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29 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” 31 Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” 32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. ~ Matthew 20:29-34
Today, we conclude our study of Matthew 20 where we find a large crowd following the Lord Jesus as He and His disciples were heading to Jerusalem for the Passover. On their way they made a stop in Jericho which was about fifteen miles from Jerusalem. According to Mark and Luke's account of this story there was one blind beggar name Bartimaeus but according to Matthew there were two. It appears that only one of the two spoke out to the Lord Jesus and this is why it appears there was just one blind man there that day. These blind men couldn't see anything physically but they could see with their hearts. Such is the nature of faith, the heart's ability to see God.
In v.29-30 of today's passage we read, "29 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, 'Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!'"
Previously, the Lord had been discussing greatness with His disciples and these blind men were not known for greatness. As we will see, they had a lot going against them in life. In fact, they lived in Jericho which means "cursed." The Lord Jesus had a habit of going to places that others avoided, while the religious leaders of Israel complained because He spent so much time with sinners and tax-collectors.
Only one of the two blind men was named and his name was "Bartimaeus," which means son of a dirty man. Since he was the only one named, Bartimaeus is highlighted by name in both Mark's and Luke's account of this story. Bartimaeus lived in a cursed city and his name meant son of a dirty man. Then we add to this, he was a blind beggar. And you thought you had it rough. The story of blind Bartimaeus teaches us three valuable lessons about how to overcome a victim's mentality and to realize greatness in God's eyes.
We lack a victor’s mentality when we focus on and are defined by our deficiencies. Most of us spend more time complaining about being blind than focusing on the asset of being able to hear with both ears. Bartimaeus was blind but his hearing was excellent. This verse informs us that he heard that the Lord Jesus was approaching. Bartimaeus couldn’t see, but he could hear and he used that one asset to get to the Lord Jesus. In order to shirk a victim's mentality, Bartimaeus focused on his assets. This is the posture of an overcomer.
In addition, to being able to hear, Bartimaeus could also speak. In this verse we see Bartimaeus and his friend crying out to the Lord Jesus. In fact, they cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" They cried out so much that even the disciples were telling them to be quiet. Bartimaeus lived in the cursed place, he had a cursed name, and, the world around him tried to make him believe that he was cursed with blindness. But, over and over, he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” Bartimaeus and his friend were unrelenting.
If we conclude, like Bartimaeus, that the Lord Jesus is the answer to all of our questions, then, we must learn what our assets are and use them effectively to get His attention. If we want to attract the attention of heaven, we must start with admitting that we are helpless and that we need God's help. And in order to accomplish this, we must concentrate on our assets instead of our deficiencies.
In v.31 of today's passage we read, "Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, 'Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!'"
Bartimaeus was told repeatedly to "be quiet." If he had listened to the crowd, he would have remained blind. It is interesting to note that chiming in with the larger crowd that was gathered there that day in Jericho were also the disciples of the Lord Jesus. Even church folk have been known to discourage us from the Lord. If we want to experience real life, we must be defined by God rather than being overcome by what others say of us. For whatever reason, we will always have those who will be faithful to try to quell our passion for God. If we are going to experience real life, God's life, we must be defined by His word rather than being overcome by what others say. There will always be people who will discourage us in our pursuit of the Lord Jesus, even church people. We can get stuck at the bar of public opinion. Bartimaeus and his friend would not be silenced. If they had listened to the crowd, they would have remained blind.
In v.32 of today's passage we read, "So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, 'What do you want Me to do for you?'"
This is just stunning. The King of heaven, the Creator God of the universe, stood still for these lowly outcasts. The only way they could get the attention of the ONLY ONE who could help them was to "cry out" to Him repeatedly. And, because they were not defined by the myopic opinions of others, they were able to get the attention of the Lord Jesus. The very same people who told Bartimaeus to "be quiet" were told to tell him to "come to the Lord Jesus."
In v.33 of today's passage we read, "They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened."
In those days, throughout the Middle East, beggars wore camel’s tunics. Made of camel’s hair, this tunic was used for protection from the elements, like the wind and the sun and the rain. According to Mark and Luke, blind Bartimaeus sat by the roadside covered with his camel's tunic. That tunic was not only a protection from the elements, it was also something he had trusted in in others ways. When the Lord Jesus came along, Bartimaeus threw off his tunic in order to get to the Lord Jesus. Being an overcomer involves these three things: focusing on our assets, overcoming the opinion's of others, and removing anything in our lives that keeps us from the Lord Jesus.
In v.34 of today's passage we read, "So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him."
This is the final healing the Lord Jesus performed during His earthly ministry. His miracles began in a little village next to Nazareth called Cana where He turned water into wine. It ended here a few years later with giving sight to these blind men who illustrated the idea that "Ninety percent of life is how we respond to the ten percent that happens to us." Bartimaeus was blind and he was a beggar, but, he benefitted from his few assets. He could hear and he could speak and he could walk and run. He was no victim to a "woe is me" mentality. This is the mark of true conversion: these once blind men, as a result, followed the Lord Jesus.
