1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:02,600 What do you miss when you're in a hurry? 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,560 Generally speaking, the busier you are, the less emotional 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:09,680 bandwidth you have for other people. 4 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,640 The more pressed and overwhelmed you feel, the more you're going 5 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:17,480 to resent interruptions, the more you're going to sort of 6 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:20,880 knuckle down on your own agenda because you don't have enough 7 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:22,760 time to do all the things you're supposed to do. 8 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:28,560 You're going to be more set on the things you feel you have to 9 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:33,400 do, sometimes at the expense of other people's needs, other 10 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:36,880 people's feelings, other people's agendas. 11 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:41,640 Busier you feel, the more you're likely to resent any imposition 12 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,840 on your agenda or change to your agenda. 13 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:50,520 Sometimes it seems like in the professional world, the more 14 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:54,520 important someone is, the more authority they have, the harder 15 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:55,920 it is to get at any of their time. 16 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,880 You might go through a quest to get access to some kind of 17 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,120 specialist doctor, going to your General practitioner, getting 18 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:06,400 some tests done, getting a referral, getting through their 19 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:07,600 office, getting on their calendar. 20 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:08,960 And then you go to the specialist appointment. 21 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:13,640 You get to see the doctor for all of 8 minutes because they're 22 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:16,760 important, they're busy, they're in demand. 23 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,440 You might think of ACEO, of a company who has meetings stacked 24 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:25,000 back-to-back to back-to-back to back-to-back all day in 15 25 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,480 minute increments because there's so many important 26 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:31,400 decisions to be made. President George W Bush once 27 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:35,520 said that the only decisions he had to make were hard decisions, 28 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:37,920 because if they weren't hard decisions, they wouldn't have 29 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:42,720 made it all the way to his desk. When someone in authority is 30 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,640 that busy that pressed, it could be hard to get to them. 31 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,360 It's easy to treat them either with a wrong kind of reverence 32 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:53,640 and awe. Oh wow, they are so important. 33 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,160 They are so influential, they are so powerful. 34 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:00,080 That is why they are so busy. Or you could treat them with the 35 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,000 wrong kind of resentment. Oh, they're, they're much too 36 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:04,920 important for a little person like me. 37 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,720 I shouldn't bother that person about this thing, because surely 38 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:13,880 they wouldn't care. When you're in that kind of 39 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:18,160 authority, when your time is that pressed or in demand, 40 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:23,040 there's all kinds of temptations you can fall into. 41 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:32,000 Jesus of Nazareth held no formal public office in his earthly 42 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,440 life, but he lived under intense demands. 43 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,720 His time was always severely pressed. 44 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,880 He was constantly pressed by people with overwhelming needs 45 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:48,160 and competing demands on him, clamoring for his time and 46 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:54,040 attention. But was Jesus in a hurry? 47 00:02:55,960 --> 00:03:00,560 Did Jesus have low emotional bandwidth to meet people in 48 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:06,160 need? How did Jesus respond to people 49 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:11,680 who seemed not important enough to have a claim on his time? 50 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,840 Our passage for this morning is Mark 1046 through 1111. 51 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:20,880 If you don't have a Bible, you can feel free to put up a hand 52 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,960 and someone will bring you one. This morning we arrive at a 53 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,280 turning point in the whole Gospel of Mark. 54 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:30,480 Our passage recounts the last stage of Jesus's journey to 55 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:33,520 Jerusalem that he's been on for the last three chapters, and it 56 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:37,080 records his approach to the city and his entrance into the city. 57 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:41,160 Jerusalem is the political and religious capital of the Jewish 58 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:43,280 people. It's the place where pilgrims 59 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,920 would gather in huge numbers, 3 * a year. 60 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:48,800 It's the place where God dwelt personally with his people, 61 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:50,960 showing his presence in the temple. 62 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:55,480 And it's the place where, as Jesus knows, and as he has 63 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,800 predicted 3 times in the last three chapters, he will be 64 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:08,360 betrayed and beaten and killed. In this passage, a truth that's 65 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,760 been pulsing beneath the surface of Mark's gospel all along 66 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:14,400 breaks through more fully than it has yet. 67 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,880 It's that Jesus is the Messiah, He's the King. 68 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,680 He's the descendant of David who will fulfill God's promises and 69 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:28,320 bring God's Kingdom to earth. But what kind of king is he? 70 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,840 As the king, he would be at the very tippy top of that ladder of 71 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:38,880 importance, of authority, of being in demand of it, taking a 72 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:43,400 lot to get a claim on his time and attention. 73 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:49,840 What kind of king is Jesus? Please follow along as I read 74 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:58,760 Mark 1046 to 1111. And they came to Jericho. 75 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,960 And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great 76 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,400 crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was 77 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,640 sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was 78 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:13,280 Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of 79 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:18,600 David, have mercy on me. And many rebuked him, telling 80 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:23,200 him to be silent, but he cried out all the more, Son of David, 81 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:31,240 have mercy on me. And Jesus stopped and said, Call 82 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,280 him. And they called the blind man, 83 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:37,840 saying to him, Take heart, get up, he is calling you. 84 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,640 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 85 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:45,880 And Jesus said to him, What do you want me to do for you? 86 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:53,000 And the blind man said to him, Rabbi, let me recover my sight. 87 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,800 And Jesus said to him, Go your way, your faith has made you 88 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,200 well. And immediately he recovered his 89 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,640 sight, and followed him on the way. 90 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:06,840 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Beth Phage and 91 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:10,720 Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 92 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:14,200 and said to them, Go into the village in front of you, and 93 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:18,480 immediately as you enter it you will find a cult tide on which 94 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:22,040 no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 95 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:28,000 If anyone says to you, why are you doing this, say the Lord has 96 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,680 need of it and will send it back here immediately. 97 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:35,920 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in 98 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:39,880 the street, and they united it. And some of those standing there 99 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,400 said to them, What are you doing untying the Colts? 