Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight
46Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." 50Throwing his cloak aside, 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 see." 52"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
(Mark 10:46-52)
In the days of Jesus, handicapped people like Bartimaeus are required to wear a cloak that identifies themselves to be needy people of society. These group of people rely on the mercy of the community for their welfare. In those days, people believed that if a person is afflicted with a disease, a griveous sin must have been committed by the afflicted or the parents of the afflicted. The cloak on Bartimaeus was his identity - an epitome of hopelessness, deprivation and despair. He is the personafication of a sidelined life.
Until one day, while he was begging, he heard that Jesus will be passing by. He cried out "Son of David, have mercy on me!". He shouted all the more "Son of David, have mercy on me!" even as the crowd told him to hushed up (v.47-48).
Verses 47 and 48 is where the essence of the story is being unfolded. With the kind of identity Bartimaeus had, it is easy to conclude that his self-esteem is almost non-existent. Ghis status in society, I am quite sure he didn't speak much to people around him and vice versa. Then, in that a tiniest fabric of time in his entire lifetime, he had the opportunity to come within the presence of Jesus. Conjuring up all the courage he had, he cried out "Son of David, have mercy on me!". That, itself, is a feat given his self-esteem. But to shout out all the more even after the crowd hushed him, that is amazing courage. He called out to Jesus.
Let's re-chew and re-enact in a more granular detail of what might had happened. At the first cry, Bartimaeus didn't get a respond, but a public shun. In that very fraction of time, in his mind, Bartimaeus would have thought he had lost it all. Jesus would have never heard him, walked on and he was probably subject to public ridicule even more. He would have retracted in for a little while, thinking that it was no use. In that split moment between settling with eternal shame and the possibility of healing, he conjures up everything within him and shouted again for Jesus.
Jesus stopped. When Jesus stops, entire reality stops. The crowd stopped following him. Everyone fell silent. In that very moment, Bartimaeus is in the same space with Jesus, with the rest of the world around him being shutted out. He would have all the time to have an audience with Jesus. He threw his cloak aside and went right up to Him. The throwing aside of the cloak shows that Bartimeaus expected a redefinition of his being by believing for the restoration of his sight.
It is interesting to note that people around Bartimaeus switched their stance towards him. At first they shunned him. Then when Jesus stops and call him, they told him to cheer up!
We all have a Bartimaues in us - the individual who, for the longest time, have been sidelined in life. Some of us have been sidelined in terms of job promotions. Some, for the longest while, have been denied the joy of a wholesome relationship. Some crave so much for acceptance in a family. Some of us did things with regrets that make us cringe and entrapped us. But when we called out for Jesus, He stops for us. We have an audience with Him. As Jesus responds, it is time to throw our cloak aside.
The emphasis of the Ps Michael's message was about calling out to Jesus, with very little mention about the outcome in verses 50 and 52. While the outcome is probably noteworthy, it is the relationship with Jesus that should be accentuated first. And rightly so.
posted by Mel-Vern @ 11:20 PM
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