Wanting Jesus
065 Wanting Jesus
Mark 10:46-52
August 23, 2026
One of the things we have noticed about Mark’s style of writing is that
He likes contrasting examples.
· As he makes his points over and over
· He likes to share stories that serve not only as miraculous events,
· But which also serve as examples of what he has been writing.
For example.
Mark used a deaf man as an analogy for the deafness of the crowd, even of the disciple’s deafness.
Mark 7:33-34 “Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”
Mark used a blind man as a rebuke of the blindness of the crowd, and even the blindness of the disciples.
Mark 8:23 “Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”
When the disciples argued about who was greatest, Mark contrasted them with a child.
Mark 9:33-37 “They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, “Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”
When salvation was the topic Mark contrasted children with the Rich Young Ruler.
· Jesus said that the kingdom belonged to children
· And then we watched the young ruler walk away without it.
Mark likes to help you see the message through contrasting examples.
TONIGHT we get another one.
Tonight Mark further exposes the foolish ambition of the disciples
By giving a contrasting example
And he writes in such a way so as to make sure you and I see it.
Do you remember when James and John approached Jesus?
Mark 10:35 “James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”
And Jesus response:
Mark 10:36 “And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
Now look down at verse 51 and you see
Jesus asking the exact same question.
“What do you want me to do for you?”
That’s NOT a coincidence.
Mark is making a point.
Where James and John got it wrong,
This blind beggar gets it right.
AND THAT IS WHY THIS STORY IS SO IMPORTANT.
It helps us understand the bigger point.
· It helps us understand the main message.
· It helps us understand Jesus and what He desires.
We have two separate people approaching Jesus with a request.
· The disciple’s was wrong and we saw that.
· This blind man gets it right, let’s look at his.
I’ve called this sermon “Wanting Jesus”
Because that’s the clearest clue I know how to give.
And as we look at this contrasting example,
We each put the question on the front of our minds: What do I want?
And perhaps a follow up – Why do I think I should get it?
SO LET’S EXAMINE THIS FAMOUS STORY.
I hope you already realize, as is common,
That Mark gives his own unique set of details;
Excluding some and adding others.
And we point out again that it is because Mark is making a point.
· It’s not just a historical account, it’s a spiritual point to be made.
For example,
· Matthew reveals that there were two blind men.
· But neither he nor Luke reveal the name.
Mark focuses only on one of the blind men,
And gives details about his response that none of the other give.
Mark is making a point.
Well let’s start simply with the scene.
(46) “Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.”
You already know where Jesus is traveling.
· He’s come south from Galilee into Perea
· He is now leaving Perea and headed into Judea, specifically to Jerusalem
· He has crossed back over the Jordan river and he comes to Jericho.
Jericho is 14 miles from Jerusalem and it is a 3,000 ft. climb in elevation.
· The trip is said to have taken roughly 6 hours.
· It’s the same sketchy patch of road where the man was robbed and the good
Samaritan helped him.
It is the type of intimidating journey that inspired the Psalmist to write Psalm 121,
Which is “A Song of Ascents”.
· A Psalm for people to sing as they contemplate and make such a difficult and
dangerous journey.
Psalm 121 “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.”
That is the trip Jesus is about to make.
(And then when He gets there He’ll be crucified)
“And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.”
It is a pretty graphic description that he is called “a blind beggar”.
It is about as helpless and hopeless a condition as existed in Israel.
· The blind couldn’t really do anything but beg.
· But even that was a challenge since most people believed blindness to be an indication of sin and one being accursed by God.
Remember even the disciples in John 9
John 9:1-2 “As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”
Then you add that
· Bartimaeus says later that he wants to “regain” his sight,
· Indicates that he wasn’t born blind,
· But rather that he later became blind either through disease or injury.
· The people would have been even more convinced of his curse.
· This man is helpless & hopeless
He is sitting by the road in Jericho
· Because he knows that many caravans will pass by this way on their way to Jerusalem for Passover
· And what better time to appeal for charity than when people are traveling to seek God’s favor?
You already understand him to be a PICTURE OF LOSTNESS.
He represents every “poor in spirit” beggar
Who would ever come to Jesus.
But Mark does something even more peculiar here.
Mark gives his name.
