Looking at Jesus the Right Way
The setting for today’s scripture is the city of Jericho, one of the oldest cities in the world. Jericho is east, northeast of Jerusalem. The Gospels of Luke and Mark have Jesus passing through Jericho on the way to Jerusalem where he will be crucified. Just before today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples for the third time about his death and resurrection, however, we’re told in Luke 18:34, “But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” In other words, they couldn’t see what Jesus was trying to show them.
August 4, 2013
Luke 18:35-43, Looking At Jesus the Right Way
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
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35 As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” 42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” 43 Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.
This is the last major healing story in the Gospel of Luke (other than Jesus healing the ear of a servant in the Garden of Gethsemane, but that was more of a quick touch up job). Jesus, his disciples, and a large crowd were at Jericho on the way to Jerusalem when a blind man asked what all the fuss was about. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Son of David” is an image of Jesus as the anointed one in the line of King David for whom Israel has waited. In other words, it was a greeting that acknowledged Jesus was the Messiah. Many in the crowd sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he wouldn’t. The crowd’s attempt to silence the beggar’s cry for help is an obstacle he must overcome. Will he quit in the face of overwhelming voices? Will he allow his blindness to cause him to despair and give up trying? Will he remain in the status of a victim defined by his infirmity? Will he be scared and intimidated into silence before Jesus?
Like the blind man, we face similar questions. We all encounter obstacles to faith that we must overcome. Sometimes those obstacles may take the form of discouragement from other people. Sometimes they may be caused by physical conditions, like blindness or cancer that limit our ability, independence, or mobility. Some obstacles may come from inside us in the form of despair, resignation, giving up hope, losing heart or failing to take the initiative to do what we still can. All these obstacles can seem like huge walls or barriers that make us feel small and insignificant and as if nobody cares. One of the inspiring aspects of the Pan Mass Challenge bike ride is how people like BBC’s Paul Goodhue, turn their grief over losing a loved one to cancer, into something redemptive – healthy exercise and purpose for themselves that also raises money to enable others to be cared for and hopefully survive. One person in our church who has survived cancer shared how walking through Dana Farber on the way to her own treatment, going through the pediatric area is a real jolt to one’s perspective. Books are one diversion for children including the wonderful work of Dr. Seuss.
Horton Hears A Who concerns the tiny citizens of Whoville whose whole planet is smaller than a speck of dust. Only Horton the Elephant, who is a Christ-like figure, only Horton hears the cries of the Who’s, and he dedicates himself to trying to protect them. No one else sees the Who’s or believes they exist or matter. Horton maintains however, that, “a person’s a person no matter how small” and that “Elephants are faithful 100%” and he will not be swayed from his belief in the Who’s or his dedication to saving them. Horton, like Christ, is faithful and, and like Bartimaeus, he is persistent. Finally, in response to the call of Horton, the Who’s cry out loud enough so that others who didn’t believe, finally hear the Who’s and their eyes are opened and their perspective is changed. Many people don’t know how hard it was for Dr. Seuss getting started as a writer and illustrator. He wrote, “Whenever things go a bit sour in a job I’m doing, I always tell myself: ‘You can do better than this.’” Dr. Seuss’s dad said, “Reach for excellence, if you don’t, you end up with schlock.” 27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss’s first manuscript, “And to Think that I Saw it On Mulberry Street.” He worked 8 hours a day, seven days a week, writing and drawing. He read 4-5 books a week. “Obsolete children” was his name for adults.
One thing we learn not only from Dr. Seuss’s Horton but also from his own life and the man in the gospel story is the importance to faith of eager persistence and taking initiative. When many people “sternly ordered him,” to shut up, Bartimaeus cried out even more loudly, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus heard him crying out and ordered the man to be brought to him. The word “ordered” is used twice – he is sternly ordered to be quiet by some in the crowd, Jesus ordered him to be brought to him; what a contrast in compassion. To Jesus a person was a person no matter how small others may have regarded him or her because of their illness or disability or poverty or education or any other condition. When we, like Jesus, treat a person as a person with dignity and value that impacts how other people treat them as well.
