Transcription
Today I want to speak to you about one of the most inspiring testimonies in the gospel. I want to speak to you about the story of a man named Barmeus. And this story, that is found in three out of the four gospel accounts, is one that is filled with so much suspense, a roller coaster of emotion, so much comfort. Yet, at the same time, in that comfort, conviction and challenge. But more importantly, this story that's going to be declared is no fable. It is not a parable. It is a true event that took place in the life of a real man, and one that has been preserved for us because it is absolutely loaded with soul-saving, heart-sanctifying truth.
For those who have been in the church long enough, that name Barmeus rings a bell. You've probably even heard about him in Sunday school. But I got, I got to tell you though, I've known the name Barmeus for a long, long time. It wasn't until studying it in depth where I fell in love with this man. I do have a personal list of people that I really want to meet and have lengthy conversations with in heaven. And after this week, Barmeus made the list. This man is indeed inspiring, as you're about to discover. And I invite you to turn with me to Mark chapter 10, beginning in verse 46, to read of this man's testimony. And after reading it, to get a complete picture of it, I want us to look at six observations, six specific observations that make this story so inspiring. And from here, perhaps the testimony of Barmeus may cause a testimony in your life. We have some visitors here today. So glad to see visitors here today. I don't know where you're at with your walk with Christ, but if you don't know Christ, you come to the right place for the right Sunday afternoon. And for those who know Christ and have walked with Christ, Barmeus still has something to offer you in your walk with the Lord.
Let's read together beginning in verse 46. "And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Barmeus, a blind beggar, the son of Tmeus, 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's 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."
Lord, by thine eternal Spirit, dwell in our hearts. Reign in our hearts. Empower our hearts. We want to know you. We want to love you more. And we want to be like you. May this message today help us achieve that in Jesus' name. Amen.
I told you that we're going to look at six things from this inspiring story. And hopefully, these things will help you remember these points. Very simple. I'll try my best to have them all start with the same letter. The first thing that I want you to observe with me in this story is the place, the place of this miracle. We are told in verse 46, "And they came to Jericho." They came to Jericho. Different gospel accounts are more specific about where in Jericho, but the consensus is there. It was in the area of Jericho. Now, Jericho, like the name Barmeus, is very familiar to most Christians. It is the city that was first conquered by Joshua and the Israelites upon their entrance into the promised land. It was a type of first fruits of the reward and the promise that God gave to that generation of Israelites. And Jericho was achieved by way of a very unique miracle, one that demanded strange, but faith nonetheless. A strange method, but it was one that would cause them to trust in the ways of the Lord, encircling this place several times until the walls would come down and they would have the hearts of these people in fear, causing them to lose this battle.
But what many people who, in understanding the general history of Jericho, fail to remember is that this very same city, that is a demonstration of what faith can do, is also a city that has been cursed. Jericho was a city that had a curse attached to it. And the reference to that is in Joshua 6:26. And you don't have to turn there, but let me read to you what this leader of these people, Israel, said concerning Jericho. He had said, "Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates." Here was the curse, a divine curse. Anybody who would try to resurrect the city would experience a curse. And this curse was fulfilled. This prophecy was made known in the days of King Ahab, where a man named Hiel of Bethel rebuilt this city, Jericho, at the cost of the life of his first son, Abram, and at the cost of the life of his youngest son, Segub.
And the reason why I'm bringing this to your attention is because in a place that has been associated and identified with God's displeasure, you have He who is greater than Joshua coming through to do what? Reverse some curses. That's what we're going to read with Barmeus, right? Here's this man Barmeus, who is one who is suffering with one of the outcomes of the fall, sickness and disease. And here he is with a lifelong, here blindness. It's permanent. It's real. It's dark. It's affected his way of life. And now Jesus is going to come on the scene in this place called Jericho. And He is going to deliver this man from the ramifications of what our first parents had done.
What about Zacchaeus? You know Zacchaeus, right? You sang some songs about Zacchaeus as a younger child. You probably memorized those songs. Did you forget that Zacchaeus was a man, a little man who climbed a tree? Where was that tree? It was in Jericho. We're told that Zacchaeus, in Luke's gospel account, met Jesus around the same time as Barmeus meeting Jesus. It was on that same trip. And so you have Zacchaeus, who also was delivered, but in a different way, from the grip of greed and pride. And this man would experience salvation in his home because of He who is greater than Joshua. Jesus is the great reversal. He's the great deliverer of any curse. He defeated the curse of death. He defeated the curse of sin. And Christ has the power, not only then, but even today, to deal with and to heal and to restore us from the consequences of sin, the ones that you and I observe and maybe experience every single day. This is the place where Jesus is going to perform this remarkable, inspiring act of grace and mercy. It's the place.
