Luke 18:31-43

Luke 18, 31, 23.

Who's your hero?

Who's your hero?

Mine is supposed to be Ryan Giggs, really.

! He is my older brother.

But I wonder who do you want to be like, isn't it?

As long as Ryan Giggs is playing professional sport,

I think there's hope for me.

There's hope for me. I hope he doesn't retire this summer.

But I wonder who you model yourself on.

You can often tell with a preacher.

Very often. Who do they model

themselves on?

Who do you want to be like?

So you school children, you're at an age, aren't you,

where lots of you go to parties.

So you have a princess party.

Or maybe you have a superheroes party.

And some will come as

Spider-Man, some will come as

Superman, or

Spider-Man, or Banana-Man.

Because they want to be heroes.

In the church that I worked in, as an assistant,

there was a child who had a Bible Heroes

birthday party.

And so children came as their Bible Heroes.

It was a wonderful sight. There was little

John the Baptist, in his camel hairs outfit.

There was Gideon with his jawbone.

There was Elijah calling fire down from heaven.

David with his sling.

And one boy came as Daniel with his collection of

thoughts off fairy lines.

I wanted Claire and I to go to Samson.

I would go to Samson and she would come to

the ice about it.

But that probably wouldn't be appropriate.

But nobody,

nobody,

nobody came as the blind bagger.

Nobody came

as the blind bagger.

It would be interesting, wouldn't it,

if I asked you this morning,

who was your Bible hero?

I doubt would you say it was the blind bagger.

He's not the kind of man

we want to be, is he?

But in Luke 18,

as I studied it,

Luke 18 tells us very much

that all of us should want to be the blind bagger.

Now all the usual

suspects

are there in Luke 18,

isn't it?

All sorts of life

is there.

We've seen that, haven't we?

The rich and the poor,

the children

and the old,

the crooked

and the pillars of society.

They're all there.

And as we come

to the end of Luke chapter 18,

Luke 18 · chapter mention

the end of the chapter,

which is 35

to 43,

is really the kind of example

par excellence

of what Jesus

has been teaching.

It is a

bog standard day

in the life of Jesus

in Luke 18.

And it's the kind of thing

we expect him to do,

isn't it?

We expect Jesus

to heal a blind man.

For those of us

who know our Bibles,

it's just the thing

that Jesus does.

But maybe,

as we've read this chapter

again and again,

as we've got to know

this story of blind Bartimaeus,

the beauty

and the incredible drama

of what happens

is lost.

So let's just look

at it again.

A blind man

is made to see.

A man speaks.

And by this man,

another man saw.

There's a blind beggar in healing.

He's not there

as much anymore.

But if I went up to him

and spoke to him

and he was made to see,

I guarantee you

that would make the healing

desert,

wouldn't it?

Even on the surface,

this blind man

was made to see

by another person

speaking.

It is mind-boggling.

It is incredible.

The blind being made to see.

And yet,

there's far, far more here.

There's far, far more here

than just this amazing miracle.

It is a passage

which is full of paradox.

It is full of two truths

which seem to contradict

each other.

And yet,

are true.

Two truths which are

opposed to common sense

but nevertheless are true.

So let's look at them.

First of all,

in verses 35 to 7,

we see

a blind man

who could see.

That's the first paradox.

A blind man

who could see.

As he drew near,

Jesus drew near to Jericho,

a blind man was sitting

by the roadside begging

and hearing a crowd

going by,

he inquired what this meant.

They told him,

Jesus of Nazareth

is passing by.

It's an ordinary day

at the gate.

There's nothing unusual

about it at all.

There's a blind man there.

There's probably actually

several blind men there.

That was the custom of the day.

People who were paralysed,

they had no other way

to make a living.

Blind people would sit

at the gate

and travellers who came

through Jerusalem

or other cities,

they would beg.

Maybe the traveller

would throw them a coin.

It's an ordinary day

at the gate.

But the blind man,

he hears a commotion

and he hears what he knows

must be a crowd

and he asks the normal question.