In Mark’s version of this story, once Jesus treats him as important, then the same people who moments before were telling Bartimaeus to be quiet, tell him, “Take Heart; Get up, He Is Calling You.” I believe these words are not just those of the crowd, I think they are an invitation to all those who hear the Gospel. Take Heart. Take heart because it takes heart, courage, and persistence to overcome the obstacles we face in following Jesus on the way of discipleship. It takes faith when loved ones die to keep on believing in God. It takes faith to keep going when we’re threatened on the journey by our circumstances. It takes heart to keep crying out to Jesus for help when others are ordering us to be silent and not to bother the Lord. “Take heart,” reflects the truth that we need encouragement in following Jesus and living life. When people are crying out for help, telling them to be quiet or trying to ignore them, as the crowd was doing to Bartimaeus, isn’t the most helpful way to respond. Being a follower of Jesus means both persisting in overcoming obstacles and encouraging others to take heart as they seek to persevere in their journey of faith as well. The encouragement to take heart can come from others.
Louise Shepherd, a pediatric chaplain in Syracuse, New York writes that she learns from the children she serves and is encouraged by them. For example, “One boy living with a chronic illness and I were playing a board game. I kept drawing cards that put me back spaces. He said to me, ‘That’s the way it is in life. Sometimes you get dealt cards you don’t like, but you have to just keep on playing.” I’m sure Bartimaeus didn’t like the cards he had been dealt, having once been able to see and now being blind, but Bartimaeus kept on playing, he didn’t quit.
Take Heart, Get up. Only Bartimaeus could decide if he was going to get up or stay down in the dust and dirt by the side of the road. Others can be encouraging us, Jesus can be calling us, but it is up to us to take the step of getting up. Like a child learning to walk, parents and grandparents can be encouraging, calling, inviting, beckoning, even pleading with her to walk, but only the child can take the steps. The third part is, “He is calling you.” Do we believe that? Do we believe that Jesus is calling us to come to him to be healed, transformed, and set on a new and the best path for our life? If we are going to answer the call of Jesus, there is a step that we all must take and no one else can do it for us. Bartimaeus gets up with enthusiasm and energy throwing off his cloak, springing to his feet, and coming to Jesus.
Then Jesus asks him an incredibly important question: “What do you want me to do for you?” Can you imagine being in the very presence of Jesus and hearing him ask you that question: “What do you want me to do for you?” Our answer to that question would be reveal a great deal about us. This is not the first time Jesus has asked someone this question. Remember we talked a couple weeks ago about when James and John, two members of Jesus’ innermost circle asked him (Mark 10:35-37), “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Jesus replied, “What is it you want me to do for you?” They asked for positions of glory and status on Jesus right and left hand when Jesus is in heaven. Their answer revealed a great deal about them. The deepest desires of their heart were not yet beating with the heart of Jesus; they still didn’t see who he truly was and what following him was all about. Though they can see Jesus, they are still to an extent spiritually blind.
Bartimaeus, though blind, sees Jesus clearly as the Son of David, as the one with the power to make him whole again. He was clear about what he wants Jesus to do for him – “let me see again,” which poignantly reveals that he once could see and now was blind. Jesus simply answers, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Throughout their gospels, Mark and Luke emphasize the relationship of faith and healing. These words spoken to Bartimaeus, echo Jesus’ words to the woman in Mark 5:34, “Your faith has made you well.” They reinforce the appeal to faith in Luke 5:17-26 where four friends bring a paralyzed man, and when Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Son, your sins are forgiven. Stand up take your mat and go home.” In Mark 9:23-24, Jesus says to the father of an afflicted boy, “All things can be done for the one who believes.” And the father of the ill boy cries out, “I believe, help my unbelief.”
In Bartimaeus, the gospels are presenting a clear picture of the attitudes and actions that Jesus calls “Faith.” Even though he has a less than complete perception of who Jesus is, after all he doesn’t know him that well yet, his crying out to Jesus reflects his understanding that Jesus is one who has both the desire and the ability to help us in our time of need. His persistent refusal to be silenced is an inspiration to overcome the obstacles to faith in our own lives that may make us feel small or unimportant. His bold and eager response to Jesus’ call, throwing off his cloak and springing up off the ground reflects an enthusiastic and energetic faith. Bartimaeus has a clear focus on the one thing he wanted most in the world, together with the keen anticipation that Jesus would grant it. The genuineness of Bartimaeus’ faith is seen in his following Jesus “on the way.” He doesn’t benefit from Jesus’ power and blessing and then go off and do whatever he wants. He follows Jesus all the way to Jerusalem where Christ will die on the cross.
This gospel story tells how one individual became a disciple of Jesus. Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus and Jesus calls him in return and he follows Jesus on the way of faith. Bartimaeus’s story is also an invitation for us to come to Jesus, it is an encouragement, whatever our circumstances to “Take Heart; Get up, He Is Calling You.”