TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Date: September 11, 2026. Lesson 180-2026. Desperate Faith: The Cry That Would Not Stop

Episode Date: September 11, 2026

In this Faith Friday edition of Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart continue the Desperate Faith series with blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10. Sitting beside the road as Jesus passed through Jericho, Bartimaeus had only one way to reach Him: his voice. When the people surrounding Jesus ordered him to be quiet, “he cried the more a great deal.” His desperate faith stopped Christ on the road to Jerusalem and the cross. This lesson examines faith that refuses to be silenced, the danger of allowing others to stand between us and Christ, and the remarkable response of Bartimaeus after receiving his sight. Jesus told him, “Go thy way,” but Bartimaeus chose to go Christ’s way instead. Sometimes desperate faith means refusing to stop crying out until Jesus stands still. Lesson 180-2026 Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting MannaNation.com, calling 1-888-519-4935, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961 MEGA FIRE reveals the ancient recurring cycles of war and economic collapse that have shaped history for 600 years. These patterns predict America is now entering its most dangerous period since World War II. Get your copy today! www.megafire.world Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves! www.AmericanReserves.com It’s the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today! www.Amazon.com/Final-Day Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! www.books.apple.com/final-day Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. www.Sacrificingliberty.com

Welcome to Morning Manor. Welcome to Morning Manor. Your teachers, Rackwiles and Dr. Burkla. Get your Bible and notebook and get ready to here before. Welcome to Morning Manor. It's Faith Friday, and that means we will study the topic of faith today. And it also means that we will begin our Bible study with the Lord's Supper. So you are invited to join with tens of thousands of Christian saints worldwide in a virtual global Holy Communion Service, the Eucharist, the great Thanksgiving feast, whatever.

Your church calls the sacred meal. You're invited to join with us. We don't believe, just for the record, we don't believe that we are eating crackers and drinking grape juice. we believe that we are feasting by faith on the flesh and blood of our crucified Savior Jesus Christ. To participate, you will need bread and your choice of grape juice or red wine, and you will also need faith that the resurrected Christ is present in this meal. Jesus Christ is the only one who invites us to dinner, to sit at his dinner table, and he serves himself as the meal. Only the Savior can do such a thing.

Now, today's lesson is part two in the series Desperate Faith. As always, we begin our lessons and our Bible study and our communion service. with the Lord's prayer. So please say aloud this prayer, along with tens of thousands of saints worldwide, who will be saying it aloud with you. Our Father, which art in heaven, Allah be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, if thine is the kingdom, power, and the glory forever. Amen. Amen. Now let's enter into the Lord's table at this time. Let's open with prayer.

Almighty God, in your tender mercy you gave your only begotten son, Jesus Christ, suffer death upon the cross for our redemption. offered himself and made once for all time a perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. He instituted this remembrance of his passion and death, which he commanded us to continue until he comes again. So, Father, we ask you to bless and sanctify with your word and Holy Spirit these gifts of bread and wine that we may partake of his most blessed body and blood. Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed once for all upon the cross. Therefore, let us keep the feast. Hallelujah.

On the night that he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, he broke it, and then gave it to his disciples, saying, Take eat. This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for you,

preserve your body and soul to everlasting life. This is the bread of heaven. Take and eat in remembrance that Christ died for you. After supper, Jesus took the cup, and when He had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink this all of you. But this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this and remembrance of me. Praise God, hallelujah. Praise the Lord.

The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for you, preserve your body and soul to everlasting life. Drink the cup of salvation and remembrance that Christ's blood was shed. and for you, be thankful. Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world, and blessed are those who are invited to the Married Supper of the Lamb. This sacrament is the gift of God

for the people of God. Feed on Him by faith with Thanksgiving that Christ died for you. Thank you. Heavenly Father, we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the most precious body

and blood of Jesus Christ. your son and our Savior, and for assuring us in these holy mysteries that we are living members of the body of Christ and heirs of your eternal kingdom. And now, Father, to you and to Christ our Lord and to the Holy Spirit, the honor and glory now and forever. Amen. Well, last Friday, we started a brand new series called Desperate Faith. And the first week, week one of the series, examined a woman who interrupted Christ by touching without permission. It was a great lesson, by the way. Week two examines a man who interrupted him with his voice and who was told directly by many people to stop. We have the account of Bart Mias, and it's the last healing miracle Mark records before the

