Bartimaeus

The Last Healing

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
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!” Mark 10:47 NKJV

As Jesus began His final journey towards Jerusalem, a blind man named Bartimaeus hears the news and in desperation cries to Him for help. Breaking the decorum of his day, he started to shout as loudly as possible, trying to get Jesus’ attention, no matter what anyone else thought.

During His ministry on earth, Jesus had healed all kinds of people. In one of His earliest acts, he healed the mother of the Apostle Peter’s wife, later, the servant of a local government official and then woman who touched his robe in a crowd. Finally as He neared the end of His time on earth; He raised His friend Lazarus from the dead. But in this last miraculous act recorded in the Bible, Jesus paused to heal a bind beggar named Bartimaeus. This blind man had no special credentials or connections except that Jesus was passing by. That amazing hope which He found is also for anyone who has no pedigree, political connections, or friends in high places. The mercy of Jesus comes only with the requirement that, like Bartimaeus, we ask with all our heart. Jesus is as willing to stop for a jailer as for a prisoner. He hears the prayer of the surgeon as well as the patient. He bends his ear as closely to hear orphans as he does to the father of a nation. Our hope in Jesus Christ is based on one thing alone. He died for our sins and rose again. He is walking down our street, and He is still inviting beggars to come to His side in His heavenly home!

As He Died to Make Men Holy

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

This past Sunday, we closed out the July 4th weekend with the classic songs, The Battle Hymn of the Republic and God Bless America. This weekend about 80% of our crowd came in from the memory care wing, and even though they don’t remember everything the way they once did, they do know all the words to these hymns. They sing with such joy that their voices give joy and hope to everyone who hears. They remind me of Bartimaeus who If there was anyone who should have given up hope, it would have been him. He was a blind beggar and, no one would have recommended this guy to be a motivational speaker on hope. First off, his hope of a career, a family and a comfortable lifestyle were unreachable in the society of his day. On top of that, he must have had neither friends nor family, so He simply sat alone by the side of the street begging. Yet despite all that was stacked against him, Bartimaeus had hope in one thing: the mercy of Jesus. He was sure that if he could get Jesus to listen, that there was still hope. So Bartimaeus began to shout out above the noise of the crowd, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Soon the unhelpful bunch of folks around Bartimaeus told him to shut up and sit down. “Have you met any of them lately? Maybe you hoped they would be the ones to help out, but instead, these were the ones telling you to give up. You’re too old, too young, too weak, too stupid, and on and on. Oh, they might even be a bit more kind than Bartimaeus’ buddies, but in essence they are thinking the same thing, “Why doesn’t this fellow just give it up. There is no hope for him!” But don’t throw up your hands and walk away. Our God is the God of ALL HOPE and just as Bartimaeus was about to discover, He hasn’t ignored your cry for help. Jesus is listening. Jesus is calling you and wants to fill you with all hope if you will simply throw off all your doubts and fears and come. He is waiting for you today!

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 
Mark 10:47 NIV

Word Wednesday – Following Jesus

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

When I encountered this verse today, I immediately remembered the song “Open Our Eyes Lord.” It was written in 1976 by Bob Cull, became one of the favorite worship songs of the 80’s and is still famously used as the intro to David Jeremiah’s teaching. But the question put before us this morning is more than even the one that Jesus asked Bartimaeus just before his healing, “What do you want me to do for you?” Today’s challenge is, “What would I do if God helped me to see Jesus right now?” – Would I worship and be thankful? Go home and sing His praises? Or would I do as Bartimaeus did and follow Jesus along the way?