“Hosanna” with Israel Houghton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuzn4k0vQvU
“Your Presence is Heaven to Me” with Israel Houghton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQAwpMFS_9o
“Withholding Nothing” with William McDowell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_aYcLDK2d0
“Break Every Chain” by Tasha Cobbs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pD2zIuiC2g
“Press in Your Presence” by Shana Wilson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_68EM_Faros
“For Your Glory” by Tasha Cobbs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozt_zD2NwLc
“Have Mercy on Me Lord” with Vanessa Bling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xheJ0bYcPA
“Lord, Have Mercy” with Michael Smith and Amy Grant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuXsk_mV5ls
“I am the God that Healeth Thee” with Don Moen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk1qqoQ7JQ&list=PL574CAD9EE76124C4
“Healing Rain” with Michael W. Smith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaNS8cjorDc&list=PL57
4CAD9EE76124C4&index=5
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“Healing Begins” by Tenth Avenue North
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFUHrXfuNU4&index=6
&list=PL574CAD9EE76124C4
“Healing” by Richard Smallwood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GwOrVpudXI
“Blind Bartimaeus”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DQ4LF3VkTE
“He’s Calling You” with Donnie McClurkin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHdNGUlkPJY
“There’s a King Inside a Me” with Donnie McCurkin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGB_UprsoWQ
“Song of Intercession” by William McDowell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPZVjsgDfXc
“Introduction to Arise” by William McDowell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4z0OpAEga4&list=PL24
A10B6729B81E87
“Arise” by William McDowell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__WSbhQLtHk&index=2&
list=PL24A10B6729B81E87
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7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their
garments on him; and he sat upon him.
8 And many spread their garments in the way: and others
cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried,
saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord:
10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh
in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. Mark 11:7-10
Positioned for Salvation in the Glory of Jesus
Mark 10:32 – Mark 11:10
Palm Sunday
Praise the Lord! Have an awesome Holy Week! This
week we share a rather long passage of scripture where Jesus
foretold his death and went up into Jerusalem on a colt for
what we remember as Palm Sunday.
Mark 10:32 – 11:10 will help us to understand how the
disciples were positioned to cry out “Hosanna” (meaning “save
us”) as Jesus rode into Jerusalem. The encounters and
conversations in this narrative positioned the disciples to
understand where Jesus’ glory was, their place in Jesus’ glory,
and their ministry in Jesus’ glory.
Someone did the same thing for me in 1996 when I
became positioned to ask Jesus for His salvation. Surely, I was
positioned to ask for salvation by competing with very little
money and very few emotional resources in a nationally
ranked law school program. I needed Jesus’ help in many ways
then. But that is only a miniscule part of the positioning I
needed to cry out for salvation.
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Positioning is not about being in a bad place so that we
need God. We are all in very bad places without God.
Positioning is about being in a place where we realize that
Jesus is right next to us precisely to see us healed. Positioning
is about being in a place where we realize that crying out to
God for exactly what we need will welcome Jesus to shine on us
and reveal our place as sons and daughters of honor.
Positioning is about giving us the confidence in Christ to be
able to reach out and affirm each other.
Denise helped to position me for salvation by
appreciating Jesus’ presence where we worshipped at the time.
I believed that God wanted me to go to church. But I did not
always believe that Jesus really was there for me, and that He
could have the mercy on me to drastically change my life. That
and other positioning led me to cry out to God for salvation and
give me a place that has elevated my life eternally.
When the disciples went into Jerusalem, they cried out to
Jesus for salvation because they understood Jesus’ glory and
their place to be healed so that they could minister to others. I
received that call and pass on the good news to be of good
comfort, rise, and hear Jesus calling us.
I pray that this Word of His Grace in Mark 10:32-11:10
affirms that for some of us and tells it anew for all of us.
32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and
Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they
followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and
began to tell them what things should happen unto him,
33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of
man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the
scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver
him to the Gentiles:
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34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and
shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall
rise again.
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him,
saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us
whatsoever we shall desire.