triumphal entry Christ, is leaving Jericho on that final road to Jerusalem and to the cross. So this is the pinnacle miracle for heading to Jerusalem. And he is surrounded by a great number of people. He had a lot of people around him. Mark gives us the man's name, which is unusual. Most people healed in the Gospels remain anonymous. and the naming of Bartimaeus, along with his father, Timaeus, suggests he was known to the early church,

possibly a member of the early church, and possibly the source of this account. Now, in our narrative today, he's a blind beggar sitting by the highway. Now, in the ancient world, blindness meant almost certain poverty, and poverty meant dependence on the charity travelers passing by.

The roadside, if you will, Rick, was his workplace. What follows is the most straightforward case of desperate faith in the Gospels. He heard, he cried out, he was told to be quiet, and he cried the more

a great deal. And so our lesson today, its aim is to examine what Barnumas did. When the crowd around Christ tried to silence him and to honestly name the fact that the people telling him to stock were the ones closest to Jesus. It's a fascinating tale here. All right. Let's look in Mark chapter 10. That's Mark chapter 10,

verse 46 through 52. I'm reading from the King James. And they came to Jericho, and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, Blind Bartamaus, identifies him, his condition and his name, the son of Tamaus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace. But he cried, the more a great deal. Thou son of David, have mercy on. And Jesus stood still. I like the way that Mark puts this. Jesus stood still and commanded him to be call. And they called the blind man. The ones that told him to shut up, Rick. Now they're calling the blind man, saying unto him, be of good comfort. Rise, he calleth thee. Their tune changed,

and he casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said on him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, go thy way. Thy faith had made thee whole. And immediately, he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way. Rick, I'm really looking forward to this Faith Friday lesson today. Me too, Doth. This is one of my favorite accounts in the New Testament. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out. He just, he wasn't going to be able to. hey Jesus, Jesus over here, look at me. He was shrieking.

He was crying out. He was shouting above all the other voices. This was not a polite request for attention. He wasn't raising it, Jesus, Jesus. Could you look over here at me, Jesus? He was shouting, shouting louder louder than anyone else. He raised his voice over a crowd. proud of people were shouting, but he shouted louder.

Note what it triggered. He heard. Why is this significant? Because a blind man or woman's information comes through his ears. And someone in the passing crowd said that name, Jesus. That was all the opportunity he had. and he seized it immediately. Jesus was passing by. And he was determined not to let Jesus pass him by without healing him. Newt also, what he could not do.

He could not see where Christ was. Yes. He could not push through the crowd towards Jesus. Because he couldn't see. see Jesus. He could not catch his eye on Jesus. He couldn't make eye contact with Jesus. He didn't know where he was at in the crowd. His voice was his only instrument available, and so he used it with all his might. He turned his voice up to maximum volume. He shouted it as loud as he could shout.

You ever been somewhere where somebody is, I mean, shouting? I mean, it will get your attention. What did he shout? Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. Why do these words deserve careful attention today? Son of David is a mezzianic title. It identified Jesus as the promise heir of King David's room. He said, Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me.

He claimed the covenant promises. Yes. The blind man knew the covenant promises, and he claimed them. He stood on the promise of God. He called him the Son of David, meaning you are the Messiah. You are the promise Savior. It means that a blind beggar on the Jericho Road is publicly declaring Jesus to be the Messiah. This is remarkable because the disciples of Jesus had just been arguing about which one of them would be the greatest.

Yes. The crowd was following Jesus without understanding who he is and where he was going. And what do we have here? It's a blind man who can see that Jesus is the Messiah. Glory. Hallelujah. Doc, that's worth coming to this lesson just for that revelation. A blind man could see that Jesus is the Messiah.

Let me ask, there's some people watching us right now on television, and you're not a Christian. Are you blind? Are you so blind that you can't see that Jesus Christ is the Messiah? A real blind man, are you spiritually blind? A physically blind man could see that Jesus was the Messiah. Are you spiritually blind, and you can't see that he's the Messiah? Because the people around Jesus were spiritually blind. They couldn't see he was the Messiah. They knew he was a great teacher.

