Mark 10:17-31

17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’ ”20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” 21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” 26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”28 Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. 31 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”

Last time we saw Jesus on His journey to the cross as He crossed paths with Bartimaus the blind beggar, who boldly believed and was blessed. Now as Jesus continues His journey to Jerusalem we will see him crossing paths with a man who wasn’t blind but was still bound up. It’s here in Mark 10:17-31 that we see:

1. The seeking Ruler – VS 17

“As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem” It’s here that we are reminded of the reason for Jesus journey, to give His life as a ransom for our rebellion. We need to be careful that we don’t miss the mission, it’s all about God’s mercy to man. Jesus came to save us from our sins but we have to respond to the gift of salvation. And it’s here in the midst of the mission that we see someone seeking God’s gift of salvation. One who courageously chose to come to Christ despite what the culture would say. Now I want you to notice several things about this man, first his:

1. Position in Society

He was Rich – Here was a man who had worldly wealth, according to society he had it made in the shade. He had what many of us want and wish for, and what the world is constantly telling us we need, wealth. But despite all his money, something was still missing. Like him, we can have plenty in the bank and be spiritually bankrupt. Here was a man who suffered from the poverty of plenty, a deadly disease that is destroying us today. Because we have bought into the world’s system that says, satisfaction and security are found in the stock market and money. But satisfaction and security are found in serving the Savior not selfishly accumulating wealth. Here was a man who had everything you could desire but was destitute. He had assets but not assurance. Not only was he rich but Luke 18:18 tells us he was also a:

Religious Ruler – He was a man of high social standing and someone that would have been seen as significant in his society. This would have given him both power and position something the world constantly pushes us to pursue. Yet his high social standing did not satisfy, something was still missing. How many of us are wasting our lives pursuing a position in the hopes that it will satisfy our lives? So we sacrifice our time and our talents on the altar of ego. Giving our lives to a job instead of Jesus, because it’s more socially acceptable to sell our souls to a system that will never satisfy than it is to be sold out to the Savior. Not only was he a rich religious ruler but Matthew 19:22 tells us that he was:

Youthful – We live in a world that worships youth. Preteens dress up to look more mature, while those who are older dress to look like adolescents. We value youth because of the potential and the possibilities, what we really treasuring is time. From a worldly perspective, this man had it all, power, position, prestige, popularity, potential, the possibilities were endless, yet something was still missing. He had social success but no satisfaction. He had religion but not a relationship. He had grown tired of a legalistic, performance-driven graceless religion. That’s where some of you are at today, you have money but you are miserable. You have status be not satisfaction. You have religion but you are still restless. So what did he do, he sought the Savior. He was a truth seeker, who understood that there was more to life than just the here and now. He knew that eternity needed to be prepared for so he came to the Author of life to find the answer to life. What about you do you have the courage to come to Christ, or do you care more about the crowd and what it thinks? If you are restless today then run to Christ, He is the only cure to what your soul is craving.

Luke 18:35-43

35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. 38 So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!” 42 And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” 43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.

Once we admit our blindness and place our belief in Jesus as our only Savior and Lord, we can then be bold in our requests which then lead to the fourth thing that happened:

4 – Blessing

Bartimaeus blindness led to begging, but his belief led to blessing. In verse 42, it says, “Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.’” Here we see a spiritual principle that we should never forget, Jesus responds to faith. This is the consistent message of the Bible that we are called to respond in faith. Today instead of walking by faith we want to walk by feelings. Feelings are centered on our current circumstances where faith is centered around Christ. Why does that matter? It matters because feelings fluctuate and are fleeting, but trusting in Christ allows us to plant our feet on a firm foundation. Instead of walking by feelings and flip-flopping back and forth we are called to focus on faith and put our confidence in Christ. While Bart was cast aside by the culture He was cared for by Christ. Today many of us are more caught up in being accepted by the culture than we are in being cared for by Christ. So we cater to and clamor after the culture in the hopes that the world will accept us. But notice that it was Christ, not the crowd that accepted Bartimaeus. We need to stop wasting our lives chasing after worldly approval and start finding our approval in God’s Word. When Bartimaeus received his sight he responded with rejoicing and turned his focus to following. He marveled not at the miracle but at the Messiah. Sadly many of us today are celebrating a change in circumstances instead of celebrating Christ. We are trying to find our praise in a problem fee life instead of in the provider of life. Notice that his cry of praise was contagious and quickly spread through the crowd. His response to the Redeemer changed the culture around him, as the crowd went from shouting to singing, from animosity to applause. So let me ask you is your attitude like Bart, an attitude of adoration that changes the culture, or is the anger of the culture changing your attitude? Sadly many Christians have angry attitudes instead of attitudes of adoration because they are focused on the culture instead of focusing on Christ. As a result, they are letting the culture change them instead of changing the culture. It’s time to stop listening to the lies of the world and start listening to the Lord. We are letting man instead of the Messiah dictate our attitudes and our actions. But because Bart put his trust in Jesus he went from depending on man to being delivered by the Messiah. He went from experiencing man’s provision to the Messiah’s power, from the peoples silver shekel’s to the Providers sight. From hopeless to healed, from begging to blessing, and his blessing then led to the blessing of others as they were led into worship. What about you, is your walk with Jesus leading people into worship? Is how you are following Jesus leading others to focus on Him? Is your walk and your talk one of praise or pouting? Is the way that you are living pointing people to a life of praise or one of pity? Many of us, when faced with problems, choose to live in the pity instead of praise. As a result, our witness to the world is one of whining instead of worship. Bart could have been selfish with God’s blessing but instead, he chose to use his blessing to bless others. He recognized his blindness, exhibited his belief by crying out with boldness and then received a blessing, which spilled over into blessing other people’s lives. Bart went from a blind man to a believer. An authentic encounter with Christ always leads to change. Like Bart we will experience four changes:

A change of focus: from darkness to deliverance ­ that’s conversion

A change of direction: from sitting to serving ­ that’s discipleship

A change of purpose: from a pleading pauper to a praising prince ­ that’s worship

A change of scope: from being a beggar to being a blessing ­ that’s evangelism

Bart didn’t sit still he seized the moment and met the Messiah. Don’t let Jesus pass by and miss an opportunity for praise.  Just as the crowds tried to keep him from Jesus, so too the culture will try to keep you from Christ. Don’t listen to them, stand up., be bold and go against the grain. Boldly express your belief in Jesus by recognizing your blindness so that you can receive a blessing that will spill over into the lives of others. When it comes to the Savior where are you at today, what stage?

Blindness

Belief

Boldness

Blessing

Today Jesus is asking you the same question he asked Bart, “What do you want me to do for you?”