The faithful who gather for worship have heard and believed this promise, and they too are saved. But they need to hear it again.
Preachers who follow the lectionary have several options this week. In addition to the usual choice between the four appointed readings, you have the added option of choosing from the texts of either the Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost or Reformation Sunday. The Gospel readings for the latter are the same each year (John 8 and Matthew 11). This is unfortunate, for the Reformation Gospel permeates the entirety of the Scriptures. Faithful and helpful Reformation sermons could be preached from many different texts. The Gospel reading for Proper 25 is a case in point. Jesus’ encounter with Blind Bartimaeus is a living example of salvation by grace through faith in Christ. It also embodies concretely the abstract idea that faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17). What more could you ask for in a Reformation sermon text?
Bartimaeus is probably familiar to regular church goers. His healing is one of the few that includes the name of the person healed. But we do not normally associate him with Luther or the doctrine of Justification. This suggests your sermon on this text could offer a fresh hearing of both his story and the Gospel promise which make the Reformation worth celebrating.
In fact, it is precisely the “hearing” that I would emphasize in this sermon. Bartimaeus was blind, after all. A study from Harvard University in 2017 showed how those who are born blind have enhanced abilities with other senses, including their sense of hearing, which vindicates a children’s Bible story book I used to read to my children. This particular children’s book reported the miraculous healing from the sensory perspective of Bartimaeus. Because he could not see, Bartimaeus experienced this encounter primarily through his sense of hearing.
“Step, step, step,” the children’s Bible said. A great crowd was leaving Jericho. Lots of steps. More steps than he could count. The steps started as a low rumble in the distance. A drum of shuffling feet through the dirt and sand, but the steps kept coming. Closer, louder, more. “Step, step, step.”
Bartimaeus heard the steps. But he heard more. He also heard (verse 47) that two of the feet in this crowd belonged to Jesus. “Step, step, step.” The steps of Jesus were not just any steps. With these steps came hope, desperation, longing, prayer. Bartimaeus had heard things about this Jesus. He had heard about His compassion and His power, His might and His mercy. Which is why, upon hearing Jesus was with the crowd, Bartimaeus heard himself instinctively cry out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
The steps of Jesus were not just any steps. With these steps came hope, desperation, longing, prayer.
The people around Jesus heard Bartimaeus, but they did not like what they were hearing from this blind beggar. So, they tried to silence him (verse 48a). However, Bartimaeus would not listen. Their attempt only increased his volume (verse 48b). “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
That is when the sounds stopped. The steps that were threatening to drown out his pleas for mercy came to a halt. For a split second there was silence. If you listen closely, you can hear Bartimaeus holding his breath. You can imagine his thoughts. Why did they stop? What is happening? Somebody, say something!
That is when he heard the voice of Jesus. “Call him,” Jesus said. Did I hear that right? Could this really be happening? Could the Son of David really want me?
They came to him and confirmed what Jesus had said. “Take heart,” he heard them say. “Get up; He is calling you” (verse 49). Blind Bartimaeus had never before jumped up so quickly. He dropped his cloak and leapt to his feet, still unable to see anything. Now, he heard only his own feet. “Step, step, step.” Faster and faster, he heard his feet in the dirt and sand. Skipping, running as fast as they would take him. “Step-step-step,” “step-step-step,” “step-step-step,” until they told him to stop.
That is when Jesus spoke, to him, the Son of David about whom Bartimaeus had heard incredible things. He heard Jesus speaking to him! “What do you want Me to do for you?” Can you imagine hearing that question from Jesus? Bartimaeus still could not see anything. He could only hear. That is when his plea for mercy became a plea for sight. He called Him “Rabbi,” but Jesus was so much more. Then, as Jesus said the last words Bartimaeus would ever hear in the dark, the blind man received divine mercy. “Go your way,” he heard Jesus say. “Your faith has made you well.”
What a great text to proclaim the saving words and promise of Jesus! Here you have a man whose entire life had been lived in darkness, in the brokenness of a sinful creation. Into his life (unasked for, unannounced, uninvited) came Jesus. This Word of God in person would speak the living and active Word of life and salvation directly to him. This was first-to-second-person address, primary discourse, a speech act in real time. “Your faith has made you well,” Jesus said. And we know He said so much more. “Your faith has saved (σέσωκέν) you.”
The Reformation good news is that Jesus, through nothing other than the Word of promise which faithful preachers like you proclaim, saves. The faithful who gather for worship have heard and believed this promise, and they too are saved. But they need to hear it again. Your sermon on this text, and the promise of Jesus that stands at the center of your sermon, will continue to remove the darkness in their lives. It will continue to open their eyes to see Jesus. And it will keep granting them saving faith as the Spirit continues to call, gather, and enlighten them.
No wonder Bartimaeus followed Jesus on the way (verse 52b). How could anyone who hears the saving promise of the living Word of God do anything else?
(If you would like to consider organizing this entire sermon according to a Narrative Structure, see this description of narrative preaching, to gather some sermon samples.)
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Mark 10:46-52.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Mark 10:46-52.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Mark 10:46-52.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
