Posts by Yong Joo Park:
Obstacle, Faith, and Healing
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’
38 He called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’
39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 ‘What do you want me to do for you?’
‘Lord, I want to see,’ he replied.
42 Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.’ 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
Message
A blind man was sitting by the roadside begging (35).
According to Mark 10:46, his name was Bartimaeus (which means son of Timaeus).
Sight is important and blindness is inconvenient. Due to blindness, he wasn’t very useful for any job. How hopeless. It forced him to be a beggar, who had to heavily rely on people’s mercy & help.
When he found out that Jesus was passing by (36, 37), he called out for Jesus to have mercy on him (38).
Jesus was the only hope for his healing & new life. But, he couldn’t see or walk to Jesus. Therefore, he had to shout aloud to be heard by Jesus.
Surprisingly, those who led the way rebuked his shout (39a).
Maybe they were too busy in business to lead the parade but forgot humanity …? This rebuke was the same mistake made in Luke 18:15, regarding little children. This time, it was a blind man. They rebuked helpless people who needed Jesus the most. It was against His will as well as freewill of those helpless people.
Here, we can learn people’s objection can be an obstacle in the journey of our faith in Jesus.
But he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ (39b).
He was persistent despite of people’s objection. His persistence showed his faith.
As a result, Jesus healed him and his new life began (40 – 43).
Summary
People working for the parade of Jesus did not stand in this man’s shoe. Instead they played an obstacle for this man to experience Jesus. It was his own faith in Jesus and his persistence that healed him (42).
The Kingdom of God belongs to the little children
Luke 18:15-17 15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I […]
Not looking back
Luke 17:20 – 37 Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come (20a). Jesus taught them based on how people tend to misunderstand about the kingdom of God (20b-24). The prerequisite of it is the Passion of the Christ (25). People may miss it out because of wrong priority in […]
Servanthood before God
Luke 17:7-10 7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after […]
Having enough time with God in 2017
Luke 14:12 – 24 I. Wise Inviter (12 – 14) In Luke 14:12 – 14, Jesus teaches us to be a wise inviter. See v12. 12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, […]
God will humble (or exalt) you at the final judgment
Luke 14:7 – 11 Let us start the interesting bible study today! The Bible is the best seller that gives us wisdom & inspiration to answer our various issues in life. In Luke 14:7 – 11, Jesus teaches us to be a humble invitee. First, Jesus asks us “do not take the place of honour” […]
Extending Mercy Without Limit
Luke 13:10 – 17 10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free […]
faith, love and holiness with propriety
There is difference in “uprightness” between men and women as written in the Bible. while I was still searching but not finding— I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all (Ecclesiastes 7:28). The Bible says that man was not created for woman, but woman for man. […]
Obeying & Fearing God than man
Genesis Chapter 3 shows the followings: The serpent deceived the woman (Genesis 3:1). The deceived woman misled the man (Genesis 3:6). God showed it was wrong that the man listened to the woman and disobeyed God (Genesis 3:17) and sentenced him to death (Genesis 3:19) The above 1 & 2 are still happening until now: […]
God shows favour to the humble
Luke 1:26-38 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is […]
