World English Bible translation
Today's Scripture
10:46 They came to Jericho. As he went out from Jericho, with his disciples and a great multitude, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. 10:47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, and say, "Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!" 10:48 Many rebuked him, that he should be quiet, but he cried out the more a great deal, "You son of David, have mercy on me!"
10:49 Jesus stood still, and said, "Call him."
They called the blind man, saying to him, "Cheer up! Get up. He is calling you!"
10:50 He, casting away his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
10:51 Jesus answered him, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The blind man said to him, "Rhabboni, that I may see again."
10:52 Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your faith has made you well." Immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
Today's Lesson
Jesus and the disciples have begun the trip to Jerusalem. The rest of this gospel will concentrate on this trip and what occurs after Jesus arrives in Jerusalem. Jesus had told the disciples that at Jerusalem He would be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes and would be killed. On the third day he would rise again from the dead.
Today's Scripture is the story of Blind Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus was a beggar in Jericho. Because this man is mentioned by name, there is a good possibility that the people that Mark is writing for would have either known Bartimaeus or perhaps relatives of Bartimaeus. As Jesus and the disciples were traveling through Jericho, Bartimaeus heard that He was coming though and began to follow the group crying out to Jesus for help.
When the disciples heard the beggar, they tried to quiet him down and tried to hurry Jesus through the streets. But, Jesus stops the group and demands to hear from the beggar. They brought Bartimaeus before Him and Jesus asked him what He could do for him. Bartimaeus told Jesus that he wanted to see again. Jesus told him to go his way then. "Your faith has made you well."
This story is another example of those that came to Jesus expressing faith and hope and asking for His help. We are not told of a single instance in which someone came to Jesus in this way and was turned away disappointed. In most cases Jesus is on the way to something else. But, when someone comes to Jesus with a problem, that person instantly becomes the focus of Jesus' attention. There is a similar example that we have already studied when Jesus was on the way to see the daughter of the leader of a Synagogue. On the way a woman that had been ill for a long time reached out and touched the cloak of Jesus and was healed. Jesus stopped what He was doing and spoke with her. In the same way, Jesus stops and focuses His complete attention on Bartimaeus.
We are not bothering Jesus when we come to Him with our problems. When we pray Jesus listens with His complete attention. There is nothing too small or too difficult that we should not bring it directly to His attention. And, this is our model in dealing with other people. People are not interruptions in our lives. Other people are the first priority of our Christian life, not afterthoughts. Our response to other people is a direct reflection on our understanding about God. If we understand that God's biggest priority is other people, then we will live our lives centered around other people too.
When was the last time you felt frustration because someone asked you for something when you were busy? How would Jesus have responded to that person?
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