Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

Mark 10:46-52.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, March 29, 2020. 

Today, we have the story of Blind Bartimaeus being healed.  There are two issues at hand in this story that I would like to get out of the way up front.

First, the Gospel of Matthew relates this story and says that there were two blind men.  It does not name them, but the story is obviously the same as this one.  Some may point to this as a contradiction, but that would be superficial.  Where there are two men there is also one.  Mark chooses to focus upon a particular individual and even names him.  Perhaps Bartimaeus was well known at the time of the writing.  Matthew doesn’t focus on the individual, but rather the dynamic of healing blind men.  So, this should not be pressed as an error, only a difference in the focus of the eye witnesses.

Second, Luke records this miracle as happening when Jesus comes into Jericho, but Mark has it happening as Jesus leaves Jericho.  This is more than a difference in focus, and seems to create a contradiction.  Surely, both statements can’t be true, a person may think. 

A detective often has to deal with various eye-witness testimonies that may appear to contradict each other, even after weeding out false evidence.  The detective uses the art of questioning witnesses to ferret out what exactly they saw and didn’t see.  In this way, testimony that appears contradictory can often be explained.  Of course, we are unable to go back and question Mark and Luke, or, better yet, Bartimaeus.  Archaeologists have pointed out that there existed an Old Jericho (the city rebuilt on the rubble of Joshua’s famous battle), and a New Jericho that had been built up near it.  Herod had several palaces built there.  We see this dynamic even in our cities today.  Large projects, like international airports, require large spaces that would require the removal of vast historical areas.  This is why we see municipal districts that develop around a large project outside of a nearby city.  Thus, it is quite possible that Jesus leaves Old Jericho and heads towards New Jericho.  This would satisfy that Jesus is both leaving Jericho and going towards Jericho at the same time.  Of course, this is not completely satisfactory because it is simply a theory.  We can’t verify it by asking the witnesses.  Thus, this becomes a situation that is not technically contradictory, and yet we don’t know exactly how Luke and Mark’s testimonies overlap.

With that all said, our story challenges us with the reality that there are times of spiritual opportunity in our life.  It is as if God Himself were walking by us.  In those moments, there are things that He wants to do for us, but we must want them.  We must be seekers, knockers, and askers.  Let’s look at our story.

The beggar outside of Jericho

It has been common throughout history for those with physical disabilities to present themselves to society for charity.  We basically call this begging.  No one really wants to be reduced to such a humbling and humiliating place, but sickness, disease, and genetic problems are common in this fallen world.  It is easy to blame God for these things.  However, He did not bring these things into existence.  They are the results, or effects, of the Fall, and our rebellion against the Creator.  There was a beggar outside of Jericho, which is the last city on the Jordan plain before heading up into the hills towards Jerusalem.

Again, we remind ourselves that we are close to a week out from the crucifixion of Jesus.  He is actually on his way to give his life as a sacrifice, a ransom, for the sins of the world.  Yet, he stops at Jericho, among many other places, on his trip.  By the way, Mark does not share the story of Zacchaeus, the wee little man, but that story (from Luke’s Gospel) happens on this day as well.

A large crowd is around Jesus, and, when Bartimaeus is told that Jesus is near, he cries out.  Let’s look at what he cries.  First, he uses a title of Jesus that is used to refer to the Messiah, “Son of David!”  It is possible he has been told that Jesus is the Son of David, or he may have come to that conclusion by himself.  Many passages in the Old Testament promised that one of the seed of David would sit on his throne forever, and bring peace to Israel and the earth.  Isaiah 35:5 says, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.”  Yes, this can be applied metaphorically, but it is intended to also be literal.  You could say that the literal becomes the proof of the metaphorical meaning.  Perhaps scriptures like this are in the mind of Bartimaeus as he cries out.  He believes that Jesus is the Messiah, and if he is the Messiah, then it is possible for his eyes to be healed!  He has faith in Jesus.

In the second part of his cry, Bartimaeus begs for mercy.  This is a man who knows how to beg; he has had to beg for a living.  He has learned to be persistent and press his need.  He can’t let this opportunity pass without trying.  On this day, there is a man who can do something for him far better than plopping a coin into his hands or bowl.  He begs for mercy.  “Have mercy on me!”

Mercy is a beautiful word.  It is different than justice.  You never hear anybody begging for justice upon themselves.  We tend to beg mercy for ourselves and justice upon others.  Justice is something that we can lay claim upon.  It is what we or another person deserves.  He has to do with setting right what is morally wrong between us.  Mercy, however, is the cry for something that we don’t deserve.  It lays claim upon the character of the person we implore.  To ask mercy of a merciless man is folly, but to ask mercy of Jesus, to ask mercy of God our Father, is to ask mercy of One who is full of mercy.  You should take time to read and meditate on Psalm 145, but I will put some of its verses here.

⁴ One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.  ⁵ I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.  ⁶ Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness.  ⁷ They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness.  ⁸ The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.  ⁹ The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.

We are told that the crowd warns him to be quiet.  The word “warn” is basically a rebuke, and they are basically telling him to quit making a scene and shut-up.  In contrast to the great mercy of God, whom Jesus perfectly represents, is the crowds who couldn’t care less about this man.  Like a surging sea, the crowd is always crashing this way and that way, but generally it never crashes in the direction that God would have it go, except when He intervenes to accomplish His purposes.