He asks,

what's going on?

He asks,

what's happening here?

And they say to him,

don't they?

They say to him,

verse 37,

Jesus of Nazareth

is passing by.

The teacher

from Nazareth,

the rabbi

from Nazareth

is coming to town.

And immediately

the blind man cries out,

do you see it?

Verse 38,

Jesus,

son of David.

Jesus,

son of David,

he began to shout.

Jesus,

son of David,

have mercy on me.

But they didn't say that,

did they?

They didn't say,

Jesus,

son of David,

is coming to town.

They said,

Jesus of Nazareth

is coming to town.

Do you notice the difference?

The crowd identified

Jesus geographically.

But the blind man

identifies Jesus

theologically.

He calls him Jesus,

the son of David.

And in fact,

it's a statement of faith.

In fact,

this blind man

is the first person,

apart from the angel,

to use this title of Jesus.

He recognizes who Jesus is.

All of Israel

was looking for the Messiah.

All of Israel

was looking for

the son of David.

The Old Testament

was full of prophecies

and teaching

about the coming king,

the coming Messiah.

They said,

over and over again,

he will be of the lineage

of Israel's greatest king.

He would be of the lineage

of David.

So look,

the most famous one of that,

it's Isaiah chapter 11,

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

and verse 11.

Let me read it to you.

You can go there if you want.

Isaiah chapter 11,

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

and verse 11.

You'll know this verse.

11 verse 1.

It says,

There shall come forth

a shoot from the stump

of Jesse,

David's father.

And a branch from his roots

will bear fruit.

Jesse was David's father.

And here was the stump,

the lineage of King David's life.

That was cut off.

That was cut off.

The tree of Jesse

is cut down,

and they think it's all over.

But it's not.

No more kings

when Babylon would conquer.

And there'll only be a stump

in the fields

of what it used to be.

But a shoot

is going to come out

of that stump.

It's a beautiful little picture.

And from that shoot,

well, it will grow

into the greatest tree

of all, won't it?

A branch that will bear fruit.

So you have a tree

in a field

that is cut down,

and a stump.

It looks like the tree

is dead and buried.

But from this old stump,

this new root

will come out.

You know Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

We read it

every Christmas time,

don't we?

Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

For unto us

a child is born,

and to us

a son is given,

and the government

will be upon his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

the Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace,

and of the increase

of his government

there shall be no end.

Where?

On David's throne.

The crowds

did not say

Son of David,

they said

Jesus of Nazareth.

But this man

shouts in faith,

Jesus,

Son of David,

have mercy.

How did he know

he was the son of David?

How did he know that?

Well because Jesus

was doing exactly

what the prophet

had told him to do.

Let me read to you

from Isaiah again,

Isaiah 35,

and verses 4 and 5

as he spoke of the Messiah.

Say to those

who have an anxious heart,

Be strong,

fear not,

Isaiah says.

Behold,

your God will come

with vengeance.

With the recompense

of God,

he will come and save you.

And then here it is,

verse 5,

Then the eyes

of the blind

shall be opened,

and the ears

of the deaf

and stopped.

Then shall the lame

man leap like a deer,

and the tongue

of the mute

sing for joy.

He will make

the blind see,

he will make

the deaf to hear,

he will make

the lame to run.

That's the work

of the Messiah.

Do you remember

John the Baptist

earlier on

in Luke's Gospel?

And he begins

to have second thoughts,

doesn't he,

about whether

Jesus is the one.

So he sends

his messengers

from prison,

and he says,

Are you the one,

or should we look

for another?

And Jesus sends

back a message,

doesn't he?

He says,

You go and tell

John what you've

seen and heard.

The blind receive

their sight,

the lame walk,

the lepers are cleansed,

the deaf hear,

the dead are raised,

and the poor of good

who is preached to them.

The dead are raised.

John the Baptist

would know Isaiah's

prophecy.

And John would smile.

And John would say,

The kingdom has come.

The son of David

has arrived.