But then we have to go from the place now to the second observation. And that's the person. And the person I'm referring to is the person Barmeus. He's not named by Luke. He's not named by Matthew. He's named here by Mark. And it could be that because Mark's readers might have been familiar with Barmeus, Barmeus might have been a disciple to Mark's audience that they would have known. And Mark here, in telling us about Barmeus, goes even further because Matthew tells us of the same miracle, but Matthew highlights two blind men who call out to Jesus for mercy. Do we have a contradiction here between Matthew's account and Mark's? No. We just have a strategy. All Mark is doing is highlighting one of the two, perhaps the leader of the two, perhaps the more vocal one, Barmeus. And so he wants us to keep our attention on this one particular man. It doesn't negate the fact that Jesus healed two of them. But Mark goes even beyond giving us the identification of this man. He tells us of the occupation of this man. Read again with me in verse 46. "And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Barmeus, a blind, not just a blind man, a blind beggar." And so this man had two unfortunate realities that he had to endure and manage. So he was blind, that's one thing, but he wasn't from an affluent family. He wasn't being taken care of. His situation brought him to the point where all he could do to survive another day was succumb to being on the side of the road and hoping that people would dispense crumbs of mercy. No security, no safety, no immediate sense of love, no sight on top of it. This is a man who ranks high in the category of misery. This is a man who is suffering in ways that perhaps you and I cannot even fathom or imagine.
And your hearts may pity for Barmeus as you're hearing about him. And they should. We should feel compassion towards this man. But let our hearts feel compassion for another group of people even more than Barmeus. The type of people who are defined by the word of God in the same way as Barmeus, but don't even realize it. Blind and bankrupt, spiritually blind and poor in the soul. The Bible describes people as such. They are plagued by this. In fact, this is anybody who is outside of Christ. Barmeus here, although he suffered physically in this way, although he was destitute and his vision was impaired and his pockets were only filled with lint, this man, what he was physically, he was not spiritually. You're going to discover that though he was blind, he could see better than most people. And so if your heart wrenches for anybody, let it wrench for those who may have their eyes and who may have a full cover and may have a comfortable bank account, but cannot see and do not know the riches that Christ provides. They're everywhere. We might have some here today. And they were there even in the days of Jesus. There was a group of them who were known as Pharisees. These men, though they had so much going on for them, were in fact blind. Blind in the way that you don't want to be blind. Blind in the most important part of your existence. Bankrupt where it matters the most. And Jesus actually calls him out on that.
And I want you to turn there with me in John chapter 9, after Jesus healed another man who was blind, born blind. On top of it, He takes that understanding of blindness and He uses it as a metaphor for spiritual blindness and He tells the Pharisees this, who are obviously near. In John 9:39, Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things and said to him, "Are we also blind?" I have a feeling they didn't say that with humility. "Are you calling us out again, Jesus? Are you saying we're blind?" And look what the Lord says in verse 41. Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt." Read slowly. Read your Bible slowly. "If you were blind, you would have no guilt." But now that you say we see, your guilt remains. That's profound. So let's understand it more carefully. What Jesus is saying here is, if you were blind, you would actually be free from guilt. Implying what? What He's saying is this: If you were to be among those who admit to their blindness, to their lack of insight and understanding of true spirituality, if you were to come to that place and humbly confess, you don't see as you ought to see, then you would have no guilt, because upon that confession, I would heal you and I would open your eyes. And in opening your eyes, you would see who I am. And in seeing who I am, you would see me as the great eraser of your sins. But because you're not blind and confess that blindness, because you actually admit that you see when you don't really see, your guilt remains. So in your self-confidence, in your confession that you actually perceive things to be true, you are actually condemning yourself and your guilt is still on you.
Here's how Jesus, based on this, defines spiritual blindness. It is anybody who claims to define Christ outside of how He defines Himself and who possesses a worldview that contradicts that of Christ in His word. Anybody who redefines Christ or changes His word or disagrees with His word concerning what has been made known is a person who is spiritually blind. They are impaired in their vision. So any person outside of Christ, any person who does not have the testimony, "Jesus opened my eyes. Now I know what truth is." Such a person, who even claims to see and have answers and have a worldview that might be popular or shared, such a person, according to the Bible, is blind. And that is something to be heartbroken over, because physical blindness may cause some difficulty in this short life. Spiritual blindness will cause you to be in darkness for eternity.
