Carpe Momentum

They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many scolded him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.” He threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbi, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the road.
~Mark 10:46-52

Okay, okay.....today's passage is a little bit longer than the others, but there's a reason for that.  

Bartimaeus was blind.  Every morning, he would find his way to his spot where he would spend his day calling out to passersby for the things he needed to survive another day (food, water, money).  Day after day he would do this.  And this day had begun just like every other day, so he went through the motions...just like every other day.  

Then he heard a crowd coming.  He heard the name of Jesus.  He had heard of Jesus and the miracles He could do.  And Bartimaeus KNEW that THIS was the moment he had to grab!  THIS was the moment he had been waiting his entire life to arrive.  THIS was the moment!  So he began to call out to Jesus....And he kept calling.  People who were part of the "in" crowd told him to shut up, because a celebrity like Jesus had to time for a blind beggar nobody like Bartimaeous.

But Bartimaeus knew THIS was his opportunity.  So he called out even louder: "SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME!"  You'd think with all the crowd noise Jesus wouldn't be able to hear one person's voice above the others.  But, like the woman who worked her way through the crowd to just touch the hem of His cloak, Jesus knew and heard Bartimaeous' cry for mercy. And called for Bartimaeus to come to Him....Notice that Jesus didn't go to Bartimaeus but called for Bartimaeus to come to HIM.

It's also interesting that the Scripture is very specific to tell us that Bartimaeous threw off his cloak before coming to Jesus.  His cloak was, most likely, his only possession of any value.  It was a blanket at night against the cold and protection from the sun during the day. Yet when Jesus called, Bartimaeus threw it aside to come to Jesus.

Then Jesus, KNOWING that Bartimaeus was blind, asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"  Why would Jesus ask this?  Bartimaeus could have asked for ANYTHING at this point, and I believe Jesus would have given it to him.  Bart could have asked for a endless wealth and a host of servants to cater to his every whim so it wouldn't have to do anything for himself. He could have....but Bart KNEW this was the moment he had to choose wisely.  So he told Jesus, "I want to see."  And in that moment....the moment that Bartimaeus had been waiting for all his life....he could see!

When we cry out to Jesus, do we expect Jesus to come wave a wand over us and POOF we get what we want?  Or do we hear Him call to us and ask us 'What do you want Me to do for you'?  

Are we willing to throw off the things WE hold precious so we can come to Jesus or do we want to hang on to them because they are more precious?

Jesus reminds us to SEIZE THE MOMENT!  Don't wait!