So let's go back

to that gate

outside Jericho.

Let's imagine

you're that blind man.

You've been in darkness

probably a whole life.

And you've been hearing

for two years

about a man

from Nazareth

a rabbi.

You've heard about

his teaching.

No one ever

talked like this man.

You've heard that

his name is Jesus,

which is a pretty

common name.

But you know that

his behaviour is

anything but common.

You've heard that

this man,

Jesus of Nazareth,

he's made the blind

to see,

he's made the lame

to walk,

he's raised the dead.

So what are you thinking?

What are you thinking?

You hear he's

coming to town,

you hear he's

nearby,

you think this is

my chance.

And you're thinking

this is the son of David.

Is he the Messiah?

Is this him?

And you see,

he was blind,

wasn't he,

this blind man?

But he could see

far more than the

folks in the crowd.

He could see

better than the Pharisees,

he could see

better than the Sadducees,

he could see that

Jesus was Messiah.

And maybe,

just maybe,

he wouldn't have seen

as much

unless he was blind.

Maybe it is his blindness

that has given him

his sight.

Keller,

Helen Keller,

that is,

said,

better to be blind

and see

than to be able to see

and be blind.

Better to be blind

and see

than to be able to see

and be blind.

And the Pharisees

could see,

couldn't they?

They have seen Jesus,

they have seen Jesus

make the blind see

and the deaf hear.

They had seen him

raise to the dead,

but they didn't see him

as Messiah.

But the blind man did.

He was the Jesus,

son of David.

you're the one.

Lots of jumping around.

Come with me to John chapter 9.

John 9 · chapter mention

It's the next book

in the Bible along.

John chapter 9,

John 9:39

verse 39.

It's on page 896

in the Church Bibles.

And he says this.

Jesus says,

For judgment I came

into this world

that those who do not see

may see

and those who see

may become blind.

Some of the Pharisees

heard him say these things

and said,

Well, are we also blind?

Jesus said to them,

If you were blind

you would have no guilt.

But now that you've saved

we see,

their guilt remains.

Jesus was saying,

wasn't he,

to them,

You Pharisees

do not see yourselves

as sinners.

You do not see yourself

as being blind.

You think you can see.

You don't see yourself

as being helpless.

And Jesus was saying,

If you understood yourself

as helpless,

as a sinner,

I could save you.

If you understood yourself

as being blind,

I could make you see.

But we don't like that,

do we?

We don't want to be

the blind man.

And Luke,

in his account,

in Luke 18,

is drawing a great contrast.

He is drawing a contrast

between the disciples

and the blind man.

So Scott Reddard,

did you pick that up?

That immediately before,

he's spoken of the son of man

who must suffer,

who must be killed,

who they will spit on,

who they will murder.

But on the third day,

he'll rise again.

But look at Luke 18,

Luke 18:34

verse 34.

They understood

none of these things.

This same was hidden

from them.

And they did not grasp

what was being understood.

They don't understand it,

they don't get it,

they are blind

to who he is.

And the very next story,

the blind man sees.

And the irony

of the Christian gospel

is this,

we must become blind

before we can see.

We must understand

that we are spiritually blind

before we can see.

It is the great paradox.

You want to see Jesus?

He is all around

for eyes to see.

But we must pray,

O Father,

O God,

open my eyes.

The testimony

of every Christian

was,

is,

I once was blind,

but now I see.

Secondly,

let's see a second paradox.

A man without opportunity

who seized opportunity.

A man without opportunity

who seized opportunity.

Look at verse 39.

And those who were

in front of him

rebuked him,

telling him to be silent.

But he cried out

all the more,

Son of David,

have mercy on me.

Now the life of a blind man

in the first century

was the life of a beggar.

Unless a family had money,

the blindness meant begging.

So this man,

from childhood,

had gone to the gate

because it was the only way

for him to eat.

It was the only way

for him to get anything,

was to get to the gate,

was to get to beg.

There were no benefits.

I have never really begged

for anything, really.