And so we look at this man and we see that he is blind, that he is a beggar. But we come to the third observation concerning his life. Not just the place, not just the person, but the perception. The perception that Barmeus had. So now we come here again to verse 47. "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.'" So now, with no eyes to see, he begins to sense something that is unusual. He's been on that roadside every single day. He lost count of the days that he has been there begging. And now he hears a multitude. He hears this parade and he goes, "Something is going on here." So he inquires and he asks, and somebody had the grace enough to actually give him insight into what is taking place. But I want you to see how Luke records it. Go to Luke and you see this parallel account in chapter 18 and verse 36-37. I think there's an insight here about how the people identify what's taking place and then how Barmeus responds to it. In Luke 18:36, "And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told them, 'Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.'" Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. But how did Barmeus identify Jesus? He didn't say, "Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on me." No, he said, "Jesus, what?" Son of David. The crowd identified Him as Jesus of Nazareth. That's where He grew up. That's where He's from. But Barmeus saw something that most people did not see. He's not just from Nazareth. He's a descendant of David. He's not just from Nazareth. He's the promised Messiah. He's not just from Nazareth. He's the one that we've been longing for and waiting for. "Jesus, son of David."
You know what's so shocking about that? Barmeus never witnessed a miracle, did he? He couldn't have. Barmeus could not witness the sinless life of Jesus. Barmeus simply heard reports, and that was enough for him to believe that this was the Messiah. So limited in so many ways. And again, we might feel pity for this man. But let me ask you this question: Who deserves more pity? The one who could see all the miracles of Jesus? The one who could attest to the fact that he has not transgressed in one single way? The one who sat underneath His authoritative teaching and preaching and felt the power of God search through their hearts as He expounded to them the things of God? The one who experienced all of that and yet still not believe? Or the one who could not even see what was right in front of his face, who could not even fend for himself and make a living for himself, and yet could realize that this is the Son of God? Who do we feel bad for more? Not Barmeus. Definitely not Barmeus.
Not only did Barmeus rightly identify this man, Christ Jesus, he also perceived—we're talking about his perception—he perceived the absolute value of this moment. What was this man's occupation? He was a beggar. And if you're going to do well as a beggar, you're going to need people to beg. And so I want you to imagine this. Think slowly about this whole event. Now you have this man who is a beggar, who is a needy pauper, who is again dependent upon those to extend some kind of grace. And though this man could not see much, living on the side of the road, he developed the ability to know when people were coming by, to know when somebody was passing through. And now, in this particular day, we read that there is what? Look at verse 46 again. It was not just Jesus with His disciples going through Jericho. A great crowd. A great crowd passing through Barmeus's neighborhood. You know what that means for a beggar? Cha-ching. That's what that means. More people. More people to beg to. More people to beg to. More opportunity for them to give me a payday that I haven't seen in a while. That's what you have here for a beggar. A beggar. A beggar who doesn't know how he's going to make it for tomorrow. That kind of a beggar. I'm not talking about the poverty that we see here in the West. A real poor person that would weep if you extended a baloney sandwich to them. This is the kind of beggar that we're seeing before us. And now we see this, this great procession. He hears it. And what do you think would stir in his heart in that moment? Oh, perhaps as a beggar, "Please help. Extra shekels, please, for a poor blind beggar. Please, please." Nothing of the sort. This man does not take advantage of the opportunity at hand. Instead, upon learning that Jesus was leading this procession, he says, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Have mercy on me."
