THE CHANGE OF BLIND BEGGAR

BARTIMAEUS (MARK 10: 46-52)

 Once upon a time, an elephant and a mouse became best of friends.  They went everywhere together, side by side; one day, while traveling, they came upon a narrow bridge.  Below the bridge was a river with a swift current—the mere sight of white caps and violent movement of the river current was enough to give one the chills.  However, the mouse and the elephant, side by side, carefully crossed the bridge and arrived at the far side of the river safely.  After they arrived at the other side of the bridge, the tiny mouse exclaimed, “Whew, we sure had a difficult time crossing the bridge due to our weight!” 

 It is very important to understand our lot in life—and to be discreet and prudent in knowing our limitations and abilities—as we lead our lives.  Today, there are many people who profess to be religious and devout believers of Christ; yet, there are not that many true Christians.   There are many people in a given church; yet, there are not that many good workers, or servants of Christ.  True Christians and faithful servants of Christ are not born that way; rather, they become so after a long period of training and education.  Our ultimate goal must be cultivating a “Disciple” of Christ through endless determination and education.  I will be talking about the ways of becoming a true Disciple of Christ over the next few weeks.

 A teenage girl was driving a car when she came under a heavy blizzard and became stranded, unable to go anywhere.  She thought of her dad’s advice to her as she became stranded.  “If you ever get stuck in a blizzard and become stranded, do not panic.  Pull your car over to the side of the road and wait for the snow plow truck to come and clear the road.  Then follow behind the snow plow truck.”  The girl waited on the side of the road for a snowplow truck, and after a plow truck arrived, she began following the truck in her car. 

After about 45 minutes, the driver of the plow truck stopped his vehicle, got out of his truck, and asked the girl why she had been following him.  The girl explained her father’s advice to her on what to do in a blizzard.  “Is that right?” The driver replied, “I just plowed all the snow from the Wal-Mart parking lot, and I am on way to K-Mart to clear the parking lot there.  I thought you’d be following me to K-Mart, so I thought I’d let you know where I was headed.”  The girl knew what to do in a blizzard, but she did not know who to follow and how long to follow them.

 In order to become a Disciple of Christ, we must first know that the person we are following is Jesus Christ.  We did not become Christians to follow a pastor or a lay leader.  We became Christians to follow Jesus Christ, who delivered us from our sins and gave each and every one of us a life-long special task according to our abilities and gifts.  As they say in Buddhism, when pointing at the moon, one must look at the moon and not the tip of the pointing finger.  Accordingly, we must look at the centerpiece of our religion&Jesus Christ and follow Him while keeping ourselves from looking at the tips of our pointing fingers.  Therefore, in book of Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 2, it is stated, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” 

 Reverend Kwang-hoon Lee, who leads a congregation in Littlerock, Arkansas and is a good friend of mine, once wrote a very good essay concerning Bartimaeus for our church newsletter.  The story regarding Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, is about how to become a true Disciple of Christ.  Book of Mark, chapters 8 through 10 talks about the subject of “discipleship.”  In these three chapters, Jesus is portrayed as a teacher.  Therefore, the stories of people who interact with Jesus in these three chapters are answers to the question of “how to become a true Disciple of Christ?”  The reason why the author of Mark put the story of Bartimaeus at the end of the book is to stress the fact that Bartimaeus truly knew who Jesus was, and that he was a true Disciple of Jesus. 

 In order to correctly understand today’s scripture, we must first look at book of Mark, chapters 8 and 9, and understand that the events contained in those two chapters took place right before Christ suffers at the hands of the Jews in Jerusalem.  The fate of Jesus, after he goes into Jerusalem, is not one of glory; rather, the fate of Christ was one of shame, disgrace, and crucifixion at the cross.  In the midst of all these inter-related events, the story of a wealthy young man (in Mark 10: 17-22) and story of James and John sons of Zebedee who sought glory from Jesus (in Mark 10: 35-45)—contrast vividly with the story of blind beggar Bartimaeus and the miracle of restoration of his sight. 

 The wealthy young man and the blind beggar, from a financial standpoint, stood at the opposite ends of the spectrum.  One did not lack anything financially; however, due to his attachment to the materials around him, he could not become a true Disciple of Christ.  This tells us that those people who are overly secular, who are materialistic, will have a difficult time in becoming a true Disciple of Christ.  James and John, whom Christ held a particular love for, spent three years living with Christ; yet, they did not truly understand who Jesus was, and why He must go into Jerusalem.  They mistakenly believed that the path of a Disciple was one of glory rather than the path of suffering. 

Therefore, as if they are waiting for some compensation from Christ, they demand things from Jesus. “Teacher,” they request in Mark 10: 35,  “we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”  Christ asks James and John, in Mark 10: 36, “What do you want Me to do for You?”  They reply, in verse 37, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and other on Your left, in Your glory,” implying that they desired secular honor and authority.  If materialistic greed kept the wealthy young man from becoming a true Disciple of Christ, James and John could not walk the path of true Disciples of Christ, despite being followers of Jesus, for they harbored greed for power and honor.  Although they had good eyesight, they were blind spiritually.  Although they looked and stared at Christ all day, they were spiritually blind in that they did not know who He was, or what He was about to accomplish.  In comparing these two groups of people to the blind beggar Bartimaeus, we can see what the path of a true Disciple of Christ looks like.

