Spiritual blindness and pride can hinder us in our walk with Christ. We can fail to see just exactly how close He is to us. And, when we fail to see His closeness it often leads to fear and unbelief. So, I want to encourage you today, take note of His nearness. Consider what He endured for you. It is very personal. And, then, as you consider these things, reach out to Him in prayer. He has utterly destroyed every barrier in the way; the veil has been ripped in two, top to bottom, and you can now come in.

This was the message delivered at Green Meadow Community Church the day after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

Our King Jesus is also a Prophet and our Priest, and what we see in verse 11 is a temple inspection. We have talked about our Lord’s offices in previous episodes, and He acts here within the duties of these offices. He is King of Israel, the Prophet of God –foretelling with 100% accuracy the future events soon to take place, and the only High Priest you will ever need—in the order of Melchizedek. He is the final offeror and the final offering. In this office, the temple is under His jurisdiction.

We have been making our way through Mark’s Gospel, and in a sense we have been journeying with our Lord to His destination—the cross. We have heard the voice of the one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” We have been called to action, and we have seen the power of forgiveness. We learned that not only is Christ the Lord of lords and the King of kings, but that He is also the friend of sinners. We have seen that He is Lord of the Sabbath. While we take our rest in Him, we are at the same time to shine the light into the darkness. Time and again we have seen our Lord Jesus cut to the heart of any given issue with precision, wisdom, and divine knowledge. In the midst of His miracles and signs we have seen the cost of true discipleship, we’ve learned that the first is to be last and the last will be first, and we’ve learned that if we do not come with the childlike faith, there will be no entrance into His glorious Kingdom. Today, we are going to consider yet another one of His miraculous healings—the healing of blind Bartimaeus. There is a picture here of spiritual things. So, I invite you to continue this journey with me as we consider this beautiful picture set before us today.

Jesus responds to His disciples, to Peter, James, and John specifically.

As we consider our passage today, we need to keep in mind the previous chapters we’ve covered. Remember how we’ve considered Christian service to others. Remember the things our Lord has said about the first being the last or the greatest being the least. Remember how He has emphasized the totally helpless dependency of a child as a comparison of what our dependency upon the Lord should be.

The world’s attitude toward children of the Hellenistic society in the 1st century was hostile. Of course, we all know that Herod had children put to death at the Advent according to Matthew 2:16-20. Children were in a precarious position. Sometimes they were loved. Sometimes they were exploited. This all depended upon how the family thought they could best benefit. There is a fragment of a letter believed to be dated 1 BC which contains instructions from a husband to his pregnant wife. She is instructed if it’s a boy, keep it; if it’s a girl cast it out. There was no Roman law which protected children in this case. Exposing children to the elements was not outlawed in Rome until 375 AD, in large part because of the Christian Church. It was the Christians who rescued babies.