Bible Reflections From Scripture Union Volume OneSample

The Desire of a Blind Man
Read Mark 10:46-52

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Mark 10:47

I suppose it is ridiculous to ask a blind man what his greatest desire in life is. Mark, in this passage wants us to go beyond the facts of the story and see some spiritual implications of the healing.

What we see in Bartimaeus is a suggestive aspiration. Bartimaeus was blind, and he had a desire to see. There is a symbolic application here. Bartimaeus was blind and he knew it. Jesus asks him the same question He had asked His disciples, “What do you want me to do for you (v 36)?” Bartimaeus' answer was far different from that of the disciples. He said, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight.” The disciples were 'blind' as well, but they did not know it. They thought they could see but could not. Bartimaeus knew he could not see.

I believe what Mark is communicating is that we need to ask God to open our eyes, that we may see the implications of our desires. We need to have our eyes opened, that we may see what is important, really important to God. Because what is important to God ought to be important to us. The disciples' blindness is symbolic of the blindness of all God's children. With our eyes upon self, we cannot see. Our prayer needs to be, “Lord, I want to regain my sight. I want to see through Your eyes. I want to understand what’s really important to you. Lord, help me to see.”

Spiritual blindness can only be healed by spiritual medication.

Pray that we will not be spiritually blind and be able to see our condition as one that needs God’s help.