April 28, 2024

RABBI, LET ME RECOVER MY SIGHT
MARK 10:46-52

Synoptic “problems”;
MATTHEW 20:29–30
29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside…

LUKE 18:35
35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.

LUKE 19:1
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through.

The city of Jericho;
JOSHUA 6:26
26 Joshua laid an oath on…saying, “Cursed before the LORD be the man who…rebuilds this city, Jericho. “At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.”

1 KINGS 16:34
34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua…

Blindness: a curse from God upon a sinner;
JOHN 9:1–2
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

A blind man recognizes a unique crowd;
LUKE 18:36
36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.

“Son of David”: a title with Messianic implication;
MATTHEW 21:15
15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw… the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant…

2 SAMUEL 7:12–13 (See also Isaiah 9:6)
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Scorned by the citizens of Jericho;
MARK 1:32
32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.

MARK 2:3
3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.

MARK 6:54–56
54 … the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment…

MARK 7:32
32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.

MARK 8:22
22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.

The rebuke of the crowd: a true disciple will be opposed in coming to Messiah;
MARK 7:27
27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

MARK 5:35
35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

MARK 5:40
40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.

MARK 2:4
4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.

MARK 1:40
40 And a leper came to him…

MARK 5:25
25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years…


MARK 9:18
18 “And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”

“You will never know Jesus as a reality, until you know Him as a necessity. You will never cry out to Him a Savior, until you know you need saving. You will never ask Him to restore your sight, until you know you are blind.”
―Alistair Begg

A most dramatic pause;
LUKE 12:50
50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!

It is one thing for us to call on the Lord, it is another for Him to call us;
JOHN 10:3
3 …The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

The reaction of a true disciple;
MARK 10:22
22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

The four “askings” in Mark;
MARK 6:22
22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”

MARK 15:9 (See also verse 12)
9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”

The true disciple must articulate their need;
1 JOHN 1:8–9
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

PSALM 2:8
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

Rabboni: an intensely personal and submissive title;
JOHN 20:16
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

The faith of Bartimaeus;
LUKE 4:18
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me…to proclaim…recovering of sight to the blind…”

The key question: how many blind men are in the story?;
MARK 8:17–18
17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?

MARK 8:22
22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.

MARK 8:29, 33
29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ”…33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

MARK 9:38
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”

MARK 10:35
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

The way of the Messiah immediately became his way;
MARK 8:34
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

MATTHEW 21:9
9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”


4/28/2024