On The Road To Jerusalem Series

4. Alongside the road was a crowd of locals who might travel to Jerusalem later – they were parade watchers, curiosity seekers, and those who were too poor, sick or handicapped to make the journey – including at least one blind man named Bartimaeus.

B. Mark wrote: 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many warned him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, “Have mercy on me, Son of David!” (Mk. 10:47-48)

1. Being blind, Bartimaeus could hear the procession but could not see who was passing by.

2. When someone told him that Jesus was passing by, blind Bartimaeus saw something that no one else saw and he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

a. The phrase “Son of David” was a Messianic designation and was synonymous with “Son of Man” which Jesus often called Himself.

b. For the first time, Jesus was being publicly called the Son of David, and whether Bartimaeus knew it or not, He was introducing Jesus to Jerusalem and starting the song that would carry Jesus into Jerusalem in the triumphal entrance.

3. Bartimaeus’ cries were an embarrassment and an irritation to those around him and they tried to silence him, but it was counterproductive, because they more they tried to silence him the louder he cried out.

a. Incidentally, we must realize that there will always be someone who will try to suppress our testimony and our zeal for the Lord, but we must not let them stop us!

C. Praise God that the cries of Bartimaeus stopped Jesus in His tracks.

1. Mark wrote: 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up; he’s calling for you.” 50 He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Rabboni,” the blind man said to him, “I want to see.” (Mk. 10:49-51)

2. We might have presumed that Jesus’ healing ministry was over and that all His attention would be focused on His suffering and death.

3. But His determined journey to Jerusalem was interrupted by the cry of a needy man for mercy.

4. Here we see Jesus practice the very lesson He just got through teaching and that is that He is ultimately a great servant.

5. Jesus called for Bartimaeus to come to Him.

a. Those around Bartimaeus said: “Cheer up, Jesus is calling you.”

b. I wonder if for an instant Bartimaeus thought it was a cruel hoax, but he had no place to go but up, so he put his faith in Jesus and came to Him.

c. Mark added a detail that pointed to Bartimaeus’ faith by saying that he threw his cloak aside – this garment was likely used for catching coins people threw his way, but he was hopeful he wouldn’t need it anymore.

6. Jesus met the ready faith of Bartimaeus with an open-ended question: “What do you want me to do for you?”

a. Remember, not long before this incident James and John had asked Him to grant whatever they asked.

b. The difference between Bartimaeus’ answer and the disciples’ request is the difference between faith and ambition – faith asks for needs, ambition begs for wants.