The man’s name was Bartimaeus, and his father’s name was Timaeus. Bartimaeus was blind, and he spent his life as a beggar. He sat beside the dusty roadway outside of Jericho and hoped people passing by would give him a coin or two. In Bible times, there weren’t jobs for blind people to earn money like there are today. Begging was all Bartimaeus could do.
One day as Bartimaeus sat beside the road, he heard the shuffle of many feet. A crowd was coming. What was going on? Then he heard someone say it was Jesus of Nazareth coming!
He had heard of the town of Nazareth, but there wasn’t much good to be said about it. Bartimaeus didn’t care about the town, but he did care about the man Jesus. He had heard of the miracles that Jesus had done, and now He was coming down the road near where he was sitting!
Bartimaeus called out, Jesus, Thou son of David, have mercy on me! The people near him told him to be quiet. But there was real faith in his heart and he knew his need of Jesus. No one could stop him, and he called out to Jesus again, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!
Do you have a need of Jesus? You probably know that He was born in a stable, grew up and died on a wooden cross. But do you know more than that about Him? Have you ever heard that He loves you? Do you know that He is the Son of God and that He came into this world to save you from your sins? That is why you need Him ... to save you from your sins and give you eternal life. You can call out to Him just like Bartimaeus did. And He will answer you, just like He answered Bartimaeus.
When Jesus heard Bartimaeus’s call, He stood still. Then he commanded the people to bring Bartimaeus to Himself. The people quickly told Bartimaeus, Be of good comfort. Rise! Jesus is calling you! The blind man threw off his coat, got up and quickly went to Him.
What do you want Me to do for you? asked Jesus.
Bartimaeus answered, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
Jesus answered at once, Go your way ... your faith has made you whole. Instantly the wonderful miracle happened; Bartimaeus received his sight! And then he followed Jesus.
And Jesus will instantly save you too if you will trust Him. Nothing and nobody else can save you from your sins. This wasn’t just religious faith that saved Bartimaeus, and it wasn’t church faith either. It was Jesus, the Saviour of sinners. And He can do the same for you right now, because He died for sinners. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:1515This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15)).
Bartimaeus didn’t let the opportunity pass to call out to Jesus. Don’t let the opportunity pass to call out to Jesus to save you. You may not have that opportunity again.
You may read this story for yourself in Mark 10:46-5246And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimeus, the son of Timeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47And 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. 48And 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. 49And 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. 50And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51And 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. 52And 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. (Mark 10:46‑52).
ML-11/20/2011