There are many things that can get between us and the mercy of God.  People are one of the biggest obstacles.  It can be a large group, like this crowd, but it can also be an individual or series of individuals.  Regardless, they don’t care for your soul.  This causes you to despair and walk away from the mercy that God wants to give to you.  Listen friend, God has made mercy available for you, but you must want it bad enough not to listen to the merciless crowds, and those merciless individuals that you have encountered.  The song comes to mind:

“No man careth for my soul!,” thus cry the millions.  

“No man careth for my soul!”  O, hear their plea!  

Won’t you give your life today to spread the Gospel, 

So that Christ can save their soul and set them free?

Bartimaeus doesn’t give up, and neither should you.  He cries out to Jesus again over the top of the crowd and all of their resistance, and Jesus hears him!  O how many voices both external and internal are ripping at you constantly, telling you to shut-up, telling you to quit, telling you that there is no hope for you?  Don’t let the lies of the crowd in your life crowd you out of God’s inheritance for you.

The mercy of Jesus

In contrast to the crowd, we have Jesus who is ever merciful.  Praise God for Jesus!  Jesus tells the people to call the man and so the suddenly become very helpful to the man.  Rise up!  Jesus is calling you.  At this point, Bartimaeus throws off his outer cloak and approaches Jesus.  More than likely, he is ridding himself of this “begging cloak” in order to look more respectable before Jesus.  Yet, it seems to also represent how all of us must spiritually approach Jesus.  We must cast off the rags of our own righteousness and beg of him a truly white cloak of his righteousness.  This is the only way that we can come before God the Father, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus.  How many things we must cast aside in order to have what we need from Jesus!

Jesus asks Bartimaeus what he wants, and the answer to that question seems to be fairly obvious.  Yet, Jesus asks it.  The man had asked for mercy, which is a general request, but Jesus wants him to give voice to the specific need that he has.  Now, we must never put the things that we desire above Jesus.  If we have to choose, then we must always choose relationship with Jesus over the top of things that we may want.  Jesus also had to make such a decision as he approached the cross. In his humanity, he did not want to die on a cross, but this was the plan.  It could not change.  Thus, he chooses relationship with the Father, and all who would believe upon him, over the top of avoiding the cross.

This can put us in a point of tension.  Some people will not pray for specific things because they think it is not spiritual to do so.  They somehow see it as beneath a true believer of Jesus.  They basically teach that we should pray for God’s blessing in general and leave everything up to Him.  This may sound terrifically spiritual when we hear it.  The problem is that it contradicts the Word of God.  All throughout His Word, He challenges us to come before Him with our request.  We are told, “You have not because you as not…”  Thus, only praying for blessing in general is a mere posing, and pretentious pride.  Jesus heals, period.  Yes, he doesn’t heal everybody that we pray for, but he is still the fountain of healing.  If we don’t seek him, knock on the door of heaven, and cry out to him for a particular mercy then we may never receive it.  This tension that we live in is the tension between being persistent because you know your God is merciful, and yet trusting His answer, be it “Yes,” or “No.”  What do you really want?  And, are you seeking God for it specifically, and trustingly?

Bartimaeus calls Jesus “Rabboni,” which basically means, “my Lord.”  He hasn’t really been a follower of Jesus and a disciple on his travels, but he still dares to call Jesus his Lord.  Even if you don’t know Jesus today, he really is your Lord and savior.  He is the Lord of lords, and the King of kings.  To those who will own him as their king, He will come forth as a healing and delivering savior.  He does not reject those whom the Father brings to him.

Then, Bartimaeus simply asks for his sight.  We are not told the back story of his plight.  Was he born blind?  Did he have an accident?  How long has he been so?  There is always a great story behind all who come to Christ.  Maybe you do not feel that your story is quite as grand as a blind man receiving his sight, but it is a great story nonetheless.  In fact, in a way all of us come to Christ begging for our sight.  Oh, Jesus, this world has blinded me to the truth and I don’t know what I can trust.  Help me to see so that I can know the truth and be set free!  How bold of Bartimaeus to ask for such an impossible thing.  Let me have my sight!

Jesus tells him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.”  We should stop and recognize that what the man has done up to this point happens because he has faith in Jesus.  Do you have faith in Jesus today?  Maybe you had it yesterday, but some things have happened to rob you of your faith.  Our prowling enemy, the devil, is always looking to rob us of our faith in Jesus.  Without faith, it is impossible to please God and receive anything from Him.  Ultimately, we need our sins forgiven.  Natural sight is useless, if I don’t see that Jesus can set me free from my sins.  In the miracles of Jesus, there is always a spiritual parallel that it points towards.  We need our spiritual eyes opened to the plight of our sin and the mercy of Jesus to forgive us of our sins.  The healing of this blind man was to give hope to others that Jesus was the true light sent from the One who created eyes in order to open the eyes of people spiritually.  Oh, Church, let us not be blinded by this world!  Let us see the light of Jesus and have a faith that conquers all the obstacles in our path!

