The CROSSroads: Personal Lessons from Mark's Gospel by Rev. Mitch Schultz

Updated
2001-05-26; 14:34:21utc

Lesson Thirty-three: YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO GOD (Mark 10:46-52)

"Cheer up! On your feet! He is calling you!" (vs.49)

Have you ever noticed that when you talk to your pastor after a service it may seem at times that he isn't giving you his full attention? Now before you get too hasty in agreeing with me, try to appreciate his role for just a minute. The expectation placed on a pastor to be everything to everyone can sometimes make him useless to anyone. He can fall into a pattern of speaking to someone while looking around for others to whom he needs to speak, and in the process he absorbs only bits and pieces of your conversation with him. He would hate to appear that he is leaving anyone out. So next time he is speaking to you and you notice his eyes glancing this way and that, keep in mind the pressure he is under. I know because I have been there. For this reason when someone would approach me with what would turn out to be more than a casual conversation I would either move to a more private corner or suggest that we arrange a meeting sometime during the week.

It was Charles Swindoll that gave this good advice for those moments our eyes wander when they should be fixed on the person in front of us. He gave this tip. Keep in mind that the person you are talking to right then is to you at that moment the most important person in the world. This bit of godly advice has helped me to be far more attentive to the person I am speaking to. It is also the way our Lord approached individuals.

On the particular day that forms the setting for our story in Mark's gospel, the blind man Bartimaeus was the most important person to the Lord Jesus Christ. It even appears from the details of the story that Jesus makes this trip specifically for Bartimaeus and no one else. Jericho is 14 miles from Jerusalem, which is Christ's destination on this journey (Mark 10:32). Jericho was a stopping point on a journey that would end at the cross. Mark does not tell us why Jesus goes to Jericho. No one person is mentioned and there is nothing said of what Jesus did while there. Mark merely picks up the story as Jesus leaves the city with a large crowd following (vs.49). The presence of a large crowd would suggest to us that what Jesus did in Jericho had impact, but we are given no details. It is as though this whole trip was planned solely to touch the life of one man, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus. On that day and at that very moment Bartimaeus was the most important person in the world.

Jesus, the Messiah, the son of God, creator of heaven and earth stopped on a dirt path and changed forever the life of what others considered an insignificant person. Others called him a blind beggar, but to Jesus he was Bartimaeus son of Timaeus. And at that very moment in history Bartimaeus had the full and undivided attention of the Lord. Mark explains how this comes about.

Bartimaeus (vs.47) hearing the commotion of the crowd streaming out of Jericho is told that Jesus is there. Mark tells us that "he began to shout 'Jesus son of David have mercy on me'". This call reached the ears and the heart of Jesus. You will discover in your life that when you call on the Lord, when you appeal to who he is, he will not walk on. In fact, you could safely say that at that moment you become the most important person to him. Consider these words of encouragement in 2 Chronicles 30:9. "For the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him."

The scene that follows is a touching one. Jesus stops when he hears the persistent cry of this man. The crowd, who earlier rebuked him for calling Jesus, now upon seeing Jesus' interest in him, instead cheer him on. "On your feet. He is calling you." (vs.49) Motivated by this he throws his cloak aside and rushes to Jesus. And there before the creator, he receives his sight and becomes a follower. He joins the crowd but was far more than one of the crowd to the Lord. He was Bartimaeus, Son of Timaeus, no longer just a blind beggar. Now he followed as a valuable and significant person in the eyes of the master. And so are you. So cheer up! On your feet. He is calling you!