This message is about the question “What do you want from Jesus?”

Famous golfer Arnold Palmer was invited to speak at a banquet for blind golfers.  Because he was unable to comprehend how these blind golfers were able to play golf, the organizer of the event explained to him the process that these golfers used to successfully play.

The organizer said that his caddy takes him out to the first tee, and tees up the ball.  He then gives him the appropriate club and wanders out a distance on to the fairway. He then stops and rings a little bell.  The bell ringing is his key to hit the ball in the direction of the sound of the bell.  His caddy then goes back and transports him in a golf cart out to where the ball has landed.

The caddy then gives the blind golfer another club and wanders a little bit farther out on to the fairway. He rings the ball again and the blind man hits the ball in the direction of the bell’s sound. Eventually, he gets to the green where his caddy pulls the pin out of the hole.  He then stands over the hole and rings the bell. This allows the blind golfer to putt the ball right in!

Arnold Palmer says, “That’s amazing!” The blind golfer replies, “And I’m great at it!” He then bets Palmer ten thousand dollars that he can beat him. So Palmer accepts and responds “Just tell me where to meet you and when.”

The blind golfer smiled and replied, “Meet me at the first tee at midnight tonight!”  Get it?

I love it! He was a pretty smart blind man.

Tonight, I want to talk to you about a blind man who was smart because he knew who Jesus was, and what Jesus could do.

This story takes place during the time that Jesus was passing through Jericho. 

In the days of Jesus, there were two Jericho’s.  There was an upper Jericho inhabited by the rich and elite people, and the lower Jericho where the common people lived.

During the era of Jesus, Jericho was probably the most trafficked city in the world, because it was at the cross roads of the world. If you were in the land of Assyria and wanted to go down into Egypt, you had to go through Jericho.  If you were in the land of Persia and you wanted to go Greece, or to Rome, you would have to travel through Jericho.  So you can imagine how extremely crowded Jericho was.

When Jesus was passing through Jericho, it was near the end of His ministry and during the time of the Passover.  During this time, many people were going up to Jerusalem to worship at the feast of the Passover.  Also, many people had come to see Him.

As Jesus is walking, something stops Him – it is the cry of a needy person.

No matter how many people there might be and no matter how much noise there is, Jesus can always hear the cry of a needy person and He always has the time to help a person who reaches out to Him in faith.

This story is found in the book of Mark, chapter 10, verses 46-52.

According to the Bible, Jesus and His disciples came to Jericho, where there was a great multitude.  Blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by he began to cry out and shout “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many people rebuked him for crying out and told Bartimaeus to be quiet; however, he cried out all the more and said “Son of David, have mercy on me.”

Jesus heard Bartimaeus, stopped and asked him to be called. So they said “be of good cheer, and get up, for He is calling you.” Throwing aside his coat, he got up and came to Jesus.

Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Bartimaeus replied, “Rabbi – that I might receive my sight.”

Then Jesus said to him “Go your way – your faith has healed you.”

Immediately, Bartimaeus received his sight but instead of going his own way, he followed Jesus’ way. He was a pretty smart blind man.  He was smart because he knew who Jesus was, and he knew what Jesus could do.

As we study this passage, there are four things that I would like you to learn about from Bartimaeus - his blindness, his boldness, his belief, and his blessing.

Blindness was a very common condition in the days of Jesus. There were many causes for this – unsanitary conditions, the hot sun and the vast amount of sand in Jericho, accidents or injuries, and gonorrheal blindness, caused by bacteria that attaches to a babies eyes as it passes through the birth canal of a mother who had contracted the disease from an unfaithful husband. 

Bartimaeus was blind because of this disease.  His situation was a hopeless and helpless situation.  The truth is, we are all in some ways like Bartimaeus. Many of you can remember how blind you were before coming to Christ; however, we are still in many ways like Bartimaeus, even after coming to Jesus.

There are many of us who face bleak and helpless situations that are beyond our control, and that are beyond our abilities to handle them; however, no one is ever hopeless and helpless with Jesus.  This is because the touch of Jesus can change a person’s life in a moment.