So, what is the result of this miracle, or any miracle for that matter?  All of the miracles of the Bible beg the question, “What did they do with that miracle?”  We are told that his eyes immediately opened and he received his sight.  What a moment that must have been.  Jesus had told him to go his way.  In other words, you are free to go wherever you want to go.  Is it possible that some who were healed by Jesus later fell back away from him?  It happens even today.  There are people who have had great things done in their life by God, but they are no longer following Him.  They have learned to rationalize the events and “deconstruct” them into mere reductive coincidences.  How tragic.

It is not enough to get something like a healing, financial help, a job, or wisdom about a decision from God.  If I don’t persevere through this life and remain in relationship with my heavenly Father then it is only a sad trinket that I can’t carry into the after-life.

We must not serve God in order to get things from Him.  Otherwise, we will one day part with Him when a cross stands in our path, and He is on the other side bidding us to follow.  However, let us never forget that the God we serve is the God of miracles.  A fringe benefit of following the Lord of Heaven is that He is merciful and there is no telling when He might say, “Your faith has made you well!”

Blind Bartimaeus audio

Greatness is in Serving

Mark 10:35-45.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, March 22, 2020.

It is easy in our country to give lip service to the issue of being a leader who serves the people.  Our Christian foundations have affected the ways that we talk about such things, and even the words used by some politicians to manipulate people into voting for them.

In the last sentence of the Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln challenged the nation with these words.  “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”  Our human tendency, in its immaturity, is to look for leaders who will tell us what to do and to save us from threatening conditions.  However, our country was built upon the premise of a government that is made up of the people who are governing themselves for the sake of the whole nation.  The ability of the group to govern lives or dies upon the ability of individuals to govern themselves.

The founding fathers were working off of a biblical foundation and world view.  God’s word challenges believers to walk in freedom, but not a freedom to do whatever you want.  In our passage today, Jesus teaches us how leadership should work in the Church, and it is the opposite of how this world tends to do it, regardless of what words they use.

The request of James and John

Our passage begins with a request that comes from the two disciples, James & John.  They are brothers who had been fishermen on the Sea of Galilee just like Peter and Andrew.  It is worth noting that Matthew 20:20-28 tells us that this request was actually made through their mother.  Since this is not in our passage today, I will only make a passing comment.  No doubt, James and John knew that this request was in bad taste and bad form.  They attempted to moderate its ambitious nature by having their mom ask.  However, Jesus addresses them and not their mother.  That coupled with its absence in Mark’s account tells us that everyone knew James and John were ultimately behind the request.

Their request is this.  “Grant us that we may sit, one on your right hand and the other on your left, in your glory.”  It has two parts.  First, they want to have the highest place next to him.  And, second, the time frame that they are talking about is “in his glory.”  This is directly referring to the time when he would be ruling over Israel as the promised Messianic King in what is generally called the Kingdom of God.  We would call this the Millennial Kingdom, which they thought would begin shortly.

Now, to give them some credit, Jesus had already told his disciples in Matthew 19:28 that “in the regeneration [the resurrection], when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”  So, he had already promised them a high position in his coming kingdom.  They are not content with that apparently, and desire to ask for the two top spots.

What we are going to see in this passage is that the problem is not that we might desire great positions or even to do greatly in those positions.  The real problem is that our desires are riddled with impure motives and misunderstandings of just what true greatness is.  They want the highest positions to be given to them outright before they have done anything to deserve it.  Instead of seeking to promote ourselves further in this life, we should focus on serving well in the position that we are in right now.  If God promotes us beyond that position then that is His prerogative, and if He doesn’t then we should not take it as a slight.  It really doesn’t matter what our placement in the age to come is going to be.  What really matters is our service for the Lord today.  How is my service?

Jesus prefaces his response to James and John with the statement that they don’t realize what they are asking.  When we ask for promotion, we generally only see the “good” things connected to being the boss.  Yes, we see power, authority, freedom to do what you want, people looking up to you, and a great reputation.  It is like looking at a virtuoso who plays their instrument so well and wanting to do what they do.  It only takes a week of practicing (and sometimes less) to realize that 99.9999% of us really do not want to be a virtuoso.  We tend to want the good stuff of being a virtuoso without the grueling and unrelenting practice, a.k.a. price, that goes with it.

So, Jesus gives them two metaphors to help us understand the hard part of getting those two top spots.  The first metaphor is that of a cup that one has to drink.  It is clear that he is talking about his upcoming sufferings.  In the garden on the night he was betrayed, Jesus asks the Father to take this cup away from him.  He ends by saying, “Nevertheless, your will be done.”  The picture is of a cup that is filled with suffering and you are being asked to drink it.  Most people would take a sip and cast the cup aside.  We are typically unwilling to drain it to its dregs.  However, Jesus did drink the cup to its dregs, and he asked his disciples to pick up their cross and follow him.

The second metaphor is that of something into which they need to be baptized (immersed).  This is a full body immersion into a particular pain and difficulty that goes along with doing the hard work that God has called him and us to do.  Both metaphors work together to show us the internal and external suffering that goes along with doing God’s will.

Our future kingdom rewards in the Millennium are directly related to the hardships and sufferings that we have gone through in this life in order to accomplish God’s will.  The suffering itself is not what we seek.  It is not suffering in general that gives us reward.  It is the particular suffering that comes from doing the will and purpose of God.  As we do God’s will, certain hardships and sufferings will arise up and threaten to turn us back.  Christ will reward those who press through the sufferings in order to serve his purposes.