100 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,360 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 101 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,600 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on 102 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:52,760 it. And he sat on it. 103 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:56,880 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread 104 00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:59,240 leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 105 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:01,920 And those who went before and those who followed were 106 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,160 shouting, Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the 107 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,240 name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming Kingdom of 108 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,360 our Father David Hosanna in the highest. 109 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:19,040 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple, and when 110 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:23,680 he had looked around at everything, as it was already 111 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:29,120 late, he went out to Bethany with the 12. 112 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:35,240 Here's the point of our passage in one sentence. 113 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:44,720 Jesus is the humble King who brings the mercy, joy, and 114 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,920 judgment we all need. I'll say that again. 115 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:56,680 Jesus is the humble king who brings the mercy, joy, and 116 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:03,200 judgment we all need. Our passage has two big sections 117 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:05,280 and one little section. There's the healing of 118 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,800 Bartimaeus in chapter 10, verses 46 to 52. 119 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:11,880 There's Jesus's triumphal approach to the city of 120 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:16,400 Jerusalem in Chapter 11, verses 1 to 10, and then you'll see the 121 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:18,640 ESV even sets it off as its own paragraph. 122 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:21,640 There's the the last verse of the passage, verse 11. 123 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,680 There's just this little brief note about what Jesus does when 124 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,840 he first gets into this city. He visits the temple and he 125 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:36,760 looks around. These three sections each reveal 126 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:40,960 something about the kind of king Jesus is. 127 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:48,280 In Jesus character and work, there is a paradoxical fullness. 128 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:52,440 He embodies and unites things you don't often find together in 129 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:57,120 a human being. He contains in himself and 130 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,040 imagination stretching abundance. 131 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:02,680 Some of us in the church history class this morning learned about 132 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:04,680 the early American theologian Jonathan Edwards. 133 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:08,080 Jonathan Edwards was fond of saying that Jesus unites in 134 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:15,760 himself diverse excellencies. These diverse excellencies meet 135 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:24,520 our diverse needs. Jesus is not too busy for 136 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:29,880 anyone. Jesus meets your most urgent 137 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,600 needs. Jesus meets your longest running 138 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,240 needs. Jesus meets needs you didn't 139 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:40,280 know you had. Jesus is all you need and more. 140 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:44,360 Our passage shows us that in three ways, corresponding to the 141 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:48,040 three sections. First in chapter 10, verses 46 142 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:56,360 to 52, the merciful healer. The merciful healer looking at 143 00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:02,240 verse 46 and they came to Jericho, and as he was leaving 144 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:06,680 Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind 145 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:10,360 beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 146 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,080 Jesus was journeying from Galilee in the north to 147 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,560 Jerusalem. And on that trip, the last major 148 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:18,760 settlement you'd hit would be Jericho. 149 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:23,760 It's very close to Jerusalem. And so Jesus is on the move with 150 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,080 a huge crowd with him. But someone who's not on the 151 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:31,400 move is Bartimaeus. Usually Mark doesn't name the 152 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,160 people that Jesus heals, but he names Bartimaeus, presumably 153 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:36,680 because, as we'll see, he became a follower of Jesus. 154 00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:38,880 He was presumably a well known follower. 155 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,800 People would have known who he was throughout the early 156 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:45,880 Christian movement. When we meet Bartimaeus, he's 157 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:50,040 sitting by the roadside. He's not only blind, he's poor. 158 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,760 He's so poor he's reduced to sitting in place and begging for 159 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:55,480 whatever anyone's willing to give him. 160 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:57,960 So he has to sit where there's a lot of traffic, kind of on the 161 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:00,120 main road into and out of the city. 162 00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:02,760 He has to stay put there in order to appeal to people's 163 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:07,600 compassion who are passing by. He has no job, no prospects for 164 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,400 a job. He can't meet his own needs. 165 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:16,200 He has no hope of how his life might get any better. 166 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:25,880 No hope except one verse 47. When he heard that it was Jesus 167 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:29,320 of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say Jesus son of David, have 168 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:33,000 mercy on me. By calling Jesus the son of 169 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,600 David, Bartimaeus is confessing him as the Messiah. 170 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:36,960 We'll talk about that a lot more. 171 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,760 The only other person to confess Jesus as the Messiah so far in 172 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:44,040 Mark's gospel was Peter back in chapter 8. 173 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:49,040 But we saw there that Peter was right to recognize Jesus as the 174 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:53,520 Messiah, but very wrong in the kind of Messiah he thought Jesus 175 00:11:53,680 --> 00:11:56,040 was. So here Bartimaeus also 176 00:11:56,040 --> 00:12:00,720 recognizes Jesus as Messiah, and he declares that knowledge of 177 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,800 Jesus openly. How did Bartimaeus come to know 178 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:08,280 the truth about Jesus? Ultimately, his faith is a gift 179 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:12,760 of God. But how did he hear about Jesus? 180 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:14,600 He must have heard other people's reports. 181 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:16,720 Word must have gotten around to him. 182 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,320 People must have told him about the things Jesus taught and the 183 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:24,520 things Jesus did. So without ever meeting Jesus, 184 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:26,960 without ever seeing Jesus, he can't. 185 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:29,480 He's blind. Without ever having any personal 186 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:31,560 interaction with Jesus, Bartimaeus comes to faith in 187 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,720 Jesus. When Jesus comes by, Bartimaeus 188 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,040 already believes in him. He cries out in faith in him as 189 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,600 the Messiah. He's confident Jesus can do what 190 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:44,960 he needs. Bartimaeus came to a true 191 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:50,160 spiritual sight of Jesus. We often think that only seeing 192 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:54,080 is believing, that you should only trust those things that you 193 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:59,760 can personally verify. But there are times when only 194 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:08,360 believing is seeing. Bartimaeus trusts in Jesus 195 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:11,760 without ever seeing him. That means that before he has 196 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:13,920 his personal encounter with Jesus, he's in precisely the 197 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:15,920 same place the modern believers are. 198 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:19,360 But Bartimaeus is not just confessing truth. 199 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:24,000 He's begging for help. Jesus, son of David, have mercy 200 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,400 on me. He's asking Jesus to show 201 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:29,640 concern for his miserable condition. 202 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,800 Bartimaeus has nothing to commend himself to Jesus. 203 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,120 No resume, no CV, no bank account. 