Let's take our Bibles now and turn to Mark's Gospel, the 10th chapter. Mark chapter 10, and we will have the great joy of finishing this chapter today and preparing for a great section yet to come. As you see in chapter 11, we see the triumphal entry. So we are on the brink of some of the most beloved portions of Scripture. But let's see what the Lord has for us in Mark chapter 10, verses 46 through 52. Mark 46 through 52. I want to bring a message today entitled, Following Jesus on the Road. In this text, we'll find blind Bartimaeus sat beside the road. That's what we'll consider in just a moment. Last time that we were together, we studied Mark chapter 10, verses 35 through 45. That's where James and John spoke to Jesus about their personal requests for great seats in the kingdom. That's where Jesus had the opportunity to teach his disciples about what true greatness is. Greatness is not about holding some high position. It's not about holding a diploma, but as we remember last week from the visual aid, greatness is about having a dirty towel. We all remember back to John chapter 13, where it says, Jesus, knowing that his time had come, he left the dinner table, he wrapped a towel around himself, and he washed his disciples' feet. So you have that image of the one who serves, who gets his towel dirty. That is the one who is truly great. Now in Mark chapter 10, we don't see that Jesus washes his disciples' feet. That's John's image, but here in Mark 10, Jesus shows how he serves man by giving his life as a ransom for them. That's how he served mankind. He made the greatest sacrifice to meet our greatest need. And that is the example that we need. We need that example because we are naturally and selfishly pursuing status. That's what is regular for us to do. And instead of doing that, what God would have us do is be satisfied with the status we have and the calling that God has given to each one of us. What we should do is to seek to serve other people instead of being a lord over other people. That is to say that life is not a massive game of king of the mountain. I hope you can remember what that game is about back to our younger days of the snow pile. But that's not what life is about. Life is about being truly great, which is to be a servant, which is to be a slave to other people. So in other words, when we think of true greatness, let's not think of being ahead of people, above people. Instead, let's think of serving other people, because that is true greatness in God's eyes, and it is exemplified in what Jesus Christ came to do. He came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. That's what we studied last time together. Today, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, let's consider being on the narrow way, being on the narrow way. Let's pray. Father, as we begin now, we ask that your word would fall upon our hearts and that it would bring forth fruit in our life, that it would nourish us, that we would meditate upon it, and Lord, that we would benefit from it and that our benefit would be clear and evident to all around us, that we have been with you. We have heard of your word and it has impacted our life. in a way that changed us. We ask that that would be for your glory. We ask for that in Jesus' name. Amen. I don't know about you, but being on the side of the road is not good. That either means that a police officer has noticed a traffic violation, or it means that your car has given up on you in some way, and therefore you're on the side of the road. But either way, being on the side of the road is not a good place to be. All of us would rather be on the road, rolling down the highway and making it to our destination. That's what we hope for. Now as we look at the end of Mark chapter 10, we meet a man who is beside the road that led to Jerusalem. And that's exactly where Jesus and his disciples and others are headed. We look in Mark chapter 10 verse 17, Jesus sets out on his journey and he says where he's going in verse 32, they're going to Jerusalem. And as Jesus said, he will go there and be betrayed, be condemned and be killed. That's why they were astonished that he was leading the way. Yet, he says on the third day that he will be raised. They didn't exactly understand that. But as he is on his way, he is going to Jerusalem so that he can provide eternal life. And as he is on his way to Jerusalem to do that, a rich man runs up to him and asks him how he can earn eternal life. That was back in verse 17. And instead of listening to Jesus and giving up all the things that he prized in life, the rich man turned away from Jesus and went away from him. Verse 22. And it would have seemed that that rich man would have been a great candidate to become a disciple. But Jesus goes on to explain that it's impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, just as it's impossible for a camel, the largest animal, to go through the eye of a needle, the smallest opening. It's impossible, that is, without a miraculous work of God. And now we come to the end of chapter 10, and Mark is going to record the last story before the climax of this book, which is the passion of Jesus Christ. It's gonna go from chapters 11 to chapters 15. And in chapter 11, we see the triumphal entry, where we celebrate Jesus entering the holy city. That's Palm Sunday. But here at the end of chapter 10 is the end of the long journey to Jerusalem. And at this point, as this section of Mark closes, Mark is gonna record the last healing of Jesus before he gets to Jerusalem, at least according to Mark. We know according to Luke that there's gonna be another salvation as