Blind Bartimaeus Series

Imagine the sights that Bartimaeus would see the very first week of his newfound eyesight. A triumphant entry into Jerusalem, palm leaves and coat strewn on the path.

Crowds calling his name, cheering Him on – Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!

Imagine seeing Jesus teaching day by day in the Temple courts, or seeing the religious rulers challenge him, trying their best to trip Jesus up. Bartimaeus must have wept over the spiritual blindness of these leaders.

Imagine one day at the end of the week; Jesus doesn’t appear to teach in the Temple courts as he usually does. The son of Timaeus searches the city high and low, looking for Jesus, the Son of David. But the City of David has conspired against its truest Son. Perhaps through whispers, Bartimaeus hears that late last night, around midnight, Jesus had been taken prisoner. That very morning his trial was taking place. I can imagine Bartimaeus – with eyes blurred with tears – one of Jesus’ newest disciples – racing from one end of Jerusalem’s walls to the other, trying to find his Master. And then he spots him. His eyes catch the broken form of a man beaten to within an inch of his life, hopelessly struggling to carry a crossbeam down the narrow streets of the Via Dolorosa – the Beautiful way. Did Bartimaeus see Jesus die? Was he one of the 500 men who saw Jesus with his resurrected body? We may never know.

I am often blind as to what Jesus is up to. Have Mercy on Me is a great intro to a new and better life of Whatever He Wants.

Are you ready to ask Jesus for the Mercy you never deserved? It is called Grace. The unmerited, undeserved love of God. It is here waiting for you. Wait no longer Some of you have been reluctant to declare your faith, to be baptized. Why not this Easter.

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Going deeper

1. Love and hurry are fundamentally incompatible. Love always takes time, and time is the one thing people in a hurry don’t have. What can you do to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life?

2. In the gaps left over from eliminating hurry, how can you better follow Jesus?

3. The first words from Bartimaeus’ lips were “Jesus, Son of David – Have Mercy on me.” What does it mean for Jesus to have mercy on you?