204 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:41,360 All Bartimaeus brings is his need. 205 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,080 He's confident Jesus is able to help. 206 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:46,920 He's confident Jesus is willing to help. 207 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:53,240 Bartimaeus knows that he is all need and Jesus is all supply. 208 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:58,480 He trusts that Jesus can meet his most pressing need. 209 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:03,680 What would you say is your most pressing need? 210 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:10,000 And how confident are you that what seems to be your most 211 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:14,360 pressing need really is? If you're here last week, you'll 212 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:17,280 remember that two of Jesus disciples, James and John, also 213 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:21,160 made a request of Jesus. But there's a striking contrast 214 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,520 between Bartimaeus's request and their request. 215 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:29,440 They wanted primacy. Bartimaeus wants mercy. 216 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:34,760 They were driven by ambition. Bartimaeus is driven by 217 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:38,200 desperation. They wanted to be first. 218 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:47,200 Bartimaeus wants to be whole. Do you know that you need mercy 219 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:50,360 from Jesus? If you don't, this whole sermon 220 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:52,960 is just going to wash over you like water off a duck's back. 221 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:59,520 The only way to know that you need mercy from Jesus is to know 222 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:04,480 that there's something wrong with you that you can't fix, and 223 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:10,880 to know that Jesus can fix it. This is true of all of us. 224 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,960 When we're not Christians, there's something most 225 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:16,160 profoundly wrong with us that only Jesus can fix. 226 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:23,120 It also remains true. As Christians who need Jesus's 227 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:28,320 mercy, we need his mercy to help us amid the trials of our lives. 228 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,040 We also need His mercy to forgive our sins and to 229 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:37,240 transform us from within. If you know that you need 230 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:39,440 Jesus's mercy, how does that change you? 231 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:45,360 It makes you humble. It brings about a gradual 232 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,960 process of making you less self reliant and more dependent on 233 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,360 God. It makes you more desperate in 234 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,760 prayer. Your prayers become more 235 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:59,400 pointed, more earnest, to the point you are trying to get 236 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:02,400 God's attention because you are trying to get God's help. 237 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,640 You pray because you need to, not because anybody told you to. 238 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:15,120 It also makes you quick to show mercy, whether towards someone 239 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:19,240 else's suffering or towards someone else's sin. 240 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:25,440 So in verse 47 Bartimaeus cries out for mercy but the people 241 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:27,200 around him are not happy about it. 242 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:31,520 Verse 48 and many rebuked him telling him to be silent, but he 243 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:34,880 cried out all the more. Son of David, have mercy on me. 244 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,480 Notice Bartimaeus's response to their rebukes or rather his non 245 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,440 response to their rebukes. They rebuke him and he keeps 246 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,560 calling out for Jesus attention. He's not deterred, he's not 247 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:48,320 hindered. He does not let their opposition 248 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,280 get in the way of him exercising his face. 249 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:57,160 Real faith perseveres through every headwind of opposition. 250 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:01,680 Real faith is born from desperation, so it doesn't let 251 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:05,880 anything get in between it and Jesus. 252 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:08,640 If you're desperate for Jesus, you won't let anyone stand in 253 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:10,800 your way. Not family or friends, not 254 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:14,280 neighbors or colleagues, Not people who are important or have 255 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:17,200 things you want to get and who you're afraid will think less of 256 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:20,640 you if you're some kind of weird Jesus person. 257 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:28,600 Presumably the people who try to silence him think that 258 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:33,120 Bartimaeus is not important enough to claim Jesus's time and 259 00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:35,800 attention. Kind of like how back in verse 260 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:38,960 13 of chapter 10, the disciples revuke people who are trying to 261 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,560 bring children to Jesus. Same basic impulse. 262 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,120 I think you know Jesus on the move. 263 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,160 He's marching to Jerusalem. He's got an agenda. 264 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,320 There's this whole huge crowd with him. 265 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:50,680 What are you going to do, Bartimaeus? 266 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,360 Who are who are you to get in Jesus's way? 267 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:56,480 Who are you to interrupt Jesus? Who are you to try to change 268 00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:00,880 Jesus agenda? That's how all the crowd sees 269 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:07,800 Bartimaeus. But that is not how Jesus sees 270 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:13,560 Bartimaeus. No one else had time for him but 271 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:17,920 Jesus did. Other people would hinder him 272 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,120 from coming to Jesus, but Jesus welcomed him. 273 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:23,080 So one question for you and me is, is there anyone you're 274 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:27,680 tempted to think is not worth Jesus's time and attention? 275 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,800 Is there anyone who, in however subtle a way, you might be 276 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:36,200 tempted to hinder from coming to Jesus? 277 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:44,080 Verse 49 Jesus stopped and said call him and they called the 278 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,440 blind man saying to him, take heart, get up, he is calling 279 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:48,360 you. No one else had time for 280 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:51,920 Bartimaeus, but Jesus did. No one else had compassion on 281 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:56,080 Bartimaeus, but Jesus did. No one else thought Bartimaeus 282 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:04,920 was worth Jesus time, but Jesus did and so Jesus stopped. 283 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,680 He halted his progress toward Jerusalem. 284 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:13,960 He interrupted his own supremely important agenda. 285 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,880 He turned aside from the whole crowd to single out Bartimaeus. 286 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:25,320 Jesus's priorities are not other people's priorities. 287 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,560 Jesus leaves the 99 for the sake of the One. 288 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:36,760 This is a precious window into Christ's perfect compassion. 289 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:43,160 As Christians, there are two things we always need to do with 290 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,480 Christ's compassion. The Gospels bring this to us 291 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:49,480 again and again. What do you need to do with 292 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:54,600 Christ's compassion? Receive it because you know you 293 00:19:54,600 --> 00:20:01,560 need it, and extend it to others because they need it. 294 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:07,000 This week, what can you do to receive? 295 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:13,960 Jesus's compassion this week What can you do to extend 296 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:21,040 Jesus's compassion to others? In verse 49, Jesus extends his 297 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:23,480 compassion to Bartimaeus. So what does Bartimaeus do? 298 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:26,600 Verse 50? And throwing off his cloak, he 299 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,680 sprang up and came to Jesus. Bartimaeus responds immediately 300 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,440 and eagerly. He comes with his whole heart as 301 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:36,560 fast as he can. Is there any significance to his 302 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,880 throwing off his cloak? It could simply be that he 303 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:43,080 didn't want a longer, bulkier garment getting in the way of 304 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:44,960 tripping him up as he's trying to run to Jesus. 305 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:47,880 I think there also might be a deeper significance here. 306 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:52,720 It's likely that he used his cloak more for begging than for 307 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:55,640 warmth. Jericho was a hot climate. 