Blind Bartimaeus

Mark 10:46-52

"Now they came to Jericho. As He (Jesus) went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.

Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”

And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.

So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road."

"Jesus stood still."  That's a powerful phrase!  Only three times it is mentioned in scripture that He "stood still," and each time, it was to open the eyes of the blind.  Twice it was spoken to two men as He approached Jericho and two more times to the same blind man as He was leaving Jericho.  The 

The name, "Bartimaeus," is mentioned only one time in the entire Bible:  Right here in Mark 10.  Though there are other times in the other two synoptic gospels where Jesus restored the sight of a blind beggar near Jericho, these may indeed be the same event or they could be separate events.  The man, "Bartimaeus," is only named here, in Mark's account.

We don't even know his real name, only that he is the son:  "Bar," of Timaeus.  His name means, "Son Of The Unclean One, or Son Of Uncleanness."

Jericho, the city which God cursed, is located at the lowest point in planet earth, near the lowest body of water at  1280 ' below sea level, The Dead Sea.  How appropriate that the "cursed city" should be near the "Dead Sea," where nothing lives.

These are all word pictures the Holy Spirit is drawing for us.  

He called Jesus, "Son of David."  Only a Jewish person can say that so he was obviously Jewish.  But he was also from Jericho, signifying that, without Christ, they are also without hope of salvation.  It's clear from Paul's writings that the Gospel is "to the Jew first," but also for us Gentiles!  

Sea is always a reference to the gentile nations of the world.  Outside of Christ, we are all of us: Jew and Gentile, are poor and blind.  We only get crumbs from people passing by.  What we need is to be healed from our blindness!

At first, the others walking with Jesus heard the man cry out to Jesus.  They told him to keep quiet.  But he persisted.  At last, Bartimaeus was told that Jesus was calling him.  So, he immediately jumped up, threw off his outer coat and came to Jesus.  

“What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.  The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”  Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road."

The One Who made the stars, called them all by name and set them on their courses in the heavens; the One Who caused the sun to stand still in the sky so that Israel could defeat their enemies, Who parted the Red Sea, THAT GOD.....stopped at the cry of a blind beggar.  What a Saviour!  That's our God!

His outer cloaks depicts our sinful nature that Jesus replaced with His white robe of righteousness.  We all must come to Jesus just as we are; no pretensions to any righteousness of our own.  

There is a dark, empty hole inside of every one of us that only Jesus can fill.  He is the only bread and water of life that can truly satisfy a hungry and thirsty soul.  The world instinctively knows this, even though they look for love in all the wrong places.  The One against Whom they fight so hard, blinded by the Prince of darkness, is the One they need most desperately.  

The Gospel of Mark records events chronologically.  Right after this healing of the blind beggar, Jesus entered Jerusalem, riding in a donkey, an event we call, "The Triumphal Entry."  It signifies why he came:  To seek and save that which was lost.

 

When Jesus came, He healed the sick, bound up the broken hearted, restored sight to the blind and made the lame walk.  Physical and spiritual healings of all kinds.  His name is only mentioned once because SALVATION ONLY HAPPENS ONCE.  It is good for all time and eternity.  It can never be lost.  We get up, sight restored and follow Jesus on THE road.

And that, Church, is why we have the story of Blind Bartimaeus.