Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus
46 Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. 47 When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.
But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus continued his journey toward Jerusalem. and a large crowd now followed him, blissfully unaware of what would happen when they arrived. When a blind man, Bartimaeus, heard who it was that was passing by, he cried out to Jesus. The cry of Bartimaeus reflects exactly the right attitude. He knew who Jesus was, the Son of David, and he knew what he needed, mercy. His attitude is contrasted by the crowd. They were having a good time walking along the road with Jesus when they were interrupted by this inappropriate man and his need. And he would not shut up and leave them alone! Are our churches private “Jesus clubs” where we meet and have a good time with our friends, or do we reach out to meet the needs of the “inconvenient” people outside our little group, extending mercy to them in Jesus’ name?
Bartimaeus would not be silenced. He knew this was his one chance for an encounter with Jesus. The second time he cried out, he simply called him “Son of David”. He was calling Jesus Messiah and King. When we call out to Jesus, do we have fully in mind who and what he is? We sometimes have a tendency in modern culture to want Jesus to be our best friend. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, but we generally think of friends as equals, and Jesus is not our equal. He is Messiah, King, and Lord. Bartimaeus showed an understanding of who Jesus was, and what his place was in relation to Jesus.
49 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”
So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” 50 Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.
“My rabbi,[j]” the blind man said, “I want to see!”
52 And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.[k]
When the crowd heard Jesus tell them to call Bartimaeus over, they went from telling him to be quiet to saying, “Hey, what do you know, he’s not ignoring you like we are!” Now they were less concerned with this inconvenient man interrupting their Jesus party, because now they expected to see a miracle.
Bartimaeus came to Jesus, and this time, called him “Rabboni”, which is more personal and powerful than simply “Rabbi”. Rabbi means teacher, but Rabboni means my teacher, my master, my lord. I can call Jesus Lord, but is he my Lord, my Master, my teacher? Bartimaeus knew who Jesus was to the world, and who Jesus was to him personally. Who is Jesus to you personally? Jesus had heard his cry for mercy, and now asked him specifically what he wanted. Without hesitation, Bartimaeus asked for his sight. He asked Jesus for the miracle he needed, but not before he had recognized who and what Jesus was, in general (Son of David) and to him personally (his Lord and Master). How many miracles do we miss out on because we simply don’t ask, or we ask with the wrong attitude? (James 4:2-3)
This time, Jesus simply tells Bartimaeus, “Your faith has healed you”. No touching, no mud in the eye, just a word. How had Bartimaeus demonstrated faith? Had he said, “Lord, I believe you can heal me, I know you can! I have faith!” Not according to scripture. His faith was demonstrated in knowing who Jesus was and in coming to Jesus with his need. Sometimes we think faith is convincing ourselves that God can and will do what we ask. But faith in God is recognizing who he is. If we really understand who Jesus is, we’ll have no trouble believing what he can do.
Once Bartimaeus was healed, he immediately followed Jesus. When we receive an answer to prayer, is our response to follow Jesus closer than before?
