Suppose you were to lose your eyesight and be blind. Wouldn’t that be terrible? Close your eyes tightly and walk slowly around in your house or in your yard. Then think of being like that for the rest of your life. You would not be able to see your parents, brothers or sisters, friends, anything inside your house, or any of God’s beautiful creation. All of us take our eyesight for granted most of the time. How often do we thank our loving Saviour for giving us eyesight?
In the Bible we often read of blind people. A wonderful little story about a blind man named Bartimeus is found in Mark 10:46-5246And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimeus, the son of Timeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 48And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 49And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 50And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. (Mark 10:46‑52).
Bartimeus lived outside the village of Jericho in Palestine. He was a beggar who sat beside the road calling to people who passed by to give him money. This is how he got the money to buy what he needed in order to live.
I am sure that Bartimeus did not have a very nice house to live in, nor all the food to eat that he wanted, nor nice clothes to wear. But what he probably wanted more than any of these things was to be able to see. Then he would not have to beg for money. He could work and earn money to buy the things he needed. But there was no hope for a blind person in those days. Who could give sight to a blind man?
One day he heard, probably from a traveler on the highway, that there was a special Person living in the town of Nazareth who was healing all the sick people in the villages around. It had even been reported that He had made blind people to see!
Can you imagine what Bartimeus must have thought when he heard that good news? Oh, how he must have wanted to go to Nazareth right away to visit this wonderful Person. However, not only was Nazareth 60 miles away, but the road was rough and dangerous, and there was no one to lead him there. He could only hope that this wonderful Person might come to Jericho where he lived. I’m sure he must have asked many questions of the travelers who passed by him each day. He eagerly listened to everything that was said about this special Person.
Then one day he heard the noise of many people coming out of Jericho. What did it mean? Who was coming? It must be someone important, because the people were so excited.
“Who is coming? What’s going on?” called Bartimeus, hoping someone would hear him and answer his questions.
“It’s Jesus of Nazareth,” someone answered him.
Jesus of Nazareth! He was the Person he had heard about, the One who could give him his eyesight!
Soon Jesus was walking right near him. Would Jesus heal him? Bartimeus knew that Jesus could, but would Jesus know he was beside the road?
The crowd was moving past. What could a blind man do? He could not see where Jesus was and walk up to Him. It was impossible to move through that crowd of people. Soon Jesus would be gone and might never come this way again. There was only one thing for Bartimeus to do.
“Jesus!” cried Bartimeus as loudly as he could. “Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!”
“Be quiet!” shouted some unkind people in the crowd. “Don’t bother Him. He is not interested in you.”
But Bartimeus knew that this was the opportunity that he had been waiting for. This was that wonderful Person who could give sight to his eyes.
“Thou Son of David, have mercy on me,” he cried again!
“And Jesus stood still.” Above the shouting and noise of the crowd, He had heard the voice of blind Bartimeus. It was the call of faith of someone who recognized who He was and that He could heal.
Jesus commanded that Bartimeus be brought to Him. While the crowd watched, someone helped Bartimeus to reach Jesus. Bartimeus had quickly thrown off his old, tattered clothes and stood trembling in front of Jesus.
“What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus asked kindly.
“Lord, that I might receive my sight.”
Jesus, who knew all about Bartimeus, said to him, “Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.”
Immediately the blind eyes of Bartimeus were opened. He looked up into the face of the One who had opened them — the Lord Jesus Christ! Bartimeus was so thankful to the Lord Jesus for healing his eyes that he became a follower of Jesus.
This wonderful story from the Bible teaches us what a loving Saviour we have and how He is willing and able to save any who come to Him in faith. We read in Hebrews 7:2525Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25) that “He [the Lord Jesus] is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.” Won’t you call to the Saviour right now to save you, just like Bartimeus did? He is passing by, but He will stop at any simple call of faith.
ML-11/06/1988