BARTIMAEUS: WHAT THE BLIND MAN SAW
By R. Herbert
Three of the Gospels record an event which occurred prior to Jesus’ triumphal yet humble entry into Jerusalem before his betrayal and crucifixion (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43). Luke’s account is the most detailed and tells us that on the way to Jerusalem:
“As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, 'Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.' And he cried out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 'What do you want me to do for you?' He said, 'Lord, let me recover my sight.' And Jesus said to him, 'Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.' And immediately he recovered his sight and followed Jesus, praising God …” (Luke 18:35-43 ESV).
To understand the story of the blind man, we must remember that by this point in Jesus’ ministry crowds formed wherever he went. Messianic excitement and expectation were building by the day. Luke tells us that when Jesus arrived in Jericho the man Zachaeus had to climb a tree to catch a glimpse of Him because of the crowds waiting to see Jesus as he passed by. This was only a day before Jesus entered Jerusalem with crowds spreading their garments in the road before the colt on which He rode, and the “multitude” calling out: “Blessed be the king who comes in the name of the Lord …” (Luke 19:35-38).
The messianic fervor of the crowds was doubtless at its height at this point, as many of the Jews longed for a king who would overthrow the brutal Roman occupation and give them their independence again. This was the king the crowds came out to see. The blind man called out “let me recover my sight” (vs. 41 ESV), while many of the people may have called out “let us recover our kingdom.” Yet far from being caught up in the adulation of the crowds, Christ’s compassion (Matthew 20:34) was such that he focused on the one man who saw His real role at that time: a man who, when his eyes were opened, saw with his first sight someone he had “seen” in His blindness – not a regally aloof king, but the compassionate human Son of God.
The blind man, whose name was Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), saw what few others saw: the real nature of Christ’s role in His coming. Yet before leaving on this trip to Jerusalem Jesus had openly explained to the disciples that he would humbly submit to shame and death and that now was not His time to rule (Luke 18:31-33), but they didn’t get it. Luke confirms this fact for us not once, but three times in the same verse: “The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about” (vs. 34). In Jericho – where He healed the blind man – Jesus gave the people the parable of the nobleman who went away to receive the kingdom and return (Luke19:12), “Because He was near to Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God should immediately appear” (vs.11).
Given this background, and the lack of understanding of the people and of the disciples themselves at this time, it is amazing that the solitary blind man in the crowd saw the true nature of the Son of David. The interesting thing is the faith of the man and many of those like him. It is not that these individuals heard of Christ’s healings and decided to give it a try – almost without exception Jesus commented on the faith of these people when they appealed to his mercy. While Jesus had so frequently said to his disciples “You of little faith,” the blind man and others like him were commended for theirs.
Perhaps the blind man and many of the others who were sick and disabled who came to Christ had been driven to their knees by their illnesses and afflictions. Evidently they had developed a faith that the crowds and even the disciples had not. Whatever the case, it is clear that the blind man’s faith enabled him to see something few others saw – an insight for which he was greatly rewarded.
Looking closely at Bartimaeus’ example of faith, we can see a great deal in the details of this story. Luke tells us that although the people told the blind beggar to keep quiet, he ignored them and continued to call on Jesus all the more fervently (Luke 18:39). How fervently? In his shorter account Matthew uses the word krazo which means to shout very loudly or scream. It’s a word used of women in childbirth. That’s how fervently. And we need to notice what he was shouting. Luke tells us that when he asked who was passing by, Bartimaeus was told it was “Jesus of Nazareth;” but he called out – shouted out with all his might – to “Jesus Son of David.” He called to the promised Messiah. He also called out “Have mercy on me!” – the call of repentance and sincere asking for help. It was at this point that Jesus stopped and turned to him.
We might wonder what would have happened if Bartimaeus had not kept calling out, if he had not called so fervently, or if he had not called out what he did. Would Jesus not have heard him and, as a result, nothing would have happened to the blind man? We might see lessons there – lessons of persistence, fervency and humility – things that this blind man clearly exhibited as part of his faith. A final detail we might consider is that in the Greek, Luke does not use the normal word “to heal” to refer to the healing of Bartimaeus, rather he uses the word sozo (Luke 18:42B). The word sozo means “to save” as well as “to heal,” and the account itself indicates that the blind man’s faith saw not only the road to healing in the person of the Son of David, but also the road to salvation.
