…but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of
David, have mercy on me!" Mark
10:48b
We have been looking into the life of
Blind Bartimaeus. He is a blind beggar
in the Bible from whom we can learn an important lesson about faith and rising
above circumstances. Today, Jesus is
passing by on his very last journey, his journey to the cross. What an opportunity!
Bartimaeus displayed penetrating
insight into the person of Christ. He kept repeating “Jesus, Son of David”—“Jesus, Son of
David,” a blatantly
Messianic title. Though Bartimaeus was certainly no theologian, and probably
did not understand much of the implications of what he was saying, he had come
to an exalted conclusion about Christ. The crowd did not understand this label
on Jesus. Bartimaeus may have had no
physical sight but his spiritual perception was 20/20. Someone once bluntly asked blind and deaf
Helen Keller, “Isn’t it terrible to be blind?” To which she responded, “Better to be blind and see with your heart,
than to have two good eyes and see nothing.” So it was with blind
Bartimaeus.
Bartimaeus had
passionate persistence
Bartimaeus rejected the crowd’s
control, shouting again and again, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Understanding something of who Jesus was, and his own personal need,
he kept saying it over and over again, like a helpless infant. Bartimaeus’ extreme sense of urgency is a
mirror of what ought to be in our souls. In that cry were all of Bartimaeus’
future hopes and dreams; his whole life and destiny depended upon gaining a
hearing with Jesus. He had heard of Jesus’ reputation; he was overjoyed that
finally he could meet the Messiah. So he shouted out at the top of his lungs: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” This is the meaning of Jesus’
words, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
He did not have a vague wish but a
desperate need and a desire to get something done to meet it. He had a need and
he knew the man nearby could meet it…Nothing was going to stop him. This was opportunity!
There's an important truth that we
must understand at this point: Opportunities
only become opportunities when we embrace them as opportunities.
- God
may offer something to us; however, if we refuse to accept it, the
opportunity will be missed.
- An
opportunity must be seized, grasped, accepted, taken. Bartimaeus accepted
the opportunity that was presented by Jesus.
Many fail to realize that certain
chances only come once. Sometimes the
longing never returns. Sometimes the faith is not strong enough to move us.
Sometimes the devil causes us to “look before we leap” and destroys an act of
faith.
Scripture to claim:
Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of
his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name
of the Lord and rely on his God. Isaiah
50:10