He was a miracle worker. They considered him a great rabbi, but they didn't recognize him as the Messiah. But a blind man did. A blind man could see the obvious. He said, have mercy on me. Have you ever sung the ancient hymn, Kirae Aelea's son,

Doc. It is one of the most beautiful hymns that's ever been sung. I get goosebumps every time I'm in a church that sings it. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy. It may be the oldest hymn known today. It goes back to the early centuries of church. What did the church sing in the earth? What was the favorite hymn in the early days of the church? Lord have mercy. Lord of Mayas did not present claim or merit or an argument.

He didn't say, hey, I'm a member of the chosen race. He didn't say anything like that. He asked for mercy, which is what a man or woman asked for when he or she has nothing to bargain with. Yes. Bless it are the poor and spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? it means that you recognize that you were spiritually bankrupt. When you recognize you're spiritually bankrupt,

the kingdom of God is yours. Artemis knew that he had nothing, they had nothing to present to Jesus. He was a poor, blind baker. And the people charged him that he should hold his peace. They rebuked him, they censored him, they sternly ordered him to shut up. They didn't say, hey, why it down?

You can shout but not so loud. They told him to shut up. Yeah. Hold your peace. Today, somebody would say, hey, big mouth, shut up. Jesus doesn't want to hear your big mouth. This is interesting because the verb that's used for charged, many charged him that he should hold his peace,

which means to rebuke, to censor. It's the same verb used when Jesus rebuked demons, and when he rebuked the storm. That's right. So the crowd was not merely suggesting that Bartameas lower his voice. They firmly, sternly rebuked him the language of authority, correcting something that they think is out of order. Well, how did Bartimaeus respond?

But he cried the more a great deal. The rebuke did not reduce his volume. Bartameas doubled down. He increased his volume, and he shouted louder. And he kept shouting, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. Matthew Henry observed that Bartameas understood something the crowd did not, that this was the one opportunity he would have, that Christ was leaving.

He was leaving Jericho and would not return, and that a man with a single chance does not spend it being polite. Sometimes, my friend, sometimes in church you need to, it doesn't matter what the deacons think. It doesn't matter what the biggest donor in the church thinks. It doesn't matter. Sometimes you need to shout. Oh, God, have mercy on me. Sometimes you just shout. Don't be afraid of him. Yeah. You know, Rick, I think it might help if we look at the identity of those who silenced him

because it deserves careful attention because it's probably the most uncomfortable feature of the account. And I, and, you know, in preparing for this lesson, I was trying to recall of all the times I'd ever heard a sermon or a message on Martinus, there was never an examination of those that rebuked it. Mark says many charged it, and the many were the people that were following Jesus. They were the ones following Jesus. They'd seen other miracles.

They'd heard Jesus teach. So this was an opposition from the religious leaders or the Pharisees or the Romans. The crowd around Christ tried to silence a man calling out to Christ. Now, their motives were probably not malicious. Maybe. Probably not. They may have thought the beggar was being disrespectful, that the master was occupied with more significant matters,

or that a man of Jesus of stature should not be shouted at from a roadside. The result was the same regardless of the motive, whether it was intentional or not. People close to Jesus became the obstacle between a desperate man and the mercy that he was seeking. Now, this pattern occurs throughout the Gospels. The disciples revoked those who brought children to Jesus. We read that in Mark chapter 10. They wanted to send away hungry crowds. Read that in Mark chapter 6.

They urged Christ to dismiss the serifination woman because she crieth after us in Matthew 15. So this was a pattern that persisted among those following Jesus. Something for us to really think about today. It still happens. It still happens. In each case, people who genuinely loved Christ or said they loved Christ tried to manage access to him. and in each case, Christ overrule them. And it goes on today.

Churches can communicate, sometimes unintentionally, that certain people's needs are too loud, too persistent, or they're too inconvenient, that the ministry has more significant priorities than one desperate person way out at the edge of the crowd. Mark chapter 10, verse 14, records Christ's response when his disciples, did this with children. What did Jesus say to them? He said, he was much displeased. Oh my goodness,

he was much displeased. The displeasure was directed at those managing access, not at those seeking the access. And so if people around Jesus have told you that you're crying out as inappropriate, maybe it's too frequent, maybe it's too emotional, maybe it's just too much, This account records what Christ did with that judgment. He stopped. He stopped. He called the man before. And Doc, how did Jesus respond?