“named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus”
There is only one reason for Mark to have done this,
And that is because he was likely known by the church.
And we’ll see why that matters in a moment too.
BUT THERE IS THE SCENE.
1. Jesus is heading to Jerusalem to be betrayed, condemned, mocked, scorned, beaten, handed over to Gentiles, crucified, and raised from the dead.
2. Bartimaeus is sitting by the road hoping for any compassion he can find.
And we tune in to see what happens.
What I want to do tonight is look at this story and examine Bartimaeus.
· You already know he’s going to be healed.
· You already know he’s being used as a contrast to James and John.
I want to look at Bartimaeus and see what was so special
That Mark wanted to focus on him,
Even ignoring the other guy who was also healed.
There are 4 things I want to point out about him.
#1 HE WON’T BE SILENT
Mark 10:47-48
Bartimaeus is just sitting by the road.
He’s likely got his cloak spread out in front of him like an open guitar case
For people to drop their alms as they pass by.
And then we read:
(47) “When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out…”
It is obvious to us that Bartimaeus had heard of Jesus.
Even earlier in Mark’s gospel we read:
Mark 3:7-8 “Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him.”
· Jericho is in Judea.
· Bartimaeus had heard of this man.
What is interesting is that
· He was told is that “it was Jesus of Nazareth”,
· But when Bartimaeus starts crying out he says, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
That is a Messianic title for sure.
It is a recognition that Jesus is
The line of David and thus the coming King.
That means that some time in the past
· Bartimaeus heard about Jesus,
· Made up his mind about Jesus,
· And must have wondered if the day would ever come when he would get the
chance to meet him.
One can only imagine how many people walked by him on the way to Jerusalem and told him that he should go find Jesus.
WELL HERE IS HIS CHANCE!
I can’t help but think again of the text we studied Wednesday night with the youth:
Hebrews 3:7-11 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. “Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways’; As I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”
It’s a passage that speaks of opportunity.
“Today if you hear His voice…”
· What if today you get the chance to hear from Jesus?
· What if today you get the chance to cry out to Jesus?
I’m sure Bartimaeus had thought about this day many times,
AND HERE IT IS!
Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”
· Now is the time!
· Now is his chance!
So Bartimaeus does the only thing he can do.
“he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
· He just starts screaming!
· He just starts yelling!
I think here of that mother from Syrophoenician Woman
Matthew 15:22-23 “And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.”
That’s what Bartimaeus is doing.
· If he could have run up to Jesus like the demoniac and bowed before Him he would have.
· If he could have snuck into the crowd and touched the hem of his garment, he would have.
· If he could have been lowered through the roof, he would have.
But the only thing he can do is make some noise
And make sure Jesus hears him.
So Bartimaeus starts yelling!
And that’s a good plan!
Romans 10:11-13 “For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
He’s going to scream until Jesus knows he’s there
And hope that Jesus will come and find him.
He even gets rebuked for all the yelling.
(48) “Many were sternly telling him to be quiet…”
I hope you pick up on Mark’s familiar point there too.
Mark 10:13 “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.”
Bartimaeus is getting the same bad advice that the Sidonian woman received and that the parents of all these children received.
Someone told him to stop crying out for Jesus.
That’s bad advice and Bartimaeus ignored it.
“but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
And to that we simply ask this question.
HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT JESUS?
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Jeremiah 29:13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
We know our culture.
· We know what a Good Friday crowd will do in order to get a deal on flatscreen TV.
· We know what a fan will do to get an autograph from a professional athlete or musician.
· We know what a spectator will do to get an official’s attention when they feel they’ve been wronged.
How badly do you want Jesus to see you?
How badly do you want Jesus to hear you?
How important is it to you that He notice?
AND REALLY THAT’S NOT EVEN THE RIGHT QUESTION,
Because that question is predicated on a couple other questions.
We might first be better to ask, How bad is your current condition?
And do you think Jesus can fix it?
That is perhaps the more pertinent question.
· Do you find your current condition to be lamentable?
· Do you think Jesus can fix it?
Bartimaeus wanted Jesus
Because he believed Jesus could fix his miserable condition.
When we don’t seek Jesus it speaks volumes
About what we think of ourselves and what we think of Him.
· It reveals that we think we’re ok where we are.
