2024-10-11A
SCRIPTURE
Luk. 18:35-43 (See also Mark 10:46).
35 And as He came near Jericho, it happened that a certain blind man sat by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing the crowd pass by, he asked what it meant. 37 And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passed by. 38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, Son of David! Have mercy on me. 39 And they who were in front rebuked him that he should be quiet. But he cried so much the more, Son of David! Have mercy on me.
40 And Jesus stood and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, 41 saying, What do you desire that I should do to you? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. 42 And Jesus said to him, Receive your sight! Your faith has saved you. 43 And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And when they saw, all the people gave praise to God.
A. THE DILEMMA OF A BLIND MAN.
Here we have a man in need. In Mark 10:46 his name is given as Bartimaeus. He was blind and therefore could not work to earn his own living. It was quite a disaster because at his time there were no pensions or work for the disabled. God’s command to His people to provide for the poor, as recorded in Lev. 23:22, was also no longer observed, so that they were left to their fate.
B. “WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY.”
But a man doesn’t want to sit at home all day long and, come evening, eat from a relative’s plate. So what options remained? Well, at least he had received quite a number of other blessings from the God of his fathers. One of which was a healthy body that could face heat, cold, rain and wind and that was basically what one needed for the “begging profession.” Did not the Lord say to King Saul: “Then do what your hand finds to do”?
C. FAITH IN ACTION.
So every morning he wrapped his pride in his sleeping pad, stuck the pad in its appointed place, took up his walking stick and begging bowl and then a friend or child led him to a strategic point along the road just outside of Jericho where “many feet” passed by. There he sat from early morning till late afternoon, thinking and begging.
For this “profession” one had to have never dwindling expectation and hope, otherwise you would just fall asleep right there in the scorching sun. It was like fishing. When hearing someone’s sandals crunch on the gravel, he would shake his bowl with a few pebbles in it to attract the passerby’s attention. Sometimes the footsteps would come to a halt. Then he would hear the jingle of a bag of coins and one would clatter into the bowl. “The Lord bless you!” he would shout hoarsely and hastily scrape the coin from the bowl before a naughty young rascal would lay hold of it. Next, he would carefully rub over its surface between thumb and forefinger to determine it’s value, calculate his total return for the day, sigh or smile, drop the coin into his purse, then sit back and resume his practised beggar’s posture; watery, bluish, glassy unseeing eyes turned upwards towards where he heard the passersby walking. By late afternoon, he would secure his purse carefully inside of his outer garment, grateful that he had something to pass on to his family to buy food and other necessities for themselves and for him.
D. A HUMBLING SITUATION.
It was a humiliating situation. Everyone looked down on him. Some made derogatory remarks, snubbed him for being too lazy to work. It was also a very boring existence. One day just like the other. Only the weather changed. Sometimes it was scorchingly hot, then again a cold wind would blow and it would rain, unexpectedly. He would be soaking wet by the time someone arrived and lead him to a shelter.
Of course he also couldn’t marry and have a family like other men. Every woman would prefer a prosperous husband; someone who would be able to take good care of her and their children. But Bartimaeus, no, he was just a liability. More washing to do; oh no, – just the thought of it would cause them to hasten away.
Something else that also might have weighed heavily upon his soul was that he had no name of his own. He was referred to as, “Son of Timaeus”, for that is what “Bar-Timaeus” means. His parents had thought so little of him, that they had not even named him. If only they had called him, let’s say, “David”, then he would have been known as David, son of Timaeus. But, no, everybody simply called him “Bartimaeus’, like he did not exist. Even their pet dog would have had a name, let’s say, Goliath. So he, Bartimaeus, would have been less than Goliath, that flea infested, flie covered brute who never lifted a paw to earn his food but was stroked lovingly and fed all the same.
Why had God allowed him to be in this state? Some might have pointed a finger (which, fortunately he could not see) and declared in a deep solemn voice: “Sin, my dear man, that’s where it you lands you up. Confess it and bring an offering to receive pardon for your soul, but get back your eyesight? Forget it, you’ve had it. May the youngsters learn by your example not to offend their Creator.” Another might have remarked heatedly: “The curse is upon you, son of Timaeus. Probably it was someone along your bloodline that rebuilt the walls of this Jericho where you were born. Did not the great Joshua pronounce a curse upon whosoever would build up what God had destroyed? And now see what comes upon that sinner’s umpteenth generation.”
E. WOULD HE PERHAPS HAVE HAD ANY SPIRITUAL INPUT THAT WOULD HAVE BROUGHT A RAY OF LIGHT TO HIS DISMAL EXISTENCE?
Well, he had ears that could hear, a mind that could think and and a spirit by which he could communicate with God. Jericho, being a sizeable town, would probably have had a synagogue where believers gathered on the Sabbath day. There he might have attended and heard the Books of Moses and the Prophets read. Gradually he would have come to know of the wonders the God of his fathers had done; splitting the Red Sea for his people to pass through dry footed, then closing it over the pursuing Egyptians, drowing their mighty warriors.
