Once again Jesus has to explain to His disciples what is going to happen in Jerusalem. In the process He also addresses the topic of being a servant-leader, completely opposite of how the disciples were thinking about leadership. In the midst of this, Jesus encounters a blind man on the side of the road.

Here is the video link:

Mark 10:32-52… About the importance of being a servant

The audio links i.e. iTunes and Spotify are to the right.

Here is the transcript used for today’s Podcast:

Mark

Mark 10: 32-41… They are STILL Not “Getting It”

32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. 

Astonished as in uncomprehending. Jesus was going to DIE? The others – outside of His disciples, were afraid, as Jesus was heading into danger which meant all associated with Him would be in danger.

Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

James and John, two of the three with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, are the ones making this request. I can’t help if their temerity at asking this question is because they saw Peter’s rebuke by God on the Mount of Transfiguration and calculated that this was a good time to curry favor with Jesus.

 

Their request and their fellow disciples’ response reveal how the disciples’ concern for status continues to blind them to the significance of Jesus’ coming suffering-servant death. It may be that in approaching Jerusalem they were expecting the Son of Man (v. 33; cf. 8:38) to reveal himself as he had at the transfiguration (9:2–10). Despite Jesus’ constant teaching on lowly service (8:33—10:16), they are still defiled by the “yeast” of Herod’s and the Pharisees’ love of status (see note on 8:15).

Edited by Carson, D. A. (2018). NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible. Zondervan

 

38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 

 

The other disciples’ response shows that their hearts are also defiled by the status-seeking “yeast” of Herod and the Pharisees (see note on 8:15). In spite of Jesus’ repeated instruction throughout the entire “way” section (8:22—10:52), his uncomprehending disciples are still “blind” and “deaf” (see notes on 8:16–21; 8:22—10:52) to God’s surpassing wisdom of the crucified Messiah (cf. 1 Cor 1:18–25).

Edited by Carson, D. A. (2018). NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible. Zondervan

 

Mark 10:42-44…The Servant’s Heart…

The disciples had  many good reasons for following Jesus… but they also had some bad reasons. Status and position were being competed for. I get the sense that they were expecting a hero’s welcome in Jerusalem, resulting in Jesus becoming King of a restored and triumphant Israel.

42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 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.”

The path to greatness embraces a servant’s heart. My entire working life was characterized by my pursuit of “being in charge”, endlessly pursuing leadership positions in whatever company I was part of. My professional life was all about gaining prestige, respect, and position. All of that was stripped away leaving me in complete anonymity, with my “enemies” dismissing me as insignificant and worthless. Maybe that sounds a bit overly dramatic, but the truth was that I went from being “someone” in the corporate world to almost becoming homeless. Everything was stripped away, and I learned the awful truth that the world’s view of success and leadership was completely wrong and backwards. I ended up being a private music teacher, toiling away in anonymity. I discovered the absolute joy of teaching children music one by one. There was no glory, no lofty position of authority from which I could “run things”. For the first time in my entire working life I was free. I look forward to waking up every day. The path of my pursuit of Messiah runs through servanthood. Nobody pays attention to a servant. They toil in obscurity. 

I have never been more at peace.

Mark 10: 46-52…I get You, Bartimaeus

46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

I love this  – Bartimaeus, blind, hears Jesus is walking by. He begins to make a scene yelling to get Jesus’ attention. The crowd tried to shut him up, but he only gets louder. He was going to do anything necessary to get into the presence of Jesus. This lesson could stop right here and it would be enough. How badly do I want to be in the presence of God? Am I willing to do anything to accomplish this?

Bartimaeus did not rely on decorum. Quite the contrary – in fact it was a bit embarrassing. Here a “great teacher of Israel” was walking by and this blind man was shouting and making a scene. This was his shot – what were the odds that this Teacher/Healer would be in the vicinity of this blind man again? In truth, Jesus would NOT be coming that way again. Once He got to Jerusalem, He was going to be killed. It was now or never for Bartimaeus.

His cries must have sounded desperate, because once Jesus heard him and told His followers to bring Bartimaeus to Him their response to Bartimaeus was to “cheer up!”.

My takeaway begins with the fact that I know how Bartimaeus felt. On a Sunday morning in Navy Bootcamp, during a church service, I was inexplicably confronted with my sin like I had never been before. In a moment of stark reality I KNEW I was separated from the only One Who could save me. Overwhelmed with a true sense of my guilt and my sin, I began weeping, crying out to Him. There was desperation in me that day, for along with my realization of MY sinful nature, I also realized that Jesus was under no obligation to answer me and grant me salvation. 

That was Bartimaeus on the side of the road to Jericho. That was me the week before Easter in 1975. Bartimaeus was healed. I was saved. Bartimaeus immediately joined Jesus in His journey. I immediately began my journey with Jesus. He could have walked right on by me, just as Jesus could have continued on walking past Bartimaeus. I don’t remember anything more being said about Bartimaeus in the scriptures – he apparently lived his life in obscurity as far as the world was concerned. But I imagine that when he showed up in Heaven one day, there was great rejoicing and acclamation.

That will be ME, someday. Obscurity and anonymity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I would rather die in obscurity with barely anybody knowing my name and show up in Heaven, hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant” than to die with the whole world shouting my name only to show up before the throne of God to hear “Paige who? I never knew you.”

I get you Bartimaeus.

In His Grip,

Paige

Paige C. Garwood, M.Ed; MFA