Turn back, if you will, to Mark's
Gospel, chapter 10. Mark chapter 10. We already read
the verses that end the chapter. We'll be
taking as our text verse 49. In Luke's Gospel, chapter 4,
after our Lord's baptism, and after his 40 days of temptation
in the wilderness, We read there, this was the beginning of his
ministry, we read that he came to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up, and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue
on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read. And there was
delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah, the scroll. And when he had opened the book,
unrolled the scroll, he found the place where it was written.
This was written 700 years, perhaps more than that before, but it
speaks of him. Verse 18 of Luke 4, the spirit
of the Lord is upon me. This was the prophecy. Because
he had anointed me, nobody else, to preach the gospel to the poor,
he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind. the set
at liberty them that are bruised. Here in Mark 10, we have an instance,
an example of the Lord Jesus Christ doing that very thing,
recovering of sight to the blind, opening blind eyes. Verse 49,
look at just these four words, and Jesus stood still. And Jesus stood still. First of all, I think it would
benefit us to remember when this took place. When this took place. When we read these four words,
and Jesus stood still, remember when this happened. Look, if
you will, here in Mark 10, verse 32. 32 through 34 of this same
chapter, we read this. And they were in the way going
up to Jerusalem. And as Jesus went before them,
that is the apostles, the disciples, they were amazed because Pharisees
had threatened to kill him. They were amazed that he would
be going back there. And as they followed, they were
afraid. And he took again the twelve
and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, saying,
Behold, behold, this behold is like the seal of the Psalms. Pause, pause. Behold, we go up
to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the
chief priests, and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to
death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles. And they shall
mock him, and scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and they
shall kill him. And the third day he shall rise
again. In Luke's account, of these same
words of our Lord, we read this. He said, Behold, we go up to
Jerusalem in all things, everything, every jot, every tittle, every
prophecy, all things that are written by the prophets, and
we read a portion of that from Isaiah 61, or rather we read
what our Lord read in Luke 4, and all things that are written
by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished."
Accomplished. I like to emphasize that. People
talk about our Lord wanting to do things but for whatever reason
he's not able to accomplish his purpose. He can't do what he
really wants to do. He wants to save people but they
won't let him. No, our Lord didn't speak in
such vague, unflattering, dishonoring-to-God language. He said, everything
written about the Son of Man shall be accomplished. Whatever
the Son of God came into this world to do, it was done. He
accomplished it. He accomplished it. He got the
job done. That time was now near. It was just a matter of days
now. that the Son of God would do what he came into this world
to do, not attempt to do, not try to do, but do, what he had
agreed to do, what he had pledged and promised God his Father he
would do in that everlasting covenant of grace before they
ever created the heavens and the earth. They entered into
a covenant, and in that covenant, God the Son promised and pledged
to God the Father that all those he put into his hands, he would
do everything necessary everything God Almighty required to purge
them from their sins. And one day, when time shall
be no more, he'll bring them all into the presence of God
the Father, who trusted him in his hands, the surety, Jesus
Christ, and say, Father, here they all are. Everyone you gave
me, I bring them back to you without a spot or a blemish or
any such thing. I've lost none. And you know
what we'll do? Oh, my soul, we'll cast our crowns at his feet.
