Page 16 - Florida Sentinel 9-17-21

Glorifying God Mark 10:46-52 (KJV)
SCRIPTURES
Mark 10:46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side beg- ging.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus
of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.
49 And Jesus stood
still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.
50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
51 And Jesus an- swered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And imme- diately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
Faith Uses Available Resources (Mark 10:46-47)
We do not know if Barti- maeus was expecting Jesus or if he just happened to be in the right place at the right time to exercise his faith. It seems obvious that he knew who Jesus was and had probably heard about His healing powers. Jesus was already known to heal dis- eases with seemingly no cure, like the deaf and mute man from Decapolis (7:31- 37). He had even cured the blindness of another man in Bethsaida (8:22–26). When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he used his available resources to get Jesus’ healing. He could not
see, but he could hear. So he used his ears. He could not see, but he could think. So he used his brain to recall Jesus’ reputation. He could not see, but he could use his voice. So he cried out loudly, “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me” (10:47).
Faith Answers Objections (vv. 48-50)
Some people in the crowd tried to quiet Barti- maeus. He was a lowly beg- gar in their eyes, and Jesus was an important teacher. But Bartimaeus would not be quiet, primarily because he knew that the people who were shushing him could af- ford to be quiet because they could see! He contin- ued calling until Jesus re- sponded. When Jesus answers by sending Barti- maeus a call of his own, the blind man immediately tosses his outer garment aside, putting away any hin- drance or extra baggage that might slow him from rush- ing to answer the Master’s call.
Even though many on the outskirts of society ask for help, we are often too busy to help them. Praise God that He is so grand and important that He can al- ways make time for the lowly.
Faith Makes Specific Requests (vv. 51-52)
Jesus asked Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” (v. 51). Brother Bart didn’t hem and haw; he said immediately, “I want to see again.” Actually, this was Bartimaeus’s second re- quest. His first request was for mercy (v. 48). Now that his cry for mercy had caught Jesus’ attention, he pro- ceeded to ask for healing. When we want Jesus’ atten- tion, we should not scream about our virtues, talents, resources, or assets. Ask Him for mercy. If He gives you mercy, as He certainly will, He will surely give you everything that goes along with it.
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