Get up! He is Calling!

As time moves forward, things change. It is inevitable. People come and go, in and out of our lives. Sometimes it’s sudden, sometimes it’s gradual. Sometimes it’s both. But it is always inevitable. We recognize change by two events – two characteristics – something ends and something new begins. And those are two attitudes we can have toward change as well. We can look at as something ending or as something beginning. An end, or a new beginning.

I think the attitude of a new beginning is the most helpful, and really, it’s a big part of the Christian message. A major theme throughout the scriptures is new beginnings. Especially beginnings from what seems like an ending.

Jesus’ death on the cross seemed like the end of a movement, but then came resurrection. A new beginning. Then Jesus left, which was followed by Pentecost. A new beginning. Saul was struck blind on the road between Jerusalem and Damascus. Which marked the beginning of Paul’s life as a Christian. It is those new beginnings that speak of the message of hope that Jesus is for all of us.

Today’s scripture is also about a new beginning.

Mark 10:46-52

⁴⁶They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. ⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”⁴⁸Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” ⁵⁰So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” ⁵²Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and f

ollowed him on the way.

It’s easy to see this as just another healing story. Not that restoring someone’s sight is “just another healing,” but when it comes to Jesus healing the sick, the blind, and the lame, well, we kind of get the “been there done that” feeling. But there is much more to this story than a man regaining his sight. This is a story of calling. It is a story of discipleship. But first it is a story of new beginning.

We can see in this story all of the steps or all of the landmarks on the journey of salvation. First let me stress that point. Salvation is a journey. It is a spiritual pilgrimage. Sometimes we think of salvation as a destination rather than a journey. Like it’s just something to check off of a to do list. “I got saved and now I’m OK. That’s done, mark it off of the list.”

The first is prevenient grace. The grace that goes before. It is God’s prevenient grace that works in us before we have any conscious impulse toward God. God offers prevenient grace to everyone, but not all respond. It is prevenient grace that prompts our first twinge, out first inkling that we have sinned against God. Prevenient grace awakens our desire to escape the “wages of sin”. Prevenient grace allows us to realize that we are sinful and we are helpless. Our nature is sinful, and we are helpless to do anything about it.

In terms of Bartimaeus’ story we can think of prevenient grace as coming before our story begins. Which makes sense, right? Prevenient grace is the grace that goes before. Somehow Bartimaeus knew about Jesus. He heard the crowd and asked someone what was going on. They told him Jesus of Nazareth was passing through. And he immediately began to call out to Jesus. He already knew his ailment, he was blind. And he knew that without Jesus, he would remain blind. Just as prevenient grace works in us to awaken the knowledge that we are sinful and helpless. We are dead in our sin. And without Jesus we are going to remain dead.

Following prevenient grace awakening our knowledge, comes repentance. We know we are sinful and we know the wages of sin is death. So we want to turn from sin. We also know that we cannot do that on our own. Only by God’s grace can we truly repent. So we call on Jesus. “Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner.” You remember that part of the story, right? Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus. “Have mercy on me!” After Bartimaeus called out to Jesus. Jesus called Bartimaeus. He reached out to him in grace and love to heal him. Physically in his case. Following our repentance, when we call out to Jesus, God reaches out to us in justifying grace with accepting and pardoning love. We are healed. We are forgiven. We are restored to God’s favor.

After we are justified, we experience what’s known as the new birth. This is the new birth Jesus tells Nicodemus about in John chapter 3. As Paul writes, we die to our old self and are a new creation in Christ. Bartemaeus experienced that new birth. He became a new person, a seeing person.

This is the point where many would say, “Well, here we are. Salvation. I believe in Jesus, my sins are forgiven, I’m saved! Mark it off the list. I’m done. Now back to life.” But salvation is more than justification, salvation is more than new birth. The point of justification, when our sins are forgiven is not the destination, it’s just a waypoint on the journey. The new birth, becoming a new creation in Christ is not the destination. This moment of new birth is really just the beginning of the journey. 