I don't know about you.

I suppose I beg a little bit

for the building project,

but I'm not very successful.

But I've never really had to beg.

I don't want charity.

This was a hard life, wasn't it?

It was a shameful life

for the beggar.

A humiliating life.

Begging at the gate

as people entered the city.

He would be there

for the rest of his life.

This man had no future,

no life beyond begging.

But suddenly there's an opportunity

and what an opportunity it is.

There were a lot of Presbyterians

in the crowd that day,

weren't there?

Verse 39.

Can you see them?

He begins to shout,

Jesus, son of David,

have mercy on me.

Son of David,

have mercy on me.

That's how loud he shouts.

And the Presbyterians

said,

well, be quiet.

Shh, shh, shh, shh.

They said,

you're making such a commotion,

aren't you?

But they weren't blind.

And they weren't beggars.

I'm blind,

and I want to see.

So I'll choke as loud as I can.

See, the blind man understands

Isaiah 55, doesn't he?

Seek the Lord while he may be found

and call on him while he is near.

Call on him while he is near.

Don't you love this man?

I love his determination.

Blind beggars do not think,

I'm upsetting the decorum here.

Maybe he'll pass by again tomorrow

when there'll be less of a crowd

and maybe I can talk to him then.

No, the blind beggar says,

he is here,

he is here,

I can't believe it,

I want to see.

So what if he'd not called out?

In verse 31,

taking the 12,

he says to them,

see we are going to Jerusalem.

He's not going to come to Jericho again.

He's approaching Jericho.

The blind man had an opportunity

through the visit of Jesus to Jericho

which he would never have again.

What is interesting is,

the blind man didn't know that at the time.

So, context is king, isn't it?

Luke 18, the context makes the point.

So remember we said all of life is here,

the rich and the poor,

the young and the old,

the sophisticated and the down and out,

the religious and the criminal.

Luke 18 has two cries in it, doesn't it?

Do you see that?

It has the cry of the widow

at the start of the chapter

and it has the cry of blind Bartimaeus

at the end of the chapter.

And they function as two bookmarks.

And the subject of the chapter

is found in the question,

verse 26.

It's the subject of the chapter.

Who then can be saved?

Who then can be saved?

And what Luke demonstrates in Luke 18

is that God is willing to receive

absolutely anybody.

That God is no respecter of persons.

He will save anybody.

He will save the widow

who couldn't get anyone to listen to her.

He will save the tax collector

who was sure no one would listen to him.

He will save the children

who were kept away

so weak that they can't even

come on their own two legs

that they've got to be carried.

And he will save a blind beggar

who no one wants to listen to.

And then by contrast,

you've got the rich young ruler.

Good education,

cracking prospects

and a gorgeous girlfriend.

And he expects to be commended.

But he's not accepted.

And there's also the tax collectors there.

He's a good man.

I'm not sure I'm as religious as he is.

He gives.

He's faithful.

He's religious.

He's reliable.

He's self-disciplined.

And yet he's not helpless.

And so both him

and the rich young ruler,

they stick out like sore thumbs

because they're not accepted

in Luke 18.

And the end of the chapter

is if to sum it all up,

if you didn't get it before,

let me make it as obvious

as I possibly can

that he is a blind beggar.

He's a blind beggar

who's got no importance.

He is a nobody.

He is the very definition

of helplessness.

And God has mercy on him.

Now that's a familiar truth,

isn't it?

God is merciful.

He welcomes all.

Don't we love that message?

That is what people expect of God.

That's his business, isn't it?

But even that great truth

can be misconstrued.

So you might have heard it said,

haven't you,

that God is always waiting for us

to turn to us.

To turn for us

when we will turn to him.

He is always waiting for us.

He will turn to us whenever.

And there is an element of truth

to that.

But do not presume

to come to God like that.

Don't think that God

is in your pocket.

And that you can turn to him

whenever it seeks you

and he will be merciful to you.

When I was growing up

as a child,

he's watching Minder.