· It reveals that we don’t think Jesus can do anything to make us better.
Not Bartimaeus.
· He won’t be silent!
· No one can stop him.
· He is going to get the attention of Jesus!
· This is his opportunity and he is seizing it!
He won’t be silent
#2 HE WON’T BE SLUGGISH
Mark 10:49-50
Incidentally, the end of verse 49 and all of verse 50
Is more information that only Mark gives.
But first we read “And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.”
I find that very interesting.
The man is blind, that’s the whole reason he’s just sitting there yelling.
· But Jesus doesn’t go to him.
· Jesus calls him.
If Bartimaeus wants an audience with Jesus,
He’s going to have to get up, face the darkness, and go to Jesus.
And what I love about this information that only Mark gives is that
At this point Bartimaeus gets some great advice from someone.
“So they called the blind man, saying to him “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.”
That again is NOT just random information from Mark.
Remember when Jesus walked out on the water to the disciples?
Mark 6:50 “for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.”
There is that same phrase.
“Take courage”
The NIV translates it “cheer up”,
But the word literally means “be courageous”.
That is to say, “What you fear has been conquered, now overcome it!”
What did Bartimaeus fear?
· Not getting Jesus’ attention
· Not being heard
· That Jesus might pass him by
What anxiety there must have been in Bartimaeus
That he might not get his chance to talk to Jesus,
But someone in the crowd tells him to put his fear aside.
JESUS WANTS TO SEE HIM!
And the response of Bartimaeus is overwhelming to the senses.
It’s like a climax moment in a movie.
(50) “Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus.”
Why does Mark mention that?
Listen, that cloak is all he had.
· It was his bed, it was his blanket.
· It was his means of receiving donations.
But the problem with that cloak is that
It was going to take him a minute to gather it.
· It was going to take him a minute to gather the coins off of it.
· It was going to take him a minute to figure out what was what and how to put it on.
THE RISK is that if he fiddles with that coat too long
He might miss his opportunity.
So he doesn’t even bother!
He throws it aside and jumps up
And starts heading in the direction of Jesus.
THIS IS MY CHANCE TO BE DELIVERED
AND I’M NOT GOING TO MISS IT!
Mark 1:17-20 “And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.”
Mark 2:14 “As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.”
WHAT AN EXAMPLE!
How many today, when Jesus calls,
· First want to go home and check with their friends,
· Or want to first collect their inheritance?
How many today, when Jesus calls, first want to do other things?
It is called PROCRASTINATION.
It is called NEGLECT.
Luke 14:16-24 “But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’”
Or we talked about it Wednesday night with the youth.
Hebrews 2:3a “how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
Those who neglect salvation.
Seen in the other parable of Jesus:
Matthew 22:1-5 “Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” ’ “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business,”
What a mistake!
WELL THAT WAS NOT BARTIMAEUS’ MISTAKE!
There was no neglect in him.
· He was getting to Jesus if he lost everything.
· He was getting to Jesus running along in the dark.
· He was not sluggish about it.
· When the opportunity came he took it!
Today is the day of salvation.
NOW is the chance.
If Bartimaeus doesn’t get up and run to Jesus now,
The next time he hears about Jesus
Will be from the returning crowd
That will tell him how Jesus was killed in Jerusalem.
Don’t be sluggish when Jesus calls.
He won’t be silent He won’t be sluggish
#3 HE WON’T BE SHY
Mark 10:51-52a
Here we come to that verse which is purposely highlighted by Mark.
That identical question that Jesus previously asked James and John.
“What do you want Me to do for you?”
Can you imagine Jesus asking you that question?
It pulls my mind back to Solomon
1 Kings 3:3-5 “Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what you wish me to give you.”
What an opportunity.
“What do you want Me to do for you?”
This is the question that the disciples got wrong,
But Bartimaeus will get right.
Now you’ll remember that James and John asked to sit on His right and on His left in His glory and He redirected their focus.
He told them, “You do not know what you are asking.”
AND IT’S VERY EASY TO JUST ASSUME
That Jesus refused to grant their request
Because of their selfish ambition.
But then we come to Bartimaeus.
Jesus asks him the same question and he says, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!”
