Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

One of my favorite Bible Stories is from Mark 10: 46 - 52 (NIV). I love this story because it is so full of illustrations:

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see." "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to be arrested and crucified. This was his last time to pass through Jericho. People were selling wares along the road and shouting to people passing through, on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover Celebration. So Bartimaeus had to yell to get Jesus’ attention. It was against custom to shout at a rabbi, but he didn’t let a custom keep him from getting healing from Jesus, he shouted all the more. And he knew who Jesus was - he called him the Son of David. That tells us that he acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. We must understand that Jesus is not just a prophet or teacher, he is the Christ. (Christ is Greek and Messiah is Hebrew; both mean Anointed One, Redeemer - One who brings salvation.)
The blind man’s friends and acquaintances told him to stop yelling, but he didn’t let them keep him from Jesus. How often do we let our friends keep us from a relationship with God? As Bartimaeus yelled, Jesus stopped. He called to him. Here’s where the story gets really interesting: Bartimaeus threw his cloak aside. Don’t miss that. That cloak may have been his only possession, and everything he owned was likely in the pockets. He didn’t let his material possessions come between himself and Jesus. He threw it all away for a chance at standing in front of Jesus.
Then Jesus asks him what seems to be a silly question: “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus knew full well what Bartimaeus needed, but wanted him to acknowledge it. Bartimaeus could have asked Jesus for a silver coin, but he went for it all and asked for his sight. By this he showed his faith. Tell Jesus what you really need and don’t hold back. Remember, he already knows. Jesus healed him on the spot. If Bartimaeus had reasoned that he would catch Jesus next time, there would be no next time. We never know when it will be our last chance to cry out to Jesus.
Jesus told him that it was his faith that had healed him. God uses our faith to deliver his grace to us. The one work that we must perform to be right with God is to believe, to have faith. (John 6:29)
Finally, look at Bartimaeus’ response to being healed by Jesus: he followed him along the road. When Jesus answers our prayers, whether that means a physical healing or salvation, our response should be to follow him wherever he goes. Jesus was heading toward his crucifixion. Are we willing to lay down our lives and follow him? That’s true discipleship, but Bartimaeus was thrilled to follow Jesus wherever he went because Jesus had given him his sight. He knew what it was like before Jesus came along and I can assure you he never forgot.