Jesus heals a blind beggar

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. - Mark 10:46‭-‬52 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Three observations of the blind beggar, Bartimaeus

His awareness

Bartimaeus was blind and so could not see the works of Jesus. But clearly he had heard of the works of Jesus. Blindness in those days meant that people would be resigned to begging for the rest their lives. He had positioned himself at a well traveled road in order to beg. We see this even today. Panhandlers find places where people pass by frequently. But he must've heard about the miracles of Jesus, so he when he heard that Jesus was passing nearby, the beggar cried out to Jesus. 

Note how Bartimaeus called out. He cried for mercy. He knew that he did not deserve anything from God. Not only that, but he called Jesus, "son of David", a Messianic title. Bartimaeus was acknowledging Jesus as God's representative. This beggar saw Jesus clearly and also saw himself clearly. This is in contrast to the disciples. They were asking Jesus for things like he was some sort of cosmic ATM. The disciples acted like God owed them something, as if they deserved something. 

So we can look into our lives. Do we act like God is our cosmic butler, here to serve us? Or is it God's kingdom come and His Will be done?

His boldness

The crowd rebukes Bartimaeus for being so loud. But he kept crying out. He knew that he could only find salvation in Jesus. This was not entitlement. This was a humble yet tenacious outcry. So we should see the same thing in our lives. We should have fervent prayer. Not expecting instant results but rather waiting on the one who can save and restore us. When we are frustrated and feeling stuck/hopeless, we should also plead earnestly and persistently to God.

We should pray with humble tenacity and humble boldness.

His commitment

Bartimaeus was blind and now could see. What a scene! Not only physical healing, but spiritual healing. In all the healings, this is the only one who is named. Why? Because he was around in the early church. He was likely a church leader. Jesus sends Bartimaeus on his way, but Bartimaeus instead follows Jesus. 

Consider that this was the time before Passover. Everyone was heading to Jerusalem. The pilgrims were packing the streets. Maybe even the disciples wanted to keep on their way rather than stop to meet this beggar. So it is with us. Maybe we don't want to welcome a newcomer on the church steps. May it not be so with us. We are all fellow beggars who have found sight & salvation. Let's live like it