Incidentally, Bartimaeus called Him “Rabboni” (rah-ba-NEE)
It was the same thing Mary will call Him in the garden after He is raised.
It means “master, chief, prince”.
We like the honor and submission implied in that greeting.
But we also notice that Bartimaeus request
Doesn’t seem any more spiritual than that of James and John.
“I want to regain my sight!”
· We certainly don’t blame him for asking that.
· We have all made similar requests of Jesus.
But how is him asking for sight any different
Than James and John asking for seats of glory?
They can both seem a little self-serving if we want to analyze it hard enough.
But unlike James and John,
Jesus immediately grants the request of Bartimaeus.
(52) “And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight…”
What was so right about Bartimaeus request that was so wrong about the request of James and John?
Why was he instantly granted what he wanted but James and John were immediately corrected?
Here is where we find the point that Mark wants to make
By putting both stories side by side.
Here is where we find
· A greater understanding of the gospel
· A greater understanding of what Jesus came to do
· And a greater understanding of what it means to follow Him.
And the clearest view we have of the difference between the situations
All boils down to one little word… “mercy”.
James and John asked based on merit.
(They asked for what they thought they deserved).
Bartimaeus asks based on mercy.
James and John made an appeal to justice.
· That Jesus would give them what they had clearly earned.
Bartimaeus made an appeal to mercy
· Believing that Jesus would give him what he did not deserve.
That is why Jesus makes the statement that makes all the difference.
“your faith has made you well.”
Jesus spotted faith in Bartimaeus.
The request of James and John had nothing to do with faith.
· It was all works, it was all merit
Bartimaeus came asking for mercy
And believing that Christ would give it.
And I hope you realize that about God.
We talk a lot about God’s justice and holiness
And perfection and even judgment.
But I hope you also understand how much God delights in mercy.
I have always loved the account when Moses wanted to see God’s glory and God told him that He would first hide him in the cleft of the rock.
· But before God passed by, God first announced His coming.
· This is how God announces Himself.
Exodus 34:6-7 “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
He is a God who delights in mercy.
Psalms 34:18 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalms 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.”
Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”
And certainly the same is true of Jesus.
Mark 2:17 “And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
He delights in mercy.
Bartimaeus clearly believes that Christ is merciful
So when Christ asks him what He wants
Bartimaeus is not shy in asking for it.
I want mercy.
I want you to restore my sight.
And Jesus did!
But that’s NOT THE FIRST thing Jesus did.
Before Jesus restored his sight, Jesus first saved his soul.
Jesus said, “Go; your faith has made you well.”
“made you well” is (SODE-ZO)
Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Mark 8:35 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
Mark 10:26 “They were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?”
That’s been the whole point of the conversation hasn’t it?
How do sinners get saved?
· Jesus said if you lose your life you will save it.
Do you see Bartimaeus throwing his cloak aside
and running to bet it all on Jesus?
Jesus saved him for that.
And then Jesus restored his sight.
THE DISCIPLES WERE MISSING THAT POINT.
They were still stuck in this “Look at what we did by leaving everything, now give us the best seats in the kingdom” mentality.
THAT IS WRONG.
We come as beggars for mercy
And when we do we are not disappointed.
The disciples are still learning the gospel,
Bartimaeus seemed to already understand it.
He won’t be silent He won’t be sluggish He won’t be shy
#4 HE WON’T BE STAGNANT
Mark 10:52b
“and began following Him on the road.”
Saved and now a follower.
And apparently a faithful one since Mark named him as one the early church would clearly recognize.
He had stuck with Jesus.
He was following Jesus.
· No bantering over greatness.
· No jockeying for position.
· Just following Jesus.
And the first place Bartimaeus went was up that 3,000 foot, 14 mile climb to follow Jesus to the place where He would be executed.
The road alone would stop most of us.
Bartimaeus us a great example of a man who simply wanted Jesus.
Not power, not glory, not authority, not fame, just Jesus
DO YOU WANT JESUS?
Then you follow his example.
1) CALL ON JESUS
2) RESPOND TO JESUS WHEN HE CALLS
3) BELIEVE IN JESUS, THAT HE IS MERCIFUL AND ABLE
4) FOLLOW JESUS
It’s pretty simple, but it’s the point of Mark.
Philippians 3:17-21 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”