Image from agnusday.org
They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10:46-52)
A good Monday to you, dear Friend! I trust your weekend was blessed and that you enjoyed time with our God in worship. May our time in devotional prayer and study bless our day.
As Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho, a blind beggar cried out to Jesus with a cry that had not yet been heard in Jesus' ministry. "Jesus, Son of David," was the greeting that this beggar knew to cry out. As our friends the sheep in the above graphic explain, not very many at this point in Jesus' life or ministry knew that He was a descendant of the great King David. And it took a blind man to know that and to call Jesus by that name. Notice what he is asking; he wants mercy for himself. Twice he cries this out, even when told to be quiet by his friends and fellow neighbors. But, Jesus wants to meet him. Bartimaeus, as he was named, goes to Jesus when called and answers he wants his sight when Jesus asks what He could do for him. Notice also, that Bartimaeus calls Jesus, teacher, and asks for his sight. Jesus replies, "Go; your faith has made you well." From the moment he hears that his faith has made him well, his vision is being restored. And those first steps after regaining his sight, are joyful steps of faith. Though he was a beggar, as a means to support himself, one wonders if he spent time learning while listening to all who would speak near him. He came to faith in Jesus by listening only. He never saw Jesus before he was cured, and once he was cured, followed Jesus down the road; and we wonder for how long. He had learned the lineage of Jesus somehow, and was not afraid to cry it out. While some may say, "well, all good Jews owed their history to David and thus could count themselves as sons and daughters of the great king; this reference by Bartimaeus is one of faith in Who Jesus really was. This may well have been the last thing that Bart ever begged for; his vision restored, his life made whole, he may have taken up an occupation to provide for himself and those who depended on him. He was one who truly could sing, "I once was blind, but now I see."
Bartimaeus' life prior to his regaining his sight was that of a homeless man. Sitting by the side of the road begging for people to contribute to his wellbeing. Bart was used to be ignored and overlooked. For him to have cried out angered and possibly embarrassed the people around him. "Who does this guy think he is? He's not entitled to anything!" could have been what those around him thought and maybe even said to him. Those with sight took for granted they could see Jesus. Bart did not. He listened and he responded. While others wanted to learn something from Jesus, Bart begged for healing. And while you and I are not physically blind, spiritually, if we ignore our spirit, it becomes the overlooked, ignored part of our being. It could be our spirits that cry out for attention and healing. We are guilty of being so concerned about material things that we have put our spirit close to dead last in things we attend to. I am thankful you, dear reader, are reading this devotional, and I pray it feeds your spirit with the word of God; I pray that you might even forward this to someone who might be in need of an encouraging word. And once your spirit is fed, it can help you to find and feed others who may still be in darkness when it comes to knowing the light of the world, who is Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, bless our spirits. Feed us with love, truth, joy, and peace. Let our spirits brim to overflowing so that we may bless and nourish those around us. Bless our efforts to grow Your kingdom here on the earth. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Joy is evidence of a well-fed spirit.
Eradio Valverde
