Redemptive Stories: Bartimaeus
Sermon Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Redemptive Stories
Mark 10:46-52 (ESV)
46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Sermon Outline
1. God’s Redemptive Story
v47 “Jesus, son of David”
2. Bartimaeus’s Redemptive Story
v51 “what do you want me to do for you?”
v52 “he recovered his sight and followed him on the way”
3. Our Redemptive Story
v48 “have mercy on me”
v49 “take heart. Get up; he is calling you”
v52 “your faith has made you well”
Prayer of Confession
Merciful and gracious God, you have shown grace and favor by sending Jesus as you promised, to open blind eyes, soften hard hearts, and raise spiritually dead people. We confess our weak faith. We know corruption has been at work in us. We see it in how we misunderstand you, and how we judge and mistreat others. We have not lived within your redemptive story, but having sought our own ways, we have brought confusion and difficulty to ourselves. Forgive us. Jesus, son of David, have mercy on us. Open our eyes that we would see you as our healer and redeemer. Give us ears to hear your call that we may follow your way. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
In what ways do you experience spiritual blindness? How are God and His ways hard to see and discern?
If Jesus asked you “what do you want me to do for you?” what would you answer? What do you think you should answer? What would you want to answer?
Where does the story of your life connect with the story of the Bible, a story that culminates in the ministry of Jesus? Where are you disconnected?
Is your future hopeful? Why or why not? As you reflect on the story of your life, what gives any sense of whether or not your future is good?
What can you do when you can’t make sense of your current situation? What does it look like (practically) to have faith?
How is faith a way of seeing and understanding?
Why is prayer for mercy an ordinary part of the Christian life? Do you truly believe God is merciful?