The Blessed Beggar
That’s a Good Question – 7
Mark 10:46-52
“The Blessed Beggar”
Something remarkable happened on a crowded road just outside of the ancient city of Jericho. A large group of people followed the Lord Jesus as he traveled toward Jerusalem. Suddenly, the Lord stopped. Within a few moments He would open heaven’s check book, and make available to one man the full arsenal of God’s blessings.
That one man was a blind beggar named Bartimaeus. He cried out to the Lord for mercy, and the Bible says that Jesus stopped, called him, and asked him this question, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?”
That is an amazing question. With that question, the God of eternity put Himself in the service of a blind beggar. Bartimaeus had never had much more than some loose change, and the rags upon his back. Yet at that moment the whole world was offered to him. It is interesting to me that of all the people standing there that day, Christ asked this question to only one man – Bartimaeus.
How would you like to hear the Lord Jesus say to you today, “What can I do for you?” As Jesus passes by in this service, what is it that you need from Him? The reality is that He does not stop and make Himself available to everyone. In this story, He only asked this remarkable question to a blind beggar.
How do we get the Lord to stop and offer this kind of help to us? How can you get Him to say to you, “What is it that you want me to do for you?
Through his memorable story Bartimaeus teaches us how we can have Christ intervene in our lives. This question that was posed to Bartimaeus in verse 51 of our text is one that is reserved for a very specific group of people. Notice with me the people that are offered the opportunity to become blessed beggars. First of all, this question is for:
I. THOSE THAT REQUEST HIS ATTENTION
In verse 46 it says, “And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.”
There was, as Mark says, “a great number of people” traveling with the Lord Jesus, however, that day outside Jericho, there was only one person that was crying out to Him. Verse 47 says, “And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”
The people to whom the Lord Jesus makes Himself available are not those who merely surround Him, but rather those that earnestly seek Him.
Notice a couple of things about the way Bartimaeus sought the attention of the Lord. First of all, he cried out:
A. With desperation
In both verse 47 and 48, Mark chooses an interesting word to describe the way the Bartimaeus got the Lord’s attention. The Bible says that he “cried”. The Greek word translated “cried” is a word that was used to describe the squawk or call of a raven.
It speaks of loud scream, or a cry of anguish. The same word is used later in Mark 15:13, where it says that the crowd, “…cried, ‘Crucify Him!’”
As Bartimaeus found out that the Lord Jesus was passing by, he didn’t offer a half-hearted, Wednesday night prayer meeting, “Dear Lord, bless us, we pray.” No, crying out as if his whole life depended on being heard, Bartimaeus screamed, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”
When was the last time you prayed with desperation? Have you ever cried out to the Lord Jesus as if your whole life depended upon Him hearing you?
John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrims Progress, had a unique way with words. Though never formally educated, Bunyan was a brilliant preacher and author. Years ago I read a quote from Bunyan that I have never forgotten. He said, “When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart.”
Bartimaeus wanted the Lord’s attention. In order to get it, He cried out with desperation. Notice something else about the way He sought the Lord’s attention. He not only cried out with desperation, but also:
B. With determination
The crowd that was following Jesus that day must have been a group of Baptist, because as soon as someone began to get emotional and passionate about the Lord Jesus, they told him to be quiet.
Verse 48 says, “And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”
Ignoring the crowd’s attempts to muzzle him, Bartimaeus kept crying out, Mark says, even more. He didn’t back off of his cry. Instead, he cried with more urgency and emotion, determined to get the Savior’s attention. Bartimeaus was determined that Jesus may pass by without stopping, but it will not be because He did not hear the beggar crying.
Have you quit crying out about your need? Was there a time when you desperately sought the Lord about a matter, but now you hushed your prayers?
You say, “But everything seemed to say that He would not hear me. All the signs pointed to the fact that my cries were useless.”
Bartimaeus was determined to cry out in spite of the discouragement he faced. As a result, the Lord Jesus stopped, and responded to his cry. Those who get the Lord’s attention, cry out for it with desperation and determination.
