April 27, 2009
There he sat at the side of the road. Alone. Abandoned. Rejected. Reviled. Poor. Pitiful. Blind. Begging. Hopeless. Helpless.
Helpless? Maybe not…
Even though Bart was blind, he could see. He could see opportunity. And, his hearing was good. He heard a commotion – it sounded like a large group of people walking past where he was sitting. So, he grabbed someone and asked what’s going on.
“Jesus is passing by.”
Bart had heard the stories. He had heard that this Jesus was doing incredible miracles. He saw his opportunity and he took it. He started yelling at the top of his lungs, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Finally, Jesus heard him and told his disciples to bring the yelling man over.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
“I want to see.” Bart said.
Jesus healed his blindness, and Bart followed Jesus.
We can learn a lot from Bart – a.k.a. Bartimaeus. Even though he was blind, he was not so blind as to miss his chance at freedom, healing and deliverance. He was not half-hearted in his pursuit of Jesus. He yelled at the top of his lungs. And, when people told him to sit down and shut up, he yelled even louder. He was desperate for Jesus.
You see, I think he understood that Jesus responds to faith. He knew that Jesus passes by us looking for faith, and if he doesn’t find it, he passes us by. And, I think that his prayer is one of the most profound in scripture – “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! I want to see!”
I pray this prayer regularly. Lord, have mercy on me and open my eyes to see the truth of who you are, your heart toward me and this world, who you say I am and the role you have called me to play in this epic adventure…have mercy on me and open my eyes to see what I need to see – the things that I don’t even know exist, because I can’t see them. Open the eyes of my heart.
No, Bart wasn’t totally blind. He saw his need for Jesus. He saw that he needed to passionately and wholeheartedly step out in faith and cry out for mercy to the One who has the power to save and to heal. He saw that he needed mercy. He saw that he needed healing. And, he saw that he was desperate to see.
We can learn a lot from Bart, because we’re blind men too.
Mark 10:46-52
“…When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!…Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, Son of David have mercy on me…”
Strength and courage,
David