“And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And 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. And 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. And 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. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And 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. And 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.
This morning, (Wednesday) I read the above chapter with its story of the healing of a man whose spirit I so admire and rejoice over. I look forward to meeting Bartimaeus in glory and talking over with him his wonderful healing.
As I read Mark’s account of this wonderful event, I jotted down in the margins of my Bible some headings, springing from my observation of the record of the incident as given by Mark.
I would like to share them with you.
1. THE STATE OF DESTITUTION BARTIMAEUS WAS IN, WHEN HE MET WITH CHRIST.
“Blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.”
Little can we imagine just what depths of impoverishment someone who was blind was required to endure back in those days! Perhaps if we did we would appreciate to a great degree the support that is enjoyed by someone with a like affliction today!
There was very little a blind man back then could do to earn a ‘crust’! Virtually all useful employment was beyond such.
Begging was the only door open to poor Bartimaeus. The word Greek word translated ‘begging’ (prosaiteo) appears only in the three gospel accounts of the healing of Bartimaeus and the blind man of John 9:1, another man whose spirit and demeanour I so much admire.
I think is something very moving and heartbreaking about a blind man begging. Because of his affliction he could never see the face of any who kindly responded, he could not himself gauge just what it was they gave him and he certainly would not see the many expressions of disgust on the faces of those who despised him in his wretchedness! (more…)
It’s 2007 all over again but much further down the road started on by unionism back then!