“They came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, 'Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!' Many people told him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, 'Have mercy on me, Son of David!' 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.' He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. Then Jesus answered him, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' 'Rabbouni,' the blind man told Him, 'I want to see!' 'Go your way,' Jesus told him. 'Your faith has healed you.' Immediately he could see and began to follow Him on the road." Mark 10:46-52
The blind man truly did see, and this before physical sight was restored by Jesus. He was the epitome of what Jesus referred to in becoming like a child to enter the kingdom (Mark 10:13-16). In contrast, there was the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-22) who was blinded by his wealth. Following this is the account of James and John vying for positions of importance at the right and left hand of Jesus in the coming kingdom (Mark 10:35-45). And then comes the account of the healing of this blind man.
We notice what he already saw when he cried out to Jesus: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" How was he convinced of this great truth concerning Jesus? He certainly had not seen any of Jesus' miracles performed, yet somehow he knew without physically seeing.
Jesus' question might make us wonder if Jesus truly saw: "What do you want me to do for you?" It seems like He is asking the obvious; anyone could tell that Bartimaeus was blind. But, we see that the question was for Bartimaeus' benefit. Without hesitation, he replied: "I want to see!" According to his faith, his physical sight was immediately restored. By faith, we might say, he saw before he saw.
I'm wondering how well I really see. No, I'm not talking about a need for new contact lenses or glasses, but real spiritual sight and insight. I would like to see as well as Bartimaeus saw before his eyesight was restored.
"I want to see!" Do I so passionately want to see spiritually as Bartimaeus wanted to see physically? Perhaps physically sight blinds the reality of a desire for spiritual sight.
May we earnestly desire spiritual sight today as much as Bartimaeus desired physical sight.
©Steve Taylor, 2022 --Used by permission
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