Have Mercy on Me

Job 42:1-6, 10-17 & Mark 10:46-52

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now I'm found.

Was blind, but now I see. Amen.

His day began like any other…waking up…shaking the straw from his shabby torn garments…he got to his feet and stretched…began tapping his way along the familiar turns that led to the main gate in Jericho…begged a crust or two of bread at some familiar stops along the way.

Arriving at the gate he took his regular place with the other beggars…drew his greasy cloak tight around him…and although spring…it took the sun a while to dispel the chill. There he sat…just like so many days before…ears listening to the city come to life…donkeys…loaded with produce for the market…women…chatting as they bore pitchers toward the well…the clump of camel’s hoofs…and the aroma of fish…borne along to the market.

Jericho was humming…the blind man intoning…calling out with his beggar’s cry. He tensed as his blind-sensitive ears heard the hubbub…the noise of a great crowd approaching…people hurrying past the gate talking excitedly.

He called out, “what’s happening?” Someone called back, “Jesus of Nazareth…the one who heals the lame… and lepers…and the blind…the one some are saying is the Messiah…He is here…right now.

Bartimaeus had perhaps…even heard first person testimony from someone who had seen Jesus’ miracles…his heart began to pound…he was trembling…Jesus would soon be gone…he must do something…

“You be quiet,”…someone said but he would not…he was desperate…frantic… “Have mercy on me, Son of David!” The cry of Bartimaeus has echoed throughout the Christian centuries. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." What a prayer this is…bow your head for a moment…what would your petition be?

What can we say about this story?

This is one of the many healing miracles in the Gospels. It's good news…but how is his story different from others…and what has it to do with us?

The blind man wanted something…and…Jesus gave it to him…perhaps…we can learn something from this blind man…remember Jesus did not always give people what they wanted. In this same chapter…a rich man came to Jesus…he treated Jesus respectfully…he wanted to inherit eternal life…it's not a bad request…but Jesus asked more of the man than he was willing to give. Jesus asked the man to sell everything he had and give it to the poor…the man went away grieving…he wanted eternal life…but would not pay the price. Then it was James and John who came to Jesus…they said, "Jesus, would you do whatever we want?"…the response, "what do want?"…to sit at your right and left in glory.

Are you willing to pay the price…”sure” they said…and they did…but Jesus said…"I cannot grant your request." Jesus did not give them what they wanted.

Now we have this blind man…sitting alongside the road…he shouts out… "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

The more the crowd try to muzzle him the louder he shouts!

"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus told the people to call the man forward…and they did…Mark tells us that the blind man threw off his cloak as he got up. He was a beggar…probably lived on the streets…his cloak was…likely the most precious possession he had…but he would not let anything hinder him…the crowd…his cloak…anything! Unlike the rich man…he was willing to sacrifice everything to be with Jesus…the blind man threw off his cloak…sprang up…and came to Jesus. That tells us something…it tells me about wanting desperately what Jesus has to offer.

Some 46 years ago…I had radical heart surgery…my heart was as hard and dry as a Totara fence post. Like the blind man…I desperately wanted what Jesus has to offer.

Jesus asked, "what do you want me to do for you"…He had asked the same question of James and John…they wanted places of special honour in Glory…and Jesus turned them down…they asked to be more important than anyone else…and…Jesus said No!

When Jesus asked the blind man… "What do you want me to do for you?" The man said…"My teacher (Rabbouni)…let me see again."…he did not just say teacher. …he said, "my teacher."

As the scales fell from his eyes he saw the Lord for whom He is…he saw the Messiah…imagine what that was like for Bartimaeus…blind at the beginning of Jesus sentence…20/20 vision at the end…no surgery…no bandages…no adjustment to the bright surroundings…he saw human beings for the first time…saw the gawking crowds…saw all of it…but the first thing he saw…was the face of Jesus.

Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." And immediately he gained his sight…and followed Jesus on the way.

The Bible does not give us a formula for answered prayers…God is not so easily captured and bottled as some would think.

There is a beautiful prayer to meditate on in these verses.

"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" That pretty much covers the bases…this little prayer acknowledges who Jesus is and…who we are…and what we need.

It acknowledges Jesus as the Son of David…the Messiah…the Son of God…He was there when the Father laid the foundations of the universe…and He is one with the Father today…He is the King of kings and the Lord of Lord's. It is He…before whom we offer our prayers…"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

It acknowledges that we are the supplicants…we are the ones in need…it also acknowledges what we need…we need mercy…the blind man did not provide Jesus with a Christmas wish list.

He simply begged…"Have mercy on me!" That is a prayer for all occasions.

Where do you stand today?

46 years ago I needed radical spiritual heart surgery…I cried out, "Have mercy

on me Lord Jesus!" Today more than ever…I find I need to cry out…"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Can you agree with this in your own life? Or do you need to call it out for the first time? "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Today…what will your petition be? Jesus was passing through Jericho…never to come that way again…what if Bartimaeus had not responded…he would never have had another chance…Jesus of Nazareth is passing by some of those around us today… let us pray they will recognise their chance to come to know the Lord of Glory. As we close…lets return to our own petition.

Let us be in an attitude of prayer…in a moment of silence…let us bring our own blind spots before Jesus. In your mind…name the people you find it difficult to understand…name the people whom you find it difficult to appreciate… name the people whom you find it difficult to tolerate.

Then…consider Bartimaeus prayer… "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. In a moment of silence…bring your deaf ears before Jesus. Name the people to whom you find it difficult to pay attention to…name the people to whom you find it difficult to listen to…name the people whom you find it difficult to help…name the people whom you find it difficult to serve.

Consider the blind man's prayer…enveloped in darkness he reached out to the Lord of Glory…and then…he knew the certainty of his eternal destination…the healing was complete Bartimaeus was saved both physically and spiritually and he followed Jesus.

Now I invite you to make the prayer of Bartimaeus your own… "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

The Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard offers the following: A man prayed, and at first…he thought that prayer was talking…but he became more and more quiet until in the end he realised that prayer is listening.

Let us pray.

In your name Lord Jesus. Amen.