Then there also was the wonderful recounting of what happened to Naaman, commander of the armies of Syria whom the prophet Elisha directed to dip himself seven times into the water of Jordan and, after doing so, came up perfectly cleansed of his leprosy (2 Ki 5:14).
Moses and the prophets also spoke of a Prophet greater than themselves, the Messiah, that would be born to his people in later years and deliver them (Deut 18:15; Isa 53). When would He come and what would He do for them? Would He just concern himself with the nation or, like Elija, cause a widow’s son to rise from the dead? (1Ki 17:22). The last prophet spoke to them more than 400 years ago. When would their words be fulfilled?
There was, of course, that miracle that happened in Nazareth more recently when, some 30 years back a virgin named Mary, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, gave birth to a Son. They named him Jesus, which means Saviour. But nothing more was heard of him untiil recently when rumours were heard of Him ministering the Word of God all over the country and performing unheard of miracles. Many travellers passing through Jericho witnessed profoundly as to the truth of these. Some claimed to have been eye witnesses of his healing the sick, cleansing lepers, opening the eyes of the blind and teaching the most wonderful truths that touched the hearts of the people and raised their spirits. Surely He must be the promised Son of David, the Messiah of Israel.
Would He perhaps also be coming this way? “No, Bartimaeus, stop your day-dreaming and get on with your begging,” he would sternly say to himself.
F. AND THEN ONE DAY … .
As he sat hoping for a special donation by some wealthy merchant, he heard the excited chatter and shouts of a large approaching crowd. Closer and closer they came. Hurriedly he scurried to his feet, enquiring frevently: “What’s going on? What’s happening? Getting no answer he might have laid hold of someone’s cloak, shaken him and demanded: “Quickly tell me, why all the excitement?”
The answer he got was unbelieveable: “It’s Jesus of Nazareth. There He is righjt at the centre of the crowd. He’s going to pass here before us any moment now”. Bartimaeus’ heart leaped wildly for joy. “Praise Jehovah! I could not go to Him, but the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob brought Him, the Son of David, our long-awaited Messiah to me!”
G. NOW OR NEVER!
Now nothing and no one could stop him anymore. He stomped around, jumped up and down, stretched out his hands in the direction where he could hear the people moving crying out as loud as he could: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Taking a few stumbling steps forward, he cried out even louder: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Over and over, louder and louder he shouted at the very top of his voice.
H. SHAMELESS FAITH SQUIRMS NOT AT OPPOSITION.
The leaders of this Jesus group were getting more and more irritated. Jesus had finished ministering in Jericho and was on his way to the next town – and now, this delay. This worthless, dirty, blind beggar was wasting their time. They reprimanded him severely: “You there, keep quiet man, sit down!”
But Bartimaeus paid no attention to them. Never in his life would he find another opportunity to regain his sight. He stumbled forward, bumping against people, while continually crying out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Jesus, Son of David, have mercy, have mercy, have mercy! By now all faces were turned upon him; glaring at him. All conversation had stopped. They could not believe that anyone could so unashamedly make such a nuisance of himself.
Of course, they could not understand because they weren’t blind – had not been blind for scores and scores of years. They had no need to experience a miracle there and then. They could follow the Lord to the next town and the next. They could wait for another opportunity.
I. PERSISTING FAITH IS REWARDED.
Just when Bartimaeus thought that his cries were in vain, Jesus stopped, turned in his direction and ordered his disciples to bring him closer. Supported by able bodied men, he shuffled forward. The crowd fell silent in anticipation of what would happen next.
Jesus saw the light blue membranes over the eyeballs, typically those of a blind man and the tears flowing down the sunburnt cheeks. He saw the face, overcome with emotion and the outstretched pleading hands, and His heart melted. Then He asked him; “What do you want Me to do for you?” Stuttering, the words spilled over the trembling lips: “Lord, that I may see.” Silence. “See!” Commanded Jesus. And then, in an instant, his years and years of darkness lifted, fled away and he saw his wonder-working Benefactor standing right before him, surrounded by a multitude of faces staring at him in dumb astonishment; gazing at the blind beggar who had become sighted, in the twinkling of an eye.
“Your faith has saved you!” continued the Lord as He looked tenderly into those recreated eyes. Bartimaeus’ hands slowly went up to his face. He closed his eyelids, removed his hands again. No, he was not imagining anything; he could indeed see everybody, all around him. This was for real!
J. MY PHYSICIAN, MY MESSIAH!
Then Jesus walked on; Bartimaeus following right at his heels with exuberant shouts of praise and joy. He had not only received his sight but also his Messiah, his long-awaited Messiah. His praise probably was contagious and one by one the rest of the crowd would join in, until the walls of the nearby Jericho echoed with praise and worship.
The entire incident probably lasted only two minutes, but its enormity would have an impact on the lives of millions of people for centuries to come.
K. GOD’S MESSAGE TO YOU AND ME.
What we learn from this incident is that God creates opportunities for our needs to be met, whether they be spiritual salvation, physical healing, financial provision, solving of marital friction or whatever, but from our side, we have to seek his blessing with all our heart and then live a life of grateful devotion.
~~~~~~~~~~