GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 10:50
Throw it Off
On July 8, 1741, in Enfield, Connecticut, Pastor Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” One account portrays Edwards as reading the sermon to the congregation while leaning on the pulpit with one elbow—not the most dramatic or charismatic figure. With vivid imagery, however, Edwards portrayed sinners as suspended by a slender thread over hell, held over the abyss by the hand of an angry God. The congregation reacted by rushing to repent, some at the conclusion of the sermon and others later. Historians say that Edwards’ sermon was one of the events that sparked the Great Awakening, which spread through the American colonies in the eighteenth century and triggered renewed interest in religion and a sense of spiritual urgency
In Mark’s account of Jesus meeting with a blind beggar outside Jericho, he writes, “But throwing off his outer garment and quickly leaping up, he came to Jesus.” (10:50) The text does not explain why the man threw off his outer garment, which might be understood today as a cloak or coat. Such garments were often made of wool, with openings for the head and arms, and worn loosely over the under-tunic. His cloak (ἱμάτιον, himation) would not have been restrictive, but—without stretching the incident too far—it may symbolize his refusal to allow anything to come between himself and Jesus.
There is a story about a man who committed a transgression. When he would begin to pray, the image of the transgression would cloud his mind. Only after he made restitution could he pray wholeheartedly.
The people in Connecticut, the blind beggar, and the repentant man all wanted nothing to stand between them and the Father—a lesson for today.
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