well. But this is Mark recording a healing ministry. A blind man receives his sight. But what we cannot think that this is the last handout that Jesus gives before he gets to Jerusalem. This wasn't simply a goodwill gesture. Let's not mix the fact that this man who is beside the road is going to become a follower of Jesus Christ. So you see in verse 46 of chapter 10 that Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. But by the end of this episode, in verse 52, we find that he is following him, Jesus, on the way. And that word in 46 and the word in 52 are the same word, roadside and way, the same word. At first, Bartimaeus was simply a bystander, and in the end, he becomes a disciple. And as we study this passage this morning, we need to compare ourselves to blind Bartimaeus. We have to think. We have to see how he got on the road. And we have to ask ourselves, are we on that road as well? Am I a bystander or am I a disciple? Am I around Christianity or am I actually a Christ follower? And if I am a Christ follower, am I following or am I simply christening my life here and there with some religious things in general? But for the most part, I just run my life the way that I want to and as I please, nice as I see fit. God really doesn't enter into my decision making at all. As we look at this passage, we're gonna see that Jesus has the power and He has the compassion to make a difference in our life. He can remove what is keeping us, He can remove what is keeping us on the side of the road, and we need to believe in Him, and we need to trust Him, and we need to follow Him. And as we look at blind Barimatus, we see that he is a man who trusted Jesus, that Jesus had the power to help him, And then he ended up being healed and headed to Jerusalem with Jesus. He became a disciple. Well, how does that all start? How do you come from being a bystander to being on the road? Verses 46 and 47, we'll learn that we need to ask for God's mercy. Ask for God's mercy. That's what Bartimaeus did. He cried for mercy. Why? We need to ask for God's mercy because we need his mercy. Where do we find Bartimaeus? He was sitting in need. Let's look in our Bibles, verse 46. And they came to Jerusalem. And as he was leaving Jerusalem, I'm sorry, and they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, remember this is a large procession, they're all going to Jerusalem for the Passover. And as they're leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. So as we begin this scene, we see that there's a journey to Jerusalem that had to go through Jericho. And the Jericho mentioned in this passage is probably the Old Testament Jericho that we're very familiar with because of the book of Joshua. It was a place that was mostly abandoned. It's located about 18 miles northeast of Jerusalem. It's about five miles from the Jordan River. And this Jericho would be about a mile north of the New Testament Jericho, because there's actually two Jerichos. The New Testament Jericho is the one that Jesus would go to next on the way to Jerusalem. That's where Zacchaeus was healed, according to the book of Luke. And it's the New Testament Jericho that was like a resort city. That's where Herod built his winter palace. It would have been a very rich place. Not very far away, but there are two Jerichos. And this Jericho area would have been a prime location for a beggar to beg because it's a rich community and it's a major throughway. So beside this route sat a blind man and he begged because he was blind and he could not provide for himself. At that time there was no welfare system in place like we have in the United States of America. So people like this had no choice but to seek the mercy of a kind passerby. And this blind beggar was named Bartimaeus, and he sat on the side of the road in need. And as we compare Bartimaeus to the character we've already met in chapter 10, the rich man, what a contrast between the two. The rich man had all the signs of God's blessings because he had abundant wealth like Abraham and Job. The blind man had all the signs of sin. Remember at that time the Jews believed that blindness is God's curse upon someone who has sinned. You recall the discussion in John chapter nine where the Pharisees say, well the disciples I believe ask, well who sinned, the man or his father? Because they believed that blindness was connected with sin. So Bartimaeus as a blind man would have been considered a sinner. The rich man and the blind man, both of these people had a need, although one didn't seem to perceive his need. That was the rich man. He doesn't understand his need because he has so much, just like we Americans have so much. And it makes me think of Revelation 3, verse 17, where it says, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing. Not realizing that you are wretched and pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. You see, we have two people, one that seems to need nothing and the one that has great need. The reality is that both have a need. The question is, can we identify with blind Bartimaeus? Are we gonna benefit from this passage by actually identifying with the one who is sitting beside the road in need? And that's where we have to identify. If we're gonna follow Christ, we have to first realize that we suffer the consequences of sin and we constantly fight the battle with sin. While we may not be blind like Bartimaeus, we too are in need and we need God's help. So we need to ask for his mercy. Realize that we need it. And secondly, we need to cry out for his mercy. Verse 47. Bartimaeus cries out for help. Let's read it. Verse 47 says, and when he heard, that's Bartimaeus, when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. You can imagine Bartimaeus being blind. His hearing would probably be acute then. He can hear the increased foot traffic going down the road, and I assume that he would have asked someone, well, what's all the commotion? And then someone speaks to him. And notice what they told him, according to verse 47. Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. Obviously, you know that Jesus is a very common name. It's the Old Testament name for Joshua. Very common name. Nazareth was that town, that little town up in the north in the sticks. And of course, what good comes from Nazareth? But as we continue to read the verse, Bartimaeus must have heard about Jesus Christ before this. This isn't the first time that he's hearing about Jesus of Nazareth. We know that because of what Bartimaeus said. Remember when we study narrative, when we study story, you take careful note of what people say. Did you notice the difference between what Bartimaeus heard and what he said? He heard about Jesus of Nazareth, and he said, Jesus, the son of David. If we're reading this for the first time, we might think, Bartimaeus, what are you talking about? The man who spoke to you didn't say Jesus son of David, he said Jesus of Nazareth. So where does this whole idea Jesus son of David come from? Well the son of David is a clear messianic title and it goes all the way back to 2 Samuel chapter seven where there is the promise that a king would reign on David's throne forever. And so the Jews knew about this and they longed for the king that would come from David's line. And this blind beggar recognized that Jesus was in fact the coming Davidic king. So while Bartimaeus is blind, what he lacks in eyesight, he made up in insight. And therefore he cries to the son of David for mercy. And this is the cry of dawning faith. That's why I say that Bartimaeus must have heard about Jesus Christ before this. because we find this spark of faith in his heart. Romans chapter 10 verse 17 says that faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. So he had to have heard about him, which caused him to believe that he would have mercy upon him. He believed that the coming Messiah would be a person of compassion. Isaiah says in chapter 35 verse five of the Messiah, then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. So knowing what the Bible taught in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah, believing that Jesus was that Messiah, Bartimaeus cried out for mercy. In our verbiage, simply, he requested help. But very frankly, he screams at Jesus for help. He's not like the rich man who believes he needs nothing and doesn't request help. He cries for help. Most of us, because of all the means that we have, don't realize that we have many needs, and therefore we don't ask for much help. The thing of it is, is that every single day that goes by, we are faced with decisions. And while we probably would say that all the decisions we face throughout a common day aren't life-changing decisions, they're little decisions. And the truth of the matter is actually this, that the little decisions that we make day in, day out, are what make up our life. And therefore, the little decisions are important decisions. And given the fact that we are sinful and self-focused, even in our little decisions, we make sinful and self-focused decisions. And given that is the truth, what we actually need is God's help. So what must we do? We should ask God for help. We need to ask God for help where we should go, who we should see, what we should eat, what we should watch. We need to ask for his help. And that's not simply asking for his help in the morning when we have our daily time with God, that is asking for help in the moment when we sense that we need God's direction throughout the day. James chapter one verse five says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. You should ask of God. Why? Because he gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given to him. We need to ask for help. We need to ask for his mercy. We find that in verses 46 and 47. Now, as we study verses 48 through 50, we'll see that we need to look for God's mercy. We should look for God's mercy because Jesus is going to answer Bartimaeus' cry in this passage. And as we look through these verses, we're gonna see that there's anticipation. Bartimaeus doesn't simply ask and then hope that he'll be lucky. as if he's just played the lottery or spun the dial and hope that it lands on something favorable for him. He asks, expecting a response. But the first thing that we're gonna see is that some people rebuke him for his cry for mercy in verse 48. And that teaches us that we need to resist the pressure to quit. Verse 48 says, and many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. And this strikes us because most of the time, the people are not telling other people to be silent. Jesus is telling other people to be silent because he is trying to, throughout the book so far, he is trying to stop false confessions of who he is because people just want to get on the bandwagon. He wants people to actually come into his kingdom. So he keeps things silent. But here we have the people opposing Bartimaeus coming to Jesus. Why were they doing that? Commentators believe different things. Some people would think that, well, Bartimaeus is calling Jesus the son of David, and therefore he's calling Jesus the Messiah, and that's bad, because as soon as Bartimaeus calls him that, that's gonna put a target on Jesus, and he's going to Jerusalem, so that's gonna be dangerous