Leave The Cloak Behind (Mk. 10:50) (Part 6)

What are some of the cloaks that people who follow Jesus need to leave behind?

They need to leave behind the cloak of hopelessness that is woven by continual disappointment. You think, “If the Lord Jesus is for me, then why do all these unfortunate things keep happening?” 

It might help to know that you are not the only one who needs to leave behind this cloak (Judg. 6:13). How did the angel respond to Gideon's claim? (Judg. 6:14)  The angel of the Lord called out strength in Gideon that Gideon didn't recognize.

What? You have no strength, you say? Here is how you can know that isn't true: God says that His presence will be with you (Heb. 13:5b; Mt. 28:20). You believe that, don't you? God's promise and presence provide the strength and that strength provides hope.

They need to leave behind the cloak of rejection that is stitched by learned inferiority.

They need to leave behind the cloak of condemnation that is sewn by lazy thinking and undisciplined responses (Rom. 8:1-2; 12:2). If you struggle with this cloak, then Phil. 4:8 is for you. Watch your thoughts (2 Cor. 10:5) and monitor your input. Be careful about whom you allow to speak into your life.

They need to leave behind the cloak of heaviness that is formed through relentless trials.

• It is okay to have had sad things happen to you.
• It is okay to be sad as you process grief and pain.
• It is not okay to have heaviness become your identity.

That self-sabotage happens when all you think about, all you talk about and all you look for is negative.

They need to leave behind the cloak of self-righteousness that is made by pride (Lu. 15:28- 30; Rom. 12:3).

What other "cloaks" would you suggest believers need to leave behind?

Leave The Cloak Behind (Mk. 10:50) (Part 5)

Bartimaeus' “tassel” was his cloak.  Once Jesus healed him, Bartimaeus had to decide what identity to live from.  Would he live from the “right tassel” status and remain a victim of his past, though he could now see, or would he live from the “left tassel” status as a healed, saved child of God Thankfully, as an example to us, Bartimaeus dropped his cloak behind and chose to live out of the “left tassel” status.

Why did Bartimaeus leave his cloak behind?

• He was not going to need it.  He had great expectation from Jesus and life was about to become a lot different.
• It would only remind him of who and what he used to be, thus serving as a distraction, temptation or condemnation.
• Were he to bring it, it would get in his way and slow him down.  He was about to follow Jesus. Bartimaeus knew intuitively that Jesus' followers pack light and don't carry baggage.  Baggage might interfere with something that Jesus wanted him to do.
• If he didn't leave it behind, people might be confused as to what really happened to him.  There would be a discrepancy between what he would say and how he lived.  If he had been healed, if he had received his sight, if he had been changed and, as a result, become a follower of Jesus, then why did he still carry around paraphernalia from his old identity? In other words, why would someone who was no longer a beggar carry around a beggar's cloak?

Christian, let me ask you: Have you left your cloak behind?  Have you left behind the cloak from your former identity?  The world in which you love is a sticky place.  Have you picked up any “cloaks” since you became a believer in Jesus?

In tomorrow's post, you will discover five common "cloaks" that Christians should leave behind.

Leave The Cloak Behind (Mk. 10:50) (Part 4)

Today's post is the application of yesterday's "moved tassel" metaphor.

Sadly, there are believers in Jesus who have never moved their tassels.  These believers were truly saved, but they forgot their status.  They forgot that they were reckoned dead to sin and that God no longer viewed them as hostile sinners. In other words, they went through the ceremony, but had difficulty entering into the benefits, privileges and responsibilities. Having “graduated” from sin to salvation, these believers walk around with a “right tassel” mentality when they are qualified to live from a “left tassel” status and identity.

In tomorrow's post, you will discover Bartimaeus' "tassel" and why he left it behind.

Leave The Cloak Behind (Mk. 10:50) (Part 3)

When the tassel hangs on the right side of the student's cap, it means he or she hasn't graduated. When the tassel hangs on the left side of the student's cap, it means he or she has graduated. Moving the tassel is authorized only by the school board president or other officiant.  The highlight of any commencement ceremony is the invitation to move the tassel. When you move the tassel, you are saying that your high school days are over. Though you will remain a lifelong learner, mandatory schooling is done. Now it is time to commence what's next. What a difference a moved tassel makes!

What was your life like before you met Jesus? However you describe it, consider that as “tassel on the right.”

• You weren't saved.
• You weren't declared righteous.
• You weren't even interested in learning what those terms meant.

Then the day arrived. You got saved!

• God did something wonderful in your heart!
• It was time to move the tassel to the left.
• It was time to commence what was next.    

In tomorrow's post, there will be application of this "moved tassel" metaphor.

Leave The Cloak Behind (Mk. 10:50) (Part 2)

1. Context: Read Mk. 10:46-52.

2. In verse 50, notice that Bartimaeus left behind his cloak. Something dramatic had happened to him, and all he wanted to do was be with Jesus. It never crossed his mind that he might need that cloak. He could see now! What a world of difference sight would make, as it did for you and me!

“Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.”¹

3. Don't miss the contrast in this story.

• Before, he was a blind man; after, he was a man with vision and direction.
• Before, he had a set place to beg; after, he was a man on a mission and he followed Jesus.
• Before, he was only the son of Timaeus; after, he was also a son of righteousness.
• Before, he had good theology; after, he had life transformation.
• Before, he eked out an existence at Jericho, which means 'city of the moon'; after, he walked with Jesus, who is the Sun of Righteousness.

1Newton, John “Amazing Grace.” Hymns of Glorious Praise. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1969. Hymn #206.

Leave The Cloak Behind (Mk. 10:50) (Part 1)

Title:  Leave The Cloak Behind

Text: Mark 10:50

Theme: Separating from the unnecessary

Exegetical Subject: Mk. 10:46-52 -- What does it mean to follow Jesus?

Exegetical Complement: To follow Jesus means to receive spiritual insight, understanding what it requires and where it leads, and to continue with Him in spite of the cost.

Homiletical Subject: Why do some believers in Jesus struggle to live a victorious life?

Homiletical Complement: Some believers in Jesus struggle to live a victorious life because they forgot their status and carry things that don't reflect their new identity in Him.

Homiletical Proposition: Just as Bartimaeus left behind his beggar's cloak, you also must identify and leave behind that which impedes following Jesus.