and sing hallelujah, what a savior. In Hebrews chapter 4, we read,
I'm sorry, chapter 10 verse 4, we read, it is not possible that
the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin, they were
never intended to, they were just pictures, shadows, until
he that should come, did come. Wherefore when he cometh, he
cometh into the world, he said, sacrifice and offering, this
is God speaking to his Father, God the Son rather speaking to
God the Father. He said, sacrifice an offering
thou wouldest not, but a body has thou prepared me. A body. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said thou, lo, I come. Oh,
there's hope now. There is hope now. We'll soon
see those little silly manger scenes all over the place, but
that Son of God is God in the flesh. That babe is none other
than God Almighty. He's the one that in the beginning
created all things that are created, and nothing was made without
Him. He is before all things, and in Him God Almighty is well
pleased. This is His answer to God who
sent Him into this world. He said, Lo, I come, to do thy
will, O my God." Wow! Now I tell you what, that's saying
a lot. Nobody ever done it before. Not
in this context. Oh no. I come to do thy will,
O my God. I come to honor your law. I come
to fulfill the law. I don't come to destroy it. He
said, I come to fulfill God's law. And in every jot and tittle,
he did exactly that. He fulfilled God's law in his
life. In his entire life, from that
time in that manger, In Bethlehem, the city of David, the house
of bread, when the bread of life came down, from the first breath
he drew until the last breath he expired upon the cross, crying,
Father, it is finished, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Every breath he ever drew, he
pleased God. He never had one wrong thought. Now we just can't get a hold
of that. We just can't. My soul. He never
had one wrong thought. He never did one wrong. He never
thought anything wrong. He never did anything wrong. We're told that in him was no
sin. I come to do thy will, oh my
God. And this was the will of God
for his son. This is what he came into the
world to do. We find this in the Book of Daniel,
chapter 9, verse 24. I come to do thy will, O God,
and this was the will of God, that he should finish the transgression. This is what the Son of God came
to do. That he should finish the transgression, make an end
of sins. Ah, so what does conquering a
world compare to that? Huh? Make an end of sins. and to make reconciliation for
iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness. That's what he
came to do. That's what is included in doing
God's will. Jesus Christ at this time was
on his way to Jerusalem to obtain eternal redemption for us. He
wasn't on his way to defeat the Roman government as the disciples
thought. He wasn't on his way to Erect
a kingdom in this world. My kingdom's not of this world,
he told Pilate. If it was, that wouldn't be a
problem. No, that's not what he came to
do. Jesus Christ at this moment is on his way to Jerusalem to
obtain eternal redemption for his people. That's what he came
to do. To obtain eternal redemption
for his people, to make atonement for his people, to by himself,
all by redemption is single-handed. The Lord Jesus Christ did it
single-handedly. When He had by Himself purged
our sin, He came to satisfy the justice of God Almighty. He would
soon, soon, just days from this, He would be made sin for His
people. We can't enter into that. I mean,
He did no sin, and Him was no sin. And yet He was made sin. How do you explain that? You
don't. You can't explain that. Oh, but we bow to it, we thank
God for it, we rejoice in it, that God made His Son, His sinless
Son, the Lamb of God, to be sin with this blessed, blessed outcome
that we might be the very righteousness of God in Him. He took my place. He took my
place. That time had arrived for which
time was begun. In the beginning. Oh, it was
for this blessed purpose, when the Son of God would be forsaken
by God. Soon, soon, he would trod the
winepress of God's holy wrath alone. He told the disciples,
the hour is near when all of you will forsake me, and I'll
be left alone. But he said, I'm not alone, because
the Father's with me. Well, they all forsook him. They
all left him alone. And on the cross, God Almighty
left him alone. God forsaken by God. What a mystery. What a mystery. He would trod the winepress alone. There would be none with him.
Again, the prophet Isaiah spoke of that. And nothing could stop
him. That's when this took place. And Jesus stood still. On that
mission to obtain our eternal redemption, on that mission to
bring in an everlasting righteousness, on that mission to put away all
the sins of all of his people, nothing could stop him. He told
his disciples on one occasion, I have a baptism to be baptized
with and how am I straightened, constrained, compelled, until
it be accomplished." Again, that word accomplished. Baptized. I have a baptism to be baptized
with. Baptized. It's not a few sprinkles. No,
no, no. It's to be immersed. It's to be plunged. It's to be
covered up. And Jesus Christ would soon be
immersed. He would be covered up by the
wrath of a holy God. He would be forsaken by God,
immersed in sufferings and anguish. is what he was determined to
do. In another place he said, now
is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father
save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto
this hour. In John 18, another beautiful
picture. We see Judas who knew where Jesus
was. He didn't try to be hid. When
his hour was come, he didn't try to hide from it. No, no,
no. He went where Judas was sure
to find him, a place Judas was familiar with. Because Judas,
or rather Christ, often went to this place, this garden. In
John 18 we read, Judas then, having received a band of men
and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh hither
with lanterns and torches and weapons. And Jesus therefore
knowing, Jesus therefore knowing all things that should come upon
him, Went and hid. Ran away. Oh, no, no, no. Knowing
all things that should come upon him, went forth and said, who
do you want? Who are you seeking? Jesus of
Nazareth. Here I am. Here I am. Take me. Take me. Take me. Oh, here's
a beautiful picture of substitution. Take me, but you got to let my
sheep go. If you smite the shepherd, the
sheep have to go free. Nothing could deter him from
that, from doing what he came to do. Not the devil. People
talk about the devil being equal with Christ, having equal power.
