This was a good day for
Bartimaeus!
This was the day he moved
from darkness to light … in more ways than one!!
Bartimaeus started the day
blind and begging, and finished it following Jesus.
Begging, of course, was the
only way in which Bartimaeus would get to eat!
Such a man in those times
were generally left to the own devices.
It all started when he was
sitting by the roadside, on the right day, at the right time … when
Jesus passed by.
And when Bartimaeus called
out, despite all the other noise and confusion, Jesus heard him.
This was a good day!
What Bartimaeus asked for was
“mercy”.
One wonders how often
Bartimaeus had been denied mercy!?
“Jesus, have mercy on me”
(v.47b)!
Bartimaeus must have heard
good things about Jesus; perhaps about Jesus healing
people along his way.
Bartimaeus had heard enough,
that when he knew this was Jesus passing by … he called out.
Not only this, he was NOT
dissuaded from doing so, by all these contrary negative voices!
As we see, the faith of
Bartimaeus did not diminish because of any fear of the crowd.
He did not let
discouragement get the better of him.
He was intensely aware of his
need for God’s mercy to fall upon him;
He cried out even louder, and
eventually went forward.
Here is a beautiful picture
of someone throwing themselves humbly on the mercy of God,
with a complete trust for the
outcome.
We read in verse 48, “Many
sternly ordered him to be quiet”. What was their problem??
You would think that there
would be some sort of understanding of this man’s plight!?
What was their
problem??
- He was only an insignificant blind beggar – a potential nuisance!? They would give him the ‘cold shoulder’. He should be kept quiet.
- In these times they may have thought that sin lurked somewhere behind his blindness.
- He was interrupting important conversations (with important respectable people).
- They wanted Jesus just for themselves!? Pretty callous!
- Or, perhaps just wanting to keep Jesus in check or under some sort of control.
- Status reversal can be uncomfortable for some.
- Some level of embarrassment.
There
have been many times in history where people try to keep the poor in their
place; e.g. long queues at
Centrelink, moving the homeless off the streets, putting people in detention.
If we look at the context and
who was around, we could conclude that some
of these contrary voices could actually have been Jesus’ disciples!
And, if that was the case, we
would shake our heads!!
But perhaps, the point is for
us to hear … the reminder … about what Jesus thinks is important:
- Previously, letting the little children come to him;
- Now, letting a poor blind man get to him.
Jesus wants the broken and
vulnerable to be able to find him.
Jesus had already said those
famous words, which spoke of reversals …
“The last shall be first and
the first shall be last” (10:31).
This man may be blind, but
the ‘Kingdom of God’ was at hand!
The disciples (and whoever
else) eventually changed their tune.
They realised they were on
the wrong side of history!
Jesus made sure they realised
their responsibility – refer verse 49a – a serving ministry to others.
One could only imagine what
might have happened to blind Bartimaeus,
if had have been ignored that
day!!
Perhaps we encounter many
broken people who have had their path to Jesus blocked in the past!
The disciples now said (v
49b) to Bartimaeus, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you”.
Belatedly, here are the words
of reassurance and encouragement … that are needed …
… that open up the path to
experience Jesus’ love. Jesus loves you!
This was a good day!
One might imagine Bartimaeus
grappling around with some excitement, tripping here and there,
trying to get to Jesus.
Maybe some people helped him
over to Jesus.
But Bartimaeus did get his
chance to express faith in Jesus.
He didn’t hesitate –
he didn’t consider what other thing might need to be done first.
The mention that he threw off
his “cloak” is significant – why??
Bartimaeus was tossing aside
his security and his independence
- his “cloak” was not only about warmth,
- but would have also been what he put on the ground in front of him as he begged for money;
- money without which he would suffer and die.
- Bartimaeus was abandoning his security entirely, [and this was totally different to the ‘rich man’ (10:21-22) who couldn’t give up anything];
- Bartimaeus was now saying that he would be totally dependent on Jesus instead!
- he was throwing away his cloak … for his life was changing completely!!
And Jesus was quick to
interpret this as faith worthy of salvation!!
Bartimaeus wouldn’t need that
“cloak” anymore.
This was a good day for
Bartimaeus!
Jesus granted Bartimaeus his
sight, not only as an act of compassion and healing, not only to restore him to
his community; but also to acknowledge
someone moving out of darkness and being lost, into the light with new hope
and purpose.
The greatest gift for
Bartimaeus … was being “made well” (v 52) i.e. being saved – experiencing
salvation.
This was all as a result of
faith.
NOT by making oneself better,
NOT by pretending to be good, NOT by following rules or rituals; but simply by faith!
But NOT faith in anything,
NOT faith in himself;
Bartimaeus was “made well”
i.e. saved, through faith IN JESUS.
For it would be Jesus, who
would soon … in about a week’s time …
… go the whole way in
sacrificing himself for Bartimaeus’ sins.
So, Bartimaeus now went off
to do his own thing?!??
NO! Bartimaeus began
following Jesus (v 52).
This is the natural and
proper response to gaining salvation!!!
This would mean going where
Jesus went and doing what Jesus did.
This would mean adopting the
attitudes and priorities Jesus had.
This would mean speaking words
and loving others like Jesus.
This would mean being part of
the community of the Kingdom of God.
This would NOT mean going to
the cross himself, as Jesus did literally - and for him, and for us;
But it would mean entering
into that sort of sacrificial service …
… that Jesus describes as
“taking up our cross” (and following him).
This was a good day for Bartimaeus!
This would be a good day
for anybody!
So, this could be a good
day for any of us too!
For here we are given a
picture of what Jesus can do for us:
- He is as close and accessible as ever
- When Jesus hears our voice, and knows our faith, he responds with words to the effect …
- “What do you want me to do for you” (v 51)
- And Jesus will draw us from darkness to light, from brokenness to healing,
- From slavery to sin into freedom, from despair into hope.
This is an invitation to
make today an even better day!
However, we may have to block
out the alternative voices (that make way too much noise) – contrary voices from all
sides!
- The ones who would decry commitment to Jesus
- The ones who say that we’re okay, we don’t need mercy
- The ones who would devalue Christian community
- The ones who would say we aren’t good enough or don’t count
- The ones that don’t want us to come in (and be part of something special)
- The ones that don’t want us to change
- Even our own voice … that may say that we don’t know enough (and shouldn’t take any further step).
Does any of this count, do
any of these voices matter, as against Jesus’ voice … as
against hearing Jesus say these wondrous words, “Your faith has made you
well”!?!
We might just have to throw
off our “cloak”, spring up, and come to Jesus!
Here is an invitation to do
just that!!
William Barclay wrote (re
this passage):
“Christianity begins with a
personal reaction to Jesus, a reaction of love, an instinctive feeling that
here is the one person who can meet our need”.
Amen – what a good day it
is!!
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