36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do
for you?
37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one
on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can
ye drink of the cup that I drink of? And be baptized with the
baptism that I am baptized with?
39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto
them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with
the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized.
40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not
mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is
prepared.
41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much
displeased with James and John.
42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye
know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles
exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise
authority upon them.
43 But so shall it not be among you; but whosoever will be
great among you, shall be your minister.
44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be
servant of all.
45 For even the Son of man came not be ministered unto,
but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho
with his disciples and a great number of people, blind
Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
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47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he
began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on
me.
48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace:
but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have
mercy on me.
49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called.
And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort,
rise; he calleth thee.
50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to
Jesus.
51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou
that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord,
that I might receive my sight.
52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath
made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and
followed Jesus in the way.
11:1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto
Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth
two of his disciples,
2 And saith unto them, Go your way unto the village over
against you; and as soon as ye be entered unto it, ye shall find a
colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.
3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? Say ye that
the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him
hither.
4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the
door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them,
What do ye, loosing the colt?
6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded:
and they let them go.
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7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their
garments on him; and he sat upon him.
8 And many spread their garments in the way: and others
cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried,
saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord:
10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh
in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
The disciples went up with Jesus to Jerusalem, and they
were afraid – afraid about a lot of things. And Jesus continued
to tell them this horrific story of how He would die, but rise
again. The disciples must have been additionally afraid
because Jesus’ prophecies did not tell them anything about
what would happen to the disciples. Would they survive any
persecution surrounding Jesus’ death? Would they be with
Jesus when Jesus rose again?
So James and John asked a most natural question. They
wanted to ask Jesus to secure things for them so that when
Jesus rose again into glory, James and John would find
themselves at the right and left hands of Jesus. They said unto
him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and
the other on thy left hand, in thy glory, Mark 10:37.
Jesus explained to the disciples that they did not know
what they were asking for. I think that Jesus says some of the
same things to us this Holy Week. Many of us are calling on
God to bless us, and we do not know what we are asking for.
…Jesus said unto them, ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of
the cup that I drink of? And be baptized with the baptism that I
am baptized with?
May God help us to understand what we are asking for in
our lives. We are asking for a position or a person or a place or
a thing or an amount of money. But God is telling us that if we
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receive that position or person or place or thing or amount of
money, we will have entered into a particular type of
communion where we must eat and drink of what we asked
for. If we receive that position or person or place or thing or
amount of money we will be baptized into a new type of life
and a new commission. Lord, help us to know what we are
asking for.
Jesus helped the disciples to know what they were asking
for through His encounter with blind Bartimaeus on their way
out of Jericho.
First, Jesus helped the disciples to understand what it
meant for Jesus to be in His glory. When we think of Jesus’
glory we might think of Jesus coming back and ending human
history or sitting in heaven. And to be truthful, this is the kind
of glory that many of us wish for. We wish that Jesus would
blow the whistle on where we are and proclaim us to be
winners to sit on his right and left hand. But I don’t think that
is quite how it goes for any of us.
Glory is the place where we shine the brightest. Jesus’ life
shined the brightest when He was healing people and saving
people. Jesus healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and
cast out many devils, Mark 1:34a. Jesus described His glory and
the place where he shined the brightest saying, 18 The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the
gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to
preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the
blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the
acceptable year of the Lord.
Jesus’ glory is the place where He is preaching Good News
and healing people. That is the place where James and John
asked to be when Jesus rose again.
In this context, we can secondly begin to understand what
it means to be at the right and left hand of Jesus’ glory to heal
and save. When Jesus was in His glory at Jericho, the closest
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one to Jesus was Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus was the one who
called out to Jesus at just the moment when Jesus and his
disciples were leaving the city. Bartimaeus’ words defined
Jesus as the Son of David. Bartimaeus could have asked Jesus
for a fish dinner or an offering. But Bartimaeus was the one
who called on Jesus’ glory and asked Jesus to give him his sight.
When Bartimaeus received his sight, Bartimaeus followed Jesus
in the way, Mark 10:52.