He is God's devil. He's on a leash, and it seems
like a mighty long leash sometimes, but he's still on God's leash.
Not the devil could stop Christ, not the Pharisees, not the Romans,
no power in hell or on earth could stop the Son of God from
going to Jerusalem to be made sin. Again in John 12, Jesus
answering them said, the hour has come that the Son of Man
should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone. But if it die, if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit. If it die, he shall be the firstborn
of many brethren. If it drop into the ground and
die, Oh, a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ and it shall bring
forth a multitude of redeemed sinners that no man can number. It shall accomplish the salvation
of his people. Glory to his name. So that is
when this took place on this dusty road to Jericho this day.
As he was leaving Jericho, Jesus stood still. Now think about
this. considering when it took place
is a marvel, is a wonder. Oh, but this even more so. Why
did Jesus Christ stand still? In light of those things, I'm
straightened, I'm constrained until this be accomplished. Nothing
could deter him. Why did Jesus Christ stand still? In the 10th chapter of Joshua,
we read there that Joshua, commanded the sun, they were in the midst
of a battle, and Joshua prolonged the day so they could defeat
their enemy, commanded the sun to stand still right in the midst
of heaven. A man commanded the sun to stand
still, Joshua 10 verse 12, listen to this. Then spake Joshua, Joshua
Jesus, the Hebrew name for Jesus, Joshua to the Lord in the day
when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children
of Israel, And he said in the sight of Israel, sun stands still
upon Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of Agila. And the
sun stood still. Imagine that. The sun stood still. We are told there was no day
like that before or after that the Lord hearkened unto the voice
of a man. But here in our text is something
even more marvelous, here in Mark 10. Something more outstanding,
something more magnificent than even that. It's one thing to
cause the sun to stand still in the heavens, but we have before
us a man who calls the God who made that sun to stand still.
God who created that sun to stand still. Why did the son of God,
especially at this time, stand still? What caused that? Only
one thing could. It wasn't because of religious
powers. It wasn't because of political
power. It was the cry, oh my soul, it
was the cry, imagine this. It was the cry of one poor blind
beggar that stopped the son of God in his tracks. Glory to,
ooh, can you picture that? Can you picture that? We're told
in verse 46 that a great number of people followed him. I don't
know how many, a great number? Hundreds? Thousands? I don't
know. But it was a great multitude. So it had to be loud, didn't
it? It had to be tumultuous. It had
to be loud. It had to be a great noise. How
was Barnabas heard of all those others? How did he hear Barnabas
among all that racket? You know how? You know why? Because
Bartimaeus was the only one in that multitude crying this. This is why the Son of God heard
him. His ears always opened to the cry for mercy. Jesus, thou
Son of David, have mercy on me. That's what stopped the Son of
God. Nothing else could. Bartimaeus had begged for alms,
money, all of his life. But he had never had been so
much in need as he was this hour. He had never been so sincere
in all of his life as he was just now. His greatest need was
mercy. And the one who at that moment
was passing by was the only one, the only one that could show
him mercy, the only one that could bring him to God. This,
the old hymn, reminds me of Bartimaeus' cry, Oh, pass me not, O gentle
Savior, Hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by. Oh, let me at a throne of mercy
find a sweet relief. Kneeling there in deep contrition,
help mine unbelief. Trusting only in thy merit, would
I seek thy face, heal my wounded, broken spirit. Save me, save
me by thy grace. Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me. Can you identify with Barnabas? Can you
put yourself in his shoes, in his darkness, in his rag, in
his spiritual poverty? That's what it's a picture of,
us by nature. Oh, Savior, Savior, hear my humble
cry. While on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by, because if you pass me by, I'm lost. If you pass me by, I'm undone.
