Category: Uncategorized

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.

Mark 10:46
We don’t always get the names of those that Jesus heals. So, why do we get some of them? There are various reasons. For one thing, God used humans to write the Bible and allowed them to rely on their memory at times. The gospel writers would not have thought to record the name of someone until after the miracle. They may have forgotten it by then. Or, in some cases the disciples would know the person or remember their name for some reason. Also, some names were mentioned for effect. As in this case, the mentioning of the name tells us that this person was well-known in Jericho. Another possibility, which seems likely in this case as well, is that names are recorded when persons become a part of the fellowship of the disciples.

Heavenly Father, you have given us all that we need in your Word. But, we fail to see what is there. Lord, let us realize that your truth is meant to be our guide. Thank you for your Holy Spirit! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:45
Jesus, who is the second person of the Trinity, came to this earth specifically to minister. His mission here was to give his life for us. If he  did that, we must also be servants to others as a servant of him.

Heavenly Father, thank you for Christ! Without him we could have no hope for the future. You have made it possible in Christ for us to be your representatives to the world. You are worthy of the praise! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:44
The highest position in Christ is to be the place of greatest service. This world thinks of greatness in different terms because the world does not consider Almighty God. With the reality of God in the picture, service to him is the measure of greatness. And, the greatest service to him is to serve his creation by his pleasure. Jesus has ministered, and he expects the same from his disciples.

Heavenly Father, help us to understand our position before you. You are not looking for our greatness, but our loyalty. So many are consumed with thier own power, but forget it is nothing to you. They fail to realize that you are all that matters. Service to you is the only greatness possible. Thank you for your love for us! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 10:43
The great ones are ministers. Jesus changes the whole idea of leadership and greatness. The great will serve the lesser. Does this mean the leaders are just meant to cater to every whim of others? What exactly is in view here?
2 Corinthians 4:5 gives us a clear answer on this. The great are to serve for Jesus’ sake. Basically, service to others is service to Christ. In some cases this may apply to more mundane service, whereas in others it speaks of a more generic attitude of service. For instance, Christians will serve family members, close friends, those in their ministry area, etc on a very basic level. This means doing things as ordinary as assisting with chores. For others, who are part of the broader group one is associated with, would be served on a more general level. This means things like teaching, encouraging, teaming in prayer, working together in ministry, etc.

Heavenly Father, thank you for those we stand shoulder to shoulder with as we serve your will. When we learn to serve others for the sake of Christ, it makes us much better. You always help us to be a blessing to others. Thank you! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.