“Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord!”
Mark 10:46-52
Introduction: When
John the Baptist was imprisoned, he heard what Jesus was doing, and he sent his
disciples to ask, "Are you the one who
is to come, or shall we look for another?" We read Jesus’ reply in Matthew 11:4-5…
4 And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight
and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are
raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them…”
The works and the words of Jesus bore
witness to His messianic identity. One of the ministries of the Rescuer in the Messianic age would
be to open the eyes of the blind. Isaiah at least twice refers to this future
work of the messiah. We read in Isaiah 42:6-7…
6 "I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you
by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a
light for the nations, 7 to
open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from
the prison those who sit in darkness..."
That passage talking about the coming
Servant refers to spiritual darkness and blindness being overcome by the Light
of the World. This is what Isaiah had in mind when he said in Isa 53:5, “…he was wounded for our transgressions; he
was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us
peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah is talking about
spiritual restoration, but ultimately that will include the physical as well. We
will one day have a new, resurrection body! N.B. Isaiah 35:4b-6a…
…Behold, your God will come... He
will come and save you." 5
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf
unstopped; 6 then shall the
lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
Physical healing of all kinds of
handicaps and ailments are to accompany the coming Kingdom of God. The miracles
that Jesus did were a glimpse ahead to that coming kingdom. The kingdom was
present, because the King was present! Ironically, most did not yet have eyes
to see, they did not recognize their own Messiah, even though He was “…attested to you by God, with miracles,
wonders, and signs, which God did through Him in your midst as you yourselves
know…” (Acts 2:22). His works bore witness to His identity and gave a look
ahead to the future kingdom, for those with eyes to see. Even in this age, Paul
prayed for the Ephesians that God would “…give you the Spirit of wisdom and
of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts
enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you…”
(Eph 1:18,19 ff).
Context: The
two healings of blind men (8:22-26; 10:46-52) bracket the three predictions of
Jesus’ impending death and resurrection, as well as the extensive teaching on
discipleship in these chapters.
The BIG Idea: As we call on Jesus in faith, He
will open our spiritual eyes and we will follow Him. We’ll look at this from
four perspectives, 1) The Prerequisite of a Disciple: Recognizing our
need; 2) The Perception of a disciple: His sheep hear and heed the call;
3) The Prayer of a Disciple: We call on the Lord to be saved; and 4) The
Path of a Disciple: Saved by faith, saved to follow Him.
I. The Prerequisite of a Disciple: The path begins with seeing
our need (46-48).
46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples
and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting
by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
48And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out
all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Jesus and the disciples had crossed the Jordan and taken the road south
on the east of the river, and then crossed the Jordan as they headed toward
Jerusalem. The old city of Jericho was about a mile away from another city called
Jericho that arose in the NT era. On the way, we see another divine
appointment. This would be the last miraculous healing reported by Mark before
the events of the week of Jesus’ life are elucidated.
“…Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the
son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.” This would have been a common
sight in the ancient world. There was no system of welfare to help with the
handicapped or the poor, it was through begging that such were able to survive.
N.B. the timing of this encounter. Jesus and the disciples were heading to Jerusalem
at Passover, one of the “pilgrim feasts” of Israel. Diaspora Jews from all
over would be streaming to the city at this time to celebrate the feast. For a
beggar these times probably presented a key opportunity to be blessed by the “mitzvahs” [which in rabbinic Judaism
went beyond the “commandments” to meritorious acts, good deeds]. People may
have been in a charitable mindset as they prepared to celebrate the Passover,
more inclined to be generous to a beggar by the side of the road. This day,
Bartimaeus may have reasonably hoped for a good day, as days went for blind
beggars in the ancient world. He experienced a blessing far greater than he
could have imagined.
He heard, somehow, that Jesus was coming with the crowd of pilgrims.
How? What did He know about Jesus? He hadn’t seen a single miracle done by
Jesus. He was blind, after all! Perhaps he had heard stories of Jesus, people
testifying about His works of power and His teaching with authority. Had he
heard people asking, “When the messiah comes will He do greater works than this
man?” He cast out demons, healed the sick, made the lame walk and the deaf
hear. He made the blind see! Some had even said that He even raised the dead
(Lazarus’ home in Bethany was only a few miles away). No one could do the works
this man did except by the power of God. And now He was here!
