- The center of Mark holds the core of Jesus’ teachings, but it is not what anyone was expecting.
- Even today there are many who think they are followers of Jesus but don’t understand this idea.
- First and foremost the challenge is to us, to follow Jesus in this surprising way.
Play Audio:
Video cover image by Painting by Eustache Le Sueur: Healing of Blind Man
I want to read a story from Mark and see:
how it spoke to me
& can speak to you.
The Message at the Center of Mark:
Who is Truly Great?
- The Healing of the Blind Beggar - Mark 10:46–52
- The Central Teaching of Mark
- How Mark 10:46–52 speaks to us
- I’m just going to do the last 7 verses of today’s reading because we are going to see so much in it.
- First I will read it, then we will look at what is happening in this middle section of Mark, then we will come back to the passage
1. The Healing of the Blind Beggar - Mark 10:46–52
Overview of the 7 steps
- Begin with prayer
- Read through the day’s passage prayerfully
- Title
- List four or five events or facts
- Connections with previous?
- What does the passage teach?
- Message to me
Mark 10:46–52
- They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.
- When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
- Many scolded him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
- Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.”
- He threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
- Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbi, let me see again.”
- Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the road.
based on NET Bible
2. The Central Teaching of Mark
Half-Blind Disciples
Believe + Follow
- Three times Jesus states that he will suffer, be killed, and rise again
- Each time this is immediately followed by the disciples “sort of” believing,
but totally missing the idea of following Jesus by being a servant to others, showing humble service.
- Each time this is followed by some strong teaching by Jesus about humbly serving others.
Mark’s Middle Section: Believe + Follow
Mark 9 – “if anyone wants to be first…”
- …he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”
- But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.
- After he sat down, he called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
- He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them,
- “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
Mark 9
Radical removal of blocks to following Jesus
- If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, to the unquenchable fire.
- If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better to enter lifelame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.
- If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,
- where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.
- Often given as a motivation to Christians, say to not look at porn
- However wrong porn is, it that what Jesus is really saying—that we should blind ourselves?
- What is the context?
- Entering the Kingdom by following Jesus
- Be ruthless in getting rid of what is stopping you following Jesus, e.g.
- Your wealth
- Your fear of suffering persecution
- Your love of status (pride)
- Your willingness to stay with your spouse (quick explanation)
- Every time it is about having faith to drop things blocking you from entering the Kingdom
- Is is simply about a cost, not about living a life of legalism
- Even when Peter denied Jesus, he didn’t get thrown out
Mark 10 – Little Children
- Now people were bringing little children to him for him to touch, but the disciples scolded those who brought them.
- But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
- I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
- After he took the children in his arms, he placed his hands on them and blessed them.
- 10:17 Rich & Powerful man has to give up everything
Mark 10 – Rich & Powerful Man
- … “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
- …“You know the commandments: ‘do not murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, defraud, honor father and mother.’”
- The man said, “Teacher, I have fully obeyed all these laws since my youth.”
- As Jesus looked at him, he loved him and said… Go, sell… Then come, follow me.”
%They believed that being wealthy was a sign of God’s love. Being spiritual gave you access to blessings. (A kind of ancient prosperity gospel.)%
- Jesus said, “I tell you, there is no one who has left home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
- who will not receive in this age a hundred times as much… and in the age to come, eternal life.
- Jesus is replacing the 10 commandments with following him which is much more!
Mark 10 - We’re the greatest!
- Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
- He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
- They said to him, “Permit one of us to sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.”
%Can we be the two most important people in your kingdom?%
- But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I experience?”
- This is right at the center of Mark, the way he has organized it
Mark 10
Greatest = servant of all
- Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them.
- But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant,
- and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all.
- For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- If you are a follower of Jesus, you are here in this text!
- If you are not, then see how Jesus is the suffering servant, offering to serve and suffer for you!
- The condition is that you are willing to join him on this pathway, serving others and being willing to suffer.
The Message at the Center of Mark:
Who is Truly Great?
- The Healing of the Blind Beggar - Mark 10:46–52
- The Central Teaching of Mark
- How Mark 10:46–52 speaks to us
3. How Mark 10:46–52 speaks to us
- Now, finally, we have context for today’s story which closes & climaxes the central section of Mark.
Mark’s Middle Section: Believe + Follow
- A blind beggar wants to come to Jesus but they stop him—The blind man saw that Jesus is the Messiah
- Explain what is happening as we go through
- He believed and followed Jesus!!!
Mark 10:46–52
- They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.
- When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
- Many scolded him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
- Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.”
- He threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
- Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbi, let me see again.”
- Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the road.
based on NET Bible
- See the blindness of the disciples, contrasted with this beggar’s insight
- And here is the climactic message—Jesus is serving a beggar!
- This is what the kingdom is all about—serving God by serving others
- You can’t avoid this message in the central section of Mark!
Be encouraged, Jesus sees everything you do!
- If you want to become truly great, then you need to come to this Jesus as a little child rather than a self-important and self-confident person.
- Give yourself entirely to him, trusting that as you lose your life by serving in his name, he will give it back to you in true greatness.
- He sees every little thing you do for his Kingdom of Love
- This is the message that touched me so deeply and encouraged me so much this week.
- God sees and is pleased with the smallest kinds of service
- Putting out the chairs, cleaning up a little mess a child has made
- Saying hello to someone who looks lonely
- Something small, behind the scenes, that nobody sees
- God has noticed every tiny act of love & service you have done and is pleased with you!
- Don’t think you have to speak in stadiums to be great in the Kingdom!
- What God values is serving!
- Because at his heart, God is a servant.