Jesus asked Bartimaeus, “What is it you want Me to do for you?” That kind of question is reserved for those that request His attention.
Notice a second truth we draw from the story of this blessed beggar. The question the Lord asked Bartimaeus is not only reserved for those that request His attention, but notice also secondly that it is only for:
II. THOSE THAT RECOGNIZE HIS ABILITY
Bartimaeus sat by the road side that day as he had many days before. Though he couldn’t see, he could tell there were a lot more people crowding the road side than usual. He asked what was going on, and someone told him that Jesus of Nazareth was coming by that way. That name instantly awakened something in Bartimaeus’ heart.
As one writer said, “He had no eyesight, but he had insight.”[i] The crowd knew the Lord only as “Jesus of Nazareth”, which referred to the place where the Lord had grown up.
Bartimaeus, on the other hand, called Jesus by the name, “Son of David”. This was a Messianic title that indicated that Jesus Christ was the promised Savior. Bartimaeus saw more with faith than the rest of the crowd saw by sight. He recognized the ability of the Lord Jesus.
Notice a couple of things Bartimaeus recognized about the Lord’s ability. He recognized His ability:
A. To hear
The crowd that day tried to silence the cries of this beggar, and yet he kept crying. It was as if he knew the Messiah would hear the cries of those in need.
Perhaps when Bartimaeus was younger, his mother had carried him to the synagogue, and there he had heard the Rabbi read from Psalm 120, where the Psalmist said, “In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.”
Those who have the privilege of the Lord intervening in their lives are those who truly believe that when they cry out to Him, He hears them.
Bill Moyers was a special assistant to President Lyndon Johnson. Once, while sharing a meal with the president and his family, Bill was ask to say the blessing. In the middle of his prayer, President Johnson said, “Speak up, Bill! Speak up!” Moyers stopped his prayer, and without looking up said, “I wasn’t addressing you, Mr. President.”[ii]
It doesn’t matter who else might be able to hear you, when you cry out to the Lord Jesus, you must believe that He is able to hear you! In all the commotion of that day, with hundreds of people crowded around the Lord Jesus, along with the other traffic on that busy road, the Lord Jesus was able to hear the cry of a blind beggar.
There is a lot going on in the world today. There are millions of people clamoring for God’s ear, and yet, if you call on Him, as Bartimaeus did, you can rest assured that He will hear you.
Bartimaeus not only recognized the Lord’s ability to hear, but notice also further that he recognized the Lord’s ability:
B. To help
When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was going to pass by his way, his heart begin to race, and remembered the stories people had been telling about Christ’s miracles. In his heart, Bartimaeus believed that Jesus was the Son of David, the long awaited Messiah. Perhaps his mind went back again to a service in the synagogue, when the Rabbi read from Isaiah 35:5, where it says that when the Messiah comes, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened…”
This blind beggar believed that Jesus Christ had the power to open his eyes! He recognized that Jesus had the ability to help him.
What about you? Do you really believe that Jesus Christ can help your situation? Do you really believe that He has the ability to intervene on your behalf?
Can He save your wayward children? Can He fix your broken marriage? Can He heal your wounded heart? Do you recognize His ability?
Fred Lynch is the high school boys basketball coach at Laney High School in Wilmington, NC. He has had a long and relatively successful career at Laney, and yet, Lynch will always be remembered for a decision he made nearly thirty years ago. Coach Lynch cut a skinny sophomore from his varsity roster. That kid was Michael Jordan. Obviously, at the time, Coach Lynch didn’t see all the ability that the skinny sophomore truly possessed.
I fear that many Christians do not fully realize all they have in knowing the person of Jesus Christ. He has the ability to meet their every need, and yet they often cut Him out of their lives, and fail to call on Him with their needs.
Bartimaeus could not see the world around him, and yet he saw more in the person of Christ than all those that were traveling on the road that day. Jesus asked Bartimaeus, “What wilt thou have me to do unto thee?” That type of question is reserved for those that recognize His ability.
