Lessons From The Blind Beggar

It's easy to look past encounters like we studied yesterday.  I almost did as I prepared my message last week.  But the more I spent time in it I realized just how deep this passage was and just how intentional the author, Mark, was being.  The bottom line point of my message was this:

Feel entitled to nothing, be thankful for anything and realize that, 

because of your faith, you have gained everything.

Here are some bullet points we talked about as we looked at the beggar:

• He recognized Jesus for who he actually is.  This is seen in him calling him "Son of David."  Jews clearly took this as the Messiah, the one who would redeem all things broken.  Savior.
• He expected nothing.  He asks Jesus for mercy, not grace.  Mercy is not getting what you deserve.  He realizes his offenses against God and therefore asks for mercy.  
• When he goes to Jesus, he leaves behind his cloak.  This was his only means of survival.  People back then didn't have a closet full of cloaks.  They typically had two, one for everyday usage and maybe one for special occasions.  Since this man was obviously very poor, he probably had one.  He would have this partly on himself and partly spread on the ground so people could drop coins on it.  He leaves all this behind when he goes to Jesus.  He's blind, so if Jesus doesn't heal this man, he may not even find his way back to the cloak through the crowd.  This is what faith looks like.
• After being healed Jesus says, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  But the man doesn't go his own way, he follows Jesus on THE WAY.  Critical distinction must be made here.  The once blind beggar understands that he is to follow the ways of Jesus, not ask Jesus to follow his ways.

The gospel is not about asking Jesus to come into our lives.  

The gospel is about Jesus calling us into his life.

May we look to the beggar as an picture of what it means to be Christian.  And may we look to the example of Jesus in this story as well.  He not only noticed the person in need, he actually helped him.