If you don't stop, if you don't hear my cry, I'm a goner. I'm lost. That's why Jesus heard
Barnimaeus above everybody else. He was different. His cry was
different. I'm sure there was many in that
multitude, that great number of people that was hoping he
would feed them again like he did on a couple of occasions.
Some of them, most of them perhaps, were just following him out of
curiosity. But Bartimaeus, he was different. He was different. He had a need. He had a need. He's like that
woman with the issue of blood, who had spent all of her money
on a bunch of quites, and instead of getting better, she just got
worse. She was just dying, dying. Remember,
she made her way through that mob, another mob, another multitude
of people were pressing around Jesus. He could hardly move in
that throng. And this dear woman, perhaps
she got on her knees, but she made her way through that press,
through those people. And she reached out, because
she thought, if I can just touch the hem, the fringe of his garment,
if I can just do that, if I can just make contact with him, I
believe I'll be healed. And she did. She made her way through that
crowd, and that trembling hand reached out and touched his garment.
Bam! And she was made whole. She was
made whole that fast. That needy woman's touch was
like the cry of Barnabas. She had a real need. She was
sincere. Remember our Lord said, somebody
had touched me, for I perceive that virtue has gone out of me.
His disciples said, what? What are you talking about? Who
touched you? Lord, the crowd is pressing against
you all around. Who touched you? He said, oh,
somebody's touched me. I'm not talking about all these
others. Somebody's touched me that has a need, like Barney
Mays. Oh, old Joseph Hart wrote this. He said, what comfort can a Savior
bring to those who never felt their worth? Most of our loved ones, they
don't have a need. That's why they don't come to
hear the gospel. They don't need it. That's why they don't cry
for mercy. They don't need it. That's why
they don't fall down before him. That's why they don't cry, oh,
Jesus, don't pass me by. Jesus, please don't pass me by.
Because they don't need him. They don't need him. That's why
they don't come to the waters. They're not thirsty. Bartimaeus
was thirsty. He had been made thirsty. A sinner
is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so.
If you do not, I like what Philpott wrote, He said, if you do not
willingly and experimentally feel your mighty sins, your mighty
trials, your mighty temptations, and your mighty fears, you will
not want a mighty God. Don't need him. This sense of
our weakness in his power, our misery in his mercy, our ruin
in his recovery, the aboundings of our sin and the super aboundings
of His grace. A feeling sense, I say, of these
opposite yet harmonious things brings us to have a personal
and experimental dealing with God. And it is in these personal
dealings with God that the life of all true religion consists. Oh, that I might know Him. I don't want a little religion.
These hucksters are selling religion on every corner. Oh, I want to
know the Son of God. I want to experience His mercy.
I want to lay down at night and know I have peace with God that
Jesus put away my sins. I want Him to tell me that. I
can't take the soul winner's word for it. No, I want His Spirit
to bear witness with my spirit that I am His and He is mine. That's what Jesus heard. And
He stood still. The Bride of Solomon's song when
she was asked by others in her search for her beloved, they
asked her, well, if we see him, how will we know him? What makes
him so special? And she said, oh, he's not like
anybody else. He's altogether lovely. I believe
this picture of Jesus standing still at the cry of one poor
blind beggar, his cry for mercy is an example of that altogether
loveliness. Oh, is he not lovely as you picture
him here, standing still. Oh, how lovely the Son of God
is waiting to be gracious, delighting to show mercy. How lovely to
see him mighty to save, able to save to the uttermost all
that come unto God by him. And he's the same. Oh, aren't
you thankful? He's the same, Billy, today,
at this very moment, as he was then. Eternal life, Brother Henry Mahan
wrote this, eternal life is to know the living God and Jesus
Christ whom he has sent. It is to have the life of Christ,
the presence of Christ, the spirit and mind of Christ, and the very
glory of Christ begotten, created, and formed in us. Christ in you
is the hope of glory. Until the miracle of grace is
performed, our religion is but a form of godliness, It's just
a show. That's all it is. It's just a
show. It's just a pretense. It's just a delusion. Until we
taste the Lord Jesus Christ's grace and find him to be so mighty
to save. Here's the last thing. The blessed
result of Jesus Christ standing still. And Jesus stood still
and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man,
saying unto him, Be of good comfort. Oh, be of good comfort. Rest
easy. Bartimaeus, he's calling for
you. He's stopped. He's waiting for
you. Verse 15, he casting away his
garment, that rag. Perhaps that's a picture of self-righteousness.
