WORD From The Woods
Mark 10:46 - 11:11
“And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.”
Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. Palm Sunday is the day that we remember the triumphal entry of the Messiah, the Savior, and Shepherd-King of His lost sheep. His sheep were lost because they were spiritually blind and unable to see in a dark and sinful world. I think this is why we find the healing of the blind man, Bartimaeus, and the Triumphal Entry of Jesus together in the same context. Jesus had great compassion for those he healed of their various physical problems, and that was part of why he healed them, but the real reason he healed so many people was to demonstrate the fact that he came to heal people's souls! He came to bring us out of spiritual death and darkness, into new life with Him! I love they way Bartimaeus calls to Jesus, "Jesus, have mercy on me," he knew that he didn't deserve healing, both physically or spiritually, but he called on the abundant mercy of the Savior. When Bartimaeus was told to stop, he persisted even louder! Jesus told him that his faith had made him well, this wasn't some healing power that Bartimaeus discovered within the depths of his own faith, but because he placed his faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone to save him spiritually. I also love his response when Jesus tells him to go his way, he immediately follows Jesus on HIS way! Jesus' way was now Bartimaeus' way! The cry of Bartimaeus was the same cry of the people of Jerusalem when Jesus entered, the people were crying out "Hosanna," which simply means, "please save us." The people of Jerusalem were so hungry for their long-awaited messiah that they called out to him with praise honor and worship, begging for him to save them! They spread out their coats and branches just so Jesus wouldn't have to ride in on the dirty streets, this was a way of honoring Him as King. I pray that we can learn to have a heart like this toward our Messiah, that we would praise, honor, and worship Jesus as our Savior and our Lord, willing to make his way our way! That we would lay everything down at His feet, longing for Him to save us from spiritual blindness! Are we willing to jump up and follow Jesus on his way as Bartimaeus did? Let this awesome account of the Savior-King coming to His people, stay on your heart and mind this week as we prepare to celebrate His death and resurrection this coming weekend.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Mark 10:46 - 11:11
“And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.”
Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. Palm Sunday is the day that we remember the triumphal entry of the Messiah, the Savior, and Shepherd-King of His lost sheep. His sheep were lost because they were spiritually blind and unable to see in a dark and sinful world. I think this is why we find the healing of the blind man, Bartimaeus, and the Triumphal Entry of Jesus together in the same context. Jesus had great compassion for those he healed of their various physical problems, and that was part of why he healed them, but the real reason he healed so many people was to demonstrate the fact that he came to heal people's souls! He came to bring us out of spiritual death and darkness, into new life with Him! I love they way Bartimaeus calls to Jesus, "Jesus, have mercy on me," he knew that he didn't deserve healing, both physically or spiritually, but he called on the abundant mercy of the Savior. When Bartimaeus was told to stop, he persisted even louder! Jesus told him that his faith had made him well, this wasn't some healing power that Bartimaeus discovered within the depths of his own faith, but because he placed his faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone to save him spiritually. I also love his response when Jesus tells him to go his way, he immediately follows Jesus on HIS way! Jesus' way was now Bartimaeus' way! The cry of Bartimaeus was the same cry of the people of Jerusalem when Jesus entered, the people were crying out "Hosanna," which simply means, "please save us." The people of Jerusalem were so hungry for their long-awaited messiah that they called out to him with praise honor and worship, begging for him to save them! They spread out their coats and branches just so Jesus wouldn't have to ride in on the dirty streets, this was a way of honoring Him as King. I pray that we can learn to have a heart like this toward our Messiah, that we would praise, honor, and worship Jesus as our Savior and our Lord, willing to make his way our way! That we would lay everything down at His feet, longing for Him to save us from spiritual blindness! Are we willing to jump up and follow Jesus on his way as Bartimaeus did? Let this awesome account of the Savior-King coming to His people, stay on your heart and mind this week as we prepare to celebrate His death and resurrection this coming weekend.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-