Overview of: MarkToday's Reading:
Mark 10:32 – 11:11
"The Road to Jerusalem"
Focus Verses: Mark 10:48-50
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49 Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
Insight:
Each of the four sections of today's reading offer important things to think about, but the blind man, Bartimaeus, has caught my attention. There he was, a beggar, sitting along the roadside, doing the same thing he had done day after day with little hope for anything to ever change. And yet, the very moment he heard that Jesus was passing along that way, he erupted with hope began to shout out his name.
I love the way he seized upon his opportunity to encounter Jesus with such abandon and intensity. I love that when others told him to calm down and be quiet "he shouted all the more." He had, apparently, already heard a lot about Jesus and was not about to miss the opportunity to meet him.
Jesus restored Bartimaeus' sight and commended his faith. Bartimaeus left his place among the beggars and followed Jesus down the road.
Response and Action:
I want to call out to Jesus with the intensity and focus of Bartimaeus. When circumstances, people, or even my own feelings and doubts tell me to calm down and be quiet, I will shout out all the more! I believe in Jesus and in his power to save and restore. I will pursue him with abandon, asking him for healing and for hope. I will follow Jesus wherever he leads and leave my blindness and begging behind.
O God, thank you for the mercy and healing you have given through Christ Jesus, your son. Help me to seek him above all else. Give me a focus and desire for Jesus that cannot be suppressed. Help me to encounter him through the Scriptures, through the Spirit, through the Church, and through his redemptive and saving work in my life. Help me to follow him all the days of my life. Help me to press on to take hold of all the blessing and purpose he has for me. It's in his healing name that I pray. Amen.
Old Testament for Today: Psalm 146:7-8
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, 8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
In Context: Psalm 146
Proverb for Today: Prov. 19:8
"He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers."
Recommended Reading:
Encountering Jesus: 8 Studies for Individuals or Groups
by Douglas Connelly
