THE BLEAT OF A LOST LAMB

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and His disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. 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!’

Jesus stopped and said. ‘Call him.’ So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.’

Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him. The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’

‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road (Mark 10. 42-52).

A well-worn story but so full of little surprises! Every child who ever attended Sunday school knows the story of blind Bartimaeus, but does every child understand the significance of the details? I don’t think so. Not even every Gentile adult understands the layers underneath the facts.

As a blind man, Bartimaeus was not permitted to beg without authorisation. There were many opportunists around who would rather beg than work. Therefore genuine beggars needed some sort of identification to be recognised as bona fide beggars. There was no tag identifying him as a beggar so he wore beggar’s cloak. An important detail in the story.

As a beggar, he was considered a “nobody” in society. In fact he was a nuisance. Notice how the people in the crowd treated him. ‘Shut up,’ they told him, as though he were nothing but a noisy intrusion. People were milling around, trying to get a glimpse of Jesus, not bothered with a smelly beggar. But the more they tried to shut him up, the louder and more insistent were his cries. From the crowds round about him he gathered that all the excitement was about Jesus of Nazareth.

Bartimaeus had heard of Him. Wasn’t He the rabbi who went around doing miracles and healing people? This was his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and he was not about to let it slip through his fingers. There was no way he could get near to Jesus but he could shout. And shout he did! What did he shout?

‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Who was the Son of David? Solomon? No way! Solomon began his reign after David with such promise and ended up in failure. Jesus was definitely not a replica of Solomon. Who, then, was the Son of David? This was a Messianic term. Prophets in the Old Testament spoke of one who would come from the dynasty of David, from the tribe of Judah, who would be God’s Messiah and deliverer.

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit (Isa. 11: 1).

Was this unwashed, blind beggar, a reject of society and a nuisance to people, filled with a longing for the Son of David to come? Did he have a hope and a conviction beating inside of him that this man who healed people and spoke of the kingdom of God was the one God would send? His words, “Son of David” betrayed that desire.

Try as they would, the crowd could not silence him. And in the midst of the noise, Jesus heard his voice. Was His heart so in tune with the Father that He heard the bleat of the lost lamb? I think so. So He called him. Funny how the attitude of the crowd changed – from “nuisance” to “Cheer up, He’s calling you.” He was suddenly the focus of attention – from nobody to somebody!

Barimaeus’ cry touched the nerve centre of Jesus’s being. “Have mercy on me.” Was His mission not to reveal the true nature of the Father – one who was full of mercy and compassion? It was a cry He would never ignore.

How significant the blind man’s action – he threw his beggar’s cloak away! Why would he do that? In a symbolic act of faith he declared, “I will never need this again.” He would need a cloak but not one that shouted out his blindness. His action did not go unnoticed. It was his unspoken declaration of faith in Jesus.

The next step sealed it for him. Jesus’ question, ‘What do you want me to do for you,’ was not asked out of ignorance. It was the final step in Bartimaeus’s faith journey. “Tell me exactly what you want,” said Jesus. No beating about the bush. “I want to see,” was his terse reply.

And the rest, they say, is history. Jesus commended his faith. There were steps to his faith. He heard about Jesus. He came to a conclusion – Son of David. He heard that Jesus was there – he began to yell for attention. He refused to be silenced. When he was called, he knew it was his moment. He threw away his dependence on his old life. Never again would he need to beg. He knew what he wanted – and he got it.

And the outcome – he followed Jesus.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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