|
Mark 10.46-52
For Jesus, the end is in sight. Jericho is only about 15 miles from Jerusalem. The healing of Bartimaeus is the final miracle recorded in Mark’s Gospel, and it occurs just as Jesus is beginning his journey to Jerusalem, to the Passover … to the cross.
The late Scottish New Testament scholar William Barclay sets the scene for us: Jesus was on his way to the Passover in Jerusalem. When a distinguished Rabbi or teacher was on such a journey he was invariably surrounded by a crowd of people — as Mark says, “He and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho.” The crowd would listen to the Rabbi’s teachings as they walked along. This was one of the most common ways of teaching in Jesus’ day.
Besides Jesus’ group, other pilgrims would have been on the road that day, chanting and celebrating on their way to Jerusalem and the Passover. Others — those too poor, too sinful, too unhealthy to make the journey — would have lined the roadway to watch the procession. Perhaps there would have been even more curiosity seekers than usual; some would have gathered solely to catch a glimpse of Jesus, this audacious young Galilean who has tweaked the noses of the scribes and the Pharisees, and whose reputation as a healer and miracle worker was well known.
Jesus’ eyes were fixed on Jerusalem. He was beginning the final stage of his mission and ministry. We might say that Jesus was getting his game face on. From this point on, nothing would get in the way of Jesus’ mission.
I’ve probably told this story before, but it makes a good point. John Madden and Ken Stabler had won a Super Bowl together as coach and quarterback of the Oakland Raiders. A few years later, Madden was announcing an NFL game involving Stabler, then the quarterback of the New Orleans Saints. At halftime Stabler’s Saints were down 28 – 0. In truth, the Saints weren’t very good, and Stabler was well past his prime as an NFL quarterback. In the first half nothing had gone their way, and now they opened the second half with a defensive lineman crashing through on third down and delivering a vicious hit on Stabler.
Perhaps a little too vicious. The camera zoomed in on Stabler’s face, and Madden recognized the look he saw there. During the next commercial break, Madden turned to his announcing partner, Pat Summerall, and said, “This game is over.”
Summerall agreed, saying that the Saints just didn’t have the ability to come from so far behind. “Oh, no,” said Madden, “You don’t understand. New Orleans is going to win this game. I saw the look in Stabler’s eyes, and nothing is going to stop him now.” Sure enough, Stabler led a furious Saints comeback, and New Orleans won the game, 35- 28.
I imagine that there was a similar look in Jesus’ eyes, at this point. Jesus knew what he had to do. Jesus knew what was waiting for him in Jerusalem. With his mind firmly set on his mission, Jesus started out from Jericho, on the last leg of his journey to Jerusalem, to his passion, to his destiny, to his cross.
And then, above the shouts and cheers of the crowd, Jesus heard a desperate cry. A beggar named Bartimaeus had been sitting by the roadside when he heard some of the onlookers saying that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And Ol’ Bartimaeus set about causing an uproar, shouting to get Jesus’ attention. Many in the crowd, particularly those who were trying to listen to Jesus’ teachings, tried to silence Bartimaeus. But Bartimaeus, too, had his game face on, and nothing was going to deprive Bartimaeus of his chance to meet this famous healer.
So Jesus stopped. The procession stopped. Everything ground to a halt, and Jesus said to the people in the crowd, “Call him here.”
This is a beautiful story, a touching story — but why is this a relevant story? What does this story have to say to us, today? Why should we care about the healing of a blind man some 2,000 years ago?
Well, first of all, there’s the sheer persistence of Bartimaeus. As I said, he had his game face on. Nothing could stop his clamoring, nothing could keep him from doing his best to come face to face with Jesus. Bartimaeus was utterly and completely determined to meet the one person whom he felt could help him with his troubles. In Bartimaeus’ mind, there was not just a hopeful wish to see Jesus, there was a deep, burning, desperate desire to see Jesus, to get up close and personal with Jesus. And, as is often the case, the more desperate one is, the more things get done.
Then there’s Bartimaeus’ response to the call of Jesus. “So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.” Nothing wrong with Bartimaeus’ legs. Bartimaeus was eager to come to Jesus. His response was immediate. How many times have we heard the call of Jesus, and said, basically, “I’ll be there in a few minutes … wait until I finish what I’m doing … I’ll come as soon as I can get away.” Not Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus came like a shot when Jesus called.
Sometimes we get second chances, but quite often in life there are opportunities that come along only once. We may hear the call of Jesus, we may feel a longing to right some wrong, to abandon some habit, to give ourselves more completely to Jesus — but we fail to act right away, and the moment is gone, the opportunity lost, perhaps never to return again, at least not in that form. Time is lost, maybe a person is lost, because we failed to act when Jesus called.
