BLIND BARTIMAUS RECEIVES HIS SIGHT

Mark 10:46-52 And they came to Jericho: and as He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; He calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto Him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. (Also See Matt. 20:29-34; Luke 18:35-43)

This event is recorded in the gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Having descended from Galilee along the eastern route beyond Jordan, we find Jesus, and a great number of people, having crossed the Jordan River, were now in the vicinity of Jericho. They were journeying toward Jerusalem, their final destination, which was approximately eighteen to twenty miles SSW of Jericho. Matthew writes that there were two blind men sitting by the way side. Mark and Luke mention only one. This was probably because only one man was specifically identified by name. Only Mark referred to this one as blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus. He derived his name from the prefix "Bar," which means the son of his father, whose name was Timaeus, therefore he was called Bartimaeus.

Mark says this blind man sat by the highway side begging, which, due to his physical disability, was probably his only source of subsistence. Hearing from others that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. There is no doubt that the fame of Jesus had spread throughout most of the nation of Israel, not only because of His compassionate healing of the handicapped, diseased, and devil possessed, but because He was recognized as the promised Messiah. This was true with blind Bartimaeus. Because he knew Jesus to be the Savior that was promised to be the Son of David (of his seed), he knew that He possessed the power of healing. Because of their continual pleading, Matthew wrote that the multitude rebuked them. In the lesson text, Mark says that many in the multitude surrounding Jesus asked Bartimaeus to be quiet - to hold his peace. It was probably well known that Jesus and His apostles were on their way to Jerusalem, and to stop and attend to Bartimaeus would only disturb and hinder the progress of His journey. However he persistently continued to seek an audience with Jesus - that He would intervene and heal his blindness. Therefore he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

Hearing his plea, Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; He calleth thee. Just as Jesus stops to hear the penitent call of all sinners, so He pauses to hear the pleas of mercy from those that were physically suffering during His earthly ministry. What a great example to all today. Regardless of the hurried pace of life in today's society, we must always have our eyes and ears open to those have spiritual and physical needs, and, for the time necessary to do so, stand still and fill that need to the best of our abilities. Bartimaeus, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. There is no description of the garment he removed, but it must have been an item of clothing that he thought might hinder him from hurriedly coming to Jesus. When in His presence, Jesus asked him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? To Jesus, and to all present on that occasion, the need of this man was obvious. However,in order to receive God's blessings, there was a need for Bartimaeus to humbly submit to Him, recognize his human limitations, and seek mercy from Christ's omnipotent power to heal and to save. This Bartimaeus, in deep contrition, sought with this statement: Lord, that I might receive my sight. Jesus immediately granted his deepest desire and said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. The same faith in Jesus as the Son of God, by which Bartimaeus received his sight, will save, for eternity, all that possess that same faith.