And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 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!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Comment: Why is this, if true, dealt with in eleven lines with about 15 words per line instead of in a multi-paged chapter! I would love to know Bartimaeus’ background- was he born blind? The way he lived; how he reacted to seeing; what happened next did he follow Jesus as a disciple, was his life totally changed; how did his father react to the miracle. But, I guess, this is about Jesus more than Bartimaeus! About Mark’s task as stated boldly in Mark’s opening sentence of his book! His desire to prove that Jesus is the Son of God! ‘The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.’
But we do learn a number of facts! a) someone told the blind beggar sitting on the edge of the road that Jesus was coming. We presume that he must have heard something previously about Jesus because when he heard of Jesus’ coming coming he had hope! b) Bartimaeus had already come to a decision of whom Jesus was! “Son of David, have mercy on me!” was what he called out! This is as though he recognized that Jesus was the Christ of God, promised before in the Scriptures. How had he come to this conclusion – even the blind can hear and listen and discuss! c) Presumably because he was only a worthless beggar people tried to shut him when he tried to get Jesus attention! d) Jesus didn’t ignore him! e) Bartimaeus didn’t need a second invitation to come to Jesus! He sprang up! I wonder how long he had been blind? How old he was? f) He wasn’t backward in his request! “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” g) Did Bartimaeus’ faith make him whole? Or was it Bartimaeus’ faith that made it possible for Jesus’ power to make him whole!
Proverbs 17: 22 – A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Prayer: Thank You Lord that You can still make the ‘Blind’ to see!
As I read it! 