It's stated with four words. Yes. And Jesus stood still. Yes. A blind man stopped the son of God. It's an amazing statement. And Jesus stood still. Jesus was on his final journey to Jerusalem.

He has told his disciples three times what awaited him there. Betrayal, condemnation, mockery, scourging, death, crucifixion. He's walking toward the cross with a great multitude around him. And he stops. He stops for a beggar. He stopped because of a shout from a poor beggar. Multitudes of people were trying to get his attention, but the shout for mercy from a blind beggar stopped him in his tracks.

And Jesus is walking through heaven. Has he ever heard your shout for mercy? Has he ever stopped and said, that's my daughter? Have you ever shouted and Jesus in heaven stops and looks at the angels? That's my son just heard his voice. He's shouting. He's in trouble.

He needs me. You know, these little wimpy prayers. They get little wimpy answers. The Greek word is staws, having stood, having come to a halt. He stopped in his tracks. A blind beggar shout, arrested. the forward motion of the song of God. A plea for mercy prevented the Son of God from taking another step.

The entire procession, remember, he's on his way to Calvary. He's on his way to be crucified. The entire procession, that journey to Jerusalem, to be tried in a false fort, tended to be betrayed, to be tried by a false court, to be scourged, to be crucified, to be buried, to be resurrected to us. All of it, Doc, all of this is for the salvation of the entire human race, and the entire, that trip was halted by the cry of a poor beggar.

This is the second time. in this Faith Friday series. We've seen Jesus interrupt an urgent journey. Last week, he stopped. He was on his way to a dying child, Jarrah's daughter, and he stopped on the way. I remember the woman with the issue of blood.

She stopped him. She was desperate. Here he stops on the way to his own death. In the other one, he was on his way to a daughter who was going to a death. Ah, yes. Now he stops on his way to his own death. And what stops him each time, the cry for mercy? Yes.

In both cases, the interruption was a desperate person. And in both cases, Jesus gave the interruption his full attention. He didn't turn and say, Bartimaeus, I'm sorry, I'm going to Jerusalem. him to be crucified. I got bigger things I got to do. I got to save the entire human race. No, he's got to heal one single blind man. Doc, there's a lot of Christian zealots who are zealous for the gospel to be preached worldwide, but they don't have time for one poor person. Yes. And commanded him to be called. Jesus commanded him to be called. Jesus looked at his disciples and says, go get him.

Now, this is interesting because the people had been rebuking Barnemus. They were telling him to shut up. Now, the same people who were telling Bartameas to shut up, you're interrupting Jesus, you're getting on his nerves, the same people are now being commanded by Jesus, go get him. The same people. and they call the blind man saying unto him be of good comfort rise he calleth thee there's a complete total change in their tone yes oh art of mass we didn't mean that you had to shut out the minister would like to see you

i mean just moments earlier they were telling him to be quiet now they are encouraging him what does that tell you about people, the fickleness of people. One minute people are telling you to shut up the next minute they're telling you to be encouraged. People are fickle. Jesus is eternal. He's stable. The crowd's assessment of Bartamaeus changed the,

now listen to this. The way that the crowd assessed Bartamaus changed the most. the moment they perceived that the way Christ assessed Bartimaeus was different than theirs. Right. Suddenly they swim. Oh, hey, we're with Jesus. Yeah.

We're, hey, forget what we just said. We're with Jesus now. Hey, old Bartimae's whole body. Come on. The Lord wants to see you. A minute before, they were telling him to stick a sock at his mouth. And probably somebody said, you get the sock, I'll go over and stick it in his big mouth. They had been confident.

First, the crowd was confident that Bartimaeus was an interruption. Then they became equally confident that he was summoned by Jesus, worthy to have a face-to-face conversation with Jesus. So what does this tell us? And be careful about how a crowd evaluates a situation or a person or a group. The crowd was wrong. They spoke loudly and they spoke with authority, yet they were wrong. And then the crowd reversed itself completely without embarrassment.

Kind of like politicians. politicians can change what they're saying and have no embarrassment whatsoever. They just keep rolling. That's what the crowd did. Now, it says, and he casting away his garment rose and came to Jesus. Why is this important? Because the beggar's outer garment was in those days his most valuable possession. I'll give you three reasons.