Normally beggars would quietly ask for alms, not expecting much
attention from passersby. During our time in Brazil we experienced quite a bit
of interaction with beggars. In most cases they were happy to accept almost
anything. If you ate out in a restaurant, someone would be ready to receive
your leftovers. If you stopped at a traffic light, beggars, often little
children, and sometimes venders, would come up to the window. After a while,
they almost become invisible. In a real sense, we were all just like the blind
beggar. The first step in having our eyes opened is seeing our own need.
Bartimaeus was blind, but he saw His need and seized the opportunity and cried
out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” There are a few “firsts”
in this story. This is the first time the name of someone healed by
Jesus is mentioned. Why here? Most likely He later was known in the early
church, maybe a leader. Mark was sharing the testimony of old Bart! Was he one
of the 200 gathered in the upper room on the day of Pentecost?
Another first in this story is that it is the first time that someone
publicly uses an unambiguously messianic title to address Jesus. Bartimaeus was
crying out, calling Jesus David’s son. That is a clear reference to the
messianic hope, particularly the promise God made to David in 2 Samuel 7:13,14.
The people tried to shut him up, but he cried out all the more. And as Paul
would later say, “Whoever calls on the
name of the Lord will be saved.” He knew he deserved nothing. So, he cried
out for mercy. And, *as we call on Jesus in faith, He will open our spiritual
eyes and we will follow Him. Whoever
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved! The prerequisite is seeing our
need. Once we see the truth about ourselves we know we need mercy! That
brings us to…
II. The Perception of a Disciple: Hearing and Heeding the Call (49-50).
49 And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." And they called the
blind man, saying to him, "Take heart. Get up; he is calling
you." 50 And throwing
off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
The language here presents a
vivid picture. Jesus is moving on the way, heading toward His “appointment” in
Jerusalem, when He hears the cries of Bartimaeus and stops in His tracks.
Have you noticed as we’ve worked our way through Mark’s story of Jesus, that
the Lord always had time for people? The demon possessed man living among the
tombs, the man lowered down through the ceiling in the middle of a busy home
meeting… Jairus, asking Him to come and heal his daughter… the woman with the
issue of blood who touched Jesus’ garment in the crowd… the children… Syrophoenician
woman who interceded for her daughter… the deaf-mute in chapter 7… the blind
man at Bethsaida in chapter 8… Jesus was always interested in people,
interacting with them, making time for them, meeting them at the point of their
need. He always acted with compassion. Now, He was resolutely heading
toward Jerusalem, His face “set like flint” to carry out the Father’s plan, yet
He heard the desperate cry for mercy from a blind man in the crowd. Let’s
learn from that. There are lonely, needy people all around us. Yes, we all
have things to do. But we know the One who is the answer to their deepest need.
What would Jesus do?
Just a detail, rather than
going to the man, rather than shouting to him to come, He tells someone,
presumably one of the disciples, to “call
him.” That is still the way He works under most circumstances. He uses ambassadors,
people like us, to invite others to come. And so, these unnamed intermediaries obediently
“go and tell,” offering encouragement: “Take
heart,” don’t be despondent or discouraged, “Get up, he is calling you!” He has committed to us the message of
life, and the invitation to come to Jesus in faith. Paul said it in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21,
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and
gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their
trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of
reconciliation. 20 Therefore,
we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore
you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so
that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Was Paul speaking of just the apostles? I think not. It seems he is talking
of the church, the body of believers in the world. We are His ambassadors,
called to bring the message of reconciliation to those who need to hear!
