Asking boldly

Now it happened that as Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. They reported to him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who went ahead were rebuking him so that he would be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him, and when he came near, He questioned him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God. And when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

Luke 18:35-43

Introduction

On His way to Jericho where the Lord would ultimately meet with Lazarus, He encountered a blind man called Bartimaeus. Offering a bit of insight into what some of the people expected of the Messiah, we see Bartimaeus asking the crowds who this person is they are following. He is told the man is the “Son of David,” at which point we have this short and simple prayer, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And what was the mercy Bartimaeus sought? He wanted Jesus to heal his eyesight.

Being the Son of David and the Lord’s anointed (the literal English translation of “Messiah”), it was a given that the Messiah would hold the office of king. Here, we see the expectation of His role to act as prophet. And not just any prophet, but a prophet who performs miracles. It is easy to think of all the prophets as having performed miraculous deeds, whether it is Daniel surviving a night with the lions or Ezekiel’s and Isaiah’s throne room visions, but those were things that happened to the prophets, not by them.

There are, in fact, only four prophets in the Old Testament who had the gift to perform miracles. They were Moses and Joshua, the appointed leaders meant to deliver Israel out of Egypt and into the promised land, and Elijah and Elisha, the great prophets who showed the world that there is One true God and any idol is powerless before Him. Interestingly, the second of the first set of prophets, Joshua, shares a name with Jesus and began his own ministry at Jericho (Joshua 6). Elisha, the second of the second set of prophets also began in Jericho after Elijah was taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:15).

Malachi 3:1 and 4:5-6 are identified as prophesies about John the Baptist who went ahead of Jesus as the final and greatest prophet before the coming of the Messiah (Matthew 17:12; John 1:23; Matthew 11:11). And here we have the true and better Joshua on His way to Jericho, identified by a blind man as the prophet and king with the power to heal his weary eyes.

The detractors

As Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus, the crowd which is presumably traveling with the Lord tells him to stop. In fact, the text even says they rebuked him. If you have ever lived in an area with an abundance of people begging, you might even relate with the crowd here. While there are certainly many out on the streets who are in legitimate need of help, there are also many who have chosen that life for themselves.

There is one occasion I recall very recently while traveling home from Chicago via the Metra train line. A young man approached me and asked for money for a train ticket. I offered to buy the ticket for him, but he had an excuse for why that was not an option. Eventually after a bit of back and forth it became apparent to me that he was not in search of a train ticket, but was instead looking to earn a bit of revenue by preying on the kindness of others. And wouldn’t you know it – the very following week he asked me again, not realizing he had already attempted this trick on me less than seven days prior.

Even when someone is in legitimate need, it can be tiresome and wearying to find yourself giving over and over while seeing them stuck in the same situation. I can understand why the crowd told him to stop, but he was persistent in seeking the Lord. His need was a real one, and he knew there was precisely One person who could possibly fulfill his need. You are in the same position. You have a very specific need: the need to be delivered from your sin. And there is precisely One person who can possibly fulfill that need, Jesus Christ the Son of David. So be persistent in your seeking Him no matter what other people tell you – that He is too busy, not gracious enough, or whatever other excuses they give. Do not listen to them. Seek Him and call out to Him, and He will answer.

Your faith has saved you

When The Lord responded to Bartimaeus, He said an interesting thing. He did not tell Bartimaeus that He healed the man’s sight or that He saved the man. He said, “your faith has saved you.” And our faith saves us, though this faith is not a work (Ephesians 2:8-9). Like Bartimaeus, we are blind to seeing the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only by faith that any of us can see who He is and what He can do.

And when Bartimaeus was healed, his immediate response was to drop everything, follow Jesus, and glorify God. Such is the sign of one who truly believes. If you trust that Jesus is able to rescue you from your sin, then abandon all hope in everything else and follow Him. Your wealth cannot save you. Your friends cannot save you. Your good works cannot save you. Only Jesus Christ in His magnificent work on the cross can save you. It was there that He bore your sin, and by that means He grants righteousness to all who believe (2 Corinthians 5:21). When you call out to Him to save you, He will hear you and He will answer.

May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.