Mark 10:46-49a (NIV): Then 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. 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.”
Even though Bartimaeus couldn’t see, he could hear perfectly well and, as he sat begging by the road into Jericho, he heard a large and noisy crowd coming out of the city. When he asked someone what was happening, they told him that it was Jesus.
Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus, the miracles He had done, the demons He had cast out, and the thousands He had healed from every disease and disability. He had even healed blind people – even one who had been born blind (John 9)! Bartimaeus saw that this could be a chance, maybe his only chance, to see.
The crowd between Him and Jesus was large and moving along at a good pace. Even a seeing person would have a hard time getting to Jesus; what hope did a blind man have? But he had to get Jesus’ attention. What could he do?
He did the most natural thing he could think of: he yelled. And not just a small, timid yell; he gave it all he had, and out came a scream that had the people around him holding their ears, and those far away turning to find the source of this desperate cry: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
This caused quite a stir among the people, especially when he used the term ”Son of David,” a popular term for the long-expected Messiah. Who did this shabby, blind fellow think he was – interrupting the teaching Jesus was doing as He walked along with the crowd; drawing attention to himself; and calling Jesus the Messiah to top it off! They tried to shut him up, to shut him down, but he wouldn’t be silenced. This was his one chance, and he wasn’t going to let it escape. Louder and louder he cried out, to make himself heard over the competing shouts: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus heard him and stopped. Why were people always trying to keep people from coming to Him? And, just as he had done when His disciples tried to stop parents from bringing their children to Him to be blessed (Mark 10:13-16), He put a stop to their interference, this time with two simple words: “Call him.”
Father, sometimes we get so caught up in our conversations with our Christian brothers and sisters, and with our theological discussions, that we walk unheeding right past the people all around us who have great needs, who want to know You, who are searching for You, if only someone would show them the way. Forgive us, Lord, for sometimes seeing the needy people around us as a problem, a nuisance, an interruption of our ministry, instead of seeing them as the very reason You came – to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10). Amen.