308 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,240 It was below sea level, next to the desert, next to the Dead Sea 309 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,160 in the deserts. So Bartimaeus would have spread 310 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:03,960 out his cloak and that would have been how he would gather 311 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,280 alms from people. In leaving his cloak behind, 312 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,400 it's as if Bartimaeus is declaring from now on I'm going 313 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:15,280 to get all that I need to live from Jesus. 314 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:21,680 He is declaring his devotion to Jesus and dependence on Jesus by 315 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:23,560 leaving his means of begging behind. 316 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:31,520 If you're not a believer in Jesus, what is keeping you from 317 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:35,440 doing what Bartimaeus did? What's keeping you from getting 318 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:39,840 rid of everything in your old life and rising and running and 319 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,760 coming to Jesus? What's keeping you from 320 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:46,840 dedicating yourself completely to Jesus? 321 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,760 Verses 51 and 52 show us how Jesus responded. 322 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,480 And Jesus said to him, What do you want me to do for you? 323 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:57,360 The blind man said to him, Rabbi, let me recover my sight. 324 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:00,840 And Jesus said to him, Go your way, your faith has made you 325 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,160 well. And immediately he recovered his 326 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:04,760 sight and followed him on the way. 327 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:08,840 So in response, Jesus heals Bartimaeus immediately. 328 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:14,640 He heals him with a word. He puts forth divine power to 329 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,600 make Bartimaeus whole. Only God can do that. 330 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:23,280 Only the God who created by a word can heal by a word. 331 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:28,680 Only the God who gave sight can restore sight instantly, 332 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:31,520 effortlessly. Here there's a deliberate 333 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:36,520 contrast with a healing miracle back in chapter 8, verses 22 to 334 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:38,600 26. You can just turn one page back 335 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:42,280 and glance there if you want. Back there in chapter 8, verse 336 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:46,480 22 to 26, Jesus also healed a blind man, but he did so in 337 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:49,000 stages. At first the man only had 338 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,320 partial sight restored. And he said, I see men like 339 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:55,360 trees walking. But here Jesus heals Bartimaeus 340 00:22:55,360 --> 00:22:58,480 completely and instantly. So why the contrast? 341 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,440 These two healings, these two restorations of sight, are 342 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:07,920 literary frames or brackets around the central section of 343 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,680 Mark's gospel that runs from chapter 8, verse 27, to chapter 344 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:16,600 10, verse 45. As we've seen, the main theme of 345 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,000 that whole section, that whole middle section of Mark's gospel 346 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,840 is the cross. It's that Jesus cross becomes 347 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:25,960 our cross. That being Jesus disciple means 348 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:29,240 dying to yourself because he died for you. 349 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,200 That point is made throughout that whole section. 350 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:35,120 But again and again and again, the disciples don't get it. 351 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:37,600 They show that they're spiritually blind. 352 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:39,720 Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah. 353 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,480 It's as if he saw him halfway true. 354 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:47,680 It's as if he saw Jesus blurry a man like a tree walking. 355 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:53,840 So what's Mark teaching by highlighting these healings of 356 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,720 sight? He's saying that we're all 357 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,080 spiritually blind to who Jesus is by nature. 358 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:03,320 He's saying that faith is a gift you have to receive from God. 359 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:07,720 He's saying that sometimes that faith might come gradually. 360 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:15,160 He's saying that truly seeing who Jesus is means understanding 361 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:19,000 the cross and understanding that his cross has to become your 362 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,760 cross. If you see that, you see Jesus. 363 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:24,720 If you get that, you get what it means to be his disciple. 364 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:27,960 If you don't, you miss Jesus completely, and you miss 365 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:31,760 discipleship completely. It takes spiritual sight to 366 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:38,160 perceive it, and Jesus himself can give that spiritual sight. 367 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:44,120 So Jesus grants Bartimaeus his sight and he tells them your 368 00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:47,160 faith has saved you. I think Jesus is speaking on 2 369 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,360 levels at once. He's saying because you have 370 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,320 faith, that's that's why you came to appeal to me. 371 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:55,080 That's how you came to receive my mercy and I healed you. 372 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,520 But I think he's speaking on a deeper level about the salvation 373 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:00,880 of Bartimaeus soul. He's healed spiritually, he's 374 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:03,840 been saved. And it's not that Bartimaeus 375 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:08,160 faith is a power that earned or achieved or accomplished his 376 00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:10,720 salvation. Bartimaeus faith is just an 377 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,240 instrument. It's just an empty channel by 378 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:16,920 which he receives the salvation that comes entirely from Jesus 379 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,000 and his divine power and compassion. 380 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,120 Verse 52, Jesus tells Bartimaeus, go your way. 381 00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:28,880 I don't think that means Jesus is telling Bartimaeus to leave 382 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,360 his presence. Instead, I think Jesus is 383 00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:34,320 telling him that he no longer has to sit by the roadside 384 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:36,360 begging. He's got a whole new life. 385 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,880 He's free to go. But Bartimaeus has already 386 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:45,880 decided to do better than that. The end of verse 52. 387 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:53,240 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the 388 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:55,680 way. We've seen in a number of 389 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:59,880 passages that the literal act of following Jesus on the way to 390 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:03,240 Jerusalem is also a picture. It's also a pointer to what it 391 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:05,760 means to follow him as a disciple. 392 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:10,080 So what does Bartimaeus do? He gets up and starts walking 393 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:15,120 with Jesus behind Jesus, following Jesus. 394 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,080 He's about to see with his physical eyes. 395 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:19,920 He is seeing now with his physical eyes for the first 396 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:21,080 time. And who knows how many years, 397 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:22,720 decades maybe, who's blind from birth? 398 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,320 We don't know. The very first thing he's going 399 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,640 to see is not going to be his house. 400 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:29,800 It's not going to be his neighborhood. 401 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:31,920 It's not going to be his friends or family. 402 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,920 The very first scenes that will come to his newly healed eyes, 403 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:43,800 it's Jesus and the disciples walking up the steep incline to 404 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,200 get to the city where Jesus will be crucified. 405 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:51,760 That's where Jesus is going. That's what Bartimaeus now sees. 406 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:53,360 And so that's where he's going to. 407 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:58,680 That's what it means to become a Christian. 