Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46-52 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom]. ⁴⁷ When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, ^[a]Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, “Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, telling him, “Take courage, get up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni (my Master), let me regain my sight.” ⁵² Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.

Personal insights

Many times we hear this passage referred to as the story of Blind Bartimaeus.  However, if we read through this encounter we see that although he is physically blind he is not spiritually blind.  He might not see Jesus with his eyes in the physical sense but he sees Jesus for who He really is.  He is the Messiah, the Son of David. 

Jesus has many names by which He is referred to which gives us an insight into His character.  What does the name Messiah mean?  The Hebrew word for Messiah is mashiach which means anointed one or chosen one.  In the Greek the name is Christos where we get the English name Christ.  Jesus was anointed by God the Father for a special purpose.  He was to be the Saviour of the world.

When Bartimaeus called out to Jesus he made known who he believed Jesus to be.  Notice his first ask of Jesus was not to have his sight restored specifically but to be given mercy.   He was asking Jesus to be compassionate to him.  Notice the crowd’s reaction to him calling to Jesus.  They told him to be quiet, they were embarrassed by his open display of his needs before Jesus.  It would have been easy for Bartimaeus to be discouraged by the crowd and to be quiet and continue his daily ritual of sitting by the roadside begging but his reaction was different.  He shouts all the more.  His encounter with Jesus was more important than what everyone else thought of him.  Bartimaeus stopped Jesus in His tracks and had a one on one with the Saviour of the world.  Jesus is a personal God.  Despite what was ahead for Jesus He had time for this man on the roadside.  He met Bartimaeus where he was at.  Bartimaeus response was not one of timidity or fearfulness in approaching Jesus but one of courage, enthusiasm and full of expectancy.  Jesus’s words to Bartimaeus was “What do you want me to do for you?”  His response was simple “I want to see”.  Jesus healed Bartimaeus’s sight but it was because of His faith in Jesus.  Bartimaeus believed and trusted in Jesus’s power to heal him and it was instant.  Bartimaeus reaction to this healing was to follow Jesus where He went.  He became a disciple of Jesus.  There was a complete life transformation because of His faith in Jesus.

Many people who read that story have their physical sight, they can read, they can play sports and enjoy the wonders of God’s creation around them.  However, they are blind in the spiritual sense.  They might go to church, read His Word but there is no transformation.  Jesus wants to change us from the inside out.  We might look all put together on the outside but the inside is dark and there is a need for the light of the world to come in and illuminate.

John 8:31-32 says that if we hold to Jesus teaching then we are His disciples and if we know the truth then the truth will set us free.

We can either sit by the roadside begging like Bartimaeus did until he met Jesus  or we can trust in the one who can set us free.  The choice is ours to make.