In response to the challenge that Jesus gives to them, James and John both declare that they are able to drink this cup and be baptized with this baptism.  It is not clear just what they think this means, but even if they understood that it involved suffering, they would be inclined to think that this suffering would be very quick and the glory would come soon.  Jesus then agrees that they are right.  They will drink this cup of suffering and be baptized in this pool of suffering in following him.  Acts 12:2 tells us that Herod Agrippa had James executed and then seized Peter to do the same.  Peter escapes by the help of an angel from God.  Why didn’t James have an angelic escape?  It has nothing to do with which of them was a better disciple or had more faith.  It had to do with the purposes of God in their life.  The apostle James became the first of the 12 to be put to death for Christ.  On the other hand, the apostle John is the last of the 12 to die.  The Bible does not record his death, but we have several stories from the 2^nd century that say that there were attempts to kill John that did not work.  They poisoned him, but he still lived.  They threw him in boiling oil and survived.  Then he was exiled on the island of Patmos where he wrote the Revelation, the last book of the Bible.  His suffering was a long slow burn that was different then his brother.

Jesus ends this point about suffering by telling them that it is not up to him who gets these positions.  The positions are for those “for whom they have been prepared.”  The emphasis is not on the fact that Jesus has no say, but rather on his ability to give the positions in the way James and John are asking, as a favor.  Jesus cannot just give them out to family members or favorite disciples.  The emphasis is on how they are to be handed out.  Isaiah 11:3-4 tells us that the Messiah would not judge by what he sees or hears, but rather in righteousness.  In other words, he won’t judge like we do.  His judgments will be perfect and just right.  Thus, Jesus would not agree to favoring James and John.  Instead, they would receive what they deserved in the Kingdom.

Make no mistake.  God will reward us for our faithfulness in the face of difficulty and suffering, but let’s trust Him to make the measurement of our service and determine what it deserves.  Self-ambition can side-track the true work that must be done in our hearts in order to save people who are lost.

Jesus teaches on greatness

This sets up a situation for Jesus to remind his disciples about leadership in God’s Kingdom, whether now or in the age to come, in verses 41-45.  God does not see leadership like we do.  Our flesh gets mixed up in how we approach it.

However, let’s deal first with how the other disciples respond to this request of James and John.  They are angered, and greatly displeased.  We should stop and ask why they are angry.  If the Messiah, Jesus, only judges based upon righteousness and doesn’t play favorites then what do they have to fear?  I believe that they are angry because they desired the same thing and were afraid that the audacity of James and John just might secure the positions for them.  Their own sinful flesh is annoyed at the thought that those two might get ahead of them.  They knew that it wasn’t right to ask for such things, but in their hearts, they still desired it.

We need to stop such nonsense.  Promotion is not all that it is cracked up to be.  The more people you are called to lead the harder the burden is upon your shoulders.  We should neither shrink back from promotion out of fear or laziness, nor should we grasp at it out of selfish ambition.  Let’s simply trust God to direct our lives into the positions that he has for us, both in this life and in the next.  He is just and does all things well.  We should not wrestle against one another like these disciples were doing.

In verse 42, Jesus then points out how the Gentile leaders act.  Yes, they exercise authority over their people, but the operative phrase is, “Lord it over them.”  It is the idea of dominating and bringing those under your authority into subjection.  It is a heavy-handed leadership.  This tends to be the case among the nations because they didn’t have the teachings of God’s Word and such leadership tends to be very productive and focused.  It often gets results in this life.

This is not the kind of leadership that God wants among His people, both in this life and the life to come.  In fact, let’s remember that God Himself is not nearly as heavy-handed in His leadership as people often like to accuse Him of being.  He gives us room to repent and choose how we will live our life.  He wants us to choose love and service to Him freely, rather than to be subjugated into such roles.  Sadly, many leaders of the Church today and throughout history have failed in this respect.  Many of the great leaders throughout history are not great in God’s eyes.  They failed miserably to demonstrate the image of God to those they were tasked with leading.  We must not look to the greats of this world to determine how we should lead the Church of Jesus.  We must look to the greatest leader, Jesus.

Jesus counters the Gentile-way with how it should be among the Church.  Those who want to be great must become a servant.  Jesus had already told them this back in Mark 9:35 when he brought a little kid in their midst.  They had been arguing that day about which of them was the greatest, that is deserved the number one spot next to Jesus.  In our passage today, they have not learned their lesson, clearly.

Those who want to be great in the Kingdom of Jesus, both now and in the Millennium, must become a servant to everyone else.  Instead of using your position to build your reputation and personal kingdom, you must always recognize that you are not a god to the people you lead, but rather you are to represent “The God of Heaven” to those you lead.  You are to be a servant, not just to God by doing His purposes, but also to individuals by meeting the needs in their life that God sends you to meet.

The phrase that has been connected to this teaching is “Servant-Leadership.”  Among Christ’s Church, this is the only leadership that is acceptable to him because it is the only leadership that truly reflects him to believers and the world.  Christ has made you free, now use your freedom to serve your fellow man in regards to God’s purposes in their life.  Whatever level of leadership you have, parents with children all the way up to denominational leaders to their churches, we must learn to reflect Christ in our leadership.  The children and the people are not yours to do with what you want.  They belong to God and you will be rewarded or not for how you led them to walk in their own freedom before God.

