Interrupting Jesus?

Mark 10:46-52

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁸ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
⁵² “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

It seems so natural that a person who is blind is anxious and excited about Jesus passing his way. This man had a need and had obviously heard about some of the things Jesus had done so he wanted to make sure his cry out to the Lord was heard. 

The scripture says that many rebuked this man and tried to keep him quiet. But he continued shouting at Jesus. He wanted mercy from the Lord. The result is the good part of the story, as the man was healed because of his faith. 

My focus on the story is to question those that tried to get Bartimaeus to be quiet. Did they think he is interrupting Jesus from some greater mission?  Could they think the Lord could be so busy he didn't have time to minister to one seemingly insignificant blind man?  The real beauty of this story is when our Lord stopped what he was doing and called the man to him. There is no doubt about the happiness of the blind beggar as the scripture tells us he "threw his cloak aside and jumped to his feet and came to Jesus."

The point is this. No one is insignificant in the eyes of the Lord. Whatever need we have, it's important to Him.  He will not be too busy, he will never ignore, he will always be interested in the situations of our lives.

If the Lord's ministry had been programmed by big company officials today, every time we called on him, we would talk to a recorded message, or we would be put on hold until a more convenient time, or we would have to make an appointment at some date and time in the future. 

Jesus cares. He is interested in YOU. He wants you to cast your cares on Him, for he cares for you. 

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