Blind Bartimaeus

Introduction

Have you ever felt overlooked? Or looked down upon? Or pushed to one side?

Well this is how Bartimaeus must have felt in our passage.

He was considered as a sinner, people thought that his blindness was his own fault.

He had to beg in order to survive.

As we read the passage we get the feeling that people probably just feel he is a bit of a nuisance, an inconvenience.

But one point that stands out in this narrative among other things is that this is not how the Lord Jesus viewed him.

In this passage we see the power of the Lord Jesus to heal, which reminds us of the power of Jesus to save ur from our sin. But we also see the compassion and love of the Lord Jesus. We see that Jesus cares.

If he cares for Bartimaeus then he cares for you.

I. The compassion of the Saviour

The Lord Jesus is journeying to Jerusalem.

The narrative picks up as he enters into Jericho- Tell the Narrative

-People tried to put Bartimaeus off- they thought he was a nuisance

-The Lord Jesus cared for him- He stood still and called for him.

One person has commented on this verse “Joshua once bade the sun stand still in the heavens but here the Lord of the sun and the moon and the heavens stands still at the bidding of a blind beggar.”

Jesus said “He who comes to me I will never cast out.”

He stood still and called for Bartimaeus.

He asked what he wanted

Bartimaeus replied....

The Lord healed him.

Jesus said “He who comes to me I will never cast out.”

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Just as the Lord Jesus had compassion and love for Bartimaeus so he has love and compassion for you.

If you come to Jesus- for your need. Salvation. He will surely save you. He is a loving and compasionate Saviour.

He can forgive you for all your sin, if only you turn from your sin and believe in him.

II. The condition of salvation

We see the compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But, I want us to notice what he said to Bartimaeus in v.52.

This is important.

We have seen the compassion of the Saviour now we see the condition of salvation.

Here the Lord Jesus is making clear a fundamental truth about the salvation that he gives.

v.52 “Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Your faith has saved you.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), .

The point that is being made here is the salvation that Jesus gives can only be received by grace through faith.

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Explain faith- chair, parachute, Christ

Simple child like faith. Ofcourse true faith is always accompanied by repentance. But the point is salvation is a gift.

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The irony of this account is that many of the religious leaders and those in the crowds following Jesus, failed to see who he really was.

But here we have a blind man who has spiritual eyes to see. He realises that Jesus is the Messiah, the Saviour, he calls him the Son of David and he believed he had power to heal his eyes.

This blind man put his faith in Jesus Christ, Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ?

Can you say that you are trusting in him? Can you say that all your hope of salvation is found in Jesus? He is your Lord and Saviour and you are trusting in his death and resurrection to take away your sin.

Conclusion

So we learn many things from this account but what we have focused on is the compassion of the Saviour and the Condition of Salvation.

The Lord Jesus is a compassionate and loving Saviour, he cares for you. He calls you to come to him.

Yet there is a condition and that is faith. In order to come to this compassionate Saviour you must put you faith in him.

If you haven’t done so already then I to leave you with the question for you to ponder. When will you do it?