In case this point hasn’t hit home, Jesus uses himself as an example.  Everyone agrees that he should get the first place, but how did he get first place?  How did he lead.  The Father didn’t just give it to him because he was his favorite son.  Jesus earned first place by coming down, humbling himself, taking on the nature of a man, and becoming a ransom for you and me.  Some people have rejected this notion of Jesus being our ransom because they think it sounds barbaric and uncouth.  Why can’t God just decree that we are all saved?  Such a question goes to the heart of the issue and why we tend towards totalitarianism instead of freedom.  Humans are always looking for techniques and tools to bring the world around them under their desires, but God simply serves people with the things that they actually need, and not to manipulate them.  Instead, He is willing to suffer in order that we might be free to choose life or death.  Choose life this morning and not death.  Put your faith in the one who has paid the ransom to free you from sin and judgment.  Become a follower of Jesus today if you aren’t already, and learn from him what it means to be great in God’s eyes.

Greatness is in Serving audio

Jesus Foretells His Future a Third Time

Mark 10:32-34.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, March 15, 2020.

I am always a bit leery of using the word “foretell” with Jesus or his prophets because it has connotations that are more associated with fortune tellers and those who try to predict the future.  Jesus, however, was not a skilled fortune teller, nor was he a skilled political analyst who was able to see what would happen in the future.  Rather, Jesus is telling them before hand what will happen in the future because he and the Father have discussed this in heaven.  Jesus had come down as the One and Only Unique Son of God.  It was the plan of God for the things we will discuss today to happen.  This does not mean that God is forcing the wicked players involved to do what they do.  Instead, God incorporates their willful rebellion into His plan.

In Mark’s Gospel, he wants us to be clear that Jesus knew that the events leading up to the crucifixion were coming.  Jesus had taught his disciples that rejection was part of God’s plan.  Though the leaders of Israel would cast Jesus aside, The Father would overrule their decrees.

Let’s look at our passage today.

The last march up to Jerusalem

Mark 10 begins a transition in the book.  It opens in verse 1 telling us that Jesus was in the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan.  In these verses today, they are on the road to Jerusalem.  At the end of the chapter, they will be in Jericho.  Thus, they are somewhere between the other side of the Jordan and Jericho at this point.

Mark 11 opens with the Triumphal entry, which occurs less than a week before the crucifixion.  This is how close we are in this passage to the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Mark tells us in this passage that the disciples are amazed and that they are afraid.  They are afraid because Jesus is going up to Jerusalem and the religious leaders were trying to get Jesus.  This is interesting because the disciples believe to things that are in tension with one another.  On one hand, they are finding it hard to believe that the Messiah would actually be killed.  Yet, on the other hand, they are definitely afraid of the intentions of the religious leaders.  This is not a contradiction.  The tension is between what they believe should happen, according to the prophecies about the Messiah, and their knowledge that the very powerful leaders are seeking to arrest Jesus and perhaps them.  The Gospels all tell us that Jesus warns his disciples multiple times about his coming death, and many people were warning them that the religious leaders were out to get them.  So, this explains their fear, but what is amazing them?

In contrast to the disciples, we are told that Jesus is leading in front of them.  He is purposefully headed towards Jerusalem and they are amazed at his fearless approach to the city that held so much danger for them.  Jesus is not sneaking under the cover of darkness, nor is he keeping a low profile (at Jericho he heals the blind Bartimaeus).  He is not leading from the back of the group, or from the center as an attempt to protect himself.  Rather, he is leading in front of them, like a true Captain of our salvation.

Of course, I use that terminology because the writer of Hebrews 2:10 gives this image to us.

“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

Jesus was a fearless leader because his relationship with the Father was inseparable and without doubt.  He marches in front of us, even today, but not so much in front that the weak are left behind.  Thus, we see Jesus sensing their fear of what lies ahead, and yet their amazement at his bold march towards certain trouble.  He stops and takes time to speak to them about it.

Sometimes those who lead into difficult times or circumstances are not so noble in their leading.  It is easy to mislead people regarding what lies ahead in order to get compliance or quell panic.  Some may even keep those they lead completely in the dark.  Jesus was not this way.  He is being truthful and honest with the disciples about the difficult things ahead.  Yet, he is taking time to bring them along.  He is modeling for us what it means to carry your cross and follow God’s plan.  No, it is not easy on our flesh, and yes, we must take time to pray and encourage ourselves in what God would have us do despite all of the fearful things that we may see around us.  We also see him modeling how those who are strong in faith should come alongside of those who are not, and encourage them in marching towards the plan of God.

I want to tell you today that Jesus knows your fears about what lies ahead.  By His Holy Spirit, He is marching ahead of you to lead you to the Father, and to perfect that work of God within you.  However, he will stop from time to time in order to draw you near to him and speak the truth to you in love.  Hard times lie ahead, but fear not!  Jesus is with us, even unto the end of the age!  Let us not forget that our Lord has not abandoned us, but that he is marching in front of us.  We can trust his plan because he has proven his heart on the cross.