408 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:03,800 What now fills your vision is the sight of Jesus going to the 409 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:10,600 cross and you with him. If Jesus gave you what you most 410 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:15,320 desired, if you had one ask, one question, one request, what's it 411 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:20,120 going to be for Jesus and he gave you that, would you turn 412 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:23,360 around and follow him? Would you give up everything and 413 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:27,760 become his disciple friends? It should be obvious by now, but 414 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:33,160 just to make it explicit, Bartimaeus is a picture of all 415 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:37,880 of us before we come to faith. His sitting by the roadside is a 416 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:39,880 picture of our spiritual inability. 417 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,320 There's nothing we can do to save ourselves. 418 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,320 His blindness and poverty picture our spiritual condition 419 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,800 apart from Christ. We lack true knowledge of God, 420 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:55,920 and however rich we think we may be spiritually, we are beggars 421 00:27:56,520 --> 00:28:00,320 like Bartimaeus. All you can bring to Jesus is 422 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:04,440 your need. And Bartimaeus is also a 423 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:10,400 glorious picture of every believer's conversion, no matter 424 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,840 if you grew up in a Christian household and can't remember a 425 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,600 time you didn't believe in Jesus, or if you just became a 426 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:18,760 Christian two weeks ago in a radical, transformative U-turn. 427 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:20,640 Praise God, I'd love to talk to you about it. 428 00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:23,120 Here's a picture of every believer's conversion. 429 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:29,840 Faith begins in desperation. Faith begins in recognizing you 430 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:32,520 need mercy. When you realize that, you'll 431 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:34,840 call out to Jesus like Bartimaeus did. 432 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,960 You'll beg Jesus for mercy, and you will not let anyone get in 433 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:43,520 your way. When he answers, you'll spring 434 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:45,840 up. Bartimaeus did. 435 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:51,400 You'll leave your old life behind, and you'll follow him. 436 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:58,160 In our salvation. We do nothing. 437 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:05,160 Jesus does everything. We receive his perfect work by 438 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,720 faith. Jesus perfectly meets your 439 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:14,520 deepest need, with no help from you and no thanks to you. 440 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,240 And just as Jesus is healing raised up Bartimaeus from 441 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:23,120 begging, so his saving work raises us up from spiritual 442 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:28,720 death. What makes Jesus mercy available 443 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:33,480 and effective like this? How does he need each of our 444 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:35,960 deepest need? It's through his death and 445 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:38,760 resurrection. That's what Mark's gospel is 446 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:40,720 pointing to. This whole section of the gospel 447 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,480 is like a big arrow pointing straight to the cross. 448 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:46,120 And as we get closer, the cross gets bigger. 449 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,560 How can you receive this kind of mercy? 450 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:54,120 Only by knowing and trusting that Jesus died to pay the full 451 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:57,000 price for your sins. Only by knowing and trusting 452 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,920 that He rose from the dead and defeated death so that no 453 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:03,960 sickness, no suffering, and no sin can never get the last word 454 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,280 on anyone who trusts in Him. The only way you can receive 455 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:10,760 this mercy and compassion is by abandoning any pretense or 456 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:14,280 trying to work your way to God and calling out like a beggar 457 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:18,480 because He's done everything in his death and resurrection. 458 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:24,480 What Jesus was marching up those hills on His way to do is how 459 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:29,320 you can receive the same mercy Bartimaeus did 2000 years ago. 460 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:33,800 If you don't know that mercy, turn from sin and trust in Jesus 461 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:37,560 today. Jesus is the King who is 462 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,720 infinitely compassionate. He is the merciful healer. 463 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:50,040 He is also point to the joy bringing King, the joy bringing 464 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:56,000 King. We see this in Chapter 11, 465 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:02,520 verses 1 to 10. In verses 1 to 6, Jesus prepares 466 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:06,720 for his entry into Jerusalem. He does so by giving his 467 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:10,440 disciples an odd set of instructions that they 468 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:14,960 faithfully carry out. Now when they drew near to 469 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:18,080 Jerusalem, to Beth Phage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, 470 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:21,680 Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, Go into the 471 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:24,240 village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it, you 472 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:28,160 will find a colt tide on which no one has ever sat. 473 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:31,960 Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, why are 474 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:37,040 you doing this, say the Lord has need of it, and we'll send it 475 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,720 back here immediately. And they went away and found a 476 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:44,360 colt, Tide, at a door outside in the street, and they united it. 477 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,200 And some of those standing there said to them, What are you doing 478 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,200 untying the colt? And they told them what Jesus 479 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:56,040 had said, and they let them go. What is going on here? 480 00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:00,760 Did Jesus make some kind of secret advance plan with people 481 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:03,240 he knew in Jerusalem before coming to the city? 482 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,880 That's possible. Some commentators think so. 483 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:10,880 I think a far better explanation is that Jesus is doing something 484 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:12,800 we've seen him do several times in the Gospel. 485 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:17,880 Just that he's demonstrating divine foreknowledge, just like 486 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:21,680 his detailed predictions of his death and resurrection, saying 487 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:23,360 exactly what's going to happen ahead of time. 488 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:27,920 Well, so here he's demonstrating a knowledge only God can have. 489 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:32,880 Here Jesus knows what no human being could know. 490 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:34,640 There'll be a cult locked outside. 491 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:36,800 Here's just what to say to get them to give it to you. 492 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,000 This also explains the strange saying in verse 3. 493 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:45,360 The Lord has need of it. Who is Jesus talking about? 494 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:47,640 I think he's talking about himself. 495 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:51,800 He's claiming a divine right to requisition these people's 496 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,240 property. It's as if a military is on the 497 00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,440 March authorized by their government. 498 00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,600 Well, hey, I'm so sorry. We need your barn to house all 499 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:02,400 these soldiers while we set up camp. 500 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,520 Well, you don't have a choice. Military's in charge. 501 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:07,520 You're in that territory. OK, I guess you get to use my 502 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:09,280 barn to house these fifty soldiers, right? 503 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:11,960 There's a higher authority that comes in and claims that 504 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:14,000 property. Here. 505 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,080 Jesus says, well, he's the creator of the cult. 506 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:21,320 He's the owner of the cult. He's just going to loan it and 507 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:24,880 give it back. But why is Jesus doing this? 508 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:31,320 The key to the whole passage is a promise about the Messiah in 509 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:35,360 the prophetic Old Testament book of Zechariah, Chapter 9, verse 510 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:36,760 9. You could turn there if you 511 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:38,680 want, but don't feel the need to. 512 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:45,600 Here's the verse. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of 513 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:52,520 Zion, shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, your King is 514 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:55,800 coming to you righteous and having salvation. 515 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,800 Is he humble and mounted on a donkey? 516 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:03,480 On a colt? The foal of a donkey. 517 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:09,159 Jesus knows he's the Messiah. Jesus is about to fulfill this 518 00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:11,520 prophecy. He's about to put God's words 519 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:14,960 into action by requisitioning this cult. 520 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:20,600 He's announcing by his actions that he is the promised Messiah. 521 00:34:21,679 --> 00:34:25,840 All throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has charged both 522 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:28,840 people and demons to keep quiet about him. 523 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:33,320 A person or demon says he's the Son of God, and he says don't 524 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:36,480 tell anybody. There's the Transfiguration 525 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:38,800 where they get this vision of his glory and the disciples are 526 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:40,600 there. Jesus says don't tell anyone 527 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:43,280 until the Son of Man is raised from the dead. 528 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:48,600 He has not wanted word of his Messiahship to get around, but 529 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:52,600 now he's lifting the gag order. He's pulling back the veil of 530 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:54,960 secrecy. Bartimaeus shouts out that Jesus 531 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:57,680 is the son of David, and Jesus doesn't rebuke him or quiet him. 532 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:03,200 And now here he's making a very public announcement by getting a 533 00:35:03,240 --> 00:35:07,560 donkey to ride into Jerusalem. This is a striking act. 534 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:10,520 All the pilgrims who traveled into Jerusalem would have done 535 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:13,840 so on foot. Jesus went on foot the whole 536 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:16,880 time up till now. It was a striking statement of 537 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:20,640 his kingship to say from here into Jerusalem, I'm going to 538 00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:24,040 ride. That was a royal privilege, a 539 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:26,640 royal prerogative, and that's why it was a donkey. 540 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:29,880 Nobody D ever sat on before. That kind of animal was reserved 541 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:34,320 for kingly use. That brings us to verses 7 and 542 00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:35,360 8. They get the donkey, 543 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:40,280 specifically a young donkey, and they brought the colt to Jesus 544 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:42,400 and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 545 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,400 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread 546 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:47,960 leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 547 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:54,040 The cloaks on the colt are a makeshift throne. 548 00:35:55,600 --> 00:36:01,400 The cloaks and the branches on the road are a makeshift red 549 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:04,800 carpet. Both honor Jesus as the king. 550 00:36:06,240 --> 00:36:09,320 Both are improvised in the moment. 551 00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:12,760 These pilgrims journeying with Jesus into Jerusalem for the 552 00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:16,080 Passover are rightly recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. 553 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:17,840 They're honoring him. They're crowning him. 554 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:19,520 But they weren't prepared for this. 555 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:21,960 They had to just use whatever is on hand. 556 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:27,440 Royal celebrations like a coronation or a 50 year 557 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:31,760 anniversary of a long reign are usually the biggest exercise in 558 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:35,160 pomp and circumstance any country can manage. 559 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:38,600 Pull out all the stops, show all the wealth, all the cultural 560 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:41,600 vitality, all the strength, all the power. 561 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:48,520 This one's a little wonky. Just some clothes spread on a 562 00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:53,000 donkey and some clothes and branches on the ground. 563 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:57,360 So there's two truths here sitting in a kind of paradoxical 564 00:36:57,360 --> 00:37:00,600 tension. On the one hand, Jesus openly 565 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:04,640 proclaiming his kingship and these fellow pilgrims are openly 566 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:09,040 acclaiming him as king. But on the other hand, he is 567 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:14,400 showing that he is a very different kind of king. 568 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:21,000 He is the humble king, as Zechariah 9 says. 569 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:25,160 He's coming not to domineer, but to redeem. 570 00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:28,480 He's coming not to be served, but to serve. 571 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:32,960 He's coming to give his life for you and me. 572 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:35,920 He's the king. He can do it. 573 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:42,000 He's the humble king. He's willing to do it. 574 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:49,680 The people who laid their cloaks on the colt for Jesus to sit on. 575 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:53,280 We're performing a symbolic act of submission. 576 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:55,440 The clothes represent the person. 577 00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:59,200 Where did the clothes go? Underneath Jesus. 578 00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:05,280 They're putting themselves under Jesus in reverend submission. 579 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:08,640 They're offering themselves to Jesus for him to do whatever he 580 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:13,200 wanted with them. To be a Christian is to say, 581 00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:20,320 Lord, take me and make me a throne for you to sit on. 582 00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:27,840 Lord, take my life, body and soul and make me a throne for 583 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:34,040 you to reign from. We see another aspect of the 584 00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:38,200 people's right response to Jesus's kingship in verses 9 and 585 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,160 10. They they break out and shouting 586 00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:42,280 doesn't take too much imagination to think they're 587 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:44,840 probably some songs mixed in because they're quoting from the 588 00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:47,040 Psalms, which were meant to be sung. 589 00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:52,000 Verses 9 and 10. Those who went before and those 590 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:53,880 who followed were shouting. Hosanna. 591 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:56,240 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 592 00:38:56,640 --> 00:38:59,080 Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our Father David. 593 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:03,280 Hosanna. In the highest hear, the people 594 00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:06,280 cry out words from the Psalm we read earlier, Psalm 118, 595 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:12,000 specifically verses 25 and 26. That Hebrew phrase hosanna is a 596 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,320 prayer. It means Lord save us or Lord 597 00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:18,800 save now. So the people bless Jesus as the 598 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:21,000 one who comes in the name of the Lord. 599 00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:24,600 They recognize him as the one who's going to regather all of 600 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:28,880 God's people and bring us all together into God's presence. 601 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:33,360 That's why they rejoice in the Kingdom of David that is soon to 602 00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:34,920 come. They recognize he's the Son of 603 00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:36,400 David. He's going to fulfill all the 604 00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:40,240 promises God made to David. They might not know exactly how 605 00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:42,480 it's all going to play out, but what they're saying here is on 606 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:45,240 the right track. There is nothing wrong and 607 00:39:45,240 --> 00:39:47,960 everything right with them quoting these scriptures and 608 00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:52,240 seeing them fulfilled in Jesus. So Jesus comes in God's 609 00:39:52,240 --> 00:39:56,040 authority with God's blessing to do God's will, to fulfill God's 610 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:58,280 work and to bring in God's Kingdom. 611 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,720 Ultimately, he comes in the name of the Lord, because he 612 00:40:01,720 --> 00:40:04,720 eternally bears that name of the Lord. 613 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:08,720 In the people's response to Jesus, there's an undeniable 614 00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:11,960 note of celebration, of joy, of festivity. 615 00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:16,360 Why? Why does Jesus bring joy? 616 00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:22,040 Because he came to make everything right. 