{"id":786664,"date":"2012-09-10T14:55:14","date_gmt":"2012-09-10T14:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/?p=786664"},"modified":"2012-09-10T14:55:14","modified_gmt":"2012-09-10T14:55:14","slug":"bartimaeus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/2012\/09\/10\/bartimaeus\/","title":{"rendered":"Bartimaeus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Mark 10:46-52<\/strong>\u00a0&#8216;Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, \u201cJesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!\u201d Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, \u201cSon of David, have mercy on me!\u201d So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, \u201cBe of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.\u201d And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, \u201cWhat do you want Me to do for you?\u201d The blind man said to Him, \u201cRabboni, that I may receive my sight.\u201d Then Jesus said to him, \u201cGo your way; your faith has made you well.\u201d And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Consider what life must have been like for a blind man back in Biblical times.\u00a0 There were no social services or therapies that gave someone a chance to thrive in society. Their life was one of hardship and survival, begging for your daily bread.<\/p>\n<p>Bartimaeus lived near Jericho, which was 15 miles northeast of Jerusalem.\u00a0 The road between the two towns was well traveled, and it was on this road that Bartimaeus was begging.\u00a0 He probably heard the rumblings of the travelers and the excitement building.<\/p>\n<p>As Jesus passed Bartimaeus, he yelled out, \u201cJesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!\u201d\u00a0 Imagine the tone of his shout out.\u00a0 His persistence; his desire to have Jesus hear him.\u00a0 Even when others tried to quiet him, Bartimaeus shouted all the more.<\/p>\n<p>Bartimaeus had never seen Jesus, literally or figuratively, but he new Him by reputation and trusted that Jesus could heal him.<\/p>\n<p>Questions to consider:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In our hardship and trials, do we \u2018shout out\u2019 to Jesus?\u00a0 What is our tone?\u00a0 Is it one of urgency and persistence?<\/li>\n<li>When someone tries to quiet us, do we stop or do we cry out all the more?<\/li>\n<li>Do we trust Jesus even though we have never \u201cseen\u201d Him?\u00a0 To trust Jesus means we need to know Jesus, or know of Him.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The beauty of this story for me is two-fold: that Bartimaeus trusted Jesus to heal Him, and when Jesus called to Bartimaeus, he threw off his garment and joined Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>The throwing off of the garment is often mentioned in sermons and studies.\u00a0 I have read that the government would issue a cloak to beggars.\u00a0 It served as their identity as a beggar and also provided protection against the dust and elements of sitting on the road.<\/p>\n<p>Throwing off the garment (the beggar\u2019s cloak), symbolizes leaving the past behind and following Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0 We all have a beggar\u2019s cloak to some degree or another.\u00a0 Something that defines us and limits us outside of God\u2019s plan and desire for our lives.\u00a0 Trusting in Jesus and the Holy Spirit\u2019s guidance in our lives, allows us to throw off our garment.\u00a0 What is your garment?\u00a0 Are you ready to throw it aside?<\/p>\n<p>I love it that Bartimaeus threw his garment aside <strong><em>before<\/em><\/strong> he even received his sight!<\/p>\n<p>Jesus said to Bartimaeus, \u201cWhat do you want me to do for you?\u201d Of course Jesus knew what Bartimaeus would say, but Jesus wanted him to speak out loud his request.\u00a0 That is what Jesus wants us to do as well.\u00a0 He knows our hearts.\u00a0 He knows our pain.\u00a0 He knows our hardship.\u00a0 He knows our strongholds.\u00a0 Still, He tells us to come to Him and tell Him our wants, needs, desires, plans\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Matthew 6: 8-13 \u201c<\/strong>Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need<strong> <\/strong>before you ask him. \u201cThis, then, is how you should pray: \u201c\u2018Our Father in heaven,\u2028hallowed be your name, your kingdom<strong>(J)<\/strong> come,\u2028your will be done,<strong> <\/strong>on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.<strong> <\/strong>And forgive us our debts,\u2028as we also have forgiven our debtors.<strong> <\/strong>And lead us not into temptation,<strong> <\/strong>but deliver us from the evil one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jesus prayed.\u00a0 We are to pray as well.\u00a0 This creates a trusting dependence and deeper relationship with God.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Jesus said to Bartimaeus, \u201c<strong><em>Go your way<\/em><\/strong>; your faith has made you well.\u201d\u00a0 Where did Bartimaeus go? Jesus\u2019s way\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Song of the Day:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=km63bQinoJk\">&#8216;Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus<\/a>\u00a0A hymn sung by Casting Crowns<\/p>\n<p><strong>Side note:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(From Wikipedia) &#8220;&#8216;<strong>Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus<\/strong>&#8221; is a popular\u00a0Christian\u00a0hymn\u00a0with music by\u00a0William J. Kirkpatrick\u00a0and lyrics by\u00a0Louisa M. R. Stead. The lyrics were written in 1882. They appeared in Stead&#8217;s\u00a0<em>Songs of Triumph<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>It is said that Louisa M. R. Stead wrote the lyrics after she watched her husband drown and die.<sup>[<em>citation needed<\/em>]<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Story behind the song.<\/p>\n<p>According to the story: It was a beautiful sunny day. Louisa M. Stead, her husband, and her daughter Lily, decided to go for a picnic. They went picnicking on Long Island Sound. While having their picnic, the Steads heard a scream. It was from a young boy. Mr. Stead ran to the rescue. Louisa Stead and young Lily watched helplessly as Mr. Stead and the boy drowned. Their troubles were not over yet, however, and without her husband, Mrs. Stead became very poor and destitute. Yet God never left her. He provided for her always and she and her daughter made it through. Louisa learned to trust God, and thus the words to the song &#8216;Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.&#8217; Shortly after this incident, Lousia and her daughter Lily moved to South Africa where they became missionaries. The song is included in many hymnals and has been recorded by many artists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mark 10:46-52\u00a0&#8216;Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, \u201cJesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-786664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal-reflections"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786664"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":786665,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786664\/revisions\/786665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}