As I said, Jesus doesn’t sugar coat what lies ahead.  This is the third time that Mark describes Jesus telling them about his coming death and resurrection.  More than likely, Jesus had more than these 3 discussions.  Here is a breakout of what Jesus told them in those discussion.

We see that in Mark 8:31 Jesus references 3 main events.  He will suffer many things, which is only detailed by being rejected by the elders.  Then he will be killed, and after that on the third day he will rise again.  We are therefore given a three-stage outline of the events ahead.  His suffering, his death, and his resurrection.  In Mark 9:30-32, the same three stages are outlined, but now we are told that part of his suffering will be in a betrayal.  It is one thing to be rejected by the leaders who never liked you, but betrayal involves someone that is close to you.

In Mark 10:33-34, we again have a reiteration of these three stages with more detail on his sufferings.  He would be betrayed to the chief priests, condemned to death by them, handed over to the Gentiles, mocked, scourged, and spit upon.  This is a pretty detailed list of just how bad things were going to get.  Jesus does not mention what will happen to the disciples here, but they cannot say that he never warned them.

Many Christians around the world today are having to deal with the reality that their future involves many such sufferings, and even the threat of death.  They have to choose whether they are going to follow a Lord that leads them into such difficult and impossible circumstances, or turn back.  We live in a part of the world where it is much easier to follow Jesus.  There are no literal crosses and prison cells directly in our path, but we do see around us a world of chaos that doesn’t know its right hand from its left.

I want to encourage us, but not by sugar coating what lies ahead.  I want to encourage us, but not by freaking out and shouting, “Run for your lives!”  No.  There are many things ahead that you and I will have to suffer.  We don’t exactly know what those things will be for us.  However, Jesus will lead us, and teach us, and give us strength.  He will bring us along until that day that we too breathe our last and leave this earth.  It most likely won’t be on the third day after our death, but we too will rise again.  This is God’s promise to all those who put their trust in Him.  This is our glorious hope.  Do not look to the wisdom of this world to lead us into peace and safety, or to chart a path into a better world.  Yet, do not surrender to fear and desperation.  Our God has a plan through all of this.  He will not abandon us, even though we may face a martyr’s death.  We will rise again, reign with Him, as God fulfills His promise to all those who have waited for Him in trust!  Let’s rise up, follow Jesus, and trust in Him no matter what lies ahead!

Jesus Foretells His Future audio

How Many Camels Can Fit through a Needle?

Mark 10:23-31.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday March 01, 2020.

In our passage this morning, we have the famous statement of Jesus that involves a camel going through the eye of a needle.  It is given right on the heels of the rich young ruler whom Jesus challenged to sell all his possessions and follow him.  We are told that the young man went away sad because he had a lot of wealth.  We should have that young man walking away from Jesus dejected in our minds as we hear these next words from Jesus.  The young man wanted eternal life and Jesus told him what he needed to do to get it.  Yet, he balked at such a drastic action.

I would like to deal with the idea of a camel going through an eye of a needle up front, so that we can focus on the main point when we get to it.  I am sure that needles and their holes were larger due to the technology employed.  Regardless, it is my contention that Jesus intended this to be a statement of impossibility.  Over the years, various ideas have surfaced as to alternate meanings.  All of them reduce this from a statement of impossibility to one of great difficulty. 

The most famous attempt involves a gate into Jerusalem called the camel gate.  It was apparently so small that the only way a camel could enter is to be unloaded and to crawl on its knees.  This is a great image for coming to Jesus.  However, the problem is that there is no first-hand evidence that this is true.  The Bible makes no mention of such a gate, and the earliest reference to such a gate that scholars have found is somewhere in the 10^th or 11^th century AD.   This gap of a millennium should cause us to balk at jumping on the camel gate band wagon.

Others have pointed out that the word for camel is just one letter different from a word for a rope made from camel hair.  Of course, there is no evidence that any manuscripts used this alternate word.  It is nothing but speculation that cannot be put forth as the true interpretation.

It seems obvious to many others that Jesus is employing simple hyperbole.  Camels going through the eye of a needle is impossible pure and simple.  Just like the Pharisees straining out gnats and swallowing camels, the absurdly impossible is used to press a point that we won’t actually believe or take seriously.  Let’s look at our passage.

It is hard for the wealthy to enter into God’s Kingdom (23-27)

The rich man may still be in their sights as he trails off over the horizon.  Here, Jesus uses the moment to teach an important thing to his disciples.  Jesus makes a statement that it is hard or difficult for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.  I believe that Jesus is connecting the Kingdom of God back to the young man’s desire for eternal life.  Though they are two different concepts, they are very connected.  Those who have eternal life will participate in the coming Kingdom of God, in which the Messiah of God rules over the earth from Jerusalem.  They are one and the same.  We are not just talking about a reward here, but, even more foundational, also salvation.  This is a statement of difficulty that catches the disciples by surprise.

How can it be difficult for rich people to be saved?  They had been taught that good Israelites would be blessed by God with wealth.  Of course, they knew that wicked people could be rich, but our context is about an Israelite who has been observant of the Law of Moses his whole life.  Surely, the wealth of such a man was proof of God’s blessing, favor, and salvation.  This man is the poster boy for what all religious Israelites of the time would aim to be.