You know what Barmeus could see? What most people can't see when they hear the gospel and they're not saved. The opportunity that they have right in front of them. And you know why most people can't feel the urgency about knowing that Jesus is before them in the truth and that they can experience Jesus? Because you, like Barmeus, perhaps are occupied by something else. Because you're living with this ambition and this opportunity and this idea of tomorrow and what you're going to build for yourself and what you want to accomplish. And so when you hear Jesus in the crowd, you're more concerned about the opportunity for yourself than the greatest opportunity that can be given to you in the person of Christ. You know what's so amazing about Barmeus? Something that you need to hear very carefully, and you're going to wonder why, perhaps from this pulpit, you hear so much urgency. Barmeus, if he did not cry out to Jesus in this way, would never have been healed from his blindness. Saying, "What do you mean?" I'll tell you why. Because where is Jesus headed to? Look at Mark 11 in the next chapter. If you have the ESV, then you'll see three words. This is not divine inspiration. This is just added to our Bibles to try to make sense of context or give us an idea of what's coming next. The triumphal entry. Jesus is now ready to enter into His final week before heading into the cross. To the cross. He's never coming back to Jericho. He's never going to make his way back here. This is the final trip before He goes to Calvary. Barmeus, I'm not sure if he understood the events that were about to unfold, but he didn't need to. He knew that this time could be the last time, and so I must respond now. "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me."
And why that moves me, again, I'll get to it in a moment, but it is this is why Barmeus is someone that I've fallen in love with. Because of years of preaching the gospel and pleading with people that Jesus is here and He can be received and He can touch your life, I have rarely seen the response that Barmeus gives. And for some people, it's because they're convinced that you can just set a future appointment and when it's convenient for you, you will meet with Jesus and He will do what you really want you to do, right? Like as though you're doing Jesus a favor. But the reality is, whether it's your first time hearing about Jesus and what He can do in your life, or the hundredth time, you can never determine when the last time will be. You can never determine that. And if you are a person who knows that they have not surrendered to Christ and are comforting yourself by entertaining the idea that you can postpone this, and if you choose to ignore this because of other things that are preoccupying you, then realize that like Barmeus, this could be your very last time. That's not manipulation. That's reality. And what manipulation? What is this in for me? This is for your soul. So he didn't just understand the identity of Christ. He understood the value of this moment. Christ is here, that I must call upon Him now, for this could be my last time. He may never come by this way again. Do people feel that way when we present the gospel to them? Look, I can't control how people feel, but I have the control of how I deliver that truth, right? So the duty here of a preacher is to make people feel the urgency of the moment, whether they're comfortable with it or not. The reality is this: it could be your last time. It could be your last time. I know you're young, and you have strength, and you have energy, and you have plans, and nothing will interrupt those plans. You'd be shocked to know how over the years, young people who had so much looking forward to could not, because they're six feet under as I speak. He perceived not just the person, but the moment.
But then we go from the perception to the fourth point, and that's his persistence. This is where Barmeus is recognized for who he is. He calls out in verse 47. He asks for Jesus, the Son of David, to come, and we read here in verse 48 the response of the crowd. "And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me.'" If you're a person here today who will make an opportunity out of this moment and say, "You know what? I think I'm going to actually pause on any other opportunity, any other appointment, even if it's flashing before my eyes. What I perceive from this moment is that Jesus is here. I'm not right with Jesus. I have to get right with Jesus." You can expect Jesus to do a work in you. But you can also expect, what we see here with Barmeus, obstacles, hindrances. And in this case, it was a crowd. And not just a crowd, it was many from that crowd. And many from that crowd were telling him to shut his mouth. They rebuked him. Who knows what was going on through their minds for them to rebuke this beggar? What were they thinking for them to say? Maybe they thought that Jesus had no time for this beggar. Maybe they realized that Jesus was on his way somewhere, and so they didn't want this beggar to stop this. Maybe they had their own desires and wants, and they saw that this beggar was going to interrupt that. We're not told explicitly what it is. But the reality of this opposition is something that you can apply universally. When a person decides to call upon Christ, when a person realizes the need for their soul to be saved, when a person, even who is saved, but wants to grow in their zeal and their passion for the Lord, you can expect some level of opposition. And that's what this man is experiencing here. His zeal is there. His passion is there. And you wonder, what is it? What is it that's going through the minds of these people? But one thing is for certain: he's a person that's going to get what he's asking for, no matter what. Whether people agree with him or disagree with him, it does not matter.
And I find it fascinating that you can be just about as passionate about anything in this life, and you can be deemed as industrious and passionate and hardworking, but when it comes to spiritual things, we're so quick to say, "You're a fanatic. You're a fanatic." You've probably heard that because you go to more than one service a week. "Is this really necessary?" You've heard this because what? You're so committed to Christ. It's not just an Easter-Christmas thing. You live the same. People, people don't usually praise you for that. They tend to condemn you for that. I've seen in my own life. I've seen young people come to Christ, people who are in bars and clubs till who knows how late into the mornings. And here they are at church, and they stay late. And the parents are complaining that they're staying up late at church, but they had no complaints when they were in the bars and the clubs downtown. Where was, where were your complaints then? It's just amazing how twisted this mind is. It's amazing that this man is calling upon Jesus for mercy, and you have the crowd saying, "Be quiet. Zip it, Barmeus." But look what Barmeus does. You already read it with me. He hears these people. He doesn't even address them. He just amplifies his voice. "So many rebuked him." And what does he do? He cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me."