Look at Bartimaeus’ response to this healing. His story is not over. After his sight is restored, Jesus tells him “Go, your faith has made you well.” But what does Bartimaeus do? “He followed him on the way.” And that is the difference in this story and every other story of healing that I can think of in the Gospels. Think of the other healing stories. Jesus heals someone and typically they do what? They go. “Go, your faith has made you well.” And there they go. In most cases, we read that they go and they begin to tell others about Jesus. Bartimaeus is different. He follows.

And this is where our story of salvation continues. This is where the journey takes us next. We follow Jesus, just as Bartimaeus did. And as we follow Jesus, God’s sanctifying grace works in us. Moving us toward holiness. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we grow in knowledge and in love of God and neighbor. Through the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us, we continue on the journey of salvation. We are disciples. Continuing to grow, continuing to respond to God’s grace. Continuing to experience the power of the Holy Spirit. Until we reach what John Wesley calls Christian perfection. The perfect love of God and neighbor. When every thought and action is motivated only by love of God.

That’s why we follow Jesus. That is salvation. A restoration from the distorted image we are to the perfect image of Christ we are created to be. And that requires discipleship. It requires following. Not that acts of discipleship can earn our salvation. Those things are only evidence of our salvation. It’s only by God’s grace that we are saved. Only by our faith in Jesus Christ. But as we continue on the journey of salvation, God’s grace continues to work in us. And our discipleship becomes evidence of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.

There are some other points along the way of salvation. Assurance, regeneration, but we’re going to skip those for now. I want to talk for a few minutes about following and actually, we’re going to talk about it for the next couple of weeks. We’re going to talk about what it means to follow Jesus. What it means to be a disciple. Because not only do we see a story of salvation in the healing of Bartimaeus, we have a story of discipleship. There are four characteristics of a disciple that Bartimaeus demonstrates.

First, Jesus calls and Bartimaeus comes. As simple as that. We are all called by Jesus. God pursues each of us. We are called to faith in Jesus. We are called to discipleship. Bartimaeus answered that call. All are called, not all will answer. It’s easy to call yourself a Christian. It’s easy to say you believe in Jesus. You might even say it’s easy to believe in Jesus. But to answer, when Jesus calls is not easy. Look at some other call stories in the gospels. The apostles all heard and answered. They left families, jobs, everything to follow Jesus. The young man who came to Jesus and asked what he could do to obtain eternal life. Jesus called him to discipleship. He called him to follow. “Sell all you have, give it to the poor and follow me.” But the man went away sad. Not Bartimaeus.

Which brings us to the second characteristic of discipleship he shows. When Jesus calls, Bartimaeus casts off his cloak and comes. He leaves his coat behind to follow Jesus. Bartimaeus was a blind beggar. His cloak is likely his only worldly possession, but he leaves it behind to answer this call. It makes me think again about the idea of the new birth. When we follow Christ, we are a new creation. In Romans 13, Paul says we should cast off our evil past and clothe ourselves with Christ. It sounds like Bartimaeus is ready to clothe himself with Christ. He is casting off the old in preparation for the new. He is ready to be remade. To be transformed. To be renewed by Jesus Christ.

The third characteristic is his faith. Bartimaeus is a man of faith. Jesus tells him “Your faith has made you well.” Bartimaeus called out to Jesus because he knew Jesus could make him well.
The fourth characteristic is the last thing that Mark tells us about Bartimaeus. He followed Jesus on the way. On his way to where? On his way to the cross. A disciple is willing to follow Jesus to the cross.

To be a disciple, to go from simply calling yourself a Christian to full discipleship looks like this: When Jesus calls, you answer. You answer without limitations, without condition – leaving everything else behind to follow Jesus. You answer in faith. Trusting that Jesus can make you well – can make you whole. And following.

Those are some characteristics of becoming a disciple. For the next couple of weeks we’re going to talk about what it means to be a disciple. What it means to follow Jesus.

Bartimaeus experienced a new beginning. He left his old blindness and entered a life of seeing and hearing. A life of wholeness. That is a new beginning. That is what God wants for all of us. God’s grace is available to us all; all we have to do is accept it. To respond in faith. Jesus is calling all of us. Will you answer?

O God of grace, we hear you calling! Calling us to Jesus to be made whole. Calling us to follow. Continue to work in us, Holy Spirit, that we may respond in faith and follow.

Amen

©2012 - Scott Coats