On the Way with Jesus Passion Sunday 2018

Transcription

1 1 On the Way with Jesus Passion Sunday 2018 One piece of modern technology not yet embraced = SAT NAV. I do have a Sat Nav she usually sits alongside in passenger seat with a road atlas and she s very reliable! From wilds of Scotland to lanes of Cornwall, from forays in France to touring Tuscany, including a white knuckle drive to & from Florence! But what kind of traveller are you? Are you the A to B sort just punch in the postcode destination & get there asap. Personal best of that = Essex to Perthshire by 2.40 pm having left at 5.30 a.m. Or are you more of a meanderer? If there s a nice tearoom or NT property to explore en route -well, what s the hurry? This morning just 2 weeks from Easter Day 2018 we meet Jesus on the way his destination is Jerusalem. Here in Mark s Gospel 3 times in 3 chapters (8,9 & 10), Jesus tells those closest to him what was about to happen. There are NO alternative scenic routes around Jerusalem for Jesus at this point no signs along the way saying Diversion. They were on their way up to Jerusalem And Jerusalem meant the seat of political and religious government. And yes, Jerusalem meant a triumphal entry but after that, a final meal with disciples, Gethsemane, a traitor s kiss, a kangaroo court before Caiaphas, then Pilate and mob s cries of Crucify! Jerusalem meant Calvary & the culmination of God s salvation plan for a fallen, sinful world. Holy Week complete journey is the best! Quote v32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem with Jesus leading the way.

2 This is not Mark giving us some unnecessary details about who was where in the line of travellers. This is part of Mark s discipleship code that runs right through his action packed & fast-moving gospel. If anyone would come after me says Jesus & here we read of an acted parable of those called to follow their Lord along the way of the cross of Christian discipleship. Our passage this morning tells us that they came to Jericho that s just 15 miles from Jerusalem & it s all uphill from the region of the Dead Sea 1300ft below sea level to the city 2500ft above sea level. It s a scenic and spectacular drive in tourist coach today FOUR HEADINGS for the word this morning a BASIC NEED > a LISTENING EAR > a SIGHT RESTORED > a COMMITMENT to FOLLOW. A BASIC NEED Bartimaeus had special needs, he had a major disability = how he might be described today. In the culture of 1 st century Palestine, B was one of the marginalised members of his day. At start of our reading here, we find him sitting by the roadside begging, as the large crowds following Jesus come surging past. Life would have been very tough for B and people like him in his day. But, time & again throughout the gospels, it is among such people that we find Jesus with those who are most aware of their own needs and of their need of him. Mark gives us an interesting contrast between those disciples closest to him, concerned about who was most important among them (previous verses and last year s Passion Sunday 2

3 sermon!) and this one, blind beggar, who is barely noticed by those passing by. Two elements are required to kick start the process of Christian commitment and discipleship a RECOGNITION of our real needs and a BELIEF that God in Jesus Christ can meet them. Here B calls out Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Surrounded by a crowd of healthy people, ironically, it is blind Bartimaeus whom Jesus notices. It is B who uses a Messianic name for Jesus, it is B s voice heard above the crowds by Jesus. The people say shut up to B but his voice will not be stilled. 2 - A LISTENING EAR just as with the woman in the crowd who touches Jesus cloak, or Zacchaeus hiding up in his tree, so here J s ministry reaches out to where it is most needed at this particular moment on the way up to Jerusalem. Jesus stops to make time & space for the blind beggar on the side-lines of the street & of the society of his day. And the crowd s shut up becomes cheer up how quickly a crowd s reactions can change. Next Sunday the church universal will remember another crowd who shouted and cheered for that one day of triumphal entry at least. Jesus stopped and said, call him. Again, throughout the gospels we read of such encounters between Jesus and all kinds of different & often desperate situations. Who touched me? to the woman in the crowd. My daughter is dying, come and lay hands on her (Jairus) my name is Legion for we are many > Be opened etc. All of these and more preceded this incident here in Mark. 3

