Cheer Up!

Scripture:

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

46Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 

47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 

50Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

51“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately, he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Mark 10:46-52

Devotional:

In today’s reading, we encounter Bartimaeus, a man who is blind and has to beg to survive. But this blind man saw something that many sighted people missed. He saw his need for Jesus. In the midst of this large crowd, he cried out to Jesus for mercy. Bartimaeus recognized Jesus as the “Son of David,” the title for the long-awaited King who came to bring deliverance to his people. His faith that Jesus could bring him mercy caused him to cry out, even when the crowd tried to keep him silent. His response to their attempt to silence him was to cry out, “all the more”! He had a desperation for Jesus that could not be contained. His persistence caught Jesus’ attention. Bartimaeus’ cry caused Jesus to stop and call for him.

As soon as Jesus called for him, the crowd told him to “cheer up!” When Jesus sees us and calls to us, we know something good is about to happen! We don’t have to wait for him to act to immediately cheer up. Jesus sees me! He’s calling me to him!  As soon as Bartimaeus knew that Jesus was calling him, he threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus. He was holding nothing back - he knew where he needed to be. The cloak, which provided warmth and protection from the elements and was likely one of his only possessions,  was cast aside. Nothing is more important than getting to Jesus. 

When he asks Jesus for his sight, Jesus says something amazing, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Jesus responds to faith. Bartimaeus put his faith in Jesus, calling to him, not giving up, casting off his cloak, and jumping up to run to Jesus. And Jesus responded by healing him. But this was not the end of Bartimaeus’ story. In verse 52, we see that he followed Jesus along the road. In chapter 11, we see that this road leads to the revelation of Jesus as king, but also to the cross that brings salvation. When we encounter Jesus as king in our own lives, we will follow him with our whole lives, wherever that leads, because he truly is the king. He loves us, and he wants what is best for us.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help me continue to cry out to you for healing. Keep me from focusing on the noise around me, and help me to always focus fully on you. Today, whether I have received healing yet or not, let me take heart and cheer up, knowing that you see me and will always work for my good. I commit to following you wherever you lead me, and I thank you for loving me and for nothing being too difficult for you.