617 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:29,480 Because his coming Kingdom will perfectly banish sin. 618 00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:32,320 When the Kingdom comes in its fullness, it will perfectly 619 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:34,680 banish sin from the hearts of all of his people, and it will 620 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:38,400 perfectly banish sin from the whole realm of the new creation. 621 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:43,800 Jesus coming Kingdom will remove and reverse suffering. 622 00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:47,640 There will not be one trace of it left. 623 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:56,080 Jesus coming Kingdom will undo every cause of sadness and bring 624 00:40:56,160 --> 00:41:04,080 infinite reasons to rejoice. Jesus is the joy bringing King. 625 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:11,080 He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found. 626 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:19,200 Joy is only as good as the ground underneath it. 627 00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:24,720 Joy is only as good as what the joy is in. 628 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:28,680 Joy in Jesus is better than joy in anything in this world 629 00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:31,280 because only Jesus will never disappoint. 630 00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:37,480 Only Jesus will never fail. Only Jesus will never be taken 631 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:41,960 by death because he defeated death and delivers from death. 632 00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:46,960 Only Jesus is willing and able to completely renew you and 633 00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:52,880 completely renew this world. Only Jesus can make everything 634 00:41:53,320 --> 00:42:00,720 sad come untrue. So the people rightly cry out, 635 00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:04,840 Hosanna, Lord, save. If you're not a believer in 636 00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:10,200 Jesus, is there anything you say you would need saving from? 637 00:42:11,480 --> 00:42:14,520 And where do you turn for that salvation? 638 00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:21,520 Just as the crowd rejoices in the coming Kingdom, so Jesus 639 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:24,960 teaches us all to pray your Kingdom come. 640 00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:29,800 Jesus inaugurated this Kingdom by his death and resurrection. 641 00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:32,400 He opened it up and broke into this world, but he didn't 642 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:35,200 complete it. He will only consummate it when 643 00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:36,760 he returns. And so as Christians, we 644 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:38,520 regularly pray as part of the Lord's Prayer. 645 00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:43,000 Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in 646 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:45,160 heaven. The people cried out. 647 00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:51,280 Hosanna, Lord, save We believers all throughout this age cry out. 648 00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:59,960 Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus, If you are a believer in Jesus, 649 00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:04,440 what in your life is most wrong? What's most painful? 650 00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:09,400 What is most seemingly unfixable? 651 00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:17,000 Make sure that trial makes you long for heaven and for the 652 00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:20,800 coming of God's Kingdom. Make sure that trial leads you 653 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:26,280 to meditate on heaven and on the coming of God's Kingdom. 654 00:43:26,280 --> 00:43:28,520 If you want some help with that, you could read Richard Baxter's 655 00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:31,240 book. It's been recently shrunk down 656 00:43:31,240 --> 00:43:33,960 to a manageable size called The Saints Everlasting Rest. 657 00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:36,760 Our pastor Michael reviewed it online for the Gospel Coalition. 658 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:42,960 Helpful, rich, challenging stuff on how to meditate on heaven. 659 00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:49,480 Whatever that trial is that seems most unfixable, make sure 660 00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:53,640 it makes you long for Christ's return. 661 00:43:55,520 --> 00:43:59,080 God has 1000 good purposes in ordaining that suffering. 662 00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:05,240 Many of those good purposes converge on teaching you 663 00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:09,360 inwardly to long for heaven more. 664 00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:14,280 This scene on the way to Jerusalem is something like, to 665 00:44:14,280 --> 00:44:17,800 borrow a phrase from Chris Biggers, a Holy Spirit inspired 666 00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:20,440 flash mob that was too good. Had to give credit. 667 00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:23,800 Thanks, Chris. This is a redemptive, 668 00:44:23,840 --> 00:44:27,160 historically unique pop up worship service. 669 00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:30,840 They're getting Jesus right? And so they're worshipping him 670 00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:33,280 then and there. What does that have to teach us 671 00:44:33,720 --> 00:44:38,720 about our own corporate worship? It teaches us that our corporate 672 00:44:38,720 --> 00:44:43,400 worship is about continually acclaiming Christ as King. 673 00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:46,560 Corporate worship is about renewing our allegiance to 674 00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:50,720 Christ as King, learning to say yet again, Lord, may my life be 675 00:44:50,720 --> 00:44:54,680 your throne. Corporate worship is a fresh 676 00:44:54,680 --> 00:44:58,680 weekly declaration of our joy in the coming Kingdom. 677 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:02,440 In corporate worship, we joyfully submit to Christ's 678 00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:06,920 present rule, and we declare and renew our longing for his future 679 00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:11,480 rule. In corporate worship, we appeal 680 00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:15,280 to Christ to come and consummate his Kingdom. 681 00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:19,600 How do we do this? By praying God's promises back 682 00:45:19,600 --> 00:45:22,640 to him in prayer. By pouring out our hearts and 683 00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:25,840 prayers of praise and pounding on heaven's door in prayers of 684 00:45:25,840 --> 00:45:29,280 petition. By singing songs about heaven 685 00:45:29,280 --> 00:45:33,720 and the second coming, Songs that proclaim truths like Hark 686 00:45:33,720 --> 00:45:38,000 those bursts of acclamation. Hark those loud triumphant 687 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:42,800 chords. Jesus takes the highest station. 688 00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:51,880 Oh, what joy the sight of Fords. Jesus is the humble King who 689 00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:58,080 brings the joy we all need. He is himself all the joy we 690 00:45:58,080 --> 00:46:02,600 need. And as I said, quoting Edwards a 691 00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:08,560 while ago, Jesus unites in himself diverse excellencies. 692 00:46:09,720 --> 00:46:14,560 Jesus meets needs you know you have and needs you might not 693 00:46:14,560 --> 00:46:20,400 know you have. Needs like judgments .3 The 694 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:24,120 patient judge. The patient judge. 695 00:46:24,520 --> 00:46:27,840 This point will be brief since it's from just one verse, verse 696 00:46:27,840 --> 00:46:33,440 11, very end of the passage. And he entered Jerusalem and 697 00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:36,320 went into the temple. And when he had looked around at 698 00:46:36,320 --> 00:46:39,680 everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany 699 00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:43,280 with the 12. Jesus approach to Jerusalem is 700 00:46:43,280 --> 00:46:48,760 so grand, so festive. This is an anticlimax. 701 00:46:48,920 --> 00:46:50,360 What? What happened? 702 00:46:50,880 --> 00:46:52,920 He's openly declaring his kingship. 703 00:46:53,120 --> 00:46:55,400 People are responding. And then what happens next? 704 00:46:55,480 --> 00:47:02,120 Well, nothing. Jesus goes into Jerusalem, He 705 00:47:02,120 --> 00:47:05,120 goes into the temple, he looks around, he leaves. 706 00:47:05,560 --> 00:47:07,800 He's going to spend the night in the little village right outside 707 00:47:07,800 --> 00:47:09,720 the city. OK. 708 00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:14,560 We're not told of any big time religious leaders greeting him 709 00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:17,320 in either a warm welcome or a sort of warning of their 710 00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:20,320 opposition. We're not told of any people 711 00:47:20,320 --> 00:47:22,160 looking for the coming of the Messiah and going, wait a 712 00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:24,200 minute, Jesus, huh? Putting it together, confessing 713 00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:25,120 faith in him. Nothing. 714 00:47:25,120 --> 00:47:31,080 He goes, looks around, leaves. What on earth is going on here? 715 00:47:31,960 --> 00:47:34,280 There are two keys, I think, in the wording of the verse that 716 00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:37,040 help us get it. There's also a major key in an 717 00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:39,440 Old Testament passage that this echoes. 718 00:47:39,440 --> 00:47:42,960 So key number one, in the verse, Jesus looked around. 719 00:47:43,400 --> 00:47:47,160 That might not sound like much, but every other time this Greek 720 00:47:47,160 --> 00:47:51,400 verb is used in Mark's gospel, Jesus is looking around is an 721 00:47:51,400 --> 00:47:56,040 authoritative act of divine assessment. 722 00:47:56,680 --> 00:47:59,160 He's not looking around like waiting for a bus, wondering if 723 00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:02,600 it's going to come on time. He's looking around like taking 724 00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:07,200 stock of everything that is happening, measuring and 725 00:48:07,200 --> 00:48:10,880 assessing everything that everyone is doing and saying and 726 00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:16,400 at times even thinking. One example, Mark 35 religious 727 00:48:16,400 --> 00:48:19,880 leaders care more about trying to trap Jesus than about Jesus 728 00:48:19,880 --> 00:48:23,040 healing a man with a deformity, it says. 729 00:48:23,680 --> 00:48:28,800 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their 730 00:48:28,800 --> 00:48:31,280 hardness of heart and said to the man, stretch out your hand. 731 00:48:31,600 --> 00:48:33,840 So his looking around is something special. 