What Do You Want? (Mark 10:51)

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” - Mark 10:51

Why did Jesus ask a blind man what he wanted?

Isn't it obvious that he wanted to see?

The truth is that there are many blind people in this world who have no desire to see.

"Ignorance is bliss" as the saying goes.

We underestimate the cost associated with knowing the Truth.

One of the central paradoxes of the Christian faith is that salvation cannot be earned - it can only be received by grace as a free gift. But the other side of this coin is that we must let go of everything else in our hands in order to grab hold of it.

Jesus cannot just be number one among many other things, Jesus must be all.

The truth is that most people would rather remain blind than come to a knowledge of the truth.

How do I know this?

Because Jesus says

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."

Seeking and finding, properly understood, are one.

The reason that more people do not know the truth is simply that most people do not seek the truth. Most people do not care about transcendent things. They would rather be distracted and satiated by the shadows of this passing world.

The moment a man truly desires to know the truth above all else - the moment he is willing to give his life to know the truth - this is the moment that the truth will be revealed to him.

God will take him on whatever journey is necessary to bring him to this place.

Bartimaeus lived his whole life blind. He lived his whole life as an outcast. He lived his whole life probably wondering why he was born "disabled."

But it was his disability that gave him an insatiable hunger for sight. And it was this hunger that led to his miracle.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

For they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

For they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

For they shall be filled.

Matt 5:3-6