The faith that stopped Jesus

Rev. Shine Thomas

Scripture: Mk 10:46-52

This morning we are going to see what we need to do to receive a miracle based on the life of Bartimaeus. He was blind but Jesus gave him sight just in a split of a second. Today, He can do the same miracle in your life. Are you ready?

Brief Background

Mark 10:46a Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city.

• Jesus and his disciples were traveling to Jerusalem through Jericho.
• The main road to Jerusalem ran right through the city of Jericho.
• Jesus was on his way to celebrate the Passover festival.
• Whenever a teacher or Rabbi would travel people crowded to listen to his words.
• So there were a lot of people around Jesus.

Now, this was Passover time.
People from every house are coming and joining the highway to go to Jerusalem.
People who could not go would come to the roadside and wish the people who are going good luck and good speed.
So it was a large crowd of people – Jesus, disciples, crowd, passersby, and onlookers.

Now, this crowd reached the exit gate (Northern gate) of Jericho.
There were people all around.
Everyone was excited.
People are on a pilgrimage.
Everyone is busy and engaged in his/her work.

In the midst of this busyness and noise there was a man sitting in the gate of Jericho who was having a tough time in his life.

Mark 10:46b A blind man, Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside begging.

When everyone was busy time was not a matter for him.
He was lonely, rejected, and he could not see.
He can just hear a lot of noise but does not know what it is.

Child of God there are some Bartimaeus sitting in this church this morning. When the whole world is enjoying you cry, you do not have a future, no enjoyment. There is sorrow deep within you. Jesus is here today for you.

Mark 10:47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Bartimaeus did not see Jesus. All he could hear was the noise of the big crowd, the dust, the commotion. Suddenly he asked someone in the crowd why all this noise? What’s happening? Someone told him Jesus is passing by.

I am amazed by what Bartimaeus did when he knew it was Jesus.
First - He began to shout.
Second – He called Jesus – Son of David.
Bartimaeus understood Jesus is the Messiah. He immediately he thought about the scriptures and understood Jesus is the son of God. He started shouting, “Jesus, Jesus, have mercy on me.”

If you want deliverance you need to understand Jesus is God and shout to God.

Mark 10:48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

People rebuked him, mocked at him, told him to be quiet. But the more the people rebuked the more he shouted.
Listen, Bartimaeus was a man of persistence. If you need a miracle you need to be persistent in your prayer, faith, Christian life. People will mock you, rebuke you, put you down. But do not give up, be persistent.

Mark 10:49-50 49Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." 50Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

Jesus stopped and called him. In response to the call of Jesus, Bartimaeus does three things. He throws of his cloak, rose up and went to Jesus (v.50). Those acts were a direct display of his believing for his healing; which he had not yet asked for at this point. You see, to the poor in those times, the cloak was their only possession to cover their body and to sleep in.

Deuteronomy 24:12-13 12 If the man is poor, do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession. 13 Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the LORD your God.

The cloak defined who Bartimaeus was; that he was poor and blind. He would probably have had the cloak positioned over his knees to catch the coins thrown his way as he sat by the road to beg. Throwing off that cloak showed he believed he wasn't going to need it anymore; that he could pick himself up and go to Jesus for the solution.

We all have to throw off our cloaks that bind us to our circumstances. The cloak of Bartimaeus can also represent our thinking about ourselves. The cloak defines us. We have to throw of the definition of who we think we are. We think we cannot, we will fail, we are bad. We need to take that cloak off and come to Jesus today.

V50 He jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. Even before he got his miracle he threw his cloak, jumped, and came to Jesus expecting a miracle.

V51 "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."

The response of Bartimaeus was immediate, “I want to see.” He was very clear on what he wanted. Sometimes our prayers are all over the place. We want answers for all our problems at once. We want health, deliverance, finance, job etc at one shot. Look at Bartimaeus, he just asked the one thing that was bothering him the most at that time, it was his sight. He also had many other problems like us. But he knew if God could touch the one core thing that deliverance will lead to the other. This morning ask that one thing that you really need deliverance for. That is the key for your miracle.

V52 "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Immediately his eyes opened. He was healed.

Remember, immediately Bartimaeus followed Jesus. He did not go his own way. God has delivered many of you in the past, given you good jobs, healing etc. But do you follow him today? Do you have time for him today, if not let us repent and turn back to follow Him.

Conclusion: Today morning God wants to do a miracle for you but do you have that faith to stop Jesus by your side? He is not too busy for you. Jesus always has time for you. People may ridicule you but if you can call him today, throw out your clock on how you think about your future, be ready with that one need that can change you. He will definitely answer you and deliver you.