4 4 Once again Jesus, Son of David, Son of God sees the awful physical and mental perversions and distortions of disease, abuse and distress. Yes, Jesus is on the way to up to Jerusalem, but along the way he will encounter and heal countless examples of those in a world fallen short of God s glory. And 2000 years on Christ still calls us to bring to him those who are poor and suffering call him is a command to action & effort on his behalf. And as we meet here this morning, despite recent adverse publicity, aid agencies around the globe are seeking to do what Jesus does here. EXAMPLES from TEAR FUND, OPEN DOORS etc. Place of Welcome practised here week in, week out 3)A SIGHT RESTORED it may seem a strange question from Jesus to B at this point v51 What do you want me to do for you? Well, everyone looking on knew the answer to that because, unlike poor B they WERE able to look on. But Jesus wants Bartimaeus to give expression to his need and of his faith in Jesus to meet that need. Here it is blind B, the outsider, who is portrayed as the real model of discipleship. J s inner circle didn t get it yet (v32). And the immediately preceding story has shown them failing to understand what true greatness and service is all about in God s kingdom. But now this outsider shows them exactly what it s all about. Even today outsiders can probably teach the church a thing

5 or two still. And we shouldn t be too hard on the disciples at this point and at other places along the way with Jesus. We know how the story ends Jesus wins! They did not know how all this was going to end yet. Second in my Room 101 list of pet hates after cold calling would be the constant use of trailers and coming up on TV and radio. There you are, having been gripped by the ending of episode 1, when you are immediately confronted by all the best bits of episode 2! Or, you re settling down to watch the start of another programme, when bang you re shown another trailer/ spoiler and they keep showing it through the week until the time/date of the actual broadcast. I am constantly diving for the remote to switch channels or press mute. I don t want to know what happens next until I watch the complete episode thank you!!! End of rant! Amongst the disciples on the way up to Jerusalem, were all kinds of expectations, uncertainties, misunderstanding about just what kind of Messiah, are you? Their sight at this stage was only partial. Peter gets a real ear bashing from Jesus, after his first prediction of his forthcoming suffering, death & resurrection (9vv31-33). And yes, you and I live in a very different world from that of those first disciples but Jesus is here this morning and he asks each one of us the same question put to B What do you want me to do for you? Healing? Proof? Forgiveness?, Guidance?, Reassurance? A sight of Jesus restored? B desired sight above all else here. 5

6 His is a genuine faith with strong element of trust. Implicit in the term Rabbi used by B to address J here is the idea that the teacher has superior knowledge, which the student wishes to access. B believes and receives. BASIC NEED > a LISTENING EAR > a SIGHT RESTORED > 4) A COMMITMENT to FOLLOW The first person B sees is Jesus his eyes are opened to his Saviour and that s probably true for the majority of this congregation this morning, I guess. Many here this morning will be able to recall & recount that moment, that period in our lives when we first saw Jesus. But there may be someone here whose silent prayer this morning is Rabbi, I want to see. B makes the transition from being by the way at the start of this encounter with Jesus to being on the way, following Jesus. Traditionally, in the church calendar, today is recognised as Passion Sunday one week before Palm Sunday, two before Easter. I doubt it will feature on the news this evening & if you stopped and asked a random sample of local Staffs stalwarts in the streets about the meaning & relevance of Passion Sunday, then probably get some interesting answers. After all the word Passion is much used today it s shown in sport, music, the arts etc. etc. Here in Jericho, Jesus is just 15 miles from journey s end & new beginning. For Jerusalem means Passion /Suffering (from Latin patior, passus to bear, undergo, suffer - battered Latin dictionary 6

7 7 from A level days. The coming two weeks in churches from Lichfield to Los Angeles & from Staffs to Soweto, the Church of Christ will celebrate with all who care to come - just how passionately God cares for his world that he created John 3v16 sums is up perfectly QUOTE God still needs his supporters who believe passionately in his Passion to the point of death for some but at the very least to some serious cross carrying along the way. As Easter 2018 approaches, may we capture once again or maybe for the very first time something of the wonder and worship of the One who offers himself up to his Passion for the Life and Light of the world. Because for those whose eyes have been opened to following this Jesus along the way, there really is no turning back now.