Minder with Arthur Daly

and George Cullen.

It's good.

Dennis Waterman.

And my thought of London

is whenever you stepped

on the road

and you shouted,

taxi,

a black cab would pull up.

But then you move to London

and immediately you want a taxi.

You can never find one,

isn't it?

But God is not like

the taxi driver in Minder.

That whenever you stand up

on the road

and you shout,

God,

well actually he'll just

roll up to you whenever.

He is not waiting

just for you to flag him down.

That idea is grotesque.

Hebrews 12,

17 to 18

tells the story

of the covenant child Esau.

And Esau was a man of impulse

who wanted everything right now

and he sold his birthright

for a meal.

And then it says this,

for you know that afterward

when he desired

to inherit the blessing

he was rejected.

He found no chance

to repent

even though he sought it

with tears.

He desired a blessing

but he found no chance

to repent

even though he sought it

with tears.

Bartimaeus,

at the end of this chapter

is a great warning

to you

and to me.

There's great truth here,

isn't there?

Glorious truth

that God accepts

anybody who is helpless

but don't miss

your opportunity.

Seek the Lord

while he may be found.

And so this blind man,

Jesus may not have

passed by again.

Blind folks

do not ignore

opportunities for sea.

Beggars do not ignore

opportunities for riches.

So when he comes near,

call on him.

So let's think about

for a moment,

when does Jesus

come near to you?

When does Jesus

come near to you?

Well the Bible's answer

is this,

that he comes near to you

in the preaching

of his word.

In Ephesians 4,

21,

if I could remove

a word from the New Testament,

it would be in this verse.

Because I think

the translators

really don't help us.

In Ephesians 4,

Ephesians 4:21

verse 21,

and I want to remove

the word about,

let me read it to you.

Assuming,

he's talking about

the preaching

that the Ephesians

heard.

And he's saying

he heard the gospel

and this is what it says,

verse 21,

assuming that you have

heard about him.

But the word about

is not literally there.

It's not there.

It says this,

literally,

assuming that you

heard him

and were taught

him.

That is what it

literally is.

But Jesus never

went to Ephesus.

Jesus never

preached in Ephesus.

So how did

the church in Ephesus

hear him?

Paul says this,

because you heard

the preaching

of the word,

you actually

heard Jesus.

It's phenomenally

bold,

isn't it?

And that is what

preaching is.

It is not the

word of man,

it is the

word of God.

So let me read

to you,

the Shorter

Catechism really

understands that.

It says this,

the Spirit of God

makes the reading,

but especially

the preaching

of the word,

an effectual,

effective means

of convincing

and converting

sinners,

and of building

them up in

holiness and

comfort through

faith and

salvation.

What it's

saying to you

is this,

you hear the

preaching of

Jesus,

you hear Jesus.

And so you

meet Jesus in

the preaching

of the word

this morning.

Over and

over again,

God said to

Israel,

this is the

day of your

visitation.

When will

be the day

that Jesus

will visit you

for the last

time?

When will

God say,

the day of

my visitation

is over?

We have a

modern Jesus,

don't we?

Which he never

says that sort

of thing.

But the real

Jesus does.

You cannot

become a

Christian when

you like.

The opportunity

is not always

open.

John Chapman,

the Australian

evangelist,

tells this great

story of talking

with a man,

and it's a young

guy who's in

church.

And the young

guy says,

I don't want

to become a

Christian,

but I'll

become a

Christian when

I'm older.

I'll become a

Christian,

I want to live

my life up,

and then I'll

become a

Christian at

the end of

my life.

And Chapman

says,

so you think

you can become

a Christian

then?

The man

says,

yeah.

So why

don't you

become a

Christian?

The man

says,

I'll become

a Christian

when I

want.

And John

says,

well,

why don't

you become

a Christian

now?

Could you

do it

now?

And the

young man

says,

yeah,

I could

do it

now,

if I

wanted to.

I could

do it

now.

So Chapman

says,

well,

go on,

give it a

try,

why don't

do it

now?

