Can you imagine what it must be like to be blind?
And yet all of us were at some point, maybe some of you still are – spiritually blind and have not yet asked Jesus to heal you.
As Jesus approached Jericho He came near to a blind man, Bartimaeus.
Bartimaeus, upon enquiring what all the noise was about and being told that Jesus was passing through, called out ‘Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.’
Do our hearts cry out for Jesus? To just hear His voice and have Him meet with us?
Those ahead of Jesus ‘rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.’
How we need to be careful that we don’t carelessly prevent others coming to Jesus by our words or actions.
But Bartimaeus didn’t give up! He had a need and he wasn’t going to let the world around him prevent him from meeting Jesus.
Is our seeking of Jesus like this? Or do we let the world distract us?
As he persisted ‘Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called.’
You see how his persistent cries brought a response. Don’t give up dear soul, keep crying out to Jesus, He will appear in His own perfect way and time.
‘And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.’
See how he eagerly comes now, he’s not going to let anything hinder him.
Do we come to God this eagerly each day? Do we eagerly make time for prayer, reading our Bibles and meeting for worship?
‘And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?’
What would your answer be if Jesus asked you this question?
Bartimaeus replied ‘Lord, that I might receive my sight.’
Is this our prayer? Maybe our eyes have already been opened to our need of a Saviour but you can be sure there are still areas of our lives where we need our eyes to be opened.
Opened to those ‘little’ sins, those ways in which our lives don’t glorify God. Do we pray for it?
Or to have our eyes opened to the desperate need of those around us and opened to those that need our prayers or encouragement.
“Lord, open our blind eyes!”
‘And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight.’
His eyes were opened, he could see!
Just as Jesus opened the blind eyes of Bartimaeus, so His love can open our eyes to those blind spots in our lives.
He can also open the eyes of lost souls around us. So don’t give up praying for them.
What did Bartimaeus do next?
He ‘followed Jesus in the way.’ ‘glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.’
How we need to be sure not to forget to praise and glorify God when our eyes and the eyes of others are opened so that we and others with us can also praise and glorify God!
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Luke 18:35-43, Mark 10:46-52.