A Journey He Must Take, A Beggar He Must Heal

Luke 18:31-43

Sermon Notes

1) The Journey Resumed: Re-Setting His GPS for Jerusalem. (31-33)

2) The Clueless Caravan: Why are we going there? Are we lost? (34)

3) The Shameless Hitchhiker: “Have Mercy!” (35-39)

4) The Rest Stop: the Beggar Healed. (40-42)

5) The Journey Continues: Freeloader(s) in Tow. (43)

Reflection questions:

1. What did Jesus know about what awaited him in Jerusalem? Why did He keep going? See Heb 12:2

2. Read the following quote, and then ask why Jesus stopped for Bartimaeus? “Jesus was so terrifically busy, but only with the things he was supposed to be doing. … If Jesus were alive today, he’d get more e-mails than any of us” (Kevin DeYoung, Crazy Busy, 54).

3. John Calvin says Bartimaeus and other followers were “mirrors of the grace of Christ.” How does Bartimaeus’s story show the grace of Christ? How does Paul’s story show it? (1 Tim 1:15-17) How does your story show it?