Beggars No More
Mark 10:46-50
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means "son of Timaeus"), was sitting by the roadside begging. Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
No one told Bartimaeus where Jesus was. He was sitting by the roadside begging as usual for someone to take pity upon him. When no one is for you, when no one wants to see you do better, and when no one wants to help you, Jesus is for you. Even when you do not know how you will make it on your own, Jesus is there. No one told this blind man Jesus was coming or even who he was. No one told him where he was. No one told him he could be healed. They simply told him to shut up. God told this man to stand up. He knew who Jesus was without having to be told. Look at his faith. They said beggars cannot be choosers in that day and they still do today. But he neither asked nor begged for healing. He commanded him to have mercy. How are you going to command God to heal you? It is already in his nature according to verse forty-five; he came to minister and to give his life as payment for many.
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
Bartimaeus was a beggar. He knew God had not called him to be a beggar anymore. He left his place on the side of the road to come to Jesus. He left the people's mercies to reach out to God. "Throwing aside his cloak" he left it all for Jesus. See the faith and the audacity of this man. His faith, his calls, and his action demanded a supernatural response. He received his sight and followed Jesus. Imagine the testimony that man had to give. He was lacking in physical sight yet possessing the spiritual sight which the crowd neglected. I imagine his testimony went something like mine. I was sitting outside a house after work waiting for someone else's husband to come home with me everyday. I wanted to live in the house and be the man's wife instead of the other woman. What I wanted did not work out, as he left me for her. Now, I just bought a house closer to work and imagine my shock when I found the pineapple light fixtures in the ceiling were just like his. I am now his wife and I do live in his house. Imagine knowing he moved that house just for me. He did it for me and I did not even ask. Bartimaeus had a similar experience with Jesus.
When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
The blind receive sight as Matthew 11:5 states. When you follow Jesus, he has a way of working all that stuff out. He is all you need. Bartimaeus is not worried about his occupation or his coat because he has found Jesus. Faith in God is not the dumbest thing you have ever done as the world would have you think. Rather, Hebrews 11:1 describes faith not seen as yet. This is not faith in what he can do but faith in who he is. He will do it because of who he is. As more than a rabbi or even a son of David, Christ the Lord is obligated to help your situation. Psalm 107:2 says, "let the redeemed of the Lord say so." Are there not some say so believers in the house. The situation was no longer the same. No one kept Bartimaeus from following Jesus. He had been given the garment of praise in exchange for the ones of mourning according to Isaiah 61:3. God is in the business of changing things.