The God Who Sees Me April 14

St. Mark 10:49-52

And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man (Bartimaeus), saying unto him be of good comfort, rise; He calleth thee.

And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

And Jesus said unto him, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” The blind man said unto Him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

Have you ever wanted something so bad that you were willing to give up everything to have it? Bartimaeus did, this man acted in faith that Jesus would change his life. The Hebrews waited until a ceremony called ‘Bris’ before they named their children. Bris is the seventh day after birth where the child is circumcised. When the young child was circumcised, the name would be given. Bartimaeus, Bar- means son of, Timaeus means: foul, in a religious sense, defiled, polluted, unclean, infamous.

Bartimaeus was the son of Timaeus, apparently, this disease ran through the family. Oral tradition said that he was born in sin because a curse was upon him, he was cursed. People told Bartimaeus to shut up, but he cried louder yet still. Jesus took notice, stopped, and commanded him to be brought forth. And here is the second act of faith, And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

Bartimaeus cast his garment, why would you throw your coat down? This garment represented his identity. It was known as a beggar’s garment, he had to go to the priests and be certified that he was blind and unable to make a living, priests gave him this garment to beg, a way of life, a way to survive.

By faith, Bartimaeus was leaving his past behind, his old identity. He was no longer going to be the blind beggar, no longer foul, defiled, polluted, unclean, infamous. But wait, he was still blind he had to go one step further and trust Jesus Christ to heal him.

There are times when you must take the first step toward God and then He will answer your prayer. I can see Jesus smiling at Bartimaeus and saying: Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. Imagine Bartimaeus’s first sight in the world was to look straight into the eyes of his creator, Jesus. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

He followed Jesus in the way, they’re not talking about the road they were on; they’re talking about the way of Christ. Before they coined us as Christians, it was called The Way.

The word ‘whole’ is a remarkably interesting choice of words by Jesus. Whole means: to heal, to deliver, to protect, to do well. Bartimaeus received a new name that day, a new identity. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter, which means, ‘Rock.’ Now Bartimaeus has a new name too, he is now Whole, a Son of God, doing well and famous for his faith.

Only Jesus can change your life like this.

He is: El Roi

The God Who Sees Me

Blessing’s