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+ + + In Nomine Jesu + + +
Please join me in prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Although not as often as in larger Texas cities—such as Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, or Austin—still sometimes even here in our smaller East-Texas cities—such as Tyler, Longview, and Kilgore—we may see people, maybe even blind people, sitting by the roadside begging, as Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside begging in today’s Gospel Reading. We may immediately think of ourselves as in various ways better than such beggars, but, in light of today’s Gospel Reading, this morning I suggest to you that we are just like at least Bartimaeus in three important ways: like Bartimaeus, we cry out to, are saved by, and follow Jesus. So, this morning we consider primarily today’s Gospel Reading, directing our thoughts to the theme “Bartimaeus and Us”.
First, like Bartimaeus we cry out to Jesus. We know Bartimaeus’s name means he was the son of Timaeus, and we know the name Timaeus has to do with honor. But, we do not know, for example, how old Bartimaeus was and whether he had been born blind or became blind as he got older. Regardless, back then, without the support of a family, about the only thing blind people could do was beg, ask for themselves. We do not know what Bartimaeus said to the other people who passed by or how he came to know anything about Jesus, but the Gospel Reading says that, when Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by, Bartimaeus began to cry out and to say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” We do not know who the many were who were rebuking Bartimaeus, essentially not honoring him but shaming him, nor are we told why they told him to be silent, but the Gospel Reading says that he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Bartimaeus certainly seemed to know who he was in relationship to Jesus: he was a beggar seeking mercy from God’s promised Savior!
Like Bartimaeus we cry out to Jesus, or at least we should. We may not be physically blind like Bartimaeus was, but we are sinners, like Bartimaeus was. Bartimaeus’s physical blindness may or may not have been the result of a specific sin, just as our physical afflictions may or may not be the result of specific sins, but no matter. Blindness and other physical afflictions are evidence of humanity’s fallen condition. We are sinful by nature, and so we sin by thought, word, and deed in countless—sometimes, unspeakable—ways, and, on account of our sinful nature and of all of our actual sin, we deserve death here in time and torment in hell for eternity. On our own, we can do nothing to save ourselves, for our sinful nature not only leaves us estranged from God, but our sinful nature also means that we are spiritually blind, unable to see much less to come to Jesus, apart from His first making us aware of Himself through His Word and His coming to us. But, when Jesus does make us aware of Himself through His word and comes to us, as He did to Bartimaeus, we know who we are in relationship to Jesus: we are beggars seeking mercy from God’s promised Savior! Like Bartimaeus, we call out emotionally and emphatically, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” We ask for ourselves, because there is nothing else we can do. Like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther’s so-called final words, found after his death written on a scrap of paper in his pocket, we are beggars, this is true. And, to paraphrase today’s Introit (Psalm 131; antiphon: Psalm 130:1-2), we humbly cry to the Lord from the depth of our sin, and He is attentive to and answers the voice of our pleas for mercy.
Like Bartimaeus, first we cry out to Jesus, and second we are saved by Jesus. The Son of David had mercy on the son of Timaeus! Bartimaeus trusted that Jesus was merciful and asked Jesus to be able to see. Apparently by His word, Jesus immediately gave Bartimaeus sight, but Jesus arguably also gave Bartimaeus more than Bartimaeus asked for, as Jesus told Bartimaeus that Bartimaeus’s faith had “saved” him (the English Standard Version we heard read said Bartimaeus’s faith had “made him well”, but “saved” is a better translation of the Greek word there). Right after today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus entered Jerusalem where the people who went before and followed after Him called out to Him for salvation (Mark 11:1-11), and salvation is why Jesus was there. As Jesus explained in the verses right before today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus, true God in human flesh, came to serve by giving His life as a ransom for many, that is, for all (Mark 10:45). At least three times Jesus had prophesied about His death and resurrection, and those prophecies were fulfilled. Jesus died on the cross for Bartimaeus, for you, for me, and for all people. And then, He rose from the grave.
Like Bartimaeus, we are saved by Jesus. Jesus has mercy on us: He is gracious and faithful and acts to save us. We call out to Him in faith, and we are saved through faith. In the words of today’s Verse (Hebrews 12:2a), we fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, and, in the words of today’s Epistle Reading (Hebrews 7:23-28), Jesus offered Himself once and for all and saves to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him. Jesus applied the word of His Gospel individually to Bartimaeus, and He applies the Word of His Gospel individually to us: with water in Holy Baptism, with the pastor’s touch in Holy Absolution, and with the bread and wine of Holy Communion that are His Body given for us and His Blood shed for us for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. In all of these ways He forgives our sins and so saves us, and in all of these ways He also enables us to follow Him.
Like Bartimaeus, first we cry out to Jesus, second we are saved by Jesus, and third we follow Jesus. Today’s Old Testament Reading (Jeremiah 31:7-9) prophesies of the Lord’s saving, gathering, and bringing back with weeping and pleas for mercy His people, among whom are the blind, who otherwise, by later rules based on Old Testament Scriptures, might have been kept from God’s priesthood and prohibited from entering Jerusalem (Marcus, ad loc Mark 10:46, p.759, referring to Leviticus 21:18; 22:22). By Jesus’s encounter with Bartimaeus, his crying out to Jesus and being saved by Jesus, Bartimaeus is moved from sitting by the road‑side to following Jesus on the road. Jesus told him to go, and Bartimaeus followed, apparently at least until “they” drew near to Jerusaelm (Mark 11:1). The Divinely‑inspired St. Mark’s report certainly is true literally of Bartimaeus’s following, but the report may well also be true figuratively of Bartimaeus’s following, and our following of Jesus is also figurative. We do not literally go on the way with Him to Jerusalem, but we figuratively follow Him on the way of the cross to God’s glory that for us is yet to come. We cry out to Jesus in the Service of the Word, we are saved by Jesus in the Service of the Sacrament, and we follow Jesus through this life to the next, not suffering from anxiety and distress but experiencing joy and confidence, doing good works in keeping with our vocations, not telling those begging for mercy along our way—in large or small cities—to be quiet but having mercy on them, and, when we fail, living in God’s and one another’s forgiveness.
This morning we have considered today’s Gospel Reading under the theme “Bartimaeus and Us”, and we have realized that like Bartimaeus, we cry out to, are saved by, and follow Jesus. In short, as we prayed in the Collect, the Lord has mercy on all who call on Him, and He gives us eyes of faith to see His Son that we may follow Him on the way that leads to eternal life.
Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
+ + + Soli Deo Gloria + + +