Bartimaeus

So, at camp, I lead really fun track times... track times that stretch your mind. Track times like battleball (dodgeball on crack), table games, and volleyball. At the end of each track, we're supposed to lead the group in a devotion, because obviously every element at Fuge needs to have spiritual application or something to bring it all back to Christ... yes, even battleball.

Last summer (2008) when I was out at Glorieta, Wes Hamilton came one week as our speaker and each morning, during AM Show he'd tell us about this guy Bartimaeus and it made me fall in love with this guy's story in Mark chapter 10. In fact, I loved it so much, that one of my battleball devotions is dedicated to his story and to the way that Wes taught it to us. Since I love Bart so stinkin much, I thought I'd share him with you all as well.

So first, lets look at the Word.
Read it... it's a good story.

"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. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' Many people were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' And Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him here.' So they called the blind man, saying to him, 'Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.' Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. And answering him, Jesus said, 'What do you want me to do for you?' And the blind man said to Him, 'Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!' And Jesus said to him, 'Go your faith has made you well.' Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road." Mark 10:46-52

Isn't that good stuff? I love it! It's most definitely become one of my favorite passages in the gospels.

Bartimaeus: means "Son of Timaeus" This guy didn't even have a name, an identity of his own. He was simply, the son of some guy. Everyday he'd get up, and leave his home (if he even had one) and head to the streets to beg for food and compassion from strangers. As he he carefully headed to his familiar spot, he'd sit down on the side of the road and spread his cloak across his lap, preparing for the long day ahead, which was typically filled with ridicule and hate.

That cloak... that cloak was everything to him. Bartimaeus, being blind, couldn't see people, couldn't see the money being carelessly tossed in his direction. At the end of each day, he couldn't look around for the loose change surrounding him. All he could do was take the corners of his cloak and wrap them together, in hopes of containing his earnings from the day within that cloak, until he could get home, spread his cloak out on the floor or a table and feel what he had received for the day.

As Jesus walked through the streets, His reputation preceded Him. People had heard that this man was performing miracles, that He was different, special in some way. His reputation was so great, that even a nobody like Bartimaeus had heard about him. Everyday for his entire life, Bartimaeus imagined what it would be like to be a person with sight. Oh the places he could go, the things he would do, the sights he would see! If only he could see, the world would be at his fingertips, his hopes and dreams wouldn't seem so out of reach. If only he could see... Then he hears of a man who can heal people. If only this man Jesus would walk past him on the street. He'd do anything to see. If only...

Then finally, one day, Jesus and the crowd began to make their way up the road... they would be walking right past where Bartimaeus had set out his cloak for the day. It had been a slow morning, and Bartimaeus now realized where everyone had been. They were with Jesus, curiously trying to see the man who could cast out demons and perform miracles. The large, and loud crowd began to approach and Bartimaeus grew anxious. Could this man, Jesus, really help him? How would he find Him in such a loud and boisterous crowd, and would this man even be willing to help a nobody like Bartimaeus? All seemed hopeless, and in his desperation he simply began crying out in hopes of being heard over the crowd. "JESUS, Son of David, HAVE MERCY ON ME!" Years of feeling hopeless. Years of being ignored by passersby. Years of dreaming of what life could be like, if only... "JESUS, SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME!"

I can only imagine how desperate Bartimaeus' cries must have sounded... obviously they were loud if people nearby began to hush him! But he could not be silenced, here was a man, trying not to get his hopes up, but being filled with more hope than he'd ever known in his dark, lonely life. Jesus was his only hope... but this day, Jesus seemed to be everyone's "only hope." How would an insignificant beggar ever grab this popular man's attention? But, through the loud crowd, through the shouts and conversations going on around Him, Jesus heard his cry and called Bartimaeus to Him.

This is my favorite part....

"Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus... and said to Him, "Rabboni, I want to regain my sight."

That cloak... his life, his sustenance, his source of income... at the call of Jesus, he threw it aside.
He threw it aside!

And when asked what he wanted, he didn't hesitate, he asked for it all... for everything he'd ever dreamed, everything he'd ever wanted. He asked, because he knew Jesus could.

I always ask my students what the "cloak" is in their lives. What are the things that they place all their bets on? What are the things they use to define who they are? What are the things that define the boundaries of their existence? For me, at different times in my life, it's been my popularity and friendships, my education, my sense of humor, my insecurities, my fears, my failures....

What would have happened if Bartimaeus had tried to run to Jesus while holding on to his cloak? He probably would have taken forever to wrap up his earnings for the day, and maybe the pressing crowd would have forced Jesus on down the road. He probably would have fallen flat on his face, the fabric tangling in his feet, causing him to trip. His actions probably would have expressed a lack of faith in Jesus' ability to really heal him.

He threw it aside.

And when Jesus asked him what he wanted, he didn't ask for money and a place to live or a bigger, brighter cloak to attract more attention... no, he asked for the world. He asked for Jesus to heal him, not for a day or a week, but to heal him completely.

How do I limit Jesus in my life? How does my prayer life reflect a lack of faith in the Healer and Giver of Life? When I ask, do I really believe He is capable? Am I hoping for things? For comforts? For selfish ambition? Or, in my hopelessness, am I asking the only One who can truly give it, am I asking for life?

And here, here is the icing on the cake...

"Jesus said, 'Go, your faith has made you well.' Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road."

All those dark days spent imagining, pining away for a different life, a life full of faces, full of sights, full of color... Bartimaeus had plenty of time to think, to dream about what could be... if only. But the second he regained his sight, suddenly none of that mattered anymore. None of it! He left everything, those dreams of ambition and success, that old ragged cloak, that familiar spot on the road that he'd sat at everyday for who knows how long, his family and what meager possessions he did have, he left it all and followed Jesus, the One who had saved him, had truly given him life for the first time ever.

Christ... Christ has given me everything. He's taken me from the depths of despair and hopelessness, and given me life. Am I truly willing to leave it all behind in more than just the words I speak? What is the infirmity that I suffer from today... and what is the cloak that I'm using to box me in to my safe place on the street? And when I turn to Him, do I truly believe He is who He says He is? Do I truly believe He's given me everything?

If I believe it, am I living it? Am I following Him on the road... or am I standing at my spot on the street wondering if I should pick up my cloak, "just in case."

Bartimaeus didn't gradually let go of the life he wanted to leave behind, no, he threw that sucker aside and ran to Refuge. Jesus shouldn't need to pry our cloaks from our hands... when we really understand who He is and what He alone is capable of, nothing should hold us back.

That place on the street might be familiar, and it might be comfortable, but there's a whole world waiting down the road, where Jesus leads. What's holding you back? What's the cloak in your life? And how many times are you going to let that dang thing get tangled in your feet before you finally toss it aside, and run toward beautiful, colorful, hope giving Life?