Matchless: The Life and Love of JesusSample

Day 4: The Miracle Worker

First, watch the video. 

Next, turn to Mark 10:46-52 and read through it.

Are you ready for this? This is the only place in Mark where anyone calls Jesus by the title, “Son of David,” and everyone who heard that term knew exactly what He meant—that phrase was reserved for the coming Messiah.1

Bartimaeus, the blind man, saw Jesus as the Son of God.

He saw more than the Pharisees.

I imagine the scene to look like it would if a modern-day celebrity was trying to go somewhere with a couple of bouncers surrounding Him. They kept an eye on the crowd, making sure Jesus didn’t waste His time with the poor and sick. I can’t think of many times a celebrity would stop dead in his tracks and turn his attention to one unlikely person, holding up his entourage to speak to a random fan. It wasn’t a quiet moment—I’m sure people clamored for Him no matter where He was. But Jesus heard the voice of one man who had the courage to believe. 

“Have mercy on me!” He screams.

And Jesus stops.

He tells His disciples to allow the man to come to Him, and they call him over. 

Why wouldn’t Jesus just walk over to him? I mean, the poor guy is blind, and He’s the God of the Universe. He could have just hovered and floated over to him. I mean, there were options.

But He doesn’t. He stands still.

Bartimaeus immediately throws off his cloak and runs toward the sound of Jesus’ voice—the cloak that was one of his only possessions. The cloak that warmed him at night and spread out for coins during the day.

The cloak that reminded him everyday that he was dependent on man to have mercy on him. The cloak of his old life—the life of an outcast and a sinner.

The cloak that he would never need to wear again; the mercy of God would cover him now. 

He was no longer a beggar; he was one of God’s children.

But he had to walk to Jesus in response to the invitation. Out of faith, he left what he had clung to and clung to what he had now.

From blindness to sight, darkness to light. The healing that came from the faith of a man that everyone had walked past for years. 

There’s no way to know if anyone else ever knew him as anything other than a beggar, but Jesus makes it clear that the man has value, worth, and identity. He calls him by name, as He does for us.

It is no small thing for God to call you by name. 

And He does, beloved. 

He is a great God who made Himself small enough to be personal.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened ...

Son of David, have mercy on us all. 

1. James A. Brooks, “Christ, Son of David,” New American Commentary Vol 23: Mark (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2012), retrieved from https://app. wordsearchbible.lifeway.com.