A Miracle for a Blind Man

 •  3 min. read  •  grade level: 4
Listen from:
The man’s name was Bartimeus, and his father’s name was Timeus. Bartimeus was blind, and he spent his life as a beggar. He sat beside the dusty roadway outside of Jericho and hoped people passing by would give him a coin or two. In Bible times, there weren’t jobs for blind people to earn money like there are today. Begging was all Bartimeus could do.
One day as Bartimeus sat beside the road, he heard the shuffle of many feet. A crowd was coming. What was going on? Then he heard someone say it was Jesus of Nazareth coming!
He had heard of the town of Nazareth, but there wasn’t much good to be said about it. Bartimeus didn’t care about the town, but he did care about the man Jesus. He had heard of the miracles that Jesus had done, and now He was coming down the road near where he was sitting!
Bartimeus called out, Jesus, Thou son of David, have mercy on me! The people near him told him to be quiet. But there was real faith in his heart and he knew his need of Jesus. No one could stop him, and he called out to Jesus again: Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!
Do you have a need of Jesus? You probably know that He was born in a stable, grew up and died on a wooden cross. But do you know more than that about Him? Have you ever heard that He loves you? Do you know that He is the Son of God and that He came into this world to save you from your sins? That is why you need Him  ...  to save you from your sins and give you eternal life. You can call out to Him just like Bartimeus did. And He will answer you, just like He answered Bartimeus.
When Jesus heard Bartimeus’s call, He stood still. Then He commanded the people to bring Bartimeus to Himself. The people quickly told Bartimeus, Be of good comfort. Rise! Jesus is calling you! The blind man threw off his coat, got up and quickly went to Him.
What do you want Me to do for you? asked Jesus.
Bartimeus answered, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
Jesus answered at once, Go your way.  ...  Your faith has made you whole. Instantly the wonderful miracle happened; Bartimeus received his sight! And then he followed Jesus.
And Jesus will instantly save you too if you will trust Him. Nothing and nobody else can save you from your sins. This wasn’t just religious faith that saved Bartimeus, and it wasn’t church faith either. It was Jesus, the Saviour of sinners. And He can do the same for you right now, because He died for sinners. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
Bartimeus didn’t let the opportunity pass to call out to Jesus. Don’t let the opportunity pass to call out to Jesus to save you. You may not have that opportunity again.
Think About God’s Word!
1. What did Bartimeus do when he heard Jesus was coming down the road?
2. How did the blind man in John 9 grow to understand how important the Lord Jesus was to him?
Project: How many people in the New Testament did the Lord Jesus heal? Were there any that came to Him to be healed and returned home still sick?