Believe and Be Saved!

LAC Easter 2017  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Jesus continues towards his death on the cross and meets blind man bart along the way. In their encounter, this blind helpless beggar demonstrates remarkable persistence and faith in Jesus. As a result, he is healed and God is praised.

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Good morning! Happy Daylight Savings!
Continuing Easter Series - Following the ministry of Jesus leading up to the resurrection.
Matthew 16 ESV
And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed. When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
| Man of Sorrows
| Who is Jesus? (Who people/you say that I am? Suffering servant, dies on the cross, raised to life, return as judge)
2 - | Who is Jesus?
| I Want to Believe! (Help my unbelief. Faith is critical)
| Believe and be Saved!
| Jesus had to die. (Joseph)

Pray

Opportunity

Pray

Jesus Predicts His Death #3

His Death #3

Luke 18:31-
Repeated Reminder

His Death #3

How many times do you need to be told something?
Hands 1? 2? 3? More?
I suspect it usually has something to do with our level of interest, or our ability to understand or accept what we’re being told.
And its seems that’s the deal here with the disciples.
Luke 18:31–34 ESV
And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
Remember, this is the third time Jesus is telling his followers what is going to happen to him in Jerusalem.
He’s told them, that he will go and suffer and be humiliated and tortured and killed. It’s all going to happen in accordance with scripture which is what we partially looked at from a few weeks ago.
And again, the plain meaning of these words aren’t difficult to understand. It seems that their unwillingness to accept the coming death of their master and general theological dullness continues to get in the way of their understanding. Either way, the truth of the matter continues to be hidden from them. They remain ignorant to the full extent of what awaits their lord, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

So they’re on their way to Jerusalem, and it just so happens that Jericho is on the way.
Drive to church. Parramatta. Train to the city. Strathfield.
Luke 18:35–37 ESV
As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
Passover: Special time of the year for Jews. Increased travel to Jerusalem (via Jericho). Increased generosity.
Train to the city. Strathfield.
Luke 18:35 ESV
As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
Passover: Special time of the year for Jews. Increased travel to Jerusalem (via Jericho). Increased generosity.
On his way to Jerusalem, near Jericho which was on the way, there’s a blind beggar - probably hoping to collect some extra money from the passover traffic.
tells us his name was Bartimaeus, so i’m going to call him blind man bart.
Does anyone know his name? tells us his name was Bartimaeus, so i’m going to call him blind man bart.
And even though bart is blind, he knows that something big is coming… he hears the crowd going by and we all know that crowds are definitely not quiet. And i suppose, simply out of curiousity, he asks about the commotion and he get his answer.
JESUS OF NAZARETH IS PASSING BY.
There’s suddenly an opportunity here, isn’t there? There’s an opportunity here for Blind Man Bart to have an encounter with Jesus.
What would you have done?
What would you have done?
What does our blind friend do?
Luke 18:38–39 ESV
And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Luke 18:
As a blind beggar sitting on the side of the road, yelling out for attention is probably the best he can possibly do. He’s not going to be able to look around, find Jesus and walk up to him. As a beggar, the people around him aren’t going to listen to him, and he’s not going to have the respect or recognition from others to initiate a meeting with Jesus.
And so, in contrast with some people like the pharisees, the rich ruler, nicodemous and jairus, who get to approach Jesus as powerful, influential or respected men of society… this guy, blind man bart, can do nothing but call out to Jesus and plead for mercy… and hope that Jesus will hear him and respond.
And just to really confirm for us how much people cared about him, What do we see the people do in response to him calling out to Jesus? Rebuke. Shut up.
But in this great display of resilience and persistence - it only spurs his on to continue crying out to Jesus.
And we see in verse 40, that Jesus notices him and asks him a question.
Luke 18:40–41 ESV
And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.”
Luke 18:40
The question is basically a ‘what do you want?’
Imagine that Jesus is asking you ‘what do you want? ‘ ‘what would you like?’. What would you ask of Jesus? What wouldn’t you ask of Jesus?
Now this isn’t just a hypothetical question for the sake of it - because usually, maybe always, the questions we ask reveal something about our understand of the person we’re talking to. The things we ask and don’t ask for, reflect to some extent the things we believe they can or can’t do for us.
And I think the surprising request made by this blind beggar is really telling.
As a beggar, what does he do? Beg.
As a beggar, what would you expect him to ask for? Money. Alms.
But when Blind Man Bart has his encounter with Jesus, he passes up this opportunity to ask for money, and instead he asks for.... healing. vision.
Do you see how his request reveals something about his understand of Jesus?
And again, in contrast to many of the other people who have met with Jesus and gotten it not quite right, this blind man bart, not only seems to identify Jesus correctly, but also places his faith in Jesus.
Luke 18:42–43 ESV
And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Luke 18:
And so because this blind beggar was willing to call out to Jesus, and persist in calling out and when given the chance, had the faith and boldness to ask Jesus for the impossible - Jesus heals him and restores his vision.
But the story doesn’t end there. This isn’t just a healing/vision restoration story.
So in response the Jesus, and in response to the miracle he’s received blind man bart - fully sighted person bartimaeus follows Jesus and glorifies.
Ephesians 3:20 ESV
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
Ephesians 3:20–21 ESV
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Implications and Applications

Know and Appreciate what Christ has done.
Be persistent and stubborn in your search of God.
Respond to God in Faith and Praise.
The life, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus are no longer hidden. What’s more is that the purpose and necessity of these things are no longer hidden. And now there is no need for ignorance or confusion about the suffering of Jesus which bring forgiveness of sin and brings us to God.
Take this opportunity to become a follower of Jesus. Missed opportunities are disappointing.
So we can take the example of, and encouragement from Blind Man Bart. Persistence (Not too easily deterred or discouraged. Faith to ask the impossible.
Ephesians 3:20–21 ESV
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
ESV
Praise God. Give God the Glory. Not fixated on the good things he gives us… or even the good things he gives us which we ask for.
Take this opportunity to become a follower of Jesus. Missed opportunities are disappointing.
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