GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Mark 10:46-52 NKJ
46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
Mark packs a lot into his book. Chapter ten is rich with insights on marriage and divorce, receiving God’s Kingdom as a little child, the challenge of trusting in money more than trusting in God, and the greatness of serving. Oh, and for the fourth time, Jesus explains to His disciples that He is going to be rejected, killed, and rise again on the third day. But wait, there’s more.
The story of Bartimaeus receiving his sight when Jesus heals him is a great story. Bartimaeus was blind and had to beg for a living. We know his name and his father’s name, but that’s about all the background we have. We can speculate that Bartimaeus did not come from wealth. Typically, the wealthy would take care of their own to keep them from the indignity of begging. Or maybe the family of Bartimaeus was embarrassed by his condition and wanted nothing to do with him. The religious leadership of that day tended to be harsh on people with disabilities.
In any case, Bartimaeus was a man relegated to begging to survive. But he had heard about Jesus. And Bartimaeus must have heard that this Jesus was the Messiah and that He had the ability to heal even blind eyes. For this reason, when Jesus was coming near, Bartimaeus began to make some noise. To get Jesus’ attention, Bartimaeus had to be loud. There was a mass crowd of people surrounding and following Jesus on the main road where Bart was begging.
Bartimaeus’ loud cries for mercy bothered the people around Jesus, so much so that they tried to shut him down. But here is where we see the faith of this blind beggar. Instead of cowering before the people that he most likely begged from, Bartimaeus got louder. That was a bold move. Bartimaeus was ignoring the people who could influence his very living. But Bartimaeus must have believed that if he could get to Jesus, his begging days would be over.
Jesus stopped and commanded for Bartimaeus to be called. Here is something to think about. I can only imagine that in a multitude of people, there were many calling and clamoring for Jesus. Jesus must have heard something in the cry of this blind man that caused Him to stop. He must have heard a cry of faith. And when Jesus called for him, what Bartimaeus did next is extraordinary.
Bartimaeus stands up and throws away his garment, then came to Jesus. Some historians believe the garment signified that Bartimaeus had been examined and was truly blind, much like a white cane today. Regardless of the significance of the garment, the amazing thing was that Bartimaeus threw it aside. By throwing his garment, Bartimaeus was saying that either he would never need it again or that if he needed it, he could find it. Bartimaeus was expecting his blind days to be over. If you are blind, you do not toss something to the side out of concern that you’ll never find it again, especially with a multitude of people all around you. Bartimaeus did not believe he would need that garment again, and so he came to Jesus and received his sight.
APPLICATION
I know I can get preachy here, but my question is, what are we expecting from the Lord? If we expect His help, grace, and provision, we will be throwing aside the garments of fear, doubt, insecurity, and poor self-image. If we are expecting from the Lord, we are going to toss aside the garment of the failures of the past because with Jesus’ help, we don’t need them anymore. No need to hold onto the past and its heartaches when we are expecting better things from God as we seek His kingdom.
I warned you that I can get preachy with this story, but the premise still applies. What are we expecting from the Lord? Good things? Bad things? Nothing in particular? Don’t allow the voices of negativity and darkness to shut you down. Call out to God for His help and grace and then expect that He will hear and answer you. Jesus has not changed. He is the same today as He was when He took time for Bartimaeus. If Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, can expect great things from the Lord, how much more can we, His children?
PRAYER
Lord, I do expect great things from You. And You can expect great things from me concerning my heart for You and Your kingdom. 2025 is going to be a great year!