Mark 10:46-52

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

46 Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho. They were leaving the city. A large crowd was with them.
A blind man was sitting by the side of the road begging. His name was Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus means Son of Timaeus. 47 He heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. So he began to shout, "Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!"
48 Many people commanded him to stop. They told him to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, "Son of David! Have mercy on me!"
49 Jesus stopped and said, "Call for him."
So they called out to the blind man, "Cheer up! Get up on your feet! Jesus is calling for you."
50 He threw his coat to one side. Then he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

51 "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to be able to see."
52 "Go," said Jesus. "Your faith has healed you."
Right away he could see. And he followed Jesus along the road.

You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.

Mark Twain, 19th century

Subject Sentences:

Persistent, blind Bartimaeus recognizes Messiah, faithfully asks, receives sight, and follows Jesus.

Faithful, persistent, blind beggar asks for, and receives Jesus’ healing; becomes follower.

A believer was healed by his faith and remained committed to God.

Aims:

These verses cause me

. . . to think about how I model the Christian walk. Jesus not only helped the beggar see, but was a living testament to the lesson He just had taught the disciples about the least will come first....being a servant.

. . . to be persistent in seeking Jesus and know the reason I am seeking Him.

. . . to believe that Jesus can help/heal when I call to Him.

. . . to examine things in life God has granted to me, and how to remain committed to Him after granting me

blessings.

Note: I went to church last night - Father focused on the blind man in his gospel. I smiled when he used the word "clarity". However instead of just thinking of the blind man having clarity in asking for what he needed, Father used it to describe how the blind had clarity in seeing what he needed to do, become a follower. He also made the point that we too can ask others what they need and to see how we can do this. The one part of our version of the reading included how Jesus asked the crowd to bring the man to him, I prefer the image of Jesus seeking him out and going to the man.