Come and See

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

“Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”

So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.

“My rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”

And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road." -Mark 10:46-52

This miracle story is full of beautiful metaphor on the act of petition, action of faith, and actualization of hope.

Petition is asking of God. Here the blind man begins by asking Jesus not for healing but for mercy. He humbles himself before the Lord knowing anything he receives is undeserved. The posture in which he approaches his healer is inspiring.

Next, is faith called into action. Jesus doesn’t come over to the blind man. Instead he calls him to Himself. “Tell him to come here,” Jesus says. And those around encourage him, “come, he is calling you.” The man has to literally step out in faith. With intention, he draws near to Jesus.

And now the story is at a suspenseful moment. The blind man stands before Jesus with all his faith on the line. Is this the healer he believes him to be, or will he continue through life unseeing? Jesus asks, “what do you want me to do for you?” The question contains the relationship words “me” and “you”, and also the reminder that He does things “for us”, acts of love that we are dependent upon, those we have no power to do for ourselves. The man responds, “I want to see!” —physically of course, but more than that, what will he see when his eyes are open to God? Then that suspenseful moment is over and Jesus says, “go, for your faith has healed you.” The man can see. How nice that his first sight is the Lord. What was once just hope has been actualized into reality. And the faith he already had has become strengthened through this interaction of asking and receiving. As Jesus commanded, the man goes — away from his begging spot. Now that he sees, he goes— and follows Jesus.

Lord, when I come to you in petition and prayer, let me be like the man in this story, stepping out intentionally in faith, humbled before you, and full of hope that you will turn that hope into reality. And Lord, even if your answer is “no” or “not yet”, may I open my eyes to see that you are still in front of me, nearer than ever, calling me to come.

Equal Opportunity Savior

29And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God. 30And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then.

I enjoy watching sports and if it’s not my team, I often root for the underdog. In fact, I’m unsupportive of teams who somehow stack themselves with the best players while dominating over those who seem inferior. I think to myself, “It’s just not fair!”

The Jews thought that they would exclusively be invited to the great Messianic banquet. And a Gentile (all others) may have felt like being on that inferior team with no opportunity to be saved. But least expected by the Jews, Jesus envisioned in verse 29 that people from all regions, walks, ethnicities, and social statuses would be present at the wedding banquet when He reunites with His bride (God’s people).

And many will be surprised as those who were prominent in this world could be humbled, while those whom no one noticed may be princes in the world to come. God is no respecter of earthly titles, rankings or reputations. As far as He is concerned, we are all on the same playing field and have an equal opportunity to attain greatness in heaven. And it is not who we are, but who Christ is in us that matters. It is not necessarily how hard we work as it is the heart which we work with, a heart who loves God and is willing to live completely for Him.

I have the title and position of a pastor, and although it comes with earthly responsibilities, in God’s Kingdom, it is not in any way an exclusive path to greatness. As John the Baptist concedes in John 3:30, “He must become greater; I must become less.” Spurgeon says that "the last shall be first" is a reflection of grace. While "the first shall be last" is a reflection of sin. Thank you Lord that you are an “Equal Opportunity Savior.”

Traveling Light

'Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.' Luke 10:4 When Jesus commissioned His disciples to go out, they had to travel light and be very focused on their mission. I was thinking that last sentence in the verse above wouldn't fair well with me, as like at Costco, I enjoy running into friends and talking story with them. But is God telling us not to greet people? It’s not that we shouldn’t be social in any way. On the contrary, we are to build deeper relationships with other believers, develop roots, and do His work in our community. Verses 7-11 tells us they stayed in one place, healed the sick and shared the Good News, as long as they were welcomed.

Almost every day, I go running. And when I run, I take my iWatch, a key, and a mask. My goal is to run for 30 minutes and because of the pandemic, I avoid people on my journey. When someone approaches me, I either venture onto the road, or I put on my mask and run by them. Honestly, I don’t enjoy solo jogging so I’m always looking forward to completing the task. And I believe that is how God wants us to have our hearts focused on – like we have a destination to get to, a mission to accomplish, and a commission to complete. And it is not void of relationship. It has to do with building intentional connections with people so they can see experience God’s love through us.

In Acts 2:46, the disciples were meeting together daily in the temple courts and breaking bread in each other’s homes. Well, the pandemic has severely limited us from doing so. And although this virus is serious enough to keep us alienated, we cannot afford to ignore His Word or be complacent. Maybe we have to ask ourselves the following, “Has our love grown cold for others?” “What have we done lately to build community and fulfill His commission?”