Do it

now.

The man

gets a bit

iris and

he says,

I don't

want to.

I don't

want to.

Chapman

says,

come on,

do it.

If you

can make

yourself a

Christian

now,

do it

now.

And the

man

shouts,

I don't

want to.

And Chapman

says,

what makes

you think

you'll want

to at the

end of

your life?

The truth

is,

you cannot

become a

Christian

whenever you

want to.

You can't.

The

opportunity is

not always

open.

The truth

is,

isn't it,

Luke 18,

the blind man

could have

remained

sightless,

he could have

remained blind

for the rest

of his life.

But he

said,

that is the

Messiah.

Now is the

day of

opportunity,

today is the

day of

salvation.

Jesus,

son of

David,

have mercy.

mercy.

Thirdly,

a beggar

who is

undeserving.

A beggar

who is

undeserving.

Look at

verse 38.

Look at

verse 38.

They told

him,

Jesus

and

Nazareth

is

passing

by.

And he

cried out,

Jesus,

son of

David,

have mercy

on me.

See,

the people

who think

that they

can see

and are

rich,

do not

cry out

for mercy.

They think

they don't

need mercy.

However,

we must

be careful

to realise

that being

spiritually blind

and spiritually

destitute

does not

make us

deserving.

Do you see

what the

blind man

cries out for?

He cries out

for mercy.

mercy.

He realises

I'm not

entitled

to the

Lord

Jesus.

I'm not

entitled

to healing

just because

I'm blind.

He did

not cry

out to

Jesus,

Jesus,

I am

blind.

Didn't cry

that out.

He didn't

say,

Jesus,

I am

disabled.

I deserve

your attention.

He cried out,

have mercy

on me.

I am not

entitled

and neither

are you.

And we

don't gain

the cross.

We don't

gain the cross

simply by saying

we're sinners.

There are plenty

of people who

know they're

sinners,

don't they,

but they don't

cry out for

mercy.

And we

have developed

a society

where

entitlement

is a big

thing,

isn't it?

I am

poor,

I am

needy,

society

owes me

something.

And actually

we carry

that over

to God

we think

God cares

for us

simply because

we're poor

and needy.

You know

what,

a wealthy

man does

not need

God any

less than

a poor

man does.

And a

poor man

does not

need God

any less

than a

wealthy

man does.

Everyone

must plead

for mercy.

A mother

once approached

Napoleon

and she

was asking

for pardon

for her

son.

Her son

was guilty

of treason.

And

Napoleon

replied to

her and

he said

your son

has committed

treason and

he has

committed to

twice and

justice demands

death.

She said

I do not

ask for

justice,

I ask for

mercy.

And Napoleon

said your son

does not

deserve mercy.

And she

said,

sir,

it would not

be mercy if

he deserved

it.

And mercy

is all I

ask.

And Napoleon

showed mercy.

I'll ask

him.

This is a

magnificent

him.

Just look at

it in your

sheet.

It says

this.

Your mercy,

my God,

is the theme

of my song,

the joy of

my heart,

and the

boast of

my tongue.

Your free

grace alone

from the

first to

the last

has won

my affections

and bound

my soul

to that.

your mercy

in Jesus

has freed

me from

hell.

Its

glories

I'll sing

and its

wonders

I'll tell.

This

Jesus,

my friend,

when he

hung on

the tree,

there opened

the channel

of mercy

for me.

Your

mercy is

more than

a match

for my

heart,

which

wonders

to feel

its own

hardness

depart.

In

awe at

your

goodness

I

fall to

the

ground

and

weep

to

the

praise

of

the

mercy

I

found.

The

door

of

your

mercy

stands

open

to

all,

the

poor

and

the

needy

whoever

shall

call.

No

sinner

comes

seeking

mercy

today

is

ever

by

Jesus

sent

empty

away.

Great

father

of

mercy

is

your

goodness

I

own

and

the

covenant

love

of

your

crucified

son.