In Jericho, Bartimaeus, the man in need of healing, was at
the right hand of Jesus’ glory. The people to the right and left
of Jesus are people like Bartimaeus, like us, who need healing.
To further understand what it means to be positioned at
the right or left hand of Jesus’ glory, let us think further about
what it meant to be Bartimaeus. The word “Timaeus” means
“honor.” Bartimaeus is the “son of honor.” And so, positioned
as Jesus came by, Bartimaeus was the son of honor sitting
outside by the gate begging. Let us think of this irony.
That is where many of us are at the right and left hand of
where Jesus is about to save and heal. Many of us are sons and
daughters of honor, and we are sitting as beggars by a gate.
Think of the ironies in whom God made us to be. God has
positioned you to sit by the gates of Jericho. Jericho is where
the Israelites shouted out to God, and saw the walls of the city
fall flat. We are the sons and daughters of people whose praise
could conquer nations, and we are sitting by the gates, and
saying to the people who come by, “Can I have a dollar? Fifty
cents. Fifty cents. Just give me fifty cents.”
The awesome moment of this story is to find out how
close you are to Jesus even as other people are flocking around
Jesus on the way out of Jericho. The mayor of Jericho is
presenting Jesus with a wreath, and you find enough closeness
to Jesus in your depression to cry out, “Jesus, Thou son of David,
have mercy on me.” A great number of people are around Jesus
and telling Jesus about what God did to bless their businesses,
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and you find yourself close enough to Jesus in your poverty and
lack of education to cry out, “Jesus, Thou son of David, have
mercy on me.” People command that you be quiet. But you
realize how close you are to Jesus, and you cry out all the more
a great deal: Thou son of David, have mercy on me, Mark 10:47.
You’ve got it! We’ve got it! You have found out that Jesus
came to heal our wounds and our pains and our blindness. We
are positioned for Jesus to heal us and save us. And as we cry
out to God for more than fifty cents, and for all that we need,
we find ourselves as sons and daughters of honor.
Jesus explained, though, that next to Him, life is not a
competition. It is a place to minister and serve others. Life is
not a competition to have the most money and power and
adoration. And life is not a competition on the other end of the
spectrum to be in the most need of approval or money or
power. God positions us to minister to and serve others.
Before Jesus addressed Bartimaeus, Jesus stood still and
commanded the people to call Bartimaeus. And they call the
blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth
thee, Mark 10:49. This is how we minister to Jesus and
everyone around us. We say to the people around us “Be of
good comfort, rise: Jesus calls you!”
Let us think about these words and how they minister
God’s goodness. “Be of good comfort, rise; Jesus calls you!”
Have you ever had someone to tell you to be of good comfort?
Be of good comfort. Cheer up. Enjoy today. Have you ever had
someone tell you to rise? Get up. Get up. Get up. Have you
ever had someone tell you that Jesus is calling you. Jesus is
calling you to a life brand new. He’s calling you. He’s calling
you.
Through the blind son of honor and Jesus’ healing, the
disciples rediscovered Jesus’ glory. Jesus shined the brightest
as He saved and healed. Paul also once spoke of the riches of
God’s glory as Christ in you, the hope of glory, Colossians 1:27.
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God has positioned us to be at his left and right side to call out
to Jesus for healing and salvation. When we know that Jesus is
here and that Jesus’ glory shines brightly to save to the
uttermost, we will cry out for everything that we need with the
faith to be made whole. There, in Jesus’ glory, God has
commissioned us to call out to others in ministry. There, we
have the opportunity to tell others: “Be of good comfort, rise;
Jesus call you!”
On their way into Jerusalem, the disciples understood
where they were next to Jesus and overcame their fears. The
disciples realized that they were positioned for salvation in the
glory of Jesus. 9 And they that went before, and they that
followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the
name of the Lord: 10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father
David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the
highest!
Glory to God in all of our lives,
Tobias Pinckney for Powered to Witness University
3/29/15
© 2015 Tobias Pinckney at PTWU
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