You can't come to Christ with that. You got to throw it down.
Stomp it. Walk on it. It's not worth anything. cast
away his garment, and he arose and came to Jesus. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto
thee? Jesus knew what he wanted. The blind man said unto him,
Lord, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto
him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. This case of
Bartimaeus is a picture of what we are. What we all are by nature,
we're blind and poor and naked spiritually. unable to know our
lost estate. We don't know we're lost until
God gets us lost. We just don't know until God
gets us lost. The unredeemed mind is so blind
that it perceives no attractiveness in Christ whatsoever. There's
nothing in Him that they should desire in Him. The Son of righteousness
may arise with healing in His wings, but we're blind and we
don't see any beauty in Him until this takes place, until this
happens. who commanded a light to shine
out of darkness, have shined into our hearts. Glory to his
name. He shined into our hearts to
give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ, the vilest offender, who truly believes that very
moment from Jesus, a pardon receives. We're full of sin one hour, but
it's forgiven in an instant, just like Barnabas received his
sight in an instant. and sins past and present and
sins to come are cast into the depths of the sea and they'll
never be brought up again." Oh, the grace, how great is that.
Blessed is he, the psalmist wrote, blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord will not impute iniquity. In John 7, our Lord was observing,
had observed for days. the Jews as they went through
their religious hoops. The last day, the great day of
the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, if any man's really thirsty,
not satisfied with this stuff, if any man's really thirsty,
let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth in me, as the
scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. Oh, come ye sinners, poor and
needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready stands
to save you, full of pity, love, and power. Come ye thirsty, come
and welcome. God's free bounty glorify every
true belief and true repentance, every grace that brings you nigh. Let not conscience make you linger,
nor fitness fondly dream. All the fitness he required is
to fill your need of him. Come ye weary, heavy laden, lost
and ruined by the fall. If you tarry to your bed, you
will never come at all. Because he came to call not the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. Then Jesus Christ went on his
way after this to Jerusalem to redeem this man, Bartimaeus,
whose eyes he had opened. Because he was one of those God
gave him before the foundation of the world. He said, I'm going
to lay down my life for the sheep. I'm dying for the sheep. The
last sentence here in this passage. And immediately he, Bartimaeus,
received his sight and followed Jesus in the way. What a beautiful
close to this most beautiful miracle. How it ends. The poor man received his sight
and followed Jesus in the way. Followed him no doubt into regeneration,
followed him all the way to glory. Bartimaeus now sits before the
Son of God, beholding Him, beholding Him in glory, because these are
they that follow the Lamb wherever He goes. I found this, I remembered this,
and I found it. Let me share this, a few lines
of this old hymn with you. It said, one sat alone beside
the highway begging. His eyes were blind, the light
he could not see. He clutched his rags and shivered
in the shadows. That was me. That was me. He was blind, the
light he could not see. He clutched his rags and just
shivered in the shadows. Oh, but Jesus came and made the
darkness flee. When Jesus comes, the tempter's
power is broken. When Jesus comes, the tears are
wiped away. He takes the gloom and fills
the life with glory. For all is changed when Jesus
comes this day. And the city had no need of the
sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it. For the glory of
God did lighten it, and the lamb is the light thereof. And there
shall be no night there, And they need no candle, neither
light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they
shall reign forever and ever. Amen. Amen. God bless you.