Category: Uncategorized

Mark 11:4
Wasn’t this a strange place to leave a colt tied? Not necessarily. Since there were people around, they may have tied it there temporarily and planned to get it later. It was, however, quite a convenient location for the disciples, being easy to find.
This is a miniature commentary on how God’s omniscience works. Jesus could have just had a colt appear in this location, without an owner. But, he uses a colt already there. Our modern minds would think pulling a colt out of thin air would be better. But, that’s just not the case.
The fact that Jesus uses this colt glorifies him in several ways. For one, it shows his wisdom. Had he made a colt appear out of nowhere the people would have thought he had a demon for sure. Using a colt already in existence reminds his followers that he is the Creator. It all belongs to him. Also, the fact that he knew about the colt was an indication of his omniscience. So, choosing to use existing circumstances is a way that God illustrates his knowledge of everything, and his mighty power.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your knowledge! It is so comforting to know that you know everything. Your goodness to us is amazing! Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 11:3
Jesus demonstrates his omniscience very clearly in this verse. How would he know that whoever had the colt would respond positively to his instructions to the disciples? Because he knows everything. So, already he has made clear his omnipotence and omniscience in this passage about the Triumphal Entry.

Heavenly Father, help us to understand that you have given us everything in Christ. We must realize what a privilege it is to serve him. Never will we ever exhaust his praises. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 11:2
I just love the fact that Jesus points out the nature of this colt. He tells us that the colt had never been ridden before. Now, he could have gotten his disciples to go get it without mentioning that fact. But, he throws it in because, well, it’s glorious!
You don’t just go find a colt and sit on it. There’s a domesticating process. But for Jesus, that was totally unnecessary. Jesus knew what he was doing. And he knew that this was the Triumphal Entry. And there was no reason to hold back on his power. There was no reason not to make it clear that he was going to ride a colt that had never been ridden before.

Heavenly Father, thank you for making your glory clear to us. It makes it so wonderful to serve you. We feel like we’re doing something great when we serve in your ministry. And, we know that you don’t mind if we’re proud to belong to you. You want us to be happy that we are your servants. Thank you for making your service such a joy! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 11:1
The Mount of Olives is on the east of Jerusalem. This was a special place for Jesus and his disciples. It is so interesting to study how Jesus spent his free time. We don’t know much, but we do know that Lazarus and his sisters were his friends.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the friends that you give us in this life. It is good to have people we can share our thoughts with. It is wonderful to be able to fellowship with each other in Christ. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:52
Notice if you will the method of this miracle. There is no method. Jesus doesn’t touch Bartimaeus, or put something on him. He just simply says, you’re healed. Why is this? Why in other cases does he do things? And why here do we see him just tell Bartimaeus he is healed?
The difference has everything to do with Bartimaeus’ faith. Unlike many of the others that Jesus did miracles for, Bartimaeus was quite confident that Christ could do this thing. There was no question in Bartimaeus’ mind of Jesus’s ability, or his willingness. In other words, his faith was strong.
Now, Jesus says that it was Bartimaeus’ faith that healed him. So does that mean that if anybody will just believe hard enough they can be healed of anything? The answer is no. And why? What did Bartimaeus have faith in? A better question, who did he have faith in? The answer is that he had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it was this, faith in Christ, that healed him. Faith is giving credence to something or someone. When we give credence to what Jesus has said, and the power and authority of his person, we have faith in him. So Jesus healed Bartimaeus. But, had Bartimaeus not had faith in Christ, he would not have been healed.
Jesus tells Bartimaeus to go his way. Does this mean Jesus didn’t know the Bartimaeus was about to follow him? Of course not. But the choice to follow Christ must be a personal choice. This is not to say that God has no part in the choice. In fact, without the influence of God no one would choose Christ. But God gives us the ability to choose for ourselves.

Heavenly Father, thank you for this glorious Easter morning! Thank you for the mercy, grace and love that bring to us the amazing reality of eternal life. You have pulled off the shackles of darkness in our hearts and brought us to live in the light of day. Your great resurrection miracle still stirs us to see the facts of your Almighty power. You cannot be destroyed. You cannot be degraded. You cannot be deceived. May we ever live in the light of your glorious face! To know you is a joy too wonderful to explain and too great to measure. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:51
This is a perfect illustration of how salvation works. Jesus already knew what this man needed, and what he wanted him to do. In fact, Bartimaeus knew that Jesus knew what Bartimaeus wanted. It was obvious to all what Bartimaeus needed. And yet, Jesus still asks what do you want me to do for you? Bartimaeus had to ask. He had to verbalize the faith that he was placing in the Lord Jesus Christ. He had to verbalize his desire for sight.
Salvation works in the same way. Jesus knows that we need to be saved from our sins. Often we know that Jesus knows that we need to be saved from our sins. But we have to ask him to do it. He wants to hear that statement of faith in your question. He wants to hear you ask for what you know only he can provide.
Please understand that the faith is part of the process. We are no more able to save ourselves from sin than we are to give ourselves sight. And asking Christ does not somehow automatically make us healed. But this statement of our faith is part of what the Lord Jesus wants to happen in the miracle. It makes it clear that it is totally dependent upon him, and faith in him. This only makes sense because God is after his glory.