 First, Bartimaeus followed Christ with unwavering faith and consistency from the beginning to the end.  Unlike other stories of miracle in the book of Mark, the story of Bartimaeus centers on the person Barti-Maeus, or “son of Timaeus.”  To reiterate, the story does not describe in detail how Christ cures this man’s blindness; rather, it explains in detail the physical state, the faith, and the persistence of a man, despite the restraint of those around him, to follow and request help from Jesus.  My opinion is that the author of the gospel of Mark wanted to embolden and highlight the fact that despite his physical handicap, Bartimaeus had a perfect spiritual eyesight and that he was a true Disciple of Christ, unlike the wealthy young man, John, or James.

 When Bartimaues, while sitting beside a road, heard that Jesus is passing through, he yells out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  (Mark 10: 47)  When people around him scolded him and told him to shut his mouth, Bartimaeus cried out more desperately and earnestly.  Based on this, we can see that Bartimaeus, despite being blind and without physical sight of Jesus, held a deep conviction that Jesus, as the Descendant of David and as the Messiah, had the power to save him and cure him of his ailment.  People around him could not extinguish the burning faith of Bartimaeus, no matter how hard they tried.  A man named H.L. Melken once stated that “true religion is 99% trust and 1% knowledge.”  In order to become a true Disciple of Christ, one needs, as a crucial ingredient, not knowledge concerning Christ, but the trust and faith that Jesus is our Messiah and our path to salvation.

 Second, Bartimaeus was a man of obedience.  Nothing is more important than obedience in becoming a true Disciple of Christ.  The wealthy young man, upon hearing Jesus’ command to sell his wealth, distribute it among the poor, and follow Him, could not hide his saddened face and left Jesus.  However, Bartimaeus, as it is recorded in verse 50, threw down his cloak and garment, and approached Christ.  Outer garment for beggars probably had same value as a boat for fisherman—a very valuable item, indeed.  However, so great was his joy in meeting his Savior, Bartimaeus cast aside the most valuable thing to him and followed Christ.  The fact that Bartimaeus cast aside his garment also implies that Bartimaeus, in approaching Christ, cast away all things that might hinder him in approaching his Savior. 

Like the outer garment of Bartimaeus, there are things that we possess, which we deem as invaluable, that may stand in our way of becoming a true Disciple of Christ.  However, in order to become a true Disciple of Christ, we must have the courage to audaciously cast away all things that stand in our way of true faith.

 An article that was carried on Philadelphia Inquirer shows us that a true obedience cannot serve two masters that once an allegiance is made to one, it cannot be made to another.  One day, in an audio store in Grosse Point Park, Michigan, two armed robbers entered.  One of the robbers yelled, “Nobody move!”  Almost instantly, the other robber moved.  The first robber who yelled “Nobody move!” shot and killed his accomplice, since he did not listen to his command. 

In many instances, we cannot obey both our Lord and the requirements of the secular society in which all of us live in.  Becoming a true Disciple of Christ require us to throw away all those things which we hold dear and valuable; therefore, in order to obey Jesus, we must be prepared to cast away those things which we may hold dear to our hearts.

 Thirdly, true Disciples of Christ must be able to answer the question, “What do you want to Me to do for you?”  The interesting fact is that just as Christ, in verse 36 of Mark 10, replied to James and John when they requested something from Him by saying “What do you want Me to do for you,” Christ offers same response, in verse 51, to Bartimaeus.  However, there was a great difference in the answer that Bartimaeus gave.  Whereas James and John requested guaranteed status and glory once Christ assumed the power of this world, Bartimaeus merely requested the Lord’s mercy, that he be restored with the ability to see with his own eyes. 

 False Disciples follow our Lord to gain secular honor and compensation; true Disciples, on the other hand, requests, from the depths of their heart, the generosity and clemency of Jesus.  Perhaps Christ already saw the undying faith and hope of Bartimaeus, which sprang forth like a geyser from deep within his heart, when He confirmed to him, “Go away, for your faith has made you well.”  Once his physical eyes opened, Bartimaeus, whose spiritual eyes were already open, was able to follow Christ.

 Reverend Sam Williams of Van Ness Community Church in California stated, “God doesn’t solve problems for us.  God solves problems with us.”  True miracles are not one-sided supernatural effort by God; rather, it occurs in us internally as we harbor the faith and hope that we will accomplish something in this world.  Bartimaeus was able to experience the miracle because his heart was overflowing with hope and faith.

 Our Lord, our God is still alive today.  And He is calling for true Disciples to carry on His work.  He is calling for the Disciples who understand that although the true path to God is often adorned with thorns, true Disciples must be willing to walk the path through their faith in and obedience to God.   Why don’t we all become such Disciples to God?