for people to think of Jesus as the Messiah. So be quiet, that's endangering us. Or they're saying be quiet because He's a beggar. And him crying out is just annoying. And Jesus is an important person. So be quiet, you're pestering an important person. Well, how does Bartimaeus respond? The rest of verse 48 says, but he cried out all the more. Son of David, have mercy on me. So Bartimaeus is not deterred by the opposition. And instead, this opposition instead fans the flame of his cries for mercy. One commentator said, the kingdom of heaven is not for the well-meaning, but for the desperate. Bartimaeus is desperate, and his desperation is a doorway to faith. And think back as we've studied through the gospel of Mark. Faith has often faced obstacles, yet it perseveres. Think all the way back to chapter two, where there was the paralytic man. And he couldn't get to Jesus who is in the house because of all the people gathered around the house. So they go up on the roof, break a hole in the roof, and let the man down. Their faith persisted. Or think about the woman with the issue of blood in chapter five, who with the thronging crowd around Jesus believed that if she just would touch him, she would be healed of her disease. So against all the obstacles, she reached out and touched Jesus and was healed. And then just after that in Mark chapter 5, Jairus was the one with the daughter who is nigh unto death. Then he finds out that his daughter did die, and against that, as if all hope is lost now that she's dead, He has to persevere in his faith and say, yet believe. That's what Jesus encourages them to do. Or think about the Syrophoenician woman in Mark chapter seven. She was the one that Jesus essentially said, remember, You can't have this, you're a Gentile. You're like a dog. And then she has the audacity to say to Jesus Christ, but remember, the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the children's table. That is the persistence of faith. Or perhaps remember the father with the son that had an evil spirit, who brings the need to the disciples, and the disciples can't do anything. And his faith would falter, but then he goes to Jesus, and Jesus strengthens his faith and casts the demon out of his son. You see, faith is opposed, yet faith perseveres. And faith cries out again and again for God's mercy. You see, when someone, in this passage, for example, Bartimaeus, understands his need and misery, and realizes that his only hope is the mercy of Jesus Christ, he continues to yell. That's what faith does. and it's gonna yell despite all those around him saying otherwise. How this applies to us is that our society in America screams against the Christian faith. It preaches that everyone is okay as long as they are free to believe what they will. Everything is gonna work out for everyone just as they hope. The problem is Jesus taught that there is a narrow way People hate that. So we will be opposed. You will be opposed if you choose the narrow way. So if there's an unbelieving person here today, if you come to Christ, you'll have to resist the pressures around you. People around you will say, you know what? You don't need to get involved in all that. You're okay. You don't need to change. You need to just stay with us. You know what? Our family has been a member of the X church for a long time. Why would you change? Why would you do that? Why would you think that? Why would you believe that? Why would you upset what we've had for so many years? You see, if you would come to Christ, you will be opposed by those around you. by your community, perhaps by your family. The hope that we find in this passage is that you need to call on Christ, no matter who opposes you in this land of the free. Peer pressure has kept many people from coming to Christ and crying for his mercy, but what you must do is call upon Christ. Think about this passage. Jesus is going to Jerusalem for one last time in his life to celebrate the Passover, where he's gonna offer his life a ransom for sin. As far as we know, he's not going through Jericho again. That is to say, this is the last time Jesus is walking on that road to Jerusalem. This is the last opportunity Bartimaeus has to find the mercy of Jesus Christ. And that perhaps would show us that one day for each one of us will be the last day we hear the gospel call. Not saying it's today, it could be today, but one day it will be the last day. And since we don't know what day that is, it behooves us to cry for his mercy today if we haven't. for my fellow believers, fellow brothers, sisters in the Lord, we live in a culture of very shallow Christianity, do we not? We live in a culture of Christianity that just gives lip service to the things of the faith, that maybe gives an hour on Sunday to going to church. But if you actually decide on a daily basis to seek God's guidance and mercy, If you actually read your Bible and do what it says, you'll be considered a zealot. Your religion will be way over the top, and people are gonna resist you, even other religious people, because you're just going a little bit too full force on this whole religion thing. Pull back. Don't give in to that opposition and pressure. Keep crying for God's mercy and guidance. That's what we see and learn from Bartimaeus here. Why should we keep crying? Because we should hope in God's mercy. We'll see that in verses 49 and 50. We should hope in God's mercy, expecting that a favorable answer will come from God. We know that because of how Jesus responds. He welcomes the cry for mercy. You see what he says in verse 49? He calls Bartimaeus. And Jesus stopped and said, call