We must also take notice of the boldness that Bartimaeus had.  He did not care what people thought about him.  He wanted Jesus to see his situation and to meet his need.  In Mark, verses 47-48 when Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing, he began to cry out and say “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!”  Bartimaeus understood who Jesus was, and this was the opportunity of a life time for him; therefore, Bartimaeus continued to cry out, even though the people rebuked him to shut up.

Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf said, “Better to see with the eyes of faith, than to have two good eyes, and see nothing at all.”

James 4, verse 2 says “You have not, because you ask not.”

The Bible says that we ought to boldly come before the throne of grace, so that we will be able to find mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.

Jeremiah 33, verse 3 says “Call unto me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, you know not of.”

I love Isaiah 55, verse 6 which says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call on Him, while He is near”. Jesus was near Bartimaeus and he was calling out to Him.

A third thing that we see about Bartimaeus is his belief in Jesus.

In Mark, verse 49, we read that Jesus stopped and stood still after Bartimaeus called out to Him.  Amongst the crowd and all the noise, Bartimaeus was able to obtain the attention of Jesus with his belief in Jesus.

In Mark, verse 50, the Bible says, “Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.” The phrase “throwing his cloak aside” is an important phrase, because for a homeless person, who is begging, a coat is everything to them, it’s their security or all that they own.

It is also important because it exemplifies his faith in Jesus.  Bartimaeus’ act signifies his thinking that he is not going to need his coat anymore since Jesus will help him and will answer his prayers.

In Mark, verse 51, Jesus asked Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” and Bartimaeus answered that he may receive his sight. What Faith!

What do you need to let go of? What are you hanging on so tight to – that you have been using as you security blanket?

Lastly, Mark verse 52 talks about his blessing from Jesus.

In Mark, verse 52, Jesus said to Bartimaeus, “Go, your faith has made you healed”.   Immediately he received his sight and he followed Jesus in the way of God. Some miracles take time, but this was an immediate miracle.  The gospel says that the moment it happened, the crowd was amazed and got “blown away”. 

What did opening the eyes of Bartimaeus mean for him?  All of the sudden, Bartimaeus could see the palm trees, his family and his friends; however, the first thing that I think he saw was the face of Jesus.

In the history of the church, there was an amazing woman of God named Fanny Crosby.  At six weeks old, she was taken to an incompetent doctor who put the wrong medication in her eyes.  This caused her to be blind for the rest of her life. Amazingly, she wrote 8,000 worship songs despite her predicament.  Near the end of her life, someone had asked her if she could live her life all over again and had the choice of seeing or being blind, which choice would she choose?

Fanny Crosby replied that she would choose to be blind because the first face that she would see would be the face of Jesus.  This is what happened to Bartimaeus.  This is the privilege he received from his faith and from his blessings.

I like how Mark, verse 52 begins and how it ends.

Jesus said to him “Go your way.”  However, Bartimaeus did not go his way because he chose to follow Jesus in His way.  Bartimaeus was a smart blind man because he knew who Jesus was and because he knew what Jesus could do.

This is what a Christian life is all about.  It is not about following rules and regulations.  It is about understanding how wonderful, and amazing Jesus is, and about understanding everything that He has done for you.  This understanding motivates you to follow Him.

The privilege that Bartimaeus received is also a privilege for others. This is because Jesus was the same yesterday, today and forever.

Jesus is calling you. He knows your name, your circumstance and your situation.  He is saying to just come to Him.  If you come to Him, then you will hear the voice of our savior asking you this question “What do you want?”

I believe that if you reach out in faith and tell Jesus what you really want, then He will meet you.  His help is only a prayer away.

Questions:

·     Is there anything that you need to let go of in order to deepen your faith in Jesus?

·     How do we release our human insecurities that we are hanging on to, in order to receive the Blessings that God has in store for us?

·     Is there anything holding us back from being bold for Jesus?  How can we overcome this?

·     What do you want Jesus to do for you?  Let’s offer our prayers to Him, and open our hearts to hear His counsel.