I love discovering gold nuggets in the Bible that reveal God’s character, core values and ways. Mark 10 reveals a very sizable nugget into God’s core values that is relevant today. A stark contrast found in God’s response there brings to the surface one of God’s often-overlooked core values.
The setting finds Jesus walking and talking with His disciples on the road to Jerusalem. On their walk He told His twelve disciples he was going to be betrayed, condemned, put to death and rise from the dead. They heard the death part but never heard the resurrection part.
As they walked, two of Jesus disciples (James and John), probably fanaticizing on when Jesus would be the king of Israel, asked Him for a favor. Jesus asked them, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:36, NIV) Each wanted to sit on one side of Jesus when He sat on his throne. Jesus told them, “You don’t know what you are asking” and went on to say He could not grant them that favor.
Later in Jericho, Bartimaeus, a blind man, heard a rumor Jesus was passing by. He too wanted a favor from Jesus so he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”. When he finally connected with Jesus, Jesus asked him the same question He asked James and John, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51, NIV) This time Jesus’ response was, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” (Mark 10:52, NIV) Instantly the man could see and began following Jesus on His way to Jerusalem.
I would love to have seen all this unfold. I would love to have seen James and John’s face when they heard Jesus ask blind Bartimaeus the same question then answer his request by healing him. After all, this dude had not left jobs and families to become His faithful disciples.
You see the gold nugget here when you compare the similar requests keeping in mind Jesus could do NOTHING miraculous with His own ability (John 5:19)—just as you and I today. Since Jesus only did what He saw God the Father do, both responses had to be traced back to the decision maker–God the Father. The question then is, why did He say “No” to the disciples who had followed Jesus for about 3 years, yet say “Yes” to the blind beggar who had never even seen Jesus before? Have you felt the bite of resentment when God didn’t answer your request the way you expected but He did for someone else?
The gold nugget lies below the appearance of things. The rich gold color is found by considering the motives of the hearts of those making the request, not in the surface political correctness. James and John, as faithful in service as they had been, lusted to gain personal power in what they envisioned as His coming kingdom. In contrast, not only did Bartimaeus want to see, we also see his heart led him to immediately begin to follow Jesus. It is all about the motives of the heart. James 4:3 (ESV) puts it this way, You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. We can fool ourselves about our real motives, but our Heavenly Father knows what is really driving our requests or good deeds. The bottom line is, we will not see our prayers answered if we ask selfishly.
How can we get this matter right so God can answer our requests? Jesus gave us this answer in Mark 11:24 where He connected God’s answers with praying. Prayer is not simply giving God your requests like you give a short order cook. God intends prayer to be a connection with God’s heart, as Jesus pictured the vine connected with the branch. When you connect with God, His desires become your desires so He guides what you ask for, not your selfish sin nature which James teaches will hinder your requests. Remember, John wrote This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (1 John 5:14, NIV)