him. This is what Jesus does in the passage. And this is a beautiful and glorious and hopeful phrase. Jesus stopped, he halted. Think back to chapter five where he halts after he is touched by the woman with the issue of blood because he knows the power has gone out from him. When Jesus stops, we need to pay attention. And this shows us that Jesus is ready to have compassion. He's not keeping his identity secret now, he's on his way to Jerusalem, he knows what's coming, and he is ready and willing to show mercy. Matthew Henry says, let the guilty, the empty, the tempted, the hungry, the naked, be of good comfort, for he calls them to be pardoned, to be supplied, to be succored, to be filled, to be clothed, to have all that done for them, which their case calls for. So let's be encouraged when we do call on the Lord for his help, for his mercy. Let's not let's not think that God is ill disposed towards us. He is favorably disposed towards us. He is a just God, but he is merciful to all who humbly call upon him in faith. You have to humble yourself, but if you do know that he will give us his grace and his mercy. So Jesus calls for Bartimaeus, and then we have the crowd changing. They encourage Bartimaeus, look at verse 49, and they called the blind man, saying to him, take heart, get up, he's calling you. before they're rebuking Him for Him crying out, and now they have a change of attitude, they have a change of words, they have a change of action. And that's what Christ followers will do. They will encourage other people to come to Christ. They will heighten their anticipation. They will give them hope, saying, if you come, you can be saved from your need. You can be saved from your sin. That's how we ought to be. What does Bartimaeus do then? We see it in verse 50. He comes. It's beautifully given. And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. It's a very vivid description which makes you think that Peter had this pressed upon his mind and related this to Mark who wrote this gospel. Now there are a number of interpretations of what Bartimaeus does here, especially with his cloak. Some are gonna spiritualize this passage. to make his cloak an object of sin. So what we find is a sinner throwing off his garment of self-sufficiency, and therefore they would say that if you're gonna come to Christ, you need to throw off your sin, as compared to the rich man who would not throw off all the things that kept him from Jesus. You need to remove that and throw that off. That's one way you can interpret the passage. Other people don't see the cloak as representing sin, but instead what they note is that Bartimaeus is gonna be able to come back and pick it up. Why? Well, he's gonna go to Jesus to get his eyesight, and then he can turn around and pick up his cloak. No problem. He's gonna go and get healed. He believes Jesus can help him. Perhaps throwing off his cloak just means he was excited to go to Jesus. He wasn't thinking about anything else. He had a great need, and he had the prospect of that need being met, so he sprang to his feet. That sounds normal. He asked for mercy, he looked for mercy, and in the last verses we'll find that he trusted in God's mercy, and that's what we need to do as well. Trust in God's mercy. How do you do that? First, confess that he's able to help. That's the first thing that we should confess. That's what we see Bartimaeus confess that Jesus was able to meet his need. Verse 51 says, Jesus said to him, what do you want to do? What do you want me to do for you? What do you want me to do for you? You see, Bartimaeus so far has been very generic. He asks that God would be merciful to him, but Jesus wants him to be more specific. Bartimaeus, what do you really want? They say, well, what could Bartimaeus have asked for? Some of us who have read the story so many times and have known this for so long, perhaps missed the obvious. He's a beggar. What do beggars ask for? Where is it? Beggars ask for this, right? And any human can give this, money. But is that what Bartimaeus actually wants? Because a human can give money, but only God can give sight. What does Bartimaeus ask for? The blind man said to him, Rabbi, let me recover my sight. He asked for something that was impossible for a man to do. See, Jesus asked him this question so that Bartimaeus would admit what he truly desired. I want you to take careful note of something, okay? If you mark in your Bible, this is the time to get your pen out and draw some circles and draw some lines. The question that Jesus asked, what do you want me to do for you? That is the same exact question you saw in verse 36. That's what Jesus asked his disciples. When they wanted a blank check, Jesus said, what do you want me to do for you? And we remember how that ended. James and John asked for seats in the kingdom and Bartimaeus is asking for sight. And that goes to show us that the disciples still had a bit of learning to do, whereas Bartimaeus understood his need and acknowledged his need and went to Jesus for help in his need. One commentator I read said, Discipleship means giving up our pride and our self interests and seeking God's kingdom first. It is significant that while James and John seek the best seats in the kingdom, Bartimaeus asks only for mercy. That is to show true discipleship means seeing the world God's way and submitting our life to his purpose and his will. Blindness is what kept Bartimaeus on the side of the road, so that Bartimaeus was not on the road following Jesus. And when Jesus asks him what he desires, his response shows he understands his need, he understands that Jesus is there, that