The Great Kingdom Reversal
Truth Taught- Jesus heals the blind and brings them into the Kingdom; those where were outcast become precious disciples
We are going to be introduced to blind Bartimaeus. He was a poor, blind, beggar who ironically could see Jesus far more clearly than even His close companions whose eye sight worked.
Bartimaeus had true faith. He really believed. His faith was exhibited as he, the blind man could see King Jesus while those with 20-20 vision could not see Him.
Mark shows us here, as Jesus heals His last person before He enters into Jerusalem that the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of great reversals. Mark has done this throughout his Gospel.
Most recently, we saw Jesus using a small child to display what it looks like to enter into God’s Kingdom. If we are to enter into the Kingdom of God, if we are to be saved, we must come as a small child to Jesus without any claims to greatness or merits but simply trust in Him who is great and has all the merit we need. Great reversal…God is not looking for great people, He is looking for those who will humble themselves and follow Christ.
The next section we saw the Rich Young Ruler and Jesus telling him to get rid of his wealth or literally to become poor and follow Him. He refused. Our Lord’s response, how difficult it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom.
James and John thought the Kingdom was about their greatness and their honor. What did Jesus tell them…
Mark 10:41–45 (ESV)
41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
If you want to be great, you must be a great servant. You must serve with right motivation, God’s glory and not your glory. You must serve and elevate God’s fame not yours.
Please Stand:
Gracious Father, this is Your word, just as Jesus opened the poor blind beggar Bartimaeus’ eyes, would You by grace give us eyes to see and ears to hear Your Word and Jesus our Lord? Give us sight so we can see our sin and see our Savior. Amen!
Mark 10:46–52 (ESV)
46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang 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, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
1. The Blind Man Sitting by the Roadside (10:46-48)
46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
They are about 20 miles or so from Jerusalem. Now a great crowd began to follow Jesus. Here’s the picture…Jesus is leading the way and many hundreds of people are following Him. They are not really following like the Bible calls us to but they think like the disciples that there will be greatness and honor awaiting in Jerusalem.
It’s not hard to get a crowd, entertain them and they will follow. Make it all about them and they will follow. Tell them how great they are and they will follow. Give them freebies and they will follow.
In this context, we are introduced to a very interesting man…Bartimaeus. He was a blind beggar, the lowest in society.
Bartimaeus was blind and poor. He was a blind beggar. He had two very great physical difficulties. He could not see and he was poor and had nothing.
He was not like the rich young ruler we looked at a few weeks ago who had much wealth but was not willing to rid himself of his idol. This blind beggar had no wealth at all, none. There was no idol in his life he was poor, he had nothing.
He wasn’t like James and John, who wanted to sit beside Jesus in His glory all he ever had done was sit along the side of the road begging for his next meal. He’s not seeking greatness from Jesus like the crowd and even still like the disciples. He’s just blind and poor.
The text tells us his name or at least his father’s name…Bartimaeus means son of Timaeus. Mark is not in the habit of giving out names of the people Jesus heals. Here, it’s different. This is Mark’s way of doing what Paul did in 1 Corinthians 15 when he said if you have more questions, go and speak to the 500 who saw Jesus after the resurrection, they can tell you more. Here everyone now knows Bartimaeus’ name. By the way, he became a prominent teacher in the ancient church who told many his story.
was sitting by the roadside. He was on the outskirts or on the fringe of society. Unloved and uncared for almost like a leper really. He had no claims to greatness or honor. He was the lowest of the low. Why would Jesus even give him a second thought? Because he is exactly who Jesus came for and he will display the greatness of God’s mercy and grace.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Something extraordinary was beginning to take shape here. The blind man could see Jesus. He somehow knew Jesus far better than the people who could actually see. The blind man was given spiritual sight. He could see Jesus and he understood what they did not, this is the King about to enter His city.
Look!! Look!! Everyone its Jesus the Son of David!! It’s King Jesus Look!! Look!!
Son of David means Messiah King. He was seeing Jesus far greater than anyone else maybe even greater than Jesus’ own disciples could see.
He knew his hopeless situation. He knew there was nothing he could do to help himself. He understood his desperate lot. He acknowledged his misery, unworthiness, and helplessness.
I pray that we too realize our true condition without Christ. Without Jesus, we too are in eternal misery, unworthiness and helplessness. Without Christ we are eternally lost. There is nothing we can do about it. Jesus must walk past us. He must make the first move. He must bring us to life spiritually before we even realize we need help.
