Learning How To Not Stay Put
Text: Mark 10:46-52
Proposition: When Jesus invites us to moments of opportunity, the time to ask, seek and knock is at hand and we must not stay put for it is His glory that is inherent in the opportunity.
Introduction: In the days before modern harbors, a ship had to wait for the flood tide before it could make it to port. The term for this situation in Latin was ob portu, that is, a ship standing over off a port, waiting for the moment when it could ride the turn of the tide to harbor. The English word opportunity is derived from this original meaning. The captain and the crew were ready and waiting for that one moment for they knew that if they missed it, they would have to wait for another tide to come in. Shakespeare turned this background of the exact meaning of opportunity into one of his most famous passages. It’s from Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene3:
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves
Is opportunity just a collection of chance driven factors, is it something we create or is opportunity more directed by the sovereign hand of God? Perhaps some opportunity is really nothing more than a temptation, some opportunity will arise from diligence but even the diligence has it’s source in the providence of God. The term ‘opportunity’ in the Scripture is the Greek word ‘kairos’ and it invariably refers to an aspect of timing not circumstance or events. When we consider it, that really is the key component, in opportunity timing is everything. The kind of opportunity that we are going to look at this morning is directly the result of Jesus timing it to be so. The details of the story focus on how a man responds to the moment of God’s timing, a moment that changed his career, his hope, his life and his belief. If something could do that for you, would you call it opportunity? What response does such an opportunity demand? Let’s look at that in Mark 10:46-52.
I. In Darkest of Circumstance Recognize That God is Near.
The darkness of blindness is only exceeded by the darkness of absolute poverty. Some researchers have concluded that the father Timaeus suffered from blindness and now his son, Bartimaeus, also had a similar condition. To beg meant that there was no family to care for you, it meant a dependence on the kindness of others in every aspect of daily life. Such absolute destitution moves you to last place in everything. Being blind only amplified this more, at least the other beggars could see who to call out to, they could pick the best places, they could move quickly when it started to rain or when the Romans rode past at a gallop. How strange that this story has at its heart a man so absolutely helpless as the one who becomes the center of God’s affection. What purpose do you see in a mighty and sovereign God picking this man, is there a living parable in this choice? Perhaps the darkness and poverty of sin needs to be seen for what it is. Sin ruins us, it causes a spiritual blindness that impairs our ability to grasp what righteousness even looks like. God picked Bartimaeus for a reason, even today some 2000 years later we are saying the name of blind Bartimaeus for a reason greater than it just being a good story. It is in the darkest of circumstances that God makes His presence known to us. He uses what we have, in this case the ears and mouth, to hear, to enquire, to cry out. He makes His presence evident and He reminds you of what you already know about Him. That’s what resonated in the mind of Bartimaeus, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by”. Did he remember the words of Isaiah 35:4,5… “Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you’. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped." Had Bartimaeus heard that in the synagogue, is that why he cried out the way he did? What have you heard about Jesus, what do you know to be true about Him? He is making His presence known to you, the opportunity to call out to Him is now. But there is a problem.
II. In the Moment of Opportunity Many Voices Will Tell You, ‘Stay Put’.
It tells us in the passage that, “many warned him to be quiet…”. This is a large crowd and they are on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Many wanted Batimaeus to stay put, to be silent. Was it that they were in a hurry and didn’t want Jesus to be slowed down? Was it that they thought this way of addressing the most important rabbi in Israel, shouting out and calling Him the ‘Son of David’, was being disrespectful? Perhaps some of the many felt that this was a blasphemous way to address the rabbi and that it would surely cause problems with the Pharisees. The Son of David was a title that was to be attributed to the Messiah, as a fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7:16. In the moment of opportunity there were many voices telling him to stay put, to be silent. In fact it even says they warned him, that is, there was an implied consequence if he did not listen to them. I don’t doubt that when we experience the opportunity of Christ that there will also be many voices telling us not to move, not to act or call out to Jesus. Some of those voices are our own, the fear of being embarrassed, the fears of losing our places of respect. Sometimes the voices come from those around us, assuring that it is not necessary to do anything only stay put and that’s enough. It may be the opportunity is for you to help another, it may be the opportunity is for you to be helped by Jesus as He forgives sin, as He restores hope, as He secures eternal life through faith in His death on the cross. In the moment of opportunity Bartimaeus was warned by many but he cried out all the more. Why? Because he was desperate for change, Jesus of Nazareth was right there and he believed that Jesus could change his world! Do you also believe this? Are you desperate for this kind of change?
III. The Greater the Perceived Opportunity, The Greater the Response To It.
It is a rare thing for Jesus to stand still, to stop. One thing became clear, when Jesus stopped, everyone stopped. Jesus commanded that Bartimaeus be brought close. I’m guessing the air was electric with excitement, why, because Jesus was about to do something and when He did it was always amazing, incredible and they were going to witnesses of it. The very voices that had warned him to silence may have now been the ones that God used to beckon Bartimaeus to the greatest opportunity of his life. Did the people perceive that there was a great opportunity at hand… absolutely, hence their enthusiastic response… “Be of good cheer, Rise, He is calling you!” Perhaps that is what evangelism really is, it’s seeing that Jesus has stopped, is commanding that these be brought near and is inviting us to be participants in the greatest opportunity that will change this persons’ life forever. Does that view of evangelism excite you, if you were standing near Bartimaeus on that day would your response have looked like that? What about Bartimaeus, did he perceive a great opportunity? Look at his response, he throws off his outer cloak. What are the chances of a blind man ever finding that again when Jesus has left and he is still blind? Was the reason he threw it aside so that he wouldn’t trip over it, perhaps. I’m guessing that he didn’t even think about it, there was something that he wanted far more. Maybe when we come to Jesus it’s like that, there’s nothing else I want more. No, change that, there’s nothing else I need more. If I have to throw aside the very cloak that kept me warm at night, Jesus is worth more. If anything is going to trip me, I’ll throw it to the side, Jesus is worth more. The greater the opportunity perceived, the greater the response to it. There’s two more things you need to see.
1. The question that Jesus asks each one of us… “What do you want Me to do for you?” Do you think it was obvious to Jesus what Bartimaeus wanted as the blind eyes sought to peer into the face of Jesus? I think Jesus knew very well what he wanted but it was key that Bartimaeus ask for it. Are you willing to ask?
2. The response of Jesus… “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” The act of asking demanded belief, in the asking God grants the belief. We know how much faith we have, but that’s not the key. The key is obedience that moves toward God trusting Him and yet appealing to Him at the same time. He extends even that measure of faith to us, calls it our faith and sets us free. Go your way. There is an amazing thing that happens when you are set free like this, you want to follow Jesus. The old cloak that would have tripped him up is left behind. He’s been set free and that freedom chooses now to follow Jesus.