“And throwing off his cloak…” The enthusiastic response to the man
stands out. He didn’t get up and shuffle over, he leapt up and threw off his
cloak! As a poor beggar by the side of the road that cloak may have been
one of his few possessions, but right now he needed nothing to encumber him, he
wanted to get up and get to Jesus as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Today
he might have cast off his white cane. I read a sermon from Charles Spurgeon on
this verse. He said “Cast away the
raiment of your worldliness and the garment of your sin. Cast away your
self-righteousness and come…” This is exactly what the rich-young ruler
earlier in this chapter was unwilling to do. He went away despondent,
because He loved His “stuff” more than He loved Jesus. This man had little, and
He would not have even that impede him from getting to the Master as quickly as
possible. So, he threw off his garment, and sprang up as soon as Jesus’
invitation was conveyed to him. Be encouraged by that example. As we sow seed
in the world, as we extend the message to those around us, some will respond.
Some seed will fall on ready, fertile soil!
“…he sprang up and came to Jesus…” No hesitation, no excuses, no
demands. Just a beggar looking to the Lord for mercy. Some are prepared to hear
and believe. *As we call on Jesus in faith, He will open our spiritual eyes,
and we will follow Him.
III. The Prayer of a Disciple: Lord, I want
to see (51)!
51 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."
“What do you want me to do for
you?” Does that question
sound familiar? It’s the same question that Jesus had asked the Sons of
Thunder, James and John, back in 10:36. The exact same words in fact. What a
contrast! James and John wanted prestige, honor, perhaps power, the seats
at Jesus’ right and left hands in His glory. I can’t help but hear a deliberate
contrast with the disciples in the cry and the request of this humble beggar.
He knew he was unworthy, and he cried out for mercy. He didn’t ask for riches
or power or glory, but for healing… he asked to see.
“And the blind man said to Him,
Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” He had called to Jesus using a messianic
title, “Son of David.” And now he makes a request for a messianic
act of mercy and healing. Had this man sat outside the synagogue hearing
the Scriptures read? Had the messianic hope taken root in his heart, so that when
he heard the stories of Jesus from travelers, he recognized Him, he saw Him
more clearly than many of the sighted people around him? Think of the faith he
is expressing in his request. Who but the messiah could make the blind see?
He is expressing faith even in the asking. And the Lord hears the prayer of
faith. That is the Big Idea: *As we call on Jesus in faith, He will open our
spiritual eyes, and we will follow Him.
IV. The Path of a Disciple: Saved by Faith, Saved to Follow Him (52).
52 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.
“Your
faith has saved [sozo] you…” Faith has been called, “The hand of a
beggar reaching out to receive a gift from a king.” That is what we see here.
It is an interesting detail that in the NT the verb translated “made well” here in the ESV is the word sozo¸ which can mean to heal, but
it also means “to save.” Jesus used the same expression when the woman with the
issue of blood was healed, “Your faith
has made you well” (Mk 5:34). The same verb is used in the Septuagint (LXX),
in the context of the messianic ministry spoken of Isaiah in 35:4-6,
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will
come and save you [sozo]." 5 Then the eyes of the blind
shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap
like a deer…
Mark is writing Jesus’ story, echoing
the language of Isaiah. The Deliverer
will undo the effects of the fall, He will ultimately make whole all who put
their trust in Him. There is an indication in this context that the man
experienced more than just physical healing…
“…and he followed Him on the way…” (contrast 10:21,22). Jesus
had invited the rich, young ruler to follow Him, but the cost seemed too high. He
went away, despondent. This blindman, now healed, could see more clearly what
really mattered, and He followed Jesus. The words of John Newton come to mind,
“I once was lost, but now I am found, I
was blind but now I see.”
What is God saying to me in this passage?
The prerequisite of a disciple, the perception of a
disciple, the prayer of a disciple, the path of a disciple. *As
we call on Jesus in faith He will open our spiritual eyes and we will follow
Him.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage?
1) Jesus said “My
sheep hear my voice…” Have you heard the voice of Jesus inviting you to
come? Have you responded to the invitation? Believe Him… recognize who He is,
trust in what He did for you! Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved!
2) Believer, you have heard Him and come; Have you decided
to follow Him on the Way? It won’t always be easy, so count the cost. Considering
what He has done for you, is there any other way you can go?
3) Will you make time for people, as He did, ready to
hold forth the Word of Life?
4) Communion is a time for worship as we remember what
He did for us. AMEN.
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