"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, you 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, You Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying to him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calls you. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said to him, What will you that I should do to you? The blind man said to him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has made you whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way." - Mark 10:46-52
"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."
Notice Bartimaeus is blind, he's sitting by the highway side, and he's a beggar.
Martin Luther's last written words were "We are beggars; this is true." Like Bartimaeus, we're blind and we sit by the highway side begging.
"And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, you Son of David, have mercy on me."
If you read Matthew, in it you'll find that the lower a person's view of Christ, the less He was responsive to them. It's as if He would have walked right past them. On the other hand, the higher a person's view, the more intimate He was with them.
Bartimaeus had a low view of Christ. He called Him just the Son of David.
"And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, You Son of David, have mercy on me."
There will be many things that charge us to hold our peace. That is, many things will attempt to suppress our cries to Christ for mercy but we must cry the more a great deal. Bartimaeus desired to see; our desire is to be saved. Therefore, it's a greater matter for us to beg of the Lord.
"And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying to him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calls you."
I had to ask myself why didn't Jesus keep walking? What made Him stop now? I highly doubt it was because of anything on Bartimaeus' part.
We desire to be saved, we've cried out for what seems like forever until finally Jesus stands still and commands us to come to Him. I want to emphasize the word command. The power that was behind the command "let there be light" is the same power behind this command. It's irresistible grace. How much does a man on fire desire to be cooled? In the same way, we desire to be saved, Bartimaeus desired to receive sight, who's not going to come when the Saviour and the great Physician calls? Obviously, those who don't want a Saviour, nor a Healer.
Yet, we desire to be saved and He calls us. "For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Therefore, we can be comforted. Those who doubt their salvation, need not fear, for He has heard your cries, if indeed you have cried. Those who doubt their salvation but have not lifted up one single prayer to God about it, how shall the Master hear you as He passes by?
"And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus."
Now that we've heard His call to come, again, He says "Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest;" we may cast away our garment, rise, and go to Jesus. Here is a picture of repentance. Remember what He said "For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Therefore, let us cast off our garment. Whatever we are holding onto is our garment. Then let us rise and go to Jesus.
"And Jesus answered and said to him, What will you that I should do to you? The blind man said to him, Lord, that I might receive my sight."
Imagine Jesus asking you one question "What will you that I should do to you?" Now for Bartimaeus it was that he wouldn't no longer be blind. For me, it would be that I might be saved.
"And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has made you whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way."
"For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any many should boast."
Something wonderful that can be seen here is the liberty given by Christ to those who are saved. Notice what He said to him "Go your way." He didn't ask him to follow Him. He didn't command him to follow Him; he simply said "Go your way." Neither did Jesus manipulate him. He didn't say "If you follow me, I'll heal you but if you don't follow me, I won't heal you." He was going to heal him, regardless of what he did afterward. Now, in the wisdom of God, He knew that Bartimaeus would follow Him. Likewise, that is the result of true salvation. We follow Christ when we've been truly saved. Like Peter, we say, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
In conclusion, I'd like to add that this passage of scripture is very beautiful. It teaches us the way of salvation. I'd recommend this passage to be studied carefully and meditated upon, especially if you don't know if your saved but are tormented with fear.
