Devotional:

“35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.” — Luke 18:35-43

In John 11:45-57, we learn that Jesus fled Bethany after raising Lazarus to life after he had been dead for four days. Remember, in our last devotional; we talked about this being a big deal and the significance of him being dead for four days. This caused a massive stir among the Pharisees because no one except God Himself had ever done or could do something like this. Some of the Jews who were there to witness the miracle stayed and believed in Jesus, but some were doubtful and went back to tell the Pharisees what they saw. This demanded immediate attention from the Pharisees, which I am sure did not surprise Jesus. The whole point of the miracle was to display God’s glory and Jesus’s power and authority over death, unmistakably and indisputably.

The Pharisees called a meeting with the Sanhedrin. They were the governing body of the Jewish nation made up of Pharisees and Sadducees, including the Chief Priest. They feared Jesus’s growing popularity would cause the Romans to get upset and retaliate against all the Jews of Israel. That’s when Chief Priest Caiaphas spoke up and said it would be better for one man to die than for the whole nation to be destroyed. So, they began plotting Jesus’s murder and he had to leave. He could no longer openly walk among the Jews, especially in Jerusalem, because His death and resurrection were perfectly planned. He was going to be the final sacrificial lamb at the next Passover. Jesus had spoken of his “hour” many times since the beginning of His ministry and this was not it. So, He withdrew to the wilderness of Ephraim, about 13 miles outside of Jerusalem.

After spending some time in the wilderness, Jesus knew His “hour” was approaching and He had to return to Jerusalem. Jesus and the disciples, along with a large crowd, came into Jericho and a blind beggar was sitting on the side of the road. We learn in Mark’s account of this story that his name was Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus sat on the road that leads from Jericho to Jerusalem with one last hope approaching.

The blind man heard the crowd following Jesus and asked what all the fuss was about. When someone told him it was Jesus, he immediately became overwhelmed with excitement. He knew who Jesus was. He had heard about His healings and His teachings. He stood up and cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd tried to hush him, but he cried out again, even louder. Jesus heard this man’s screams for mercy and called him over. Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” When he told Jesus he wanted his sight recovered, Jesus said ok and restored his sight. He then said, “your faith has made you well.” And this man, no longer blind, immediately joined the crowd, followed Jesus and praised His name.

I was in Jericho a few days ago and as I stood on Jericho Road, I wondered where Bartimaeus may have sat as Jesus and the crowd approached that day. The road is now paved and cars travel it frequently, but across the valley, there is a tiny dirt road on the side of a mountain that is probably very similar to what Jericho Road would have looked like when Jesus walked into town that day. There was a herd of sheep with a shepherd leading them across the mountain. There was a cave off in the distance, a stream down in the valley between the two mountains and some hikers appeared and made their way down that narrow dirt path toward Jericho.  Who knows where they met that day, but I would be willing to bet it was on that road, somewhere close to where I stood.

Bartimaeus did not care what the crowd thought and he was prepared to make a scene. He had been blind for who knows how long and he wasn’t about to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I am sure he was thinking, “I can’t believe it. I’ve heard all these stories of Jesus healing people and never thought it could happen to me! There is no way I’m letting Jesus pass without seeing me.”

This story shows us the flawless character of Jesus and it is a beautiful testimony of Bartimaeus’s faith and determination to meet Jesus in the middle of his mess.

Bartimaeus knew who Jesus was through rumors and stories, but he had never met Him or been in His presence, but he called Him the Son of David anyway. He knew Jesus was the fulfilled prophecy of the Messiah. Jesus knew this about him, so He said his faith healed him. One thing we have learned throughout all of these miracles is that Jesus emphasized belief over physical healing every single time. Bartimaeus was unashamed and unapologetic that day. He couldn’t help but cry out Jesus’s name, no matter what the result would be. He did not sit quietly just because the crowd hushed and rebuked Him. He would proudly proclaim the name of Jesus even louder in the hope that Jesus would see his faith, show mercy and heal him.

Bartimaeus was determined to meet Jesus. He knew he couldn’t reach Jesus through such a large crowd of people. So, he used his voice and cried out until Jesus heard him. He didn’t stop crying for mercy until he had Jesus’s attention.

Jesus showed how much He cared and was willing to stop everything to meet with Bartimaeus. It would have been so easy for Him to just keep going and tune out everything around Him because of what He was walking toward. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to have that burden of knowledge weighing on Him. Yet He continued to pour out mercy and grace to others as if nothing was going to happen. Jesus loves us so much that He gave His own life to meet our most important need, salvation.

All the miracles we have looked at have challenged me, but this one might be the most challenging so far. I need the faith and determination to come to Jesus as Bartimaeus did. No matter the cost or the shushing, whispers or ridicule I may get from others. I must be willing to risk everything to meet with Jesus, recognize His voice and obey His will for my life.

Are you willing to make a scene and do whatever it takes to bring attention to your Lord and Savior?

Jesus is waiting for you to cry out to Him so He can stop everything, call you over and meet with you in whatever season you are in. You will experience ridicule, whispers and maybe even loss of relationships at some point because of your faith and determination as a follower, but nothing is more important than us recognizing Jesus is near. And there is no way we can let Him walk on by without causing a beautiful scene so that others can see His love demonstrated and poured out on us.

Jesus always knew what was coming for Him. He poured out his blood, sweat and tears because nothing else was enough to show how much He was willing to do to save us and bring us into His family.

These last few days before Easter Sunday, I pray that we become overwhelmed with the burden of knowledge that Jesus did the unimaginable for us on that cross.