Obstacle, Faith, and Healing
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’
38 He called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’
39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 ‘What do you want me to do for you?’
‘Lord, I want to see,’ he replied.
42 Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.’ 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
Message
A blind man was sitting by the roadside begging (35).
According to Mark 10:46, his name was Bartimaeus (which means son of Timaeus).
Sight is important and blindness is inconvenient. Due to blindness, he wasn’t very useful for any job. How hopeless. It forced him to be a beggar, who had to heavily rely on people’s mercy & help.
When he found out that Jesus was passing by (36, 37), he called out for Jesus to have mercy on him (38).
Jesus was the only hope for his healing & new life. But, he couldn’t see or walk to Jesus. Therefore, he had to shout aloud to be heard by Jesus.
Surprisingly, those who led the way rebuked his shout (39a).
Maybe they were too busy in business to lead the parade but forgot humanity …? This rebuke was the same mistake made in Luke 18:15, regarding little children. This time, it was a blind man. They rebuked helpless people who needed Jesus the most. It was against His will as well as freewill of those helpless people.
Here, we can learn people’s objection can be an obstacle in the journey of our faith in Jesus.
But he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ (39b).
He was persistent despite of people’s objection. His persistence showed his faith.
As a result, Jesus healed him and his new life began (40 – 43).
Summary
People working for the parade of Jesus did not stand in this man’s shoe. Instead they played an obstacle for this man to experience Jesus. It was his own faith in Jesus and his persistence that healed him (42).
