Tonight we move from Jesus’ teaching of greatness in the Kingdom of God being about servanthood to the final miraculous healing of His earthly ministry. Jesus’ apostles had been following Him for several years now. They had heard all of His teaching, witnessed all of His miracles and watched His life both in public and in private and yet we are left with a picture of them arguing with each other and even planning within themselves how to become the “greatest” in Jesus’ kingdom. As we have talked about a lot, they had watched Jesus closely but had not understood that following Him was not so that He could take them where they wanted to be, following Jesus would mean becoming like Him, not just learning His teaching but being changed into His very image of character and heart. When Jesus told the apostles to “deny themselves, take up the cross and follow Him” He was not inviting them on a journey to the fulfillment of their desires He was calling them to join Him in the fulfillment of His Father’s will. Being great in the Kingdom of God was not the same being great in the kingdom of Rome, greatness in the kingdom of God is defined by servanthood, is found in humility and is achieved by being transformed in heart and mind into the character of Jesus. Our text tonight shows us a stark contrast between the mindset of the apostles and the mindset of a blind man named Bartimaeus. They pleaded for power and He called out for mercy; they were often silent in fear and he was bold in prayer; they held onto their understanding and he threw off everything he had. Bartimaeus is not only the last man Jesus healed, he is also the culmination of Jesus’ ministry, in him was not only the need that every man possesses but the response that pleases God. This simple man shows us the heart of childlike faith and the response that pleases God.