Are We Blind Too?

Bartimaeus’ cries did not go unheard. He appealed to Jesus and not to the crowd and you and I know that Jesus never turns away anyone who comes to Him. Hearing Bartimaeus, vs. 49 tells us that Jesus stood still. I know that sometimes you’ve wondered if Jesus even listens to your prayers. Just as in the case of this story, I believe that Jesus does more than listen. He stops whatever he is doing and then fixes his eye upon you! The creator stood still when he heard the desperate voice of Bartimaeus cry out to him for help. And that was not all; Jesus wanted Bartimaeus to be brought close to him. In your weakest and most desperate moments you can count on the Savior to be close to you if you will call out to him.

No sooner did Bartemaeus hear that Jesus wanted him, he threw off his outer garment and leaped towards Jesus. The very coat that protected him from the wind, rain and cold and gave him a sense of security was not needed any more. In Jesus, he had more than all of these. Psalm 91 tells us, “He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and you will not fear the terror of night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness nor the plague that destroys at mid day”.

Jesus is an all sufficient God and in Him all your needs will be met. When Jesus calls us to himself, we must be careful to cast off every weight and false sense of security that we might have and trust the Savior to take care of our needs. Bartimaeus’ actions spoke louder than his words. His garment was probably all that he had but he let go of it in order to cling on to the Savior.

Looking at Bartimaeus Jesus asked “What is it that you need?” He replied, “I want to see”. Notice if you will though that earlier Bartimaeus had only cried out for mercy. His first need was “mercy” and his other need was that he “might see”. So too my friends, no matter what your need might be, it is a good and humble thing to first ask for God’s mercy. God’s mercy is limitless and is freely bestowed upon those who ask.

For Bartimaeus, God not only opened his physical eyes but his spiritual eyes as well because from that point on Bartimaeus followed Jesus. Bartimaeus’ dark world was now illuminated by the light of Christ!

I’ve said this several times in the past but I truly believe that humanity draws closer to God in times of suffering. In times when the road has gotten rough for you and me - may be in the loss of a job, a severe sickness, death of a loved one or other problems, we seem to want the comfort and care of God. We are able to call upon God only when we have a need, otherwise we are blinder than the blind.

Think about it - a great multitude with 20/20 vision followed Jesus but none of them were able to tap into the healing power of a gracious God, whereas blind Bartimaeus who could not see a thing was able to get a blessing. From his darkened eyes, he was able to see the light of the world!

But what about you? All of us have been blessed with 20/20 vision but how many of us have been able to see and allow the light of Christ to illuminate our life?