Heavenly father, thank you for the miracle of salvation! Thank you for helping us understand that it all depends upon you. We will depend upon you. We will look to you for everything that we need. You are worthy of our trust and our dependence. You are worthy of our honor and glory. You are worthy of all our praise. Thank you, we love you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:50
It is amazing how we can transform something that is an act of faith into something common and mundane. Upon seeing here that Bartimaeus cast aside his garment many have said that he proceeded to Christ naked. Though this is possible, it’s highly unlikely. The word here for garment can be used in several ways. In this case, it most likely refers to an outer robe usually worn when one is staying outside for long periods of time. Thus, given the context here, Bartimaeus was most likely wearing this because he was outside on the way side begging for many hours of the day.
Bartimaeus cast aside his garment in an act of faith. This garment symbolized his many hours of sitting on the side of the road begging. It symbolized his old life which was about to change forever. Bartimaeus cast aside his robe because he knew The Christ was going to heal him. He knew that Jesus, the Messiah, would bring him out of darkness physically and into the glorious light. And, he knew this because he already understood that Jesus is the light.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the great change that you make in our lives. You don’t just leave it like you found it, you change everything. You transform our souls, and make us something totally different. Thank you for the powerful transformation that we find in Jesus Christ. Thank you for bringing us from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light! Thank you for shedding abroad your love in our hearts! You are worthy of all the praise and glory and honor! We love you so very much. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:49
Oh what a nice little mystery we have here! Jesus stops. Right in the middle of everything. Did he hear Bartimaeus crying out? Or, did he know what these people had been saying to Bartimaeus about being quiet? Well, we can be certain that Jesus knew what had been said. However, it is strange that he wouldn’t go to Bartimaeus, instead of having Bartimaeus brought to him.
A little bit of Investigation on this will reveal why Jesus did what he did, and when. And every account that we have of this story we’re not exactly told if Jesus heard Bartimaeus. But, over in Luke 18 we see that the people who told Bartimaeus to be quiet were those who were at the front of the group with Jesus. In other words, as they were on their way Bartimaeus was out in front on the roadside, and the people who were walking in the front were telling him to be quiet.
So you have to catch the picture. These people in the front of the group are telling Bartimaeus to be quiet. Bartimaeus cries out very loudly as Jesus is heading in his direction. When Jesus hears Bartimaeus, or possibly just before he would have heard him, he tells the people in front of him to go get Bartimaeus.
This accounts for the real change in tune between the folks who told Bartimaeus to be quiet, and those who told him not to worry and to come because Jesus was calling. It was actually the same group of people. So Jesus’s command to go bring Bartimaeus to him was a way to get these very people who told Bartimaeus to be quiet to go and tell Bartimaeus the good news. Bartimaeus understood who Jesus was, but these folks in the multitude still needed some lessons to understand the true nature of the Christ.

Heavenly Father, thank you for listening to us even when others in the crowd would silence us. You understand each of us better than we do ourselves. You know what we are crying out for. You know what’s going on in our lives. Thank you for taking the time to stop when we call for you. Thank you for hearing when we pray. Thank you for asking us to bring our needs before you. You help us understand that you really care about who we are, and what we’re doing. May we always live to serve you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Bartimaeus knew that Jesus would listen to him. And, he knew that if Jesus had returned to Jerusalem he wouldn’t mind having attention drawn to him. He likely understood that healing him would be a part of the fulfillment of prophecy concerning the Christ. He knew Jesus wouldn’t turn him away.

Heavenly Father, you know our needs anyway. Help us to trust you for them and ask you about them. You are our supply. You have all of the riches, and healing, that we could ever need. You can take care of us, and you are always faithful. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pay and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:47
Bartimaeus said what he said in order to get Jesus’s attention. He wanted the crowd to understand who he was talking to, but more than that he wanted Jesus to understand that he did indeed believe that Jesus was who he said he was. Now, obviously Bartimaeus would have understood that Jesus already knew that, but his statement was a statement of faith.
This kind of statement of faith was rare among those who called out to Christ. Many of them illustrated that they didn’t really know who Jesus was, or didn’t fully understand him. Bartimaeus gives one of the clearest indications in all of the gospels that he did understand the significance of the person of Christ. The fact that Bartimaeus followed Christ after his healing is not surprising given the way he called out to Jesus.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the wonderful examples you give us in Scripture. Although many times we fail to take them to heart, it is wonderful to have them. You show us how we can live, and what faith we can have. May we always look to Christ to make us what we ought to be. Thank you for what faith in Christ can accomplish in our lives. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.