Mark 10:46-52 blind Bartimeus
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: March 15, 2018, Mark 10:46-52
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
And they came to Jericho. And as He with His disciples and a large crowd went out of Jericho, blind Bartimeus, the son of Timeus, was sitting by the side of the highway, begging. 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 many warned him that he should be quiet, but he cried a great deal more, Son of David, have mercy on me! And Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying to him, Be of good comfort; rise up, He is calling you. And casting away his garment, he rose up and came to Jesus. And answering Jesus said to him, What do you desire that I should do to you? The blind man said to Him, My Lord, that I may see again. And Jesus said to him, Go, your faith has healed you. And instantly he saw again, and he followed Jesus in the way.
(Understanding the Text) I had never realized until today that the incidents with both blind Bartimus and Zaccheus happened in Jericho as Jesus was on His way for the final time to Jerusalem and the cross. According to Michael Card’s commentary on Luke, this is essentially the final miracle (except for the high priest’s servant) that Jesus performs. Card also says that Jericho is 23 miles from Jerusalem and known as the city of palms. It was from Jericho that the people cut the palms for the triumphal entry. Jesus would stay here at Zaccheus’ house before going on to Jerusalem. It is interesting that Jesus would find comfort with a known sinner before going to meet the Jewish leaders and His sacrifice in Jerusalem.
With most of the people that Jesus healed, we don’t know their names, but we know the name of Bartimeus and that he was the son of Timeus. Why? He probably became an important leader in the early church. This is indicated by verse 52. “And instantly he saw again, and he followed Jesus in the way.” In the past, I did not realize the significance of the phrase “in the way”, but now I know that the early church called themselves the way. This is an indication that Bartimeus was a well-known person in the way after Jesus’ death. This makes sense when I look at his persistent personality and add that to the gratitude and love that he would have borne for Jesus in healing him physically and spiritually.
Bartimeus was sitting by the road near the entrance to Jericho begging as usual. It says that Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho. This indicates that Bartimeus was at the entrance on the side of Jericho that led to Jerusalem. This makes sense since that side would get the most traffic as people went back and forth between the two cities. A large crowd was surrounding Jesus, so the first indication that Bartimeus would have had that something big was happening would have been the sound of many people approaching-both talking and feet pounding. Since He was blind, he would have been used to speaking loudly when he did not know who was around him in order to get their attention. Maybe there was another beggar near him that could see or maybe some of the crowd was walking quite a ways ahead of Jesus, or maybe a traveler was hurrying out of the city gates to beat the crowd. Anyway, someone was around who Bartimeus could obtain information from. He asked what all the commotion was about, and someone told him that it was Jesus of Nazareth.
Bartimeus was not a shy person, and it seems that he had heard about Jesus before. Maybe, he and other beggars, or his sighted friends, had dreamed of Jesus coming and healing them as He had so many others. Bartimeus realized that this was his opportunity, but he did not have a friend standing around to intercede for him, so realizing that this might be his only chance, he began yelling for Jesus to heal Him. Little did he realize that the reason that this would be his only chance was because Jesus would soon be dead and then returned to heaven. He yelled over and over again trying to get Jesus’ attention. He was so loud that people in the crowd tried to hush him. Possibly, they thought that he was being disrespectful, or maybe his voice just irritated them.
I think that Jesus looked over the crowd when He heard Bartimeus’ disturbance, stopped walking, and told one of His disciples to go bring Bartimeus to Him. As the disciple started over, the message passed from person to person that Jesus was going to do a healing. The message got to someone near Bartimeus and that person told him that Jesus was asking for him. Bartimeus was not taking any chances that Jesus would change His mind. He immediately got up. It says that he cast away his garment. It sounds like he had been covering himself with a robe and he threw it aside and got up as fast as he could. This gives the picture of eagerness . It says that he came to Jesus. I imagine that one of the disciples or the crowd guided him over to Jesus. Jesus was probably not too far away but had asked for Bartimeus to come to Him because of the crowd being between them. I imagine the crowd parting as Bartimeus and his guide quickly walked over to Jesus.
Bartimeus’ request was not answered right away, but he persisted. However, once he was in communion with Jesus, his healing was instantaneous. Jesus said that it was because of Bartimeus’ faith. This bears out in that Bartimeus did not go back to his old life or get lost in the crowd. Instead, he followed Jesus from that day on.
(Revelation of God) It is interesting that Jesus asks him what he wants. It would seem obvious, but it is God’s way. Even today, God waits until we ask. He tells us to ask in prayer. Bartimeus wanted sight, and he received sight, but he also received a calling to follow Jesus. He answered the call and found a new life. He was probably one of those who waved palms and shouted hosannas at the triumphal entry. He was probably devastated at the cross, but became an important part of the way after the resurrection. Jesus fulfilled Bartimeus’ request, but Jesus did more than that. He gave Bartimeus a new life and purpose.
(Application) Many times, I give up too soon instead of continuing to make my requests known to God in prayer. I need to be persistent. Another application is that I should not try to hush or in any way discourage those who are obnoxious in their pursuit of Jesus. Instead, I need to guide them to Him and let Him do the healing needed in their lives. Not everyone that Jesus calls to Himself will be quiet and polite, but they will all be loved and healed, so I need to reserve judgment and let Jesus sort out His followers. My only job is to represent Jesus and guide people to Him.
(Prayer) I pray that I will ask in prayer as Bartimeus asked with faith and persistence, not giving up. I pray that I will not let the blessings of God pass me by but reach out and grasp them and follow where they lead.