It is definitely easier for our age to swallow this statement.  We might be some of the first to say, “Right on Jesus.  Give it to those 1%-ers.”   Riches add temptation and hindrances to our hearts and minds that the lack of them do not.  Yes, riches can be a boon in life, but only if you aren’t a slave to them.  This is much easier said than done.  It is sad that many Christians in the West believe that they will be wealthy if they are truly pleasing God.  We must be very careful about such notions because Jesus never said that.  Yet, Jesus doesn’t stop there. 

They are amazed with this statement, so he turns around and gives them the statement again.  This time Jesus emphasizes that trust in riches is the problem.  As he said elsewhere, it is hard to serve wealth and God.  One of them will win your heart, and you will despise the other.  Our treasure is where our heart lies and the rich tend to have their heart in the wealth of this life.  They trust in riches in the way that they should be trusting in God.  They may desire eternal life, but they are unwilling to divorce their heart from their riches in order to come into relationship with the God of heaven.  Thus, Jesus has made a similar statement of difficulty regarding the salvation of rich people.

If Jesus had stopped here then it would have been a remarkable lesson to absorb for these first century Israelites.  However, Jesus then gives a metaphor that compares something that he has said is difficult to something that is basically impossible.  This is the metaphor of the camel.  A rich man being saved is not just a little difficult.  It is more difficult than a camel going through the eye of an actual needle (no one said the camel had to survive the experience).    That degree of difficulty can only be described as impossible.  Is Jesus really saying that it is basically impossible for rich people to be saved?  Yes, I believe he is.  Hang with me if you can.

We see Jesus using hyperbole in many places.  He told the Pharisees that they swallowed camels as a picture of the size of the false teachings that they had accepted all the while straining out, or rejecting, the smallest of deviations from the Law.  Yes, in the natural swallowing a camel is impossible, but theologically these Pharisees were doing it every day.  We are not intended to minimize the hyperbole, but rather see the contrasting items in a greater light.  The Pharisees were not just a little bit wrong.  They were hugely and absurdly wrong.  There is a part of us that laughingly thinks that we would rather take our chances when it comes to riches.  Like Topol in Fiddler on the Roof, we are tempted to state that if riches are a curse then may God smite us with it…and may we never recover!  Such things make for a humorous play or movie, but this is no laughing matter.  Jesus intends to put the fear of God in his disciples. 

Do I actually believe that being rich makes it so difficult to be saved that it is basically impossible, statistically a zero chance?  If it sounds shocking to you then you are in good company.  The disciples are even more amazed than before.  They whisper among themselves, “Then who can be saved?”  It reminds me of the time that Jesus taught on divorce.  By the time he was done, they were exasperated and stated, “If that is the case then it is better not to marry!”  Even religious communities can inoculate us to the pure or raw truth of God.  The teachings of their day pointed to the rich observant Israelite as a success story.  Were not the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob wealthy men?  Did not the Law of Moses promise wealth and bounty to Israel when they obeyed God?  Yes, all of these things are true.  Yet, we might ask ourselves this.  Did Abraham trust in his riches and cling to them rather than follow God?  Did his riches mean more to him than a relationship with the God of heaven?

It is similar to the wisdom of Solomon.  Many things that seem to be a blessing in this life only add a bigger burden to our task.  If your mission is to enjoy life the most you can then maybe riches can help.  However, if your goal is to come through this life with the assurance of eternal life then many things that we call blessings are actually making it harder.

The point is not that we shouldn’t have wealth or even wisdom.  Rather, we must be wide awake and alert to the difficulties that they present to us.  Jesus gives an answer to the question they are asking (that is, who can be saved), which seems to end up with the answer, no one.

It is interesting in verse 27 that Jesus doesn’t say, “With rich men this is…”  Yes, it can be assumed, but I believe he makes it general on purpose.  It seems that he is expanding the point of salvation being impossible for the rich.  We all have hindrances to trusting God, whether rich or not.  Is grasping hold of eternal life impossible for us as humans?  Our modern sensibilities want to jump in and say, “Of course not!  Don’t worry.  God has made a way.”  Yet, Jesus would rather that we face the hard facts first without mitigation.  The answer is not to diminish the difficulty of salvation by pointing to the grace of Jesus.  Rather, the answer is to absorb the revealing of just how impossible salvation is so that we can then see just how amazing grace is.  If sin is no big deal and if salvation is easy then the grace that God gives us is also no big deal.   No one can save themselves.  It is impossible.  You can do good works until you are blue in the face and it won’t fix your problem before God.  In the end, you will still be a person in love with things of this world more than God.

Jesus then turns the shocking statement on its head.  With God all things are possible, even the impossible.  If I am in relationship with God then my impossible situation now becomes possible.  This is a huge problem.  The average person on the street who isn’t a believer thinks that they are good enough that God sort of owes it to them to let them into his kingdom.  Sadly, many Christians today have an extremely low view of the grace of God because their view of sin is depraved.  God by definition is great at dealing with impossible things.  The Old Testament is full of impossible situations that God made possible.  Thus, salvation takes an intervention from God Himself, and even then, He only makes it possible.  Jesus had made salvation possible for the rich young ruler in that moment, but he went away sad that he couldn’t have eternal life and his love of wealth.

