Your Faith Makes You Well

Mark 10:46-52
Length: 17:28

This is a message given on October 25, 2009 at the Bowdertown United Methodist Church.

Your Faith Makes You Well

We finish up our study of the life of Christ this morning by looking at the healing of the blind men at Jericho. This was right before Jesus Entry into Jerusalem and the final week of His earthly life.

The city of Jericho is located about fifteen miles northeast of Jerusalem. It was the last major stop for people traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. This is Jesus’ only recorded visit to Jericho in Scripture.

If you look at the parallel account of this healing in the Gospel of Matthew there were two blind men healed. The parallel account in the Gospel of Luke says Jesus healed them on the way into Jericho.

The New American Standard reads in verse 46, “Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho.” This seems a little confusing to us. So, which was it? Were there two men or one blind man. Was Jesus leaving the city or entering the city?

If you think back to the Old Testament in Joshua chapter 6, you will no doubt remember the story.

Joshua 6:1-5
Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. 2 And the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. 4 Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.”

After the walls fell, the city was in ruins. Rather than clean up the rubble, the city was rebuilt right next door, so you essentially have Jericho OT and Jericho NT, two cities built right next to each other.

So, Jesus leaves old Jericho and enters new Jericho or whatever you want to call it. As for Matthew mentioning two blind men and Mark and Luke only mentioning Bartimaeus, again this is no big deal. Mark and Luke simply focus on the more vocal of the two blind men which is Bartimaeus.

Bartimaeus and his friend are sitting by the roadside begging. That is about the only way a blind man could make a living in those days. These men had staked out a good place on the main road to Jerusalem.

Remember, these men are blind, not death. So they hear all this commotion as Jesus and the crowd pass by. So Bartimaeus asks someone what’s happen. Who is leading this group? They tell him it is Jesus of Nazareth.

Wow, what great news Bartimaeus thinks. No doubt, he has heard the story’s of this man named Jesus. He probably heard about the raising of Lazarus from the dead, since Bethany is only a few miles away.

He also probably heard some rumblings about the Sanhedrin and other religious leaders being out to get this guy. But Bartimaeus doesn’t really care about what the religious leaders think. He simply wants to be healed and believes this man, Jesus can do just that.

He beings to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” The crowd told him to be quiet. They try to shut him up, but the more they tried the more aggressive, assertive and louder he got. Finally, he gets Jesus’ attention.

Jesus stops the procession and calls for Bartimaeus. Suddenly, the people who were yelling at this man to be quiet are now encouraging him to come forward to Jesus.

There is no doubt in Bartimaeus’ mind. He is going to be healed. He is full of confidence, he throws his cloak off and runs to Jesus. Think about it for a minute. If your blind, you keep your possessions with you, especially something as important as a cloak to stay warm with. But as I said, Bartimaeus is confident he will be healed and able to see his cloak to retrieve it.

Jesus knows what Bartimaeus wants, but asks him anyways, “What do you want me to do for you?” Again, Jesus wants Bartimaeus to demonstrate his faith, which he already has by leaving his cloak along side the road, but Jesus also wants the crowd to understand.

Jesus heals him, saying your faith has made you well. Bartimaeus’ physical and spiritual eyes were opened. The outward healing reflected also his inner salvation as well. Jesus tells Bartimaeus to go, but Bartimaeus choose to join the procession going to Jerusaem.

Perhaps this will be his very first Passover. What a wonderful experience that would be. Seeing all the sights and participating the Passover with someone special for the first time. I would also have to assume, that Bartimaeus was also there to witness the shocking execution of the Man who gave him sight. No doubt, Bartimaeus was feeling on top of the world at the beginning of the week, but by the end, he too was crushed.

The blind man could see who Jesus really was. He knew He was the Son of David, the Messiah. The religious leaders on the other hand could not. They refused to see Him for who He truly was and is. They were blinded to His true identity.

Bartimaeus’ faith made him well. He was healed. He was able to see. He was saved. No matter how desperate your situation may seem, if you call out to Jesus in faith, He will help you. But don’t take my word for it, take His!

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us another example of faith this morning. Help us to truly remember who You are and that You are there for us when we need you.

We thank you for these past several months of studying Your life and Your teachings. Help us to take what w have learned and apply it to our lives. We do this all for Your honor and glory. AMEN.