Mark 10:46-52 "Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus, was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He is calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."
"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road."
I think many of us miss the subtleties of this story, besides a lesson on faith I believe it tells us a lot about our fellow Christians. As Jesus was coming they tried to silence the blind man and even scolded him for not being quiet. They used their worldly outlook to minimize him and deem him not worthy of Jesus's time. Notice how quickly they changed when Jesus acknowledged him - "blind man... COME ON DOWN...." How many times do we dismiss people based on our own perception of their worth? I have found that some of my deepest wounds are caused by other Christians - when you need encouraged they give judgment...
The other point to note is the man's response - it was instant. He threw his cloak aside - mind you he was a beggar and probably only had the cloak, no other possessions. He knew that this was a once in a lifetime chance and Jesus was calling him - so he jumped at it. How many times have we ignored our call?
Just something to think about and work through - the encouragement comes from the end of the story. The man cried out, acted out of obedience and his faith allowed him to be healed!
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