There is a final truth we draw from this text. Christ will make Himself available not only to those that request His attention, and to those that recognize His ability, but also finally to:
III. THOSE THAT REQUIRE HIS ASSISTANCE
The crowd came to a stop, because as verse 49 says, “Jesus stood still.” He stopped, because a beggar on the side of the road was crying out, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”
Bartimaeus had begged for charity and panhandled for loose change, but this request was very different. He wasn’t asking Jesus for money. He was asking for a miracle.
Perhaps you can relate to Bartimaeus. Your need may not be a physical one, like blindness, but in much the same way, you need the Lord Jesus to do for you what amounts to a miracle.
Bartimaeus needed divine assistance. Notice a couple of things about his situation that required the Lord’s intervention. Notice first of all that:
A. He was unable to alter his situation
Bartimaeus’ blindness was obviously not something he could fix on his own. He was powerless against the darkness in which he lived.
Bartimaeus didn’t need more money. He didn’t need nicer clothes, or a better spot on the side of the road. He needed God to heal his eyes.
There are times in life when we face things that we must admit are bigger than our abilities. There are times in which we must fact the fact that we cannot alter our own situation.
Do you realize that when you reach that point, where you are reduced to the point of begging God for mercy that is when you are most likely to see His divine intervention? As long as you think you can fix it, you will not cry out in such a way that Jesus stands still to hear your voice. As long as you still have a backup plan, and a last resort to fix your problem, you will not beg for mercy and therefore you will not have the Lord open Heaven’s resources for you.
The Lord Jesus stops and helps those who know that He is all they have, and all they need. Contrary to what many think, the Lord helps those who can’t help themselves.
Notice something else about Bartimaeus’ condition that required the Lord to intervene. Notice not only that he was unable to alter his situation, but notice also further that:
B. He was unwilling to accept his situation
It is almost certain that Bartimaeus was not the only beggar on the side of the road that day. With little social programs available in that day, the disabled were forced to beg for their livelihoods.
A busy road, like this one leading out of Jericho, would have attracted many of the downcast beggars of that city. Yet, only one of them cried out to the Lord Jesus. Only one had to faith to believe that he could be healed. Only one blind beggar saw hope in Christ.
Some of you have settled for your current situation. You have given up hope that your need will ever be met, and you are willing to go through life with your burdens on your back.
You have settled for the fact that your husband will never be by your side in church. You have settled for the fact that you will always be bound by that besetting sin.
You have settled for blindness when you could have blessing. You have settled for the mediocre when you could have the miraculous.
What you need is to have a Bartimaeus moment. That is a moment when you decide that you will no longer live with your problem. You will cry out to Jesus until He hears you and opens your eyes.
On a website called livestrong.org, a site sponsored by the Lance Armstrong foundation, they have a collection of stories from people who have survived cancer. In one story, a lady named Alecia Hardwick, a 25-year cancer survivor, says this about her experience. She says, “God takes his hands and puts it on the doctor’s, but it’s up to you, your will to live. That’s what survivorship means to me, the will, and that comes from within. You have to want to live, not to give up.”
Bartimaeus had the will not to give up, and not to accept his situation. What about you? Do you require the Lord’s assistance, or are you settling for a life on the road side?
In verse 51, Jesus asks Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” As I contemplated that question, I thought, “That seems like a dumb question.” Surely the Lord could see that Bartimaeus was blind. Surely, being the Son of God, He knew already the condition of the man calling His name.
As I prayed and meditated over this text, I realized that yes, the Lord knew what Bartimaeus needed, but He wanted Bartimaeus to ask anyway. He wanted to hear him confess his need. In much the same way, the Lord knows exactly what your need is. He is acutely aware of what burdens your heart. Yet, if you want Him to stop and help you, then like Bartimaeus, He wants to hear you call His name, confess your faith in Him, and tell Him what it is you need from Him.
The old Motown song said, “I ain’t to proud to beg.” If you will cry out to Jesus, though you beg, you can be a blessed beggar.
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[i] Friel, Billie, Manna from Mark, (Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, 2004), p. 125
[ii] Prayer, www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/p/prayer.htm; 6/19/08