Dec. 12, 2021

LIFE-GIVING-GIFT

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. Mark 10:46-52 (ESV)

THE CROWD

• What do the crowd and the disciples believe Jesus to be? 

³³ “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; ³⁴ and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again”. Mark 10:33-34 (NKJV).

So, when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom? Acts 1:6(NLT)

• What are the crowd and the disciples seeking?

Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Mark 10:37 (NIV)

We see an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Luke 9:46(NIV)

• What are you seeking in your life?

BARTIMAEUS

• How does the crowd see Bartimaeus?

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:48 (ESV)

³⁸ She stood behind Jesus and cried at his feet. And she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair. She kissed them and poured perfume on them.³⁹ The Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this. He said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him. He would know what kind of woman she is. She is a sinner!” Luke 7:38-39 (NKJV)

• How did Jesus respond to Bartimaeus and the sinful woman?

And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” Mark 10:52 (NIV)

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:48, 50 (NIV)

• How do you associate with someone like Bartimaeus?

JESUS

 ⁴³ ... Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:43-45(NIV)

• What status are you holding onto today? 

• This season think of someone you and your family can serve.

And He was handed the book of prophet, Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captive and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Vs:21 Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. Luke 4:17-21(NKJV)

Jesus has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. Colossians 1:13 (NIV)

• What is the darkness in your life that you need rescue from?

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10(NIV)

but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  John 4:14 (ESV) 

 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” John 4:25(NIV)

• Do you believe Jesus came for you?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever may believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NIV)

 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)

• What are you seeking from Jesus?