Number one, the value. In ancient times, textiles were handmade. They were highly expensive. The outer cloak served as the protection against the weather elements and also provided a blanket at night when the temperature is cold. Number two, I recalled the lap effect. The garment served as a garment served as, the beggars donation basket.

Beggars sat with their outer cloaks draped over their knees or spread on the ground to catch the tallest points. That's right. So casting the cloak aside meant losing the ability to collect money. And then there's the social signifier. I've heard people say that the beggar's garment was a license to, beg. That's not necessarily actual. I understand why they say it.

But it did signify the beggar's social status. It was a coarse, tattered, dirty cloak. It identified someone as a beggar. It wasn't a license, but it was their identity. He's wearing a beggar's coat. He's a beggar's. But what did Bartimaeus do?

He threw it away. He threw away his identity. Christ makes you a new person. Behold, all things are made new. You are a new creature in Christ. When you were born again, throw away your old identity. You're not a drunk. You're not a drug addict.

You're not a greedy money grubber. You're not a sexual addiction. It's your old identity. Throw it away. It's your beggars coat. Throw it away. Get rid of your old identity. You're a new creature in Christ.

You've been born again. Not refreshed. Not renewed. Born again. And you have a new identity in Christ. And Barnetius threw away his old identity. He just didn't set it aside. He didn't fold it up.

and set it over here and go, well, I'll come back and get this later. He didn't ask someone to hold it. They didn't put it in a basket somewhere. He threw it away. He was done with it. He was done with it. He abandoned his identity and his security before he was healed. Amen.

He had his new identity before Jesus ever healed. That's faith. And then he started moving. towards Christ. Charles Spurgeon noted that the garment that Artemis threw off was the emblem of his old life, that the beggar's cloak would never be needed again, and that the man who is certain of what he is going to receive

can afford to discard what he has been living on. So my question to you is, what beggar's garment are you clinging to instead of receiving the mercy that Christ offers. Amen. What a great question, Reg. And Jesus' question to Bartmaeus is one of the most theologically rich moments in the Gospels.

And it can appear puzzling at first when you stop and think about it. It says, what will thou I should do unto thee? That was the question. So Christ asked a blind man. what he desires. Okay? The answer would seem obvious, right? But the question, you know,

Jesus didn't need the information. The question was not for Jesus' information. It was for Barnamius' articulation. And three things are accomplished by it. First, it required the man to specify his request. It's possible to shout for mercy in general and to remain vague about what one action. needs. And vagueness can be a way of protecting oneself from the disappointment of a specific

request that's refused. So secondly, it dignified him. Jesus addresses this beggar. A beggar spent his days receiving just whatever passerby chose to give him without being consulted. Christ asked him. No passerby ever asked, well, if I give you this, you know, what do you want with? No, Christ asked him what he desired. He treated him as a person with a will rather than a charity case just to be processed and moved on. The third thing it did is it distinguished his request from what a beggar would ordinarily ask for. What was a beggar asking for all the time? He was asking for money.

He could have asked for money. He could have done that, right? That was his profession. A generous gift from a famous rabbi. Wow, that would have been a remarkable and reasonable outcome. But he asked for his sight. Ask for the right thing, folks. Ask for what you need.

Consider Mark 1036. Mark places two accounts close to for this exact reason. Now, listen. Christ asked James and John, his disciples, the identical question, what would ye that I should do for you? He asked them the very same question. And they asked for seats of honor in his glory.

Think about that. They asked for seats of honor. Two requests, same question, the disciples asked for status, the blind beggar asked for eyesight. and Mark's arrangement of these two right next to each other invites the reader to compare them. You said, look at these two stories. Jesus asked the same question of the beggar and James and John.

And Barnumas says, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And the Greek word rabbuni for rabbi, it's the intensified form of rabbi, meaning my master, not just a general classification rabbi, but you are my teacher, Lord, you're the one. It's the same word that Mary Magdalene uses at the tomb in John 20, verse 16. Now, our Heavenly Father would frequently ask his people to articulate what they actually desire from him,

not because he doesn't know, but because articulation clarifies for us what we have been vaguely searching or circling around. And in James chapter 4 verse 2, the diagnosis applies directly here. You have not because you ask not.

