

together?

Because this

place is a

refuge where

we all come

together and

say we fail

in the way,

but we know

the way.

And we know

the way isn't

crazy.

Encourage me,

spur me on

in the way.

I want to

follow Jesus.

I want to be

like Him.

Shouldn't

this be where

we're most

comfortable?

Isn't this

why we come

together as the

church?

We might

encourage each

other in this

way,

we might press

each other on

to go back

out and to

keep fighting?

To go to a

place that's

hostile towards

us?

A place that

doesn't want to

hear the things

we have to say

because it's not

of the world?

The answer to all

these rhetorical

questions is a

resounding yes.

This should be

true of us.

This should be so

true of us.

James 1, 2-4.

James says,

Count it all

joy, my

brothers, when

you meet trials

of various kinds.

For you know

that the testing

of your faith

produces steadfastness

and let steadfastness

have its full effect

that you may be

perfect and

complete, lacking

in nothing.

Do we want to be

driven on in our

faith?

Then welcome the

suffering.

I'm not suggesting

that you go and

seek the suffering,

but begin to

arrange your life

so that it looks

like the life of

Jesus and I

promise it will

come and count it

a joy when it

comes because you

will be purified by

it.

Your faith will be

increased by it.

Beloved, we are

so far ahead of so

many others in the

Christian faith.

We have much to

rejoice in.

God has done good

things with us,

but we are also a

long way from where

He would have us

be.

We have so much

changing to do

in our lives.

Casting off our

American Christian

culture and truly

being devoted to

the One who has

called us.

We see in the

summation of

chapter 10 a

beautiful picture of

calling.

As their journey

brings them to

Jericho, northeast of

Jerusalem, north of

the Dead Sea, a man

named Bartimaeus

hears that He's

coming and he

cries out to Him

and he cries out to

Him with a very

specific name,

Jesus, Son of

David.

That means that he

recognized that Jesus

was the Son of God,

that He was the

Messiah.

He knew who

Jesus was.

And Jesus says in

verse 49,

call Him.

He hears the call

of the blind man

Bartimaeus and He

says to him,

call Him, and you

see in verse 52

that His sight is

restored.

It's immediately

recovered because of

His faith.

I've said to you as

we've worked through

the second act that

it's bookended by

two accounts of

Jesus healing

blind men.

We see the man at

Bethsaida, 8,

22-26.

He's a man who's

healed in degrees

and he's brought

to Jesus by

others.

Brought to Him.

Not given a name

here.

And Jesus takes

him away and He

does two miracles.

He partly restores

the sight and then

He fully restores

His sight.

And then He sends

him off and says,

don't go into the

village.

Then we see

Bartimaeus who's

healed immediately.

And these things

seem to be, by

Mark's inspired

account, put it

either in, bookmarked

it either in, to

drive the point that

Jesus is not only

the miracle worker

over physical

blindness but over

spiritual as well.

That He is the Lord

of spiritual blindness.

And I just love the

picture of Bartimaeus

calling out to Him.

He calls him to

Himself.

He restores His

sight.

And as He says to

him, verse 52,

go your way.

Your faith has

made you well.

And Mark's record

says, and immediately

He recovered a sight

and followed Him

on the way.

Bartimaeus' way

became Jesus' way

when Jesus restored

His sight.

When He made Him

whole once again.

And so we can take

some confidence in

the fact that Jesus

is Lord over

spiritual blindness.

If we will simply

call out to Him,

put ourselves

at His mercy.

Paul said this

in Philippians 1.6,

and I am sure of

this, that He who

began a good work

in you will bring

it to completion

at the day of

Jesus Christ.

And so as we feel

bad about ourselves,

as we recognize

that we don't suffer

for the sake of

Jesus Christ and

the gospel the way

we should,

we can take

confidence in the

fact that He is

completing in us

the work that He

set out to begin,

that we are still

on a road of

sanctification,

that He has not

given up on us.

Let's pray together.