All

praise

to

the

spirit

whose

whisper

divine

seals

mercy

and

pardon

and

righteousness

mine.

I'm not

finished so

don't think

we're

about to

sing it.

This

man,

he may

have been

blind.

He may

have been

needy but

he did

not cry

out for

entitlement.

He would

sing that

last hymn

with gusto.

A blind

man who

could see,

a man

without

opportunity

who seized

opportunity,

a beggar

who was

undeserving

and lastly

a beggar

who received

more than

he asked.

Look at

verse 40.

Jesus

stopped

and commanded

him to be

brought to him

and when he

came near

he asked

him

what

do you

want me

to do

for you?

He said

Lord let

me

recover

my sight

and Jesus

said

recover

your sight

your faith

has made

you well

and immediately

he recovered

sight and

followed him

glorifying God

and all

the people

when they

saw it

gave praise

to God.

I don't

know what

you're like

with beggars

but normally

beggars get

much less

than they

ask for

don't they?

So they

ask don't

they

haven't got

money for

the bus

fare home

that's what

beggars

ask for

a pound

they get

50p

this man

asked for

sight

and he

got

fired

he followed

Jesus

Mark

in his

account

tells us

a lot of

details

it tells

us

that this

man's

name

was

Bartimaeus

the son

of Timaeus

Mark

when you read

his account

says the

crowd said

to him

after telling

him to be

quiet

when Jesus

called him

they said

cheer up

old man

really

Jesus wants

to see you

he tells

us that

the man

threw his

cloak

aside

why does

Mark

tell us

all those

details

was he

there

no

Mark

in his

account

he met

Bartimaeus

after the

fact

Bartimaeus

became a

follower of

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

and Mark

knew him

and you

can imagine

Bartimaeus

telling this

story over

and over

again

he sat

down

with Mark

I went

to the

gate

as usual

that day

and I

got more

than I

asked for

I got

sight

and I

got Jesus

true

I asked

for sight

and he

gave me

life

life

you

couldn't

imagine

so let's

go to

heaven

as we

close

and let's

find

Bartimaeus

and let's

ask

Bartimaeus

the question

what is

the most

important

thing

that

happened

that

day

and the

most important

thing that

happened

that day

was not

that he

received

his sight

was that

he received

Jesus of

Nazareth

let me

point out

to you

two things

as I

close

the nobody

cries for

mercy

verse 41

and Jesus

stops

and calls

through the

crowd

doesn't he

bring him

here

don't you

love that

don't you

love that

nobody

cries for

mercy

the second

person of

the trinity

the creator

of the heavens

and the earth

stops

and says

bring him

here

and don't

doubt that

this morning

don't doubt

that this

morning

that if you

will cry

for mercy

Jesus

in heaven

will stop

say bring

her here

or bring

him here

verse 41

there's this

extraordinary

question

what do you

want me to

do for you

the blind

man has been

saying for

years

give me

something

give me

a few

pence

give me

enough

for a

cup of

coffee

give me

enough

for a

mcdonald's

Jesus

asks you

this morning

what do you

want me

to do

for you

now this

is important

how are we

to understand

the miracle

and Jesus

wants us to

spiritualise the

miracle

let me tell

you why

because in

verses 32

to 34

he's been

telling the

disciples what's

going to

happen to him

but in

34 they

don't

understand

they are

blind

they are

blind

here is a

man that

sees

and gloriously

Jesus is able

to open

blind eyes

this morning

what do you

want him to

do for you

what do you

want him to

do for you

maybe that

you're sitting

here tonight

this morning

and you're

saying I

want Jesus

to leave me

alone

and you know

what tragically

he may do

that

he may do

that

and so I

want to

plead with

you while

it is a

day of

opportunity

that as

Jesus stops

by your

seat this

morning

that you

say to

him

Lord let

me receive

my

sight

call on

the Lord

while he's

near

seek him

while he

may be

found

and call

for mercy

what

do you

want me

to do

for you

Jesus

asks

let's

sing

let's

sing

Thank you.