732 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:39,320 Second key in the verse, Jesus looked around at everything. 733 00:48:40,400 --> 00:48:44,400 This is comprehensive. It is an all embracing survey. 734 00:48:44,400 --> 00:48:47,280 Nothing escapes his attention. Nothing escapes his notice. 735 00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:50,520 There's no dark corners where anybody can hide anything that 736 00:48:50,520 --> 00:48:56,400 he's not going to see. This is not a curious tourist 737 00:48:57,320 --> 00:49:00,040 glancing around at a historic cathedral and just kind of, oh, 738 00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:03,440 pretty windows, nice ceiling that was taking a long time to 739 00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:04,360 build. I don't know. 740 00:49:05,760 --> 00:49:13,320 This is the divine judge coming to assess whether his people in 741 00:49:13,320 --> 00:49:17,160 his place are worshipping him faithfully. 742 00:49:18,280 --> 00:49:20,520 Now. Another big key, this time from 743 00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:23,360 the Old Testament. Just like Jesus active sitting 744 00:49:23,360 --> 00:49:26,400 on a donkey echoed an Old Testament prophecy, so his 745 00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:29,000 active coming to the temple echoes an Old Testament 746 00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:32,240 prophecy. It's Malachi 3 verse one. 747 00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:36,400 Mark actually opens his whole gospel by quoting the words of 748 00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:40,480 Isaiah from chapter 40 and some of the words from Malachi 3 749 00:49:40,480 --> 00:49:43,120 verse one, the very beginning of the gospel. 750 00:49:43,120 --> 00:49:45,720 He mentions it and now Jesus is here to do it. 751 00:49:45,720 --> 00:49:51,600 Here's Malachi 31. Behold, I send my messenger, and 752 00:49:51,600 --> 00:49:57,320 he will prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek 753 00:49:57,520 --> 00:50:01,600 will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the 754 00:50:01,600 --> 00:50:04,040 covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the 755 00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:06,000 Lord of hosts. And then the next person, 756 00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:08,800 Malachi, which shows the purpose of this coming. 757 00:50:09,080 --> 00:50:12,800 Verse 2. But who can endure the day of 758 00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:17,080 his coming, and who can stand when he appears? 759 00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:21,720 For he is like a refiners fire. And like fuller's soap. 760 00:50:22,040 --> 00:50:25,840 When the Lord comes to his temple, he will carry out a 761 00:50:25,840 --> 00:50:31,320 purifying judgement. Who has now come to the temple? 762 00:50:32,040 --> 00:50:34,880 The Lord himself. Jesus is the Master of the 763 00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:37,360 house, and he's come to inspect what's rightfully His. 764 00:50:37,920 --> 00:50:44,280 This silent visit is preparation for that judgement Jesus is 765 00:50:44,280 --> 00:50:47,440 quietly serving. Notice at the time for the 766 00:50:47,440 --> 00:50:53,640 temple's inspection has come. In the very next passage we'll 767 00:50:53,640 --> 00:50:56,520 see Jesus performing an act of cleansing judgement on the 768 00:50:56,520 --> 00:51:01,440 temple. That judgement in one day was a 769 00:51:01,440 --> 00:51:04,200 preview of much more severe judgement that Jesus himself 770 00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:06,680 promised. That would come in 70 AD when 771 00:51:06,680 --> 00:51:07,960 the whole temple would be destroyed. 772 00:51:07,960 --> 00:51:12,400 And in Jesus own teaching in Mark 13, the destruction of the 773 00:51:12,400 --> 00:51:19,000 temple is itself a preview and a guarantee of the judgement God's 774 00:51:19,000 --> 00:51:22,520 going to carry out on the whole world. 775 00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:27,760 Jesus's visit to the temple is preparation for judgement. 776 00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:33,480 He is symbolically showing that He sees all and knows all, and 777 00:51:33,480 --> 00:51:38,920 so he has every right to judge all He will judge. 778 00:51:39,520 --> 00:51:43,040 And unlike our judgement when we fly off the chain and want 779 00:51:43,040 --> 00:51:46,000 revenge on somebody, when we try to get even when we think 780 00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:47,600 they've wronged me, I'm going to do this to them. 781 00:51:48,080 --> 00:51:51,480 Unlike our sinful anger when we would like to carry out our own 782 00:51:51,480 --> 00:51:55,520 judgement, Jesus's judgement is perfectly informed, perfectly 783 00:51:55,520 --> 00:52:00,800 accurate, perfectly righteous, perfectly just, perfectly self 784 00:52:00,800 --> 00:52:05,200 controlled because as God, He is in no way threatened by human 785 00:52:05,200 --> 00:52:10,320 sin and rebellion. How is it that judgement is 786 00:52:10,320 --> 00:52:12,760 something we need? That sounds backward? 787 00:52:12,760 --> 00:52:16,400 And in one sense, it is. If you're not a believer in 788 00:52:16,480 --> 00:52:20,640 Jesus, what you most need is to escape God's judgement for all 789 00:52:20,640 --> 00:52:22,320 of us. We continue to sin. 790 00:52:22,320 --> 00:52:24,560 We need to be spared God's judgement. 791 00:52:24,560 --> 00:52:28,160 We need to be safe and sound in light of God's judgement. 792 00:52:28,160 --> 00:52:30,560 And that's what Jesus accomplished through his death 793 00:52:30,560 --> 00:52:32,400 and resurrection. That's the promise he holds out 794 00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:37,480 to everyone who believes in him. But we also need God's judgement 795 00:52:38,760 --> 00:52:43,320 in the sense of repaying evil as it deserves. 796 00:52:44,480 --> 00:52:47,960 You might think of historic evil on a grand scale, some of the 797 00:52:47,960 --> 00:52:51,560 greatest atrocities perpetuated in human history. 798 00:52:52,080 --> 00:52:54,320 You might think of the ways that other people have sinned against 799 00:52:54,320 --> 00:52:59,040 you personally most severely, done the most damage to you. 800 00:53:00,360 --> 00:53:04,680 When you are aware of injustice, whether on a grand scale or a 801 00:53:04,680 --> 00:53:08,040 very personal scale, particularly when you've 802 00:53:08,040 --> 00:53:13,760 suffered grave harm from other people's sins, you start to 803 00:53:13,760 --> 00:53:19,800 resonate and know instinctively part of what it means for God to 804 00:53:19,800 --> 00:53:24,160 make this world right is to repay sin as it deserves. 805 00:53:24,880 --> 00:53:27,080 Human authorities can only do so much. 806 00:53:27,320 --> 00:53:30,680 Human governments will only ever give out partial justice and do 807 00:53:30,680 --> 00:53:35,360 it imperfectly. Hope in the face of atrocity, 808 00:53:35,360 --> 00:53:38,720 hope in the face of oppression, Hope in the face of abuse, hope 809 00:53:38,720 --> 00:53:42,160 in the face of being personally mistreated includes the element 810 00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:50,200 of trusting God to repay evil as it deserves. 811 00:53:51,560 --> 00:53:59,000 God's judgement, including his retribution of sin in hell, is 812 00:53:59,000 --> 00:54:02,440 part of what it means for him to set the world right. 813 00:54:03,120 --> 00:54:06,840 Whatever those outstanding atrocities you're most aware of, 814 00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:10,120 if the perpetrators only ever got a cosmic get out of jail 815 00:54:10,120 --> 00:54:14,360 free card, then God is not just, and He's not really making 816 00:54:14,360 --> 00:54:19,680 everything right. Just as Jesus served notice 817 00:54:19,680 --> 00:54:23,360 before his act of judgement in the temple, so today he remains 818 00:54:23,400 --> 00:54:27,280 a patient judge. Every sermon you hear is notice 819 00:54:27,640 --> 00:54:30,800 of coming judgements. He remains patient. 820 00:54:31,160 --> 00:54:33,520 He's given you almost 2000 years. 821 00:54:34,160 --> 00:54:37,640 He's let history play out so that people would have a chance 822 00:54:37,840 --> 00:54:41,080 to hear the good news and repent and be saved and wind up on the 823 00:54:41,080 --> 00:54:44,600 right side of judgment, which is a much bigger deal than winding 824 00:54:44,600 --> 00:54:47,000 up on the so-called right side of history. 825 00:54:47,280 --> 00:54:50,880 The right side you want to wind up on his, on God's judgment. 826 00:54:51,000 --> 00:54:55,320 His verdict matters far more than fallen human history. 827 00:54:55,840 --> 00:54:58,280 If you're not a believer in Jesus, the fact that you're 828 00:54:58,280 --> 00:55:02,040 alive and breathing today is a sign of His patience toward you. 829 00:55:02,640 --> 00:55:08,120 What He wants you to do is turn from sin and trust in Him and be 830 00:55:08,120 --> 00:55:14,400 saved. Jesus is the patient judge. 831 00:55:15,440 --> 00:55:19,920 Jesus is the humble King who brings the mercy, joy and 832 00:55:19,920 --> 00:55:24,040 judgement we all need. As Jesus's disciples and the 833 00:55:24,040 --> 00:55:29,080 crowds were soon to discover, Jesus doesn't bring all these 834 00:55:29,080 --> 00:55:34,080 things all at once. First, He came to die for our 835 00:55:34,080 --> 00:55:39,640 sins and rise from the grave. When He comes again, He will 836 00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:42,840 deliver His people from death and usher in the new creation. 837 00:55:44,440 --> 00:55:49,640 You will only receive the full measure of Jesus's blessings at 838 00:55:49,640 --> 00:55:52,720 His return. Until then, He will answer 839 00:55:52,720 --> 00:55:55,400 prayers. Until then, He will be with you. 840 00:55:55,880 --> 00:56:00,040 Until then, He will help you. He will sustain you on your 841 00:56:00,040 --> 00:56:01,600 journey, your pilgrimage to heaven. 842 00:56:01,960 --> 00:56:05,600 But everything He gives you now is like food for the trip. 843 00:56:06,880 --> 00:56:10,760 It's like trail mix and beef jerky compared to the feast 844 00:56:11,400 --> 00:56:15,280 that's coming. If you trust in Jesus, then 845 00:56:15,280 --> 00:56:20,560 every day of your life until you die or He comes back, He will 846 00:56:20,560 --> 00:56:25,000 sustain you. And when His Kingdom comes in 847 00:56:25,000 --> 00:56:30,120 its fullness, He will satisfy you. 848 00:56:30,120 --> 00:56:36,600 Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we praise you 849 00:56:37,440 --> 00:56:44,480 for your mercy, Your grace, and Your justice in bringing your 850 00:56:44,480 --> 00:56:46,800 Kingdom. Father, we pray that we would 851 00:56:46,800 --> 00:56:49,440 trust in Jesus. We pray that we would receive 852 00:56:49,440 --> 00:56:52,120 His mercy. We pray that we would extend 853 00:56:52,120 --> 00:56:55,280 that mercy to others in Jesus name, Amen.