Something About Bartimeus

[Michael37]

If you just said Bartimeus was a blind beggar and Jesus healed his blindness, you would be right, but when Bartimeus called Jesus "Son of David", it showed he was convinced Jesus was the Messiah.

Mar 10:46-47  Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  (47)  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Not only was Bartimeus convinced Jesus was the Messiah, he believed it possible Jesus was able to show Him mercy.

Any thoughts about how this man, possibly born blind and forced to beg for his living, came to have such spiritual insight . . . ?

[NConly]

9 hours ago, Michael37 said:

If you just said Bartimeus was a blind beggar and Jesus healed his blindness, you would be right, but when Bartimeus called Jesus "Son of David", it showed he was convinced Jesus was the Messiah.

Mar 10:46-47  Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  (47)  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Not only was Bartimeus convinced Jesus was the Messiah, he believed it possible Jesus was able to show Him mercy.

Any thoughts about how this man, possibly born blind and forced to beg for his living, came to have such spiritual insight . . . ?

I can say I never got all I should of out of theses verses. I recently watched a movie and throughout the movie the Teacher was quoting  verses in the bible and showing how to apply them to our life. These verses about Bartimeus was used in the movie. I think the main verse was verse 50  (50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.) She gave the best interpretation I have heard.  What she said was in those days the blind people wore a certain garment so others would know they were blind. And in verse 50 when Batimeus threw off his garment Jesus knew Bartimeus had faith that Jesus would heal him and Bartimeus no longer would need the garment of the blind.

[Michael37]

8 hours ago, NConly said:

I can say I never got all I should of out of theses verses. I recently watched a movie and throughout the movie the Teacher was quoting  verses in the bible and showing how to apply them to our life. These verses about Bartimeus was used in the movie. I think the main verse was verse 50  (50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.) She gave the best interpretation I have heard.  What she said was in those days the blind people wore a certain garment so others would know they were blind. And in verse 50 when Batimeus threw off his garment Jesus knew Bartimeus had faith that Jesus would heal him and Bartimeus no longer would need the garment of the blind.

Yes, I have heard the garment aspect a number of times but I don't consider it to be the main point to preach and teach on.

We know that faith comes by hearing the word of truth, so we can safely say that at some time prior Bartimeus received some input regarding Jesus and was convinced He was the Messiah whom he believed to be merciful to the oppressed and afflicted.

[Neighbor]

10 hours ago, Michael37 said:

If you just said Bartimeus was a blind beggar and Jesus healed his blindness, you would be right, but when Bartimeus called Jesus "Son of David", it showed he was convinced Jesus was the Messiah.

Mar 10:46-47  Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  (47)  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Not only was Bartimeus convinced Jesus was the Messiah, he believed it possible Jesus was able to show Him mercy.

Any thoughts about how this man, possibly born blind and forced to beg for his living, came to have such spiritual insight . . . ?

Hi Thought  provoking eh?

Well Rev. C.H. Spurgeon was intrigued too, and gave a sermon on it;  his having reached as he called it a conjecture  as to what and how it was  with this man; but even more intriguing how it is also with us, that are the blind  being brought to sightedness.

https://archive.spurgeon.org/sermons/0266.php

 

[Jayne]

10 hours ago, Michael37 said:

Any thoughts about how this man, possibly born blind and forced to beg for his living, came to have such spiritual insight . . . ?

Just because he was blind and a beggar doesn't mean he didn't or couldn't have spiritual insight.

There are men standing behind a pulpit and people singing solos in church who have no spiritual insight.  Spiritual insight requires no formality of birth or station.  It requires the Holy Spirit and faith.

He knew it was Jesus coming because the people said it aloud and he heard them.  Jesus is about to die soon and everyone knows who Jesus is.  He's the talk of the region - good or bad talk.

Bartimaeus had heard of him, obviously, and through the Holy Spirit's prompting - he believed in him with faith enough to shout!

The Holy Spirit didn't fall upon the church and Christians as a whole until Pentecost.  But the Holy Spirit can be found even in the Old Testament.

[Michael37]

1 hour ago, Neighbor said:

Hi Thought  provoking eh?

Well Rev. C.H. Spurgeon was intrigued too, and gave a sermon on it;  his having reached as he called it a conjecture  as to what and how it was  with this man; but even more intriguing how it is also with us, that are the blind  being brought to sightedness.

https://archive.spurgeon.org/sermons/0266.php

Yes, Spurgeon's preaching is superlative. I enjoy his order of exposition.

My search of this site found no threads about Bartimeus, so I'm addressing that. Thanks for the link.

[Neighbor]

I think this might be a really useful and interesting thread subject. Please accept my taