"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, Thou 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, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. "And 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.
"And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
"And 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.
"And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith bath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way." 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).
We frequently find incidents in the gospels which illustrate very fully the way in which a sinner lays hold of Christ. In this scripture we have a lovely picture of a seeking Savior and a seeking sinner, and how they met. In the Gospel of Luke we find the text that is at the head of this paper, which was, as it were, preached to this blind man. A very short sermon! "Jesus of Nazareth passeth by." And Jesus never passed that way again! Bartimaeus had come to the turning point of his history, and had that day passed, he never would have had his eyes opened, for Jesus was then on His way to the cross. And the difference between that day and now, is this: He was then on His way to the cross where He accomplished the work of redemption, shed His precious blood, died, and rose again; He is now on His way to execute judgment and bring in the glory.
It is because of that judgment, which must come, that I would now urge on every unsaved soul who may read these words, that which we find so blessedly characterized Bartimaeus-that is promptness, the deep necessity of seizing the present moment! How often moments like this, in the history of souls, are slighted, and they never return. "I shall have plenty of opportunities; people do not often die as young as I am." Such like excuses are pleaded by those who would procrastinate. But I would warn you. There is one sin more terrible than any in a man's history, and that is his last! Souls float on easily down the stream of time; they go quietly out of the world, perhaps without any fear of hell. Some are exercised, and for a time are in an agony of conviction, but the many slight the warning as to the solemn eternity which lies beyond time; and it comes to a moment when God says, as it were, "Let him alone," and his heart is hardened. It is a solemn, deeply solemn thing, this hardening of the heart. And the more solemn when we think of God's doing so. We have an example of this in Pharaoh. God warned him in nine solemn judgments and then, as it were, gave him one more chance. Pharaoh did not yield his will to God; he hardened his heart against God, and God hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he went to destruction.
In the face of such a fact, I would press on every sinner the need of promptness in the matter of salvation. The Lord is long-suffering; He waits on His road to judgment, but at any moment the day of grace may have closed.
Bartimaeus was blind but he heard that Jesus passed by. God's resource for the blind sinner is the "hearing of faith." This was the avenue to his soul. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Rom. 10:1717So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17). Remark the little word "when" (v. 47). Bartimaeus might have said, Here is a golden opportunity; I will get a harvest today from this multitude. Perhaps crowds like this were not often to be seen on the roadside between Jericho and Jerusalem. The great multitudes were following Jesus today; He had many followers, but few friends. Bartimaeus might reason thus: I will speak to Jesus some other time, and gather the silver coins today. Such an opportunity will not come again, and Jesus may be met at any time. But he did not reason thus. How many do so! I will give myself to my gains now-get rich, perhaps at some craft that is not as it should be-and then I will retire. I wish to be saved, but I must attend to other things now; then I will look after my soul.
But Bartimaeus felt that the present was too great an opportunity to lose. "When" Jesus passed by he cried out; he was in earnest, and his promptness to use the moment was lovely to behold. It was his turning point. Saints and sinners all have their turning points. If he had missed his, the opportunity would never come again. We boldly say this, for Jesus never did pass by that way again. He was on His way for His last entry into the City of Solemnities-to Jerusalem, where after a few days He was crucified. He was on the road to the cross that day. He is on His road to execute judgment now, and the cross is past-His work there is done.
But a man with a need in his heart will be prompt, will be in earnest; and "when" Jesus was passing he cried out, "Son of David, have mercy on me."
Have you, my reader, an unsatisfied need in your heart? Then cry out, and Jesus will stop; your cry of need will arrest His steps just where you are this moment. When was there a cry of need on earth which He refused? Will He refuse the cry of need now that He is in the glory? Will He not stay His steps, as it were, as on that day, and meet the need-fill the void of your heart?
"And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called." In three of these gospels we have this tale told in a different way. In Matt. 20:3232And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? (Matthew 20:32), it is simply "Jesus... called." This is the sovereign call of mercy through grace. This belongs to God alone. Then in Mark 10:4949And 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. (Mark 10:49), it is Jesus "commanded him to be called." This shows the instrumental call- of the preacher, for instance. What a word for those who preach the gospel-for the ambassador of God's grace. In Luke 18:4040And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, (Luke 18:40), Jesus "commanded him to be brought unto Him." This was done by the earnest effectual guiding hands of others. It encourages the believing wife to bring her unbelieving husband under the sound of the gospel; the parent to bring his child; the child the parent, if still unsaved. It is the earnest, seeking, guiding hand and heart of some soul, whose eyes have been opened, to bring those dear to him to hear the word of His grace.
How often has the Lord answered the faith of those who have brought others to hear the word of grace preached, in saving the souls of those who have been brought! It is sad, sad indeed, to see the empty seats in many a meeting room where an earnest preacher, who longs to bring souls to Christ, finds that his heart is chilled by the empty benches and vacant listlessness of those who are there.
But "many charged him that he should hold his peace." v. 48. They try to hinder his coming to Christ. The devil always finds ready instruments for this service. Those who labor beside one in the factory, in the office, etc., are ready with their scoff for the anxious, seeking soul. But there are many ways of hindering besides the open taunt. I will tell you of one-Christians criticizing the gospel that is preached. I remember reading of one case in point. A Christian lady brought her unconverted husband to hear a preaching of the gospel.
The servant of the Lord who spoke that night was "no great preacher," as people say. On their way home she remarked about the failures-the poverty of the address. She was pulling the whole thing to pieces, but on turning to see why she got no response from her husband, it was to see the tears coursing down his cheeks. On asking him what was the matter, he replied, "Ah, I found Christ tonight in that preaching," or such words. How condemning to her, for what she derided was God's instrument in saving her husband's soul-she, a Christian too. It was God's quickening word to the soul of her husband. Oh take care how you criticize the word preached in the ears of the unsaved! Christians are often thus the greatest hinderers of the gospel by their careless ways, their speech, their lack of wisdom.
In saying this, it does not excuse the sinner in the least; he is responsible to come to Christ, and God will hold him so. He does not come because his will is against God. In the judgment scene of Matthew 25, it is the absence of good, not the commission of evil, for which the sentence is passed. "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me."
And "Jesus stood still"; and thus He waits on you in grace because "He delighteth in mercy" (Mic. 7:1818Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. (Micah 7:18)). And Bartimaeus, "casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus." How many things are allowed to hinder the soul in coming to Jesus? Some garment or other which must be cast aside.
And Jesus answered and said to him, "What wilt thou that / should do unto thee?" Jesus expected nothing from him; and all actions on your part also, as on his, would be working. But hear what Jesus says -"What wilt thou?" Have you a desire? He who came from heaven, died and rose, and went on high, waits (as it were) to serve the poor sinner who comes as a suppliant to Him.
What is the request of Bartimaeus? "Lord, that I might receive my sight." And Luke (chap. 18) tells us of the echoing reply from the heart of God. "Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee." Faint and tremulous was the request of faith, but clear and blessed the response of the Lord-the echo of heaven- "Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee." Not a doubt remains; his eyes are opened, and he is saved.
Have you reader, a need to bring to Him? Will you trust Him? and God's heart will bless you to the full. It was so with the poor prodigal (Luke 15); he hoped for a servant's place, and the father's heart exceeded all his expectations; he kissed him and received him as a son. It was more than the echo of the desire; the answer of grace ever exceeds the request of faith. It was so with the thief on the cross. He asked a place in the kingdom, but received one in paradise that day!
And Bartimaeus opened his eyes, and the first object before him was the Lord. The beauty of the Lord was before him- the object for eternity. What will the joy of the most blessed saint be throughout eternity? Surely the same object-Jesus! Jesus only! And he "followed Jesus in the way." It was then the way to the cross; now it is the path of rejection to the glory. He is on His way to the kingdom and glory. Then follow Jesus in the way; suffer with Him; be true in heart to Him in the day of His rejection, and when He takes His place as "King of Kings," you shall reign with Him.