Friends, some things go unreceived, not because God is unwilling, but because the request was never actually made. Something to really ponder there, Rick. Yes, sir.

And then we have and Jesus said unto him, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee old. Doc is the same words Jesus spoke to the woman with the issue of blood that we studied last week in Faith Friday. Thy faith have saved thee. The same verb is there, Sozo, which is the salvation word. Bartimaeus received sight and something more. Let me explain this. Go thy way.

Christ released him. Jesus healed him, setting free, released him, and Bartameas was under no obligation to remain there with Jesus. Jesus said, go thy way. Your faith has made you bold. I can see Jesus, with his hands, go, Artemis, go. You're healed.

I had mercy on you. Go. You're free man now. Go. You can see. Go live life. You're free. But what happened? And immediately he received a sight. Doc, Bartamaus, Jesus said first, you're released,

and then he healed it. Wouldn't you think that the healing would come before the release? Is this backwards? No, it's not backwards. Jesus says, go thy way, a faith has made thee whole. And immediately he received a sight. The healing came after Jesus released him.

It was Jesus's recognition of Barthamace's faith that brought about the healing. So the healing was instantaneous. It was complete. And it was immediate. There was no process required. Jesus didn't say, Bartimaeus go down to the river and dip seven times. He didn't say, let me rub some mud and spit in your eyes.

He didn't say anything like that. He just said, you heal, you're released, go your way. What did Bortemus do? And follow Jesus in the way. Jesus told Bartimaeus, go your way, leave. Jesus said to Bartasmaeus, I am giving you freedom to go in your way. Yes.

Go thy way. Whatever way you want to go in, Barnabas, you've been blind for many years, you're now free, go live your life. What did Bartamaeus do? He chose Rice's way. Yes. He followed Jesus in the way.

When God heals us, when He doesn't, delivers us when he answers our prayer we are to go our way live our lives do the work that he has given us to do christ's way must become our way they're not separate they're not contradictory our way becomes christ's way christ's way christway christway becomes our way we should seamlessly melt our will into his will that you can't see where we're His will and your will stop and begin. These melt together in the way.

Another way is saying it is on the road. It's the same road Christ was walking when Bartameas stopped him. The road to Jerusalem. The road to crucifixion. The road to the cross. Bartimaeus healed for the first time in his life, he can see. And he chose to walk the way of the cross. So Bartimaeus does not receive his sight and start a new life. He receives his sight and uses it to follow the one who gave it to it.

On a road headed towards Jerusalem toward the cross. Now, Doc pointed out, but Mark used two instances to teach us the same principle. Like, what do you want, what are you asking for? The disciples said, we want thrones. And Aramaic says, I was like to see. Well, there's another instance here where Mark juxtapost two responses. The wealthy man, this is in Mark 10, verses 21, 22, the rich young ruler. This is in the same chapter of Mark.

He was told what he had to do to follow Christ. How did he respond? He went away, grieved, for he had great possessions. Yes. The rich man kept his goods. and lost everything else. Actually, Doc, you could say, the rich man kept his wealth and lost his sight.

I like that. The beggar threw away his only garment and gained a sight. Mark 10 contains both, and it's not accidental. Mark deliberately put them there, and the Holy Spirit inspired Mark to do it. Adam Clark, Methodist, theologian, observe that the true measure of a healing is what the healed man or woman does

with what he or she receives. And that Bartameas answered the question immediately. His first act with restored eyes was to fix them on Christ. Yes. You know, Rick, I'd never made that connection before between the between Bartamaus and the rich young ruler before. You know, Bartimaas threw away everything that he owned. Everything he owned. A beggars code. Yeah, that's it.

That's all he owned. That was his home. That was his livelihood. That was his protection. That was his security. And Jesus asked the rich young ruler to do that very same thing. Give up everything. Throw it away and follow me.

And he couldn't do it. He couldn't do it. It's amazing how the Lord just weave the scriptures together to just reveal an awesome portrait of his grace. And so when we're looking at this account, Rick, the conclusion of it rest on the relationship between receiving from Christ and following Christ. So, Bartamas was given permission to leave. He'd been healed. He was given permission to leave. nothing in the healing obligated him to follow.