Another lesson I think we can take from this story is the fact that Bartimaeus had a very inadequate conception of who Jesus was. That is to say, Bartimaeus’ theology was lousy. “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” Now, it’s true that “son of David” was a title often used when speaking of the Messiah, but it was a title that had to do with a conquering Messiah, a great king of David’s lineage who would lead Israel to national greatness. This was an idea a lot of people had about the Messiah, but it was a very poor, very inadequate idea of Jesus.
Why is Bartimaeus’ lousy theology good news for us? Because Bartimaeus had faith, and this story shows that faith more than makes up for any bad theology. We aren’t expected to “understand” Jesus. In fact, as humans, we never will understand Jesus, not entirely. All Jesus asks of us is that we have faith. It’s not, “Everyone who understands me perfectly may not perish but may have eternal life.” It’s “Everyone who believes in me …” Ephesians 2.8 doesn’t say, “For by grace you have been saved, through understanding.” No, the writer of Ephesians said, “For by grace you have been saved, through faith.”
Now, don’t get me wrong, understanding is important. It’s just that understanding comes later, as we grow and mature in our faith. William Barclay wrote, “We must ask people to think, but we should not expect them to become theologians before they are Christians.” It’s faith that makes us Christians, not theology. Because the truth is, as humans, we will never be able to fully understand Jesus. It’s beyond our capacity. We need to increase our understanding, but we shouldn’t expect to ever come to a complete understanding.
That’s why United Methodists don’t insist that our theology is the only theology. That’s why we believe that those who disagree with us theologically — Baptists, Pentecostals, Roman Catholics, whoever — we believe that they are Christians and that they will have eternal life, because they have faith.
Christianity begins with a personal relationship with Jesus, a relationship of love, a relationship of faith. Even if we are never able to think things out theologically, the response of the human heart is enough for our salvation.
Another lesson from this story: Bartimaeus’ gratitude. “Immediately he regained his sight and followed [Jesus] on the way.”
There are hints in this story that Bartimaeus has not always been blind. He asked Jesus to let him see “again.” He “regained” his sight. Author Victoria Atkinson White speculates that Bartimaeus may have seen Jesus before — may in fact have witnessed Jesus’ healing power at some point before his sight was taken.
Whether this is true or not, Bartimaeus — unlike someone blind from birth — Bartimaeus seems familiar with the world around him. Perhaps he had a profession, a job that he could return to. But instead of returning to his job when he could see again, Bartimaeus followed Jesus.
So many times, once our needs are met, we turn and go our own way. Oh, it’s not that we aren’t grateful: “Thank you, Jesus, good job taking care of that problem for me.” It’s just that we have other things that need doing, other priorities. How selfish we can be, sometimes. But not Bartimaeus. No false gratitude here. Bartimaeus was so grateful that his sight was restored that he immediately became a disciple of Jesus, and followed Jesus to Jerusalem.
In fact, if we look at this story closely, we see that Bartimaeus demonstrates for us the stages of discipleship: Bartimaeus began with need, went on to gratitude, and finished with loyalty — and each stage was supported by a foundation of faith.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all look at our lives and see the same stages of discipleship so clearly? If you’re not sure that your life reflects these stages of discipleship, perhaps you should check your foundation. Jesus is calling you to be a disciple — of that there is no doubt. You need to make sure that you respond to that call with faith.
And finally, a lesson learned, not from Bartimaeus, but from the crowd. Did you notice what Jesus said when he heard Bartimaeus calling for him? Jesus said, “Call him here.” Did you catch that? Let me say it again: “Call him here.” You … “call him here.”
Jesus didn’t call directly to Bartimaeus. Jesus called Bartimaeus … through others. “And they called to the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart, get up, he is calling to you.’”
Jesus is calling someone — maybe more than one someone — through you. Oh, yes, he is. No doubt about it. The question is: Are you passing the call along? Are you telling people to take heart, to get up and come to worship, because Jesus loves them and wants them to come to him?
Look around at all these empty pews. Two months from now the Ben Lomond church will hold their last worship service. If you don’t pass along the call of Jesus to people you know and care about, your opportunity may be lost. It’s time to get desperate.
Look again at those stages of discipleship: need, gratitude, and loyalty, undergirded by faith. We have a need in this church, and there are people out there in our community, right now, who need this church. If by God’s grace you have been saved, through faith, then you need to be thankful to Jesus. And if you’re thankful to Jesus, you need to show your gratitude by being loyal to Jesus. And if you’re loyal to Jesus, then you need to be passing along the call of Jesus — the call to those out there who are lost.
It’s time to get your game face on. Don’t let anyone or anything stop you from passing along the call of Jesus. Don’t lose an opportunity, don’t cost this church an opportunity — and more importantly, don’t cost someone who is lost an opportunity — to respond to Jesus’ call. Take heart, get up, and come to Jesus — and bring those who are lost with you.
|
October 26, 2009...11:19
Get Your Game Face On
Jump to Comments
