All Are Somebody To Jesus

Sermon by Pastor David Layman

October 29, 2006

Mark 10:46-52

My name is Bartimaeus. I am a living example of the power of Jesus to
change people. For I was once a blind beggar in Jericho. You may not be
used to beggars in your community today, but if you go to big cities and
tourist areas you can still find them. Or if you go to a poor country,
you find them all over. Beggars were pretty common in the Holy Land. We
didnt have welfare. Your amazing system of Braille had not been
invented. What could a blind man do in my day and time, other than beg,
living at the mercy of the general public? I became blind when my father
and I were attacked by robbers on the road to Jerusalem. I saw my father
struck and killed. I was knocked unconscious, and when I came to, could
see only darkness. My mother took care of me, but then she died. Thats
when life really got rough!

If I had to beg, though, Jericho was a good city to do it in. For those
of you who know little about the Holy Land, you may think of Jericho as
a small town on the order of New Paris. To the contrary, King Herod the
Great had established Jericho as his winter capital. It had a balmy
winter climate, in contrast to Jerusalem, which gets cold and damp. A
small fortress had been erected here to guard the road from the Jordan
Valley to Jerusalem. Herod the Great had visited Rome, and wanted to
build something impressive for his winter capital at Jericho. So there
were plenty of pools, parks and villas in Jericho, as well as a
gymnasium. There was a sunken garden, and buildings with walls 41 inches
thick. Some have compared Jericho with Pompeii, so you know, it was an
impressive city! There were balsam groves near Jericho, which created a
lot of revenue. With all the government officials and fancy homes,
Jericho was a fine place to be a tax collector, and Zacchaeus made a
good living as a tax collector there. Of course, Zacchaeus and I didnt
exactly move in the same social circles. Zacchaeus home would make
those in Hunters Point look like humble abodes. I tried begging outside
Zacchaeus gates, and occasionally Id do well there, but those who
Zacchaeus entertained didnt tend to be the most devout souls, those
most likely to give alms to the poor.

One of my favorite places to beg was the highway on the way out of
Jericho to Jerusalem. This road could be a dangerous one to travel, and
my theory was that people would tend to be generous to beggars as they
began such a journey, hoping that God would remember their generosity to
the poor, and reward them with a safe journey. I had learned that, if I
was to survive as a beggar, I couldnt be a wallflower and mumble for
alms amongst the others. I needed to call attention to myself. When you
are without your sight, you try to make the most of your other senses.
And I had heard a lot of people talking about Jesus and his teaching, as
well as his healing. The teachings of Jesus sounded simply amazing! And
Id heard that Jesus had healed many. Furthermore, He had a heart filled
with compassion.

So when I heard Jesus was passing by amongst the crowd, heading for
Jerusalem, I called out in a loud voice Son of David, have mercy on
me! Members of the Jericho Chamber of Commerce were telling me to hush.
I guess they thought an unsightly blind beggar like me gave the city a
bad image. But I called out all the louder. Jesus paused, and said Call
him here. Suddenly, others around me said to me Take heart; get up, he
is calling you. So I sprang up and bounced off people like a billiard
ball, straight to Jesus. Jesus asked What do you want me to do for
you? Of course, I responded My teacher, let me see again. Jesus said
to me Go; your faith has made you well. I could see! A gasp went up
from the crowd! I found myself saying Glory be to God! I quickly
decided not to go back to Jericho. I followed Jesus to Jerusalem.
Jericho was my past. Jesus was my future! Instead of treating me like a
nuisance, on the journey, Jesus spent time talking with me. He listened
to my life story. Ever since Id been blinded, Id felt like a nobody.
Jesus treated me like a person of worth. As we walked together on the
way to Jerusalem, Jesus took turns conversing with different people in
the traveling band. He spent time conversing with the women as well as
the men. We could ask Jesus questions, and he never put us down. Some
people spend almost all their time hanging out with the same group of
people. Not Jesus. He spread Himself around. It was like Jesus viewed
every person about Him as unique, as worthy of His attention. I quickly
came to see that I, the former blind nobody, was somebody in Gods eyes.
And I vowed I wanted to be a somebody that gave my life for a cause
greater than myself!

The next village we arrived at, Jesus commanded Judas to take some money
from his purse to buy me some decent clothes. I dont think Judas wanted
to do it, but he did. I heard Judas mumbling We cant help every poor
beggar in Palestine; well go broke. But as I later came to see, Jesus
was going for broke as he headed for Jerusalem. He was heading for
crucifixion, boldly going into Jerusalem to lay claim to the title they
nailed on his cross: The King of the Jews. Actually, even a one time
blind beggar like me could tell, Jesus was more than just king of the
Jews, He was the messiah, and Lord of all!

Every one those called to follow Jesus was unique. A number of Jesus
disciples were fishermen. But each one of them had his own personality.
Andrew was quiet and observant. Peter was impulsive and strong willed, a
born leader. Simon was a Zealot, a political revolutionary who wanted to
drive the Romans from Palestine. Matthew and Zacchaeus, on the other
hand, were tax collectors who worked for the Roman government. You cant
get more different than Matthew and Zacchaeus were from Simon in
politics. You had Mary Magdalene, a wealthy business woman and widow
whod been healed of mental illness by Jesus. Then there was Joanna,
wife of Chuza, Herods steward. Herod, remember, was the one who
beheaded John the Baptist and was glad to be rid of Jesus. There was
young John Mark, just a teenager. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimatheia,
aristocratic and wealthy leaders. And as the years progressed, Paul, a
Pharisee and one time persecutor of the church, Cornelius, the Roman
Centurion. Each follower of Jesus was different, with his or her own
unique personality and background. I was one of those who Jesus saw as a
person of worth, though I was a penniless, blind beggar.

I just knew the earthly Jesus for under 2 weeks, for the Romans, temple
leaders, the good town fathers of Jerusalem conspired to send Jesus to
the cross. But Jesus did something more amazing than give sight to a
blind man like me. He was raised from the dead!
Never tell yourself youre not important to God. You might not feel
important in the place you work. You may have grown up thinking your
parents had a favorite child, and you werent the one. You may tell
yourself Im living alone now. Im getting up in years. Theres not
much I can do. But let me tell you, everyone of us matters to Jesus.
And Jesus wants to use every part of us: Our background, our life
experiences, our talents, our struggles....Jesus wants to take all we
have and are, and use us in service to His kingdom!

Just as Jesus treated me as a person of worth, He cares about each and
every one of you. Call out to Him! Share with Him your deepest need!
Close your eyes, feel His touch in your life. And then rise, and follow
Jesus!