Jesus has the ability to meet that need, and he cries out for him to be merciful and to do something supernatural. he made the request, believing in what Jesus could do. Do you do that? Have you ever done that? So I'm asking very pointedly, have you ever confessed that you believe that Jesus can meet your need? Specifically, can Jesus handle your need that you have because of the sin that you commit? Have you ever confessed that to Him? Asked Him to save you? You must if you will be saved. Well, what about us who know the Lord? Well, we have needs every day. My question then for you is, with the needs that you have every day, are you asking Him for help, believing that He is actually able to help you, and that He will give to you, as James chapter one tells us? Because that's what you need to do. You need to confess that you believe in His ability to meet your need. And then you need to follow him, follow what he says. And that's what we find in verse 52. Bartimaeus not only confessed that God was able to help him, but he also followed him in the way. Let's read it. Verse 52 says, and Jesus said to him, go your way, your faith has made you well. And immediately he recovered his sight. Bartimaeus told him what he desired and Jesus immediately granted him his sight. And Jesus explains how it was that he granted his request. He didn't say, well, you're a very good person, so I'm gonna give you something good. He said instead, your faith has made you well. Perhaps the cross-reference in your Bible goes back to Mark 5, verse 34, where Jesus said the exact same thing to the woman with the issue of blood. Your faith has made you whole, faith has made you well. And in the original, the word there refers to salvation, sozo. God takes us and saves us, taking us from a deplorable condition and putting us into a favorable position. And that is what happens here. Bartimaeus was once blind and now he can see. But this salvation that Bartimaeus experiences is not simply physical, it's also spiritual. We know that because of the term that's used for salvation, but we also know that by what Bartimaeus does next. Look at verse 52. It says, and, Bartimaeus, and followed him on the way. Bartimaeus did not receive his sight and then go his own way, do his own thing. He followed Jesus on the way. Faith that does not lead to discipleship is not saving faith. Whoever asks of Jesus must be willing to follow Jesus even on the uphill road to the cross. Remember the verse that we memorized last month? My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they Follow me. What is the mark of a disciple? They follow Jesus Christ. At the beginning of Mark, we remember that those who follow Christ are those who are fishers of men. If you're a follower of Christ, you're gonna be a fisher of men. You're gonna give the gospel. If you're a follower of Christ, here you'll see, if you're truly a believer, you're gonna follow him. That is to say, what he says goes in your life. And it seems that Bartimaeus followed Jesus. At this point, the text says he's gonna follow Jesus to Jerusalem. And it seems very likely that he followed Jesus even beyond that. He became a true disciple. We believe that because in all of Mark's gospel that we have studied together, never once has one who has been healed been specifically named besides Bartimaeus. Well, why is that? Well, commentaries believe that he is named because the people who read Mark's gospel knew who Bartimaeus was because he still had a role in the church. He was still following Christ. So Mark mentions his name because people still know who he is. He's still around. He had faith in Christ and then he followed Christ. And that is what every true disciple will do. It's not just a simple statement, prayer to God one day somewhere in your past. It is actually that today you follow Christ. Let's close realizing that blind Bartimaeus began on the side of the road. He was out of the way. By the end of the story, he's on the road. He's in the way and he's following Jesus Christ. And that is wonderful. That is far more glorious than you and I being stranded on the side of the road in our car. Somehow we get help and then we get back on the road. We like getting back on the road. But when we look at Bartimaeus, what is before us is a matter of eternal significance. Bartimaeus didn't know the Lord in the beginning of this story, and after this story was done, he knew the Lord and was following the Lord. So the question for us, each one today, is are you on the road, or are you beside the road? Are you following Christ, or are you just a fan of Christ? Let's pray. Father, convict our hearts Are we following you? Convict the one who truly does not know you, and cause them to seek your mercy today. Cause them to trust in your ability to save them from their sin today. Father, convict your people who truly know you, yet struggle to follow you. And certainly to some degree, each one of us who knows you truly struggles to follow you. So Father, give us the grace that we need to say yes to what you said and truly be your follower, listening to your word, expressing our love to you by obeying your commandments. Father, give us the grace for that. We seek your forgiveness for the times we have not done that. And Father, we need your mercy, and as the days go by, may we ask for your mercy and guidance. As we come to a whole lot of little decisions, may those little decisions show that we're Christ followers, because we are not content to just go with what we please. We want to be careful to think what would please you. Father, apply that to our hearts, we ask in Jesus' name, amen.