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Mark 10:46-52 (Amplified
version)
46 Then
they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples
and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, a
son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout,
saying, Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!
48 And many severely censured and reproved him, telling him to keep
still, but he kept on shouting out all the more, You Son of David, have
pity and mercy on me [now]!
49 And Jesus stopped and said, Call him. And they called the blind man,
telling him, Take courage! Get up! He is calling you.
50 And throwing off his outer garment, he leaped up and came to Jesus.
51 And Jesus said to him, What do you want Me to
do for you? And the blind man said to Him, Master, let me receive my
sight.
52 And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your
faith has healed you. And at once he received his sight and accompanied
Jesus on the road.
I like
this passage, Blind Bart couldn't see Jesus in the natural - he had to
believe someone else's report:
Romans 10:17 (KJV)
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Never the
less he believed and cried out - shouted in faith "he began to
shout, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!
"
Now the world didn't think this was proper - the world quickly advised
him "many severely censured and reproved him, telling him to keep
still"
Bart wouldn't instead "he kept on shouting out all the more, You Son
of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!" His reaction to the
negative words of the crowd was more positive affirmation.
Bart could have quit - 'done nothing - said nothing' - but sometimes even
silence speaks a thousand words - quitting isn't actually doing nothing -
its doing something - something negative; its embracing defeat -
listening the god of the world.
Jesus stopped - the Lord interrupted his walk because of Bart's shout of
affirmation - faith - belief. "they called the blind man, telling
him, Take courage! Get up! He is calling you."
Get the crowd now; they are telling Bart to take courage - yeah right
like Bart wasn't being courageous shouting into darkness; and continuing
to shout even when he was told to shut up! He was shouting to a man he
didn't know and couldn't see - for all Bart know someone might have been
playing a cruel joke on him.
That's the world - as soon as favour comes our way the world is you're
friend - but boy they don't ever want favour to come to you - they will
discourage you from getting it with negative advice; and then flip sides
as soon as they see favour is on your side.
"And
throwing off his outer garment, [Bartimaeus] leaped
up and came to Jesus."
Bart
threw off his beggars robes - what an
affirmation of faith! - Bart was gong to get
healed he knew he didn't need that badge of beggary anymore.
"And
Jesus said to him, What do you want Me to do for
you? And the blind man said to Him, Master, let me receive my
sight."
Well
that's a stupid question; the world would say - but Jesus has seen more -
Bart didn't just want to see in the natural.
"And
Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has
healed you. And at once he received his sight and accompanied Jesus on
the road."
Jesus
spoke the healing into being - the truth was Bart was healed by his faith
already he believed that Jesus would heal him - that's why he shouted;
his faith was testifying to a spiritual truth; his healing - it just
hadn't appeared in the natural in time; the Word's spoken Word made it
happen.
The Bart accompanied Jesus. Jesus amplified his prayer; he not only
received natural sight but supernatural vision - he had the foresight to
follow his Saviour.
Now this is the point - he left behind his beggars robes; in the natural
he had no need to beg - Jesus now supplied his material needs. You can
just picture Judas mumbling as he digs into the purse he carried and buys
for Bart new clothes. You can picture the reaction of the Pharisee as he
walks down the street and sees a
elegantly be-robed chap grinning joyfully; the scribe does a double take
- say, thinking, don't I recognise that face. Then as it dawns on him; he
realises the bright eyed face belongs to Bart - the guy he'd flipped a
couple of coins to that very morning - how good his charity had felt as
under the approving gaze of his peers. Now that sinner was healed, and
dressed in finery; this Jesus was overturning the very order of society!
Like the Prodigals brother, the establishment was angry; in the parable
the Prodigals brother was mad; his father dressed his way-ward brother in
fine robes and killed the fatted calf; hadn't he the loyal son, stayed,
obeyed, and worked hard? Why didn't he experience this unusual
[supernatural] treatment?
Likewise Jesus saved and healed; hadn't the Scribes and the Pharisee
worked at keeping the laws precepts all their lives; didn't they deserve
approval and validation for their work; but Jesus took sinners and gave
them instant notoriety - healing them; forgiving them; caring for them;
rewarding them; where - in the eyes of the establishment was justice?
Bart was now part of the team - his begging days were over Jesus was
taking care of his needs; Jesus still wants to clothe and feed us; to
heal us; to meet all our material needs; all our emotional needs; all our
spiritual needs.
While Bart probably received a new suit of clothes from Jesus' purse - he
certainly and more importantly he received new spiritual clothes through
faith.
Paul talks about this process, he calls us to take off the old nature
[our beggars robes] and put on the new man [our robes of righteousness]
Its a conscious process - through the spirit, by prayer - we order our
thoughts, then our words and our deeds reflect the new order - the new
man; we speak the Word - so our faith is validated - so the natural is
changed. We avoid listening to the world and talking the world’s negative
language - which creates only evil.
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