The blind man cries out over and over again the title for the Messiah, Son of David. Jesus is identified as the Messiah. Now this will be the last healing that takes place prior to the cross. We should ask ourselves, if there is only one more healing, then what should we understand concerning the healing ministry of Jesus. Could it be that this last healing is a picture of all other healings before? What does our Lord desire to teach us about Himself here?
Healing miracles took place as the needy person believed. How many times have we read in the Gospels; your faith has made you well?
We see the blind man’s faith on display 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth
2. Jesus Stopped (10:49-51)
49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang 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, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”
With a crowd like this there was, no doubt, many people crying out. There was noise and shouting from every direction but this one cry made Jesus stop in His tracks. He stopped the entire kingly caravan in its tracks…Jesus stopped
Are you amazed today, that Jesus stops. Has He stopped for you? Has He stopped everything because you were helpless, needy and poor and blind? Praise God, beloved Jesus stops for us.
Here’s a text where Jesus stops for us…Jesus stopped
Ephesians 2:1–10 (ESV)
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Jesus stopped and called the blindman. Notice what he does. Also, wonder with me why Mark even mentions…
50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
For the blind man this was his…
sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
What gave this hopeless blind man hope? His Savior stopped for him. He throws his cloak down and springs up and comes to Jesus.
He came boldly to the thrown of grace…Because of who Jesus is and what He has done all who trust in Christ can come boldly to God in Jesus.
Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
If we are believers, we can draw near to God with confidence and fear. Jesus is our security as we draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
He didn’t say to the guy next to him, hold my cloak, he threw it off and sprang up. Throws his coat and jumps to his feet. Grace is coming from the King!!
For us, we throw off our cloak and spring to our feet in prayer. We boldly approach the throne of grace by prayer. We have access to God now through His Son Jesus.
51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”
The phrase here, let me recover my sight is literally let me look up. Lord allow me to look up and see You. That’s what this is getting at. The blind man saw Jesus clearly in the spiritual realm and knew who He was and now, he’d like to see Jesus face to face.
I think we are a lot like this blind man, we have seen Jesus by faith and know Him but we all who know Him long to see Him face to face.
1 John 3:2 (ESV)
2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
3. The Blind Man Sees and Follows Jesus (10:52)
52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Sozo- is the Greek word that means saved you. What we are shown here is that the faith of this blind man has saved him. He has experienced two miracles in a split second. His blindness removed and salvation given.
Bartimaeus did not ask for riches, power, or fame. He just wanted to be able to see. In great humility he asks Jesus for his sight.
He has been transformed from a blind beggar sitting along the road (v. 46)
To a disciple on the road, following Jesus (v. 52)
In the OT there is an account in 2 Samuel 5 where King David is ready to enter Jerusalem and be seated as king there in the City. However, there is one more battle he will have to win in order to enter his city. The Jebusites had taken up residence and were fortified and by all accounts, they were there to stay.
King David’s army was small in comparison and things did not look good. The Jebusites were very arrogant in their boasting.
Word came back to David that they said, his army is so small that they could take their blind and lame and win the battle.
2 Samuel 5:6–7 (ESV)
6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off”—thinking, “David cannot come in here.” 7 Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.
One account from Josephus the ancient historian claimed that they did surround the city with blind and lame. David and his men quickly defeat the Jebusites and take the city.
The healing of Bartimaeus plays a very big role in the comparison as to how King David entered the city and how King Jesus enters the city.
The Jebusites saw the blind and lame as worthless and easily sacrificed. King Jesus does not. In our Lord’s Kingdom the blind and lame are welcomed. As Jesus enters His city, Jerusalem there are no blind people surrounding the gates because He has healed them and they are followers of Jesus. Our King surrounds Himself with the weak, lame and blind, except they’re not blind and lame anymore.
The healing ministry of Jesus has pointed to the fact that the Isaiah texts speaking of the miraculous healings of Messiah King will take place when He comes. That’s why the blind man shouts Son of David.
Isaiah 29:18 (ESV)
18 In that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book,
and out of their gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind shall see.
Luke 7:18–20 (ESV)
20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ ” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
Conclusion
I pray you trust King Jesus like blind Bartimaeus did. I pray you have found in Jesus eternal life and you have become a follower as well.
Has there been a great reversal in your life? Are you now a beloved disciple?
Resources
2 Samuel by Dale Ralph Davis
Mark by William Lane
Mark by James Edwards
Luke by Joel Green
Words of grace
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