Think about that. Nothing obligated Bartimaeus to follow Jesus. The healing was not conditional on discipleship. And Christ imposed no terms. He said, well, now that I've healed you, you better follow me. No. His following was therefore entirely volunteer. And it's voluntary character.

It's what made significant. He was not recruited. He was healed. Jesus released him, and he chose the road anyway. So let's consider the stark contrast between Barnemus and the ten lepers healed by Jesus in Luke chapter 17. Ten lepers were cleansed. One returned to give thanks. Christ's question, were there not ten cleansed?

but where are the nine? He indicates that receiving without returning is both possible and common. And it happens today, Rick. The nine were genuinely healed. Christ didn't revoke their cleansing. He didn't say, well, they didn't follow me,

so they get leprosy again. But only one received the further word. Thy faith had made the whole. And it was the same term that's used with Barnum antheir, your faith has made you whole, not just healed, but whole. Many people receive genuine mercies from God and just go their way. One of the early things that bothered me in my early years of ministry is how people could receive miraculous healings, miraculous provision, miraculous deliverance, and go their way.

It bothered me for years. It absolutely, it concerned me. How could that be? But we have here the example that there's a choice to be made. There's a choice to be made. You can have genuine miracles and not follow Jesus. The mercy is real, and the going is permitted. Jesus will heal you, and you can go your way.

but something is available to the one who follows that is not available to the one who merely receives. You know what that is? It's wholeness, wholeness, wholeness. Bartimaeus interrupted. He was rebuked. He persisted. He was called by Jesus and was healed, and then made the interruption permanent by joining the procession that he had stopped. Now, Hebrews 116 applies our theological framework for this.

It says, He that comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. And that word diligently to seek out earnestly describes exactly what Bartamaus did on the Jericho Road. So here's a message everyone watching and listening today. If you've been told that your persistence and prayer is excessive by people or by your own sins and you've asked way too many times,

Mark chapter 10, according to what Christ did with a man who would not stop asking. Jesus stood still. Jesus called him to come. Jesus healed him. And that formerly blind man did not depart Jesus, but followed him in the way. could have gone his way, but he went in the way.

And he was made whole, made hope, not just healed, but made whole. Praise God. What a message. Amen. A lot of beautiful truth in this lesson today. And we don't know what happened to Barnumias, but I just, I think he became a leader in the church. Yeah, I think so too. In fact, they've been a powerful.

Hold by name, not just his name, but this is Bartimaeus. You know, this is the son of Tomeas. Everybody knows these two. Yes. Can you imagine you attended the church with Pastor Bartimaeus? Okay. And the pastor said, let me tell you, there was a day when I was blind. Oh, I see.

How that story over and over and over. Or maybe he wasn't a pastor, but I can imagine years later, Christians saying, is Brother Bartimae's here? Would he stand up and tell us about the day he met Jesus? Well, he may not have been a pastor, Rick, but he still preaches today. He just still preachers today. That's right. And there's a difference in being healed and being made whole.

Yes. Stay for the whole thing. get the whole packing. Don't leave too early. Don't go your way, go his way, and be made whole. See, Artemus could have left and gone his way, healed. But he turned his eyes that could now see towards Jesus and was made whole. The made whole came after he turned his eyes to Jesus. He could have just skipped down the road and said, thank you, Jesus, I appreciate it. And Jesus was way and said, okay, Bartimaeus, glad you can see, and everything would have been okay.

Nothing wrong with that at all. Nothing wrong with that at all. Bartamaeus was so grateful for this man, Jesus, who gave him eyesight, he fixed his eyes, his newly healed eyes. He fixed his eyes on Jesus, so wherever you're going, I'm going with him. And Jesus said, I'm going to Jerusalem to die.

I'm going to Jerusalem with you. and he was made whole, which means he got the whole enchilada dog. He got it all. Whatever Jesus had to give him, he got the whole package. He was made whole. Okay, that's it. Faith Friday today. Monday, we start chapter 29.

So maybe over the weekend you can get a little peat, start looking at chapter 29 to get an idea to get an idea of the first couple of verses. Be blessed. Have a good weekend. Spend some quiet time with the Lord. Know that we love you. We appreciate you. Looking forward to seeing you on Monday morning.

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