Today, we continue our study of Mark 10 with the story of blind Bartimaeus. Strategically, as is always the case with God, this story happens on the heels of the Lord Jesus training His disciples in His culture. In fact, in the preceding verses He was teaching them about what greatness looks like in His eyes.
From here on, from Jericho on into the final week of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus, there are no stories of conversion. There are, however, at the very end, two unique conversions that occur right when the Lord Jesus was crucified: the thief and the centurion. But in the last week before His death, no conversions are recorded.
In order to not give safe haven in our souls to a victim's mentality, Bartimaeus focused on his assets.
We lack a victor’s mentality when we focus on and are defined by our deficiencies. Most of us spend more time complaining about being blind than focusing on the asset of being able to hear with both ears. Bartimaeus was blind but his hearing was excellent. This verse informs us that he heard that the Lord Jesus was approaching. Bartimaeus couldn’t see, but he could hear and he used that one asset to get to the Lord Jesus. This is the posture of an overcomer.
In addition, to being able to hear, Bartimaeus could also speak. In this verse we see Bartimaeus crying out to the Lord Jesus. In fact, he cried out "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!," so much even the disciples were telling him to be quiet. Bartimaeus lived in the cursed place, he had a cursed name, and, the world around him tried to make him believe that he was cursed with blindness. But, over and over, he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.”
If we conclude, like Bartimaeus, that the Lord Jesus is the answer to our questions, then, we must learn what our assets are and use them effectively to get His attention. If we want to attract the attention of heaven, we've got to to start with admitting that we are helpless and that we need His help. And in order to accomplish this, we must concentrate on our assets instead of our handicaps.
This is the final healing the Lord Jesus performed during His earthly ministry. His miracles began in a little village next to Nazareth called Cana where He turned water into wine. It ended here a few years later with giving sight to a blind mind.
In those days, throughout the Middle East, beggars wore camel’s tunics. Made of camel’s hair, this tunic was used for protection from the elements, like the wind and the sun and the rain. Blind Bartimaeus sat by the roadside covered with his camel's tunic. That tunic was not only a protection from the elements, it was also something he had trusted in in others ways. When the Lord Jesus came along in v.50, Bartimaeus threw off his cloak in order to get to the Lord Jesus.
Being an overcomer involves these three things: focusing on our assets, overcoming the opinion's of others, and removing anything in our lives so that we can get to the Lord Jesus.
In v.46 of today's passage we read, "Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. And as they were leaving, they were followed by a large crowd. A blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting beside the road."
Bartimaeus was not known for his greatness. As we will see, he had a lot going against him in life. In fact, he lived in Jericho which means “cursed.” The Lord Jesus had a habit of going to places that others avoided, while the religious leaders of Israel complained because He spent time so much with sinners & tax-collectors.
"Bartimaeus" means son of a dirty man. He lived in a cursed city, his name meant son of a dirty man, and he was a blind beggar. And you thought you had it rough. The story of blind Bartimaeus teaches us three valuable lessons about how to overcome a victim's mentality.
In v.47 of today's passage we read, "When he heard that it was Jesus from Nazareth, he shouted, 'Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!'"
In order to not give safe haven in our souls to a victim's mentality, Bartimaeus focused on his assets.
We lack a victor’s mentality when we focus on and are defined by our deficiencies. Most of us spend more time complaining about being blind than focusing on the asset of being able to hear with both ears. Bartimaeus was blind but his hearing was excellent. This verse informs us that he heard that the Lord Jesus was approaching. Bartimaeus couldn’t see, but he could hear and he used that one asset to get to the Lord Jesus. This is the posture of an overcomer.
In addition, to being able to hear, Bartimaeus could also speak. In this verse we see Bartimaeus crying out to the Lord Jesus. In fact, he cried out "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!," so much even the disciples were telling him to be quiet. Bartimaeus lived in the cursed place, he had a cursed name, and, the world around him tried to make him believe that he was cursed with blindness. But, over and over, he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.”
If we conclude, like Bartimaeus, that the Lord Jesus is the answer to our questions, then, we must learn what our assets are and use them effectively to get His attention. If we want to attract the attention of heaven, we've got to to start with admitting that we are helpless and that we need His help. And in order to accomplish this, we must concentrate on our assets instead of our handicaps.
In v.48 of today's passage we read, "Many people told the man to stop, but he shouted even louder, 'Son of David, have pity on me!'"
In order to not give safe haven to a victim's mentality, Bartimaeus had to focus on his assets. In addition, he had to overcome the opinions of others.
Bartimaeus was told repeatedly to "be quiet." If he had listened to the crowd, he would have remained blind. It is interesting to note that chiming in with the larger crowd that was gathered there that day in Jericho were also the disciples of the Lord Jesus. Even church folk have been known to discourage us from the Lord. And, if we want to experience real life, we must be defined by God rather than being overcome by what others say.
In order to not give safe haven to a victim's mentality, Bartimaeus had to focus on his assets. In addition, he had to overcome the opinions of others.
Bartimaeus was told repeatedly to "be quiet." If he had listened to the crowd, he would have remained blind. It is interesting to note that chiming in with the larger crowd that was gathered there that day in Jericho were also the disciples of the Lord Jesus. Even church folk have been known to discourage us from the Lord. And, if we want to experience real life, we must be defined by God rather than being overcome by what others say.
In v.49 of today's passage we read, "Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him over!' They called out to the blind man and said, 'Don’t be afraid! Come on! He is calling for you.'"
The only way that Bartimaeus could get the attention of the ONLY ONE who could help him was to "cry out" to Him repeatedly. And, because Bartimaeus was not defined by the myopic opinions of others, he was able to get the attention of the Lord Jesus.
The very same people who told Bartimaeus to "be quiet" were told to tell him to "come to the Lord Jesus." This is a part of overcoming the opinions of others who would under define us if we let them.
The only way that Bartimaeus could get the attention of the ONLY ONE who could help him was to "cry out" to Him repeatedly. And, because Bartimaeus was not defined by the myopic opinions of others, he was able to get the attention of the Lord Jesus.
The very same people who told Bartimaeus to "be quiet" were told to tell him to "come to the Lord Jesus." This is a part of overcoming the opinions of others who would under define us if we let them.
In v.50 of today's passage we read, "The man threw off his coat as he jumped up and ran to Jesus."
In order to overcome a victim’s mentality, Bartimaeus had to focus on his assets, ignore the opinions of others, and he had to throw off that which kept him from the Lord Jesus.
In order to overcome a victim’s mentality, Bartimaeus had to focus on his assets, ignore the opinions of others, and he had to throw off that which kept him from the Lord Jesus.
This is the final healing the Lord Jesus performed during His earthly ministry. His miracles began in a little village next to Nazareth called Cana where He turned water into wine. It ended here a few years later with giving sight to a blind mind.
In those days, throughout the Middle East, beggars wore camel’s tunics. Made of camel’s hair, this tunic was used for protection from the elements, like the wind and the sun and the rain. Blind Bartimaeus sat by the roadside covered with his camel's tunic. That tunic was not only a protection from the elements, it was also something he had trusted in in others ways. When the Lord Jesus came along in v.50, Bartimaeus threw off his cloak in order to get to the Lord Jesus.
Being an overcomer involves these three things: focusing on our assets, overcoming the opinion's of others, and removing anything in our lives so that we can get to the Lord Jesus.
