BLIND BARTIMAEUS RECEIVES HIS SIGHT
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” 52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
This is a lovely story and there are many things we can learn from it!
Jesus has just spent some time in Jericho and is on His way to Jerusalem where He will suffer and die. He is followed by a large crowd many of whom are attracted by the miracles which He performs from time to time. This of course begs the question, “Where do I stand in my relation to Christ?” Am I attracted to Him for what I can get from Him or because He answers my deepest questions, such as, “Who am I, where am I going and do I matter in the grand scheme of things?” There’s nothing wrong in being inquisitive provided that is not an end in itself. In other words do we end up manufacturing itches which need to be scratched! Remember, the fence is not neutral and fence-sitters will not be saved on Judgement Day!
Bartimaeus definitely did not fall into the latter category! In fact his was the only voice that could be heard shouting out to Jesus, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” It is very clear from this that Bartimaeus meant to do business with Jesus that day. Not only did he call Him by his Messianic title, but he showed a total disregard for those sections of the crowd that were telling him to be quiet! In fact it spurred him on to shout even louder!
Bartimaeus was a beggar and had learnt to be grateful for anything which he received from life. Suffering has a way of reducing life to its lowest common denominator which simply put is NEED! Need for pain-relief, friends, medication, the love of family, basically the bottom rung of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The danger of living at this level for too long is that we start to believe that there is nothing more to life. We are like that ignorant child described by CS Lewis, “…who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.“
There was an immediate cost/sacrifice in coming to Jesus. Bartimaeus threw his cloak away. We are not told the reason for this but in some way it proved a hindrance to Bartimaeus and he had to get rid of it. We may have some things that are holding us back from a single-minded devotion to Christ. We need to do away with them!
Having reached the place where Jesus was standing the first words spoken by Christ to blind Bartimaeus seem almost unbelievable!
“What do you want me to do for you?”
Not many people in Scripture are presented with a blank cheque like this man was. I wonder how you would have answered? Bartimaeus replied, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
The apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians tells them that in his prayers he keeps asking the God of our Lord Jesus Christ to give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that they may, “know him (Jesus) better.” (Brackets mine) In His High Priestly Prayer in John 17 Jesus says, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” I believe that beneath his desire for physical healing of his sight Bartimaeus wanted to see with the eyes of his heart! He wanted to see Jesus for whom He really was – The great I AM! And in typical fashion Jesus gave him both! He could see with both his eyes and his heart!
Jesus still comes to us and asks us, “What can I do for you?” How will you answer Him today?
Kevin Ricquebourg
ACSI CO-ORDINATOR
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