By R. Herbert
Three of the Gospels record an event which occurred prior to Jesus’ triumphal yet humble entry into Jerusalem before his betrayal and crucifixion (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43). Luke’s account is the most detailed and tells us that on the way to Jerusalem:
“As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, 'Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.' And he cried out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 'What do you want me to do for you?' He said, 'Lord, let me recover my sight.' And Jesus said to him, 'Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.' And immediately he recovered his sight and followed Jesus, praising God …” (Luke 18:35-43 ESV).
To understand the story of the blind man, we must remember that by this point in Jesus’ ministry crowds formed wherever he went. Messianic excitement and expectation were building by the day. Luke tells us that when Jesus arrived in Jericho the man Zachaeus had to climb a tree to catch a glimpse of Him because of the crowds waiting to see Jesus as he passed by. This was only a day before Jesus entered Jerusalem with crowds spreading their garments in the road before the colt on which He rode, and the “multitude” calling out: “Blessed be the king who comes in the name of the Lord …” (Luke 19:35-38).
The messianic fervor of the crowds was doubtless at its height at this point, as many of the Jews longed for a king who would overthrow the brutal Roman occupation and give them their independence again. This was the king the crowds came out to see. The blind man called out “let me recover my sight” (vs. 41 ESV), while many of the people may have called out “let us recover our kingdom.” Yet far from being caught up in the adulation of the crowds, Christ’s compassion (Matthew 20:34) was such that he focused on the one man who saw His real role at that time: a man who, when his eyes were opened, saw with his first sight someone he had “seen” in His blindness – not a regally aloof king, but the compassionate human Son of God.
The blind man, whose name was Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), saw what few others saw: the real nature of Christ’s role in His coming. Yet before leaving on this trip to Jerusalem Jesus had openly explained to the disciples that he would humbly submit to shame and death and that now was not His time to rule (Luke 18:31-33), but they didn’t get it. Luke confirms this fact for us not once, but three times in the same verse: “The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about” (vs. 34). In Jericho – where He healed the blind man – Jesus gave the people the parable of the nobleman who went away to receive the kingdom and return (Luke19:12), “Because He was near to Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God should immediately appear” (vs.11).
Given this background, and the lack of understanding of the people and of the disciples themselves at this time, it is amazing that the solitary blind man in the crowd saw the true nature of the Son of David. The interesting thing is the faith of the man and many of those like him. It is not that these individuals heard of Christ’s healings and decided to give it a try – almost without exception Jesus commented on the faith of these people when they appealed to his mercy. While Jesus had so frequently said to his disciples “You of little faith,” the blind man and others like him were commended for theirs.
Perhaps the blind man and many of the others who were sick and disabled who came to Christ had been driven to their knees by their illnesses and afflictions. Evidently they had developed a faith that the crowds and even the disciples had not. Whatever the case, it is clear that the blind man’s faith enabled him to see something few others saw – an insight for which he was greatly rewarded.
Looking closely at Bartimaeus’ example of faith, we can see a great deal in the details of this story. Luke tells us that although the people told the blind beggar to keep quiet, he ignored them and continued to call on Jesus all the more fervently (Luke 18:39). How fervently? In his shorter account Matthew uses the word krazo which means to shout very loudly or scream. It’s a word used of women in childbirth. That’s how fervently. And we need to notice what he was shouting. Luke tells us that when he asked who was passing by, Bartimaeus was told it was “Jesus of Nazareth;” but he called out – shouted out with all his might – to “Jesus Son of David.” He called to the promised Messiah. He also called out “Have mercy on me!” – the call of repentance and sincere asking for help. It was at this point that Jesus stopped and turned to him.
We might wonder what would have happened if Bartimaeus had not kept calling out, if he had not called so fervently, or if he had not called out what he did. Would Jesus not have heard him and, as a result, nothing would have happened to the blind man? We might see lessons there – lessons of persistence, fervency and humility – things that this blind man clearly exhibited as part of his faith. A final detail we might consider is that in the Greek, Luke does not use the normal word “to heal” to refer to the healing of Bartimaeus, rather he uses the word sozo (Luke 18:42B). The word sozo means “to save” as well as “to heal,” and the account itself indicates that the blind man’s faith saw not only the road to healing in the person of the Son of David, but also the road to salvation.