Yes, salvation is as simple as yielding to Christ, and yet as difficult as parting with all your wealth, or parting the Red Sea.  It is a spiritual work that will never happen without the help of God Himself.  Our story is about rich people, but they are not the only ones who find it difficult to obtain eternal life.  Be careful that the things of this world do not get between you and Jesus.  You can be sure of your eternal life, but it won’t be without its difficulties of dealing with temptations and getting rid of things that hinder your relationship with your Father in heaven.

The disciples had sacrificed things to follow Jesus (28-31)

True to form, Peter speaks out about their own condition.  They had left their various lives in order to follow Jesus.  Matthew 19:27 adds the question, “What will we have?”  Up until now, they had been talking about eternal life and participating in the reign of Jesus upon this earth.  Peter wants to know if they will be rewarded for leaving all of their stuff to follow Jesus.  Apparently, he had never thought of that as something righteous.  He had done it for various reasons, but some of it probably had to do with their fascination that the Messiah might actually be here!  They had unwittingly done the most important thing, which is often the case when we simply listen to the Spirit of God.

Jesus makes it clear that those who lose something in this life in order to follow him will be rewarded.  It is important to recognize that only 12 disciples were called to live with Jesus and follow him around all the time.  However, to believe in Jesus, to hear the call of the Holy Spirit, is every bit as real today as it was then.  I am going to have to let go of things in order to follow Jesus, and not just wicked things.  Many good things will have to be left in our wake if we are to stay fixated on trusting the word of Jesus and living the life that he has called us to live.  Yet, notice that Jesus is not promising them only “pie in the sky.”

He gives a list of things that people might have to leave behind in order to follow him: a house, or brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, a wife, children, or even lands.  The list is made of things and close relationships.  The point is not that you must leave your wife to follow Jesus, but that your choice to follow Jesus may not be reciprocated by your wife.  She may try to dissuade you, or hold you back.  She may even lay down an ultimatum, me or this Jesus you want to follow!  What a difficult decision to make, and yet it has happened many times over throughout history.  Oh, how many times family members have thrown down the gauntlet and said, “If you walk out that door to follow Jesus then you are no longer related to me!” 

The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 mentions the case of having an unbelieving spouse.  He counsels the believer to do their best in order to remain in the relationship, short of turning away from Christ.  There is nothing righteous about leaving people behind for selfish motives.  People leave spouses every day in order to follow their flesh. However, Jesus says “for my sake and the Gospel’s.”  That is the key.  We often do the unthinkable by sacrificing things and relationships to follow after sin and pleasure.  This is not that.  This is the choice that must be made when those things present themselves as obstacles to following the commands of Jesus.  An unbelieving spouse is not an obstacle to following Christ, unless they give an ultimatum.

Jesus states that these things and relationships that we lost will be obtained many times over in this life.  If you lose your parents to follow Jesus then you will find many spiritual parents in the group of his followers.  If you lose your job, house, or land (yes, this happens in many places throughout this world) then you will find a community of believers that will love you, shelter you, help you find work.  You will not necessarily own these things, and you will still need to keep your trust in Jesus, not Christians whom you think should give you something.  May God help us to learn to be a better family, a family that is motivated by the Spirit of God.  We are intended to be a blessing to one another in this life.

They will also receive eternal life in the age to come.  This may sound like a lesser prize in comparison to the earlier large list.  Yes, there is a reward in this life, but an even greater one in the life to come.  We will participate in Christ’s rule over this earth and we will have eternal life!  Incidentally, in Matthew 19:28, Jesus tells the 12 disciples that they will judge the 12 tribes of Israel, during the Kingdom Age.  Wow!  Now that is a promotion, from Galilean fisherman to leader of one of the tribes of Israel.  We, of course, do not have a specific word regarding our station and reward in the coming Kingdom.  However, that pales in relation to the fact that we will have eternal life with the One who is the author of eternal life, in fact who is eternal life itself.  What is important is that we will have come out the other side of this side road of obtaining the knowledge of good and evil.  And, in that moment, we will have healing from all that sin has done to us personally, and to us as a human race.  We cannot know the full freedom that we will experience in that moment, as we look at a whole world of endless possibilities and no wickedness in sight, both without and within!  Praise God for His indescribable gift!

Our passage ends with a proverb or adage that points out that many who are first in this life will be last in the age to come, and many who are last in this life will be first in the age to come.  If you were to poll the Israelites of the first century as to who would have the greatest reward, their list would look a certain way.  However, the real list will be created by God.  God does not judge by mere appearances.  By mere appearance, the rich man was high on the list, but his response to Jesus proves that he was not nearly as high as others would think, and even dangerously near the edge of missing out completely.

We must be careful of our judgments about how great people are.  We do not often judge the same way that God judges, nor can we.  Rather, we should let such things go.  I must quit worrying about what I am going to get, and simply work to be faithful to what the Lord is giving me to do today.  Learn to enjoy the work of God that is in front of you.  The work of the future will also have joys, but I needn’t worry about it when I am in relationship with the One who is eternal life itself.  Hierarchy in this life is fraught with impure motives and desires.  In that life, we can’t imagine what it will be like when your eyes are wide open to the evils of sin, and your flesh is not tainted by rebellion.  Oh, what a day that will be!

How many camels audio