Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus - Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46-52 (NKJV)

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

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, [a]“Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has [b]made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

The story can be found also in Matthew 20:29-34 and in Luke 18:35-43,

though there are differences but it doesn't mean that they contradict each other. It is possible that the authors are focusing on different areas of the story. 

Like in our passage (Mark 10:46-52) the blind man was named or identified as (Bartimaues the son of Timaeus) by the author and both in Luke and Matthew only (blind man) was mentioned.

In Matthew 20:20 the author mentions of two blind men while the book of Mark and Luke mentions only one.

But if we study the entire context it is obvious that the authors mean the same story.

1. The importance of corporate prayer, having believers with same or similar circumstances can encourage each other and help in prayer. 

The blind men are in the same situation and they cried out to God for the deliverance of their present situation. Acknowledging that Jesus Christ is the messiah or savior "Son of David" - one of the many titles associated with messiah or savior.

2. Persistent with our prayers and not give up easily.

In our Christian walk, one of the area that is very challenging is our prayer life.

The devil knows that is our powerful weapon against them, and this is the way we communicate with God. In prayer we can communicate to God, our needs, plans, desires, worship and thanksgiving.

The devil knows how important prayer, that's why he always hinders it, by putting us in a situation where we cherish sins (unconfessed sins) in our hearts, Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.

- Prayers with wrong motive, not in God's will

James 4:3

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

- Unloved wife

1 Peter 3:7

7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

And other times the devil can delay the answer to our prayers:

Daniel 10:12-14

12 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”

And that's why we need to be vigilant of the enemies schemes, and consider prayer as a need for our spiritual growth.

"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." - Martin Luther

"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" - Corrie ten Boom

God commanded us not only to be persistent with our prayers but to pray always also.

Luke 18:1-8 (NKJV)

1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor [a]regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, [b]‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will [c]avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ "

6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing,

Bartimaues cried out to Jesus, but was stopped by the people, but he persisted and cried out again before Jesus called him out.

Also, in every situation that God allows in our life is an exercise to increase our faith.

In Jesus miracles one element is always present and that is faith.

3. Always acknowledge, praise, and thanks to God.

What ever answered prayer or everything that happens to us (good or bad) we should

always acknowledge God in praise and thanksgiving.

Not only they received their sight physically, but most important is their spiritual eyes were opened and they saw the truth and salvation which Jesus Christ. 

Matthew 20:34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

Salvation is now, not later!

2 Corinthians 6:2 (NKJV)
2 For He says:
“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvatio

The moment Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth passing by, He didn't wait for a minute, he begun to call on Jesus for mercy. Verse 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!”

And the same with our lives, If we hear or read that word of God we should not delay our response. Because the opportunity might not come again!

Friends, the situation of the blind men are no different from our spiritual condition.

If we don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we are spiritually blind, we don't see the truth, the absolute truth.

We are hopeless and helpless, and we need Jesus Christ to make us see the truth, the absolute truth that He alone is our savior and Lord.

Resurrection Sunday

The greatest evidence for us Christian is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We believe everything about Jesus Christ because Jesus was risen from the dead.
It's God's approval that salvation genuine (for those who believe in Him will have eternal life).

1 Corinthians 15:16-19
16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have [a]fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

If there is a way to destroy Christianity then you have to prove that the resurrection of Jesus Christ didn't happen.

And there have been attempts disproving the Resurrection.
To prove that Jesus really died and wasn't risen from the dead, that his bones are still in his tomb.

One is from the first resurrection Sunday,

Matthew 28:11-15
11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Recently, the Director of the famous movies Titanic and Avatar, James Cameron, He claimed to have found the bones of Jesus Christ, it maybe the greatest discovery but an fatal blow to the Christians.

The bones were actually discovered by a construction worker from a tomb with the inscription "Jesua, son of Joseoph, Mary, Matthew, Jofa and Judah, son of Jesua".

However, the archaeologists who uncovered the tomb found no connection to Jesus other than the name similarities.
But James Cameron's team insisted that these was different and used DNA evidence and Biblical studies to prove that the tomb belongs to Jesus and his family.

But after careful investigation of James Cameron claims it was proven to be false.

All of these claims are false, not true. Because the reality and what the bible says, Jesus Christ was risen from the dead and He is in heaven and in the hearts of the believers
and He will come back for His bride (the church, the believers) and judge the living and the dead.

Why is it significant or importance to Christians?

It's simply mean that our christian faith is not futile, that we're no longer in sins because we're washed by the Jesus blood (forgiven)

And we have eternal life in Him.
And we can continue to live for his glory and continue to spread His salvation.