You know what's so interesting about this? Not only did his enthusiasm remain, but the way he identified Christ was not altered either. You know, it could be that some of the people that rebuked Barmeus were bothered by the fact that he was identifying Jesus as what? Son of David. Maybe they didn't like that either. "Hey, he's Jesus from Nazareth. Keep your mouth shut. We don't know if he's the Son of David yet." And Barnabas doesn't even see it, doesn't even consider it at this point. He just needs a touch from the Lord. And that's all he's concerned about. So, who knows what all these people are saying? Who knows how they're trying to calm him? "Jesus, Son of David." You know what that's a picture of? When you believe the truth, expect there to be opposition from the majority. And what Barmeus is showing here is that his theology was not altered by the pressure of the crowd. Don't call that sin, call it something else. You know what the spirit of Barnabas would teach us? You stay your ground and you say it as it is. You can't say that about Jesus being the only way. Jesus is the only way. You can't say that about the culture. You can't say that about this particular group of people. You can't say that about this. You can't say it about. And here's Barmeus saying it the way he said it before. When there wasn't opposition, when there was opposition, he didn't falter. He didn't bend one bit. I love Barmeus. We can use a few Barmeuses on the pulpit. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Don't say that. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." I'm not changing for anybody. This is true, and that's all I care about.
And look what the persistence rewarded Barmeus. Look at verse 49, very slowly. The first three words. "And Jesus stopped." Through all the hustle and bustle, right? Through all the people crowding around Him and all the overwhelming noise, something pierced through the atmosphere and stirred the compassion of the Savior. Jesus, who was on His way with His face like flint towards Jerusalem, stopped walking. Imagine the sight. People have gathered their pace and their rhythm. And through all the muffling, all you hear in the distance is, "Jesus, Son of David. Jesus, Son of David. Be quiet, Barnabas. Enough." "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." And Jesus stops. And when He stops, it shows us the reward of what persistence and determination does. It can get Christ's attention. And the Lord here is willing to do something about Barmeus's situation. He honors his plea. And we see here that it wasn't just his determination, but it was the substance of his supplication. Right? He says, "Son of David." He honors Him with the accurate understanding of His character, the messianic characteristics, but he also pleads for mercy. Mercy. When a man realizes he needs mercy, how many miracles do you read of in the Bible where somebody asks for Jesus to have mercy, and He never denies it. So Barmeus did not just have this perception about the identity of Christ. He didn't just have the discernment for the value of the moment. He had perception about himself. "I'm not worthy of this. I need this. This needs to be given to me by grace. I need mercy." When you come to the Lord like that, and when you understand that you are undeserving of what He can give you, that's when you attract the heart of Christ. Not based on demand, not raising your fist to heaven, not trying to shackle God to do what you want to do. When you just come on the basis of mercy, you move the Master. So persistence with revelation about your need of mercy is the recipe for Jesus, the one who rules and reigns even today, to metaphorically speaking, stopping and giving His attention to a creature and to giving him what he needs. So Barmeus pleaded for mercy. His perception was right on. A man who had no sight but could see Christ rightly, the value of the moment, and even himself.
But it's not just his perception. Here's the fifth point now. It's his passion. His passion can already be translated, but it's amplified here in verse 50. We can read from verse 49. "And Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him.' And they called the blind man, saying to him, 'Take heart. Get up. He is calling you.'" What a different attitude from the crowd, huh? They went from shut up to soothing. They went from rebuking to reassuring. Man, people can change so easily. But what's the reason for their change? I'll tell you, it's Jesus. When Jesus said, "Call him," they changed themselves. Jesus can change people's attitudes. It's amazing. Well, this is just my personality. Well, Jesus can save your personality, too. Jesus can sanctify your, your mouth. So, these people rebuking Barnabas, Jesus says, "You know what? Call him." Oh, yes, Jesus. Okay. And they go, "Hey, okay, He's calling you." That's how much authority Christ has over the heart. It's amazing what the Lord can do. He saves the whole man. And so, we see here that these people call the blind man, saying, "Take heart. Get up. He is calling you." Now look at this. Verse 50. "And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus." Don't you love Barmeus? I love Barmeus. The more I'm talking about him, the more I really want to meet him in heaven. Saying, "What's so significant about this?" Well, again, we see here that he's throwing off his cloak. That cloak is something that would be heavy enough for you to sleep with and sleep on. And even that, when he learned that Jesus was calling him, he did not want that to be a hindrance to him to get to Jesus as quickly as he could. He threw that off. He sprang up and he ran to Jesus. What's this response from? The knowledge that what the people were saying to him, "Jesus is calling you." Again, let me go back to what I said earlier. I've lost count. Let's just even think about the past two years in this very building. How many times have we heard the gospel call? How many times have we heard the gospel preached? Now, let me ask you this. How many times have you seen a response like Barmeus to the invitation, "Jesus is calling you"? Isn't it staggering? Isn't it humbling? Isn't it convicting that you see this man who not only dismissed the crowd, who not only ignored this opportunity that could have helped him temporarily, but he realized there's somebody who can help him permanently. And he says, "Forget this opportunity. Forget this appointment. Forget this surprise invitation. I want Jesus." And now, on top of that, what does he do when he learns that Jesus called me? He's like, "This thing's got to go." And he throws off this cloak to run to. Where is that desperation? I don't know where it is, but God help us. We need revival. This man throws off his cloak. It's a picture of you identifying anything in your life that might be limiting you from coming to Jesus and saying, "I'm getting rid of this thing." If you're in here and you don't know Christ, can I ask you a question? What's the one thing that's holding you back from giving your life to Christ? And then, once you identify it, ask yourself, is it worth losing my soul over? Ask that. Is it worth denying the invitation to walk with my Maker who paid a price for me to have fellowship with Him? Not just one day in heaven, but on this side of heaven. What is the one thing holding you back from surrendering everything to Christ? And then ask this question: Is it worth losing my soul over? This man, the moment he knew what was holding him back, he relinquished it. He removed it and he fled to Christ. Jesus is calling you. I take the words of these people and I present it to you on this Sunday afternoon. Jesus is calling you. I've heard this from a couple people throughout my Christian journey. I've heard some people say, "You know, I know what it means to be a Christian. I've heard this idea of the gospel, but I'm just waiting for Jesus to convict me. If Jesus really wants me to be saved, then He'll, He'll reveal Himself to me and and He'll tell me that I need to be saved and He'll give me the faith, and once I have the faith, then I'll believe in Him." If you've experienced that, if you've had that conversation, you have another text to point that poor soul to. "I'm just waiting for Jesus to directly." Well, look, even when Jesus was on earth, how did He call Barmeus? Did Jesus come up to Barmeus? No. He told the people to go and call him. If Jesus, while on earth, used people to tell others that He was calling them, how much more now that He's ascended on high, sitting at the right hand of God? Here's how we make sense of all this. When a person who knows Jesus is telling you by the word of God that Jesus is calling you, it's Jesus calling you. That's the point that I'm getting across. "Well, Jesus is just going to have to appear Himself to me." Well, look, Barmeus here was called by Jesus. He didn't have that line of argumentation. "I'm not going to come up unless Jesus comes up." He leaves that parade and he comes right to me. No, no, no, no. Messengers of Jesus said, "Jesus is beckoning you." And that was enough for him to spring up and run to Jesus. And so, this man's passion is so obvious. And what you and I have to understand here is that whenever Jesus calls, you know, these phones these days tell you who calls and when you miss the call. Sometimes I'm so busy, I miss a lot of calls. And every time I look at that red with a number on it, I realize, oh, there's all these calls I missed. And it's logged there to remind me, you have calls to respond to. Do you know that God has the same thing? Do you know God keeps in mind every single time He calls you and you don't answer? Every single time. "Prove it to me, gladly." Isaiah 65:12. Isaiah 65:12. Here's what God says to His people who were ignoring His calls. "I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because when I called, you did not answer. When I spoke, you did not listen. But you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in." There it is. Because when I called, it went straight to voicemail. God remembers every single time He's called. Well, God hasn't called me. News flash, He's calling you now. When this word is open and when it's faithfully declared and when the gospel invitation is laid out, that is God in His providence calling you personally to give your life to His Son. And when you ignore that call, He remembers. And in His mercy, He can call you again. But let's learn from Barmeus and realize that that one call may be the last call. I may never get a call again.
So we see the passion of this man, and the passion is exemplified even further after the miracle takes place. Let's just fast forward to verse 52. Look what the Lord does. "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." If the physical blindness here is a consistent picture of our spiritual blindness and a picture of what God does at salvation, then Jesus's command and the response of Barmeus can equally be an illustration of what should happen after Christ opens your eyes. Does that make sense? So Jesus is ready to heal this man's eyes, and He gives him instructions. He says, "Go your way." Right? Why is that important? Because with these new eyes, there would be no need for Barmeus to sit on the roadside again and start begging. These new eyes demanded a new way of life. These new eyes called for Barmeus to have a new hope, a new strength, a new grace to walk through life in a different way. It would be strange for Barmeus to have his eyes open and then for him to return to the sidewalk and to begin where he left off. And I make the same case today that if a person has truly had his eyes opened by Christ, they cannot go back to the way that they were. They must go a different way.
Now, here's what moves me, because we're still under the category, the fifth point, the fifth observation of Barmeus's passion. Here's this man who threw off his cloak, who runs to Jesus, and Jesus heals him, and Jesus tells him, "Go your way." That's a very general exhortation. "Go your way." Now, let me ask you something. Imagine being blind for years. Imagine not being able to see anything, not even to make out any silhouette, nothing. Just pitch black, and your eyes were opened for the first time. What would you want to do first? What sight would you want to see? What family member would you visit? Whose door will you knock on to surprise them that you can now make out who they are? Who is the person that you have imagined to look like something by the sound of their voice, but now you can't wait to actually see them for who they are? Who, what place would you go? Who would you imagine this? Imagine, put yourself in this situation. Where would you run? Jesus says, "Go your way." You know what's the first thing that Barmeus does? The last part of verse 52. "And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him." Followed him on the way. Barmeus, with his fresh new eyes, wanted to keep them on Jesus and follow Him. He wanted to look at the one who just healed him. He wanted to behold the one who just saved him. He wanted to relish the one who just delivered him. That's where Barmeus wanted to go. He could have gone to a hundred different places. He could have sat with a hundred different people. But instead, his instinct, the moment that his eyes were opened, is, "I want to follow this man. I want to go where the Son of David goes." What a passion this man had.
But we have our final point here with all our P's. We have the paradigm. The word paradigm simply means example or model. This is the story of Barmeus, right? But it's a story that's connected to Christ. And how can we study or read a story about Christ and not learn something directly from Christ? So we come back here to our text and notice again verse 51. "Jesus said to him, 'What do you want me to do for you?'" In about a week, Jesus is about to be nailed on the cross. In a few days, Jesus is going to be brutally betrayed, tortured, mocked, scorned. You can imagine what would occupy a heart knowing that their fate is just around the corner. And with all that He is preparing for, with the mission that is before Him, this man was willing to pause and to help a beggar. This is our example. You're saying, "What does this mean?" Remember what Jesus finished teaching His disciples before Barmeus's miracle. Look back here again with me in Mark in chapter 10, verse 43. "But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. And whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Yes, He would ultimately give His life as a ransom for many on the cross, but throughout His life, He spilled Himself to serve other people. And now He shows it with Barmeus. Do you see that He just finished teaching His disciples, "Serve others"? "You want to be the greatest? Be a servant. Consider everyone more significant than yourself." And here's Christ, imagine this, on His way to the appointment that would save humanity from their sins. And when this beggar interrupts Him on the way, Jesus, as the servant of servants, stops and helps him. That's your Christ. That is your Savior. That is the Lord that you love. This Jesus, who had every right and excuse to ignore Barmeus. "Barmeus, I have to die for everybody's sins, including yours." But because He is the perfect servant, when He hears a need, He stops. No matter how much it might have been an interference, no matter how much it might have caused, whatever it may be, He stopped. And He looked at Barmeus and He says this, "What can I do for you?" Don't you melt at the humility of Christ? I do. Maybe you're like me and don't handle interruptions too well at sometimes. But here's Christ willing to be interrupted. You know why? Because a servant doesn't object to interruptions. A servant serves when the opportunity arises. So we have our example here. Whether we have our own problems, whether we have our own burdens, a servant looks at others and says, "What can I do for you?" And that's Christ.
Are you with me in seeing the joy that the story of Barmeus brings? We have his passion, his persistence. We have his person. We have his perception. We have all these things, but we end here on Christ. Christ. Christ for the Christian's example. You and I, again, are being reminded by way of illustration of what it means to serve. But I can't help. There's something in my heart that wants to end in this way, once again, making a plea for a person who doesn't know Christ. Jesus Christ died on the cross for you. Have you surrendered to Him? Have you had your sins forgiven? You have been entertaining the peripheral. You have been exploring from a distance. Perhaps you have been admiring, and your admiration is growing. But none of that equates to Him touching your eyes and opening them. I'm inviting you today that the same Jesus that we just read and heard about is the same Jesus who can cure this blindness. And all you need to do is do what the Pharisees refused to do, and that's to admit, "I do not see as I should. My standard of truth is not in alignment with this word. I have actually resisted the claims of Jesus, but now I ask that He would heal me. I want to believe as He calls me to believe. I want to see as He calls me to see. I no longer want this guilt. If this Christ that you proclaim can heal me of my blindness, then may He heal me." Even as I'm preaching now, perhaps the noise of the crowd is muffling my voice. Who cares about the crowd and what they can offer you in this moment? Who cares what this life throws at you? It's all temporal. There is a touch from Christ that will change you forever. And I plead, I beg you, that you today would not ignore this message. Jesus is calling you. Throw off the cloak. Run to Him and surrender to Him, and He will answer. If you do today with that faith, no matter what your sin is, no matter what you've done, no matter the hardness of heart, if you respond to Him, I assure you, this is why the story is here. Jesus Christ, the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe, He who lives today, He will return at any moment, will stop, pay attention to you, and regenerate your soul. And you can walk out of those wooden doors with a new heart.
Lord, we ask You this afternoon that You would do just that. Son of David, have mercy on us. We pray for the one who doesn't know You, that they would know You. For the one who knows You, that they would be transformed further by the very mercy You display. Thank You, Lord, that not just in salvation, but when we call upon You for mercy in any situation, You're willing to answer. And all You require from us is persistence and a revelation of our neediness, and miracles can take place there. For any person here who needs a touch from You, a fresh touch from You, Lord, may we not get caught up in distractions. May we not get caught up, Lord, in the fear of what others may say or do. May we just get consumed, like this man was, with what Christ can do and how He's available to me. And Lord, to take advantage of this very opportunity now with the faith that has been inspired by this text to now call upon You for a need. Thank You that You said, "My house shall be called a house of prayer." We can pray to You. You want us to commune with You, to fellowship with You, even in this place. And so we ask, Lord, that this would be the case. Oh Lord, may we, like this man, realize our great need and trust that You are a great God who can provide every need in Jesus' name. Amen.
My heart is so stirred by Barmeus's story. Really, as it has been since I've been studying about him. It's so hard to preach a message like this and to just resume. I'm not sure how to resume from here. I really am not sure. I'm going to trust in the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts that He wants to move in and is moving in. But I would just, I would just really encourage you in this place. Like, if you have a need, I'm talking to even believers here. If you have a need, just, forget about everything else around you, not in a disruptive way, but just between you and the Lord, just ask Him to do something. I believe with all my heart that Jesus can answer prayer. I believe that even in this moment, God can do something spectacular. I believe it. I'm just giving you the opportunity. Even as the songs are singing, not just mindlessly parrot words. Even if you need to stay, I'm giving you permission if you need it to even stay seated if you need to, just to commune with the Lord and saying, "Oh God, please. I do need mercy in this area of my life. I need You to intervene, Lord. Please." And if you don't know Christ, I'm going to be sitting on that pew, and I will stay there until midnight if I need to. If you do not know Christ, and even if you just have questions about your salvation, about who Jesus is, I will sit here with you as long as possible to help you know greater things about Him and to answer any questions that you may have. And so, as the music is playing, even if during the music you want to plop beside me, I'll sit with you, and I will answer, and I will pray with you. Pastor Mark is there, too. He's there, sitting there in the fourth row. He's willing to do that as well. If you came with a believer, I'm sure they're willing to do that as well. I want anybody here who doesn't know Christ to at least know that there was a church that I visited one day that loved me too much to let me go so easily. That's why we're here. You can come up, praise team. If you want to stay seated, you can do that. If you want to stand and sing, you can do that. Nobody's forced to do anything. But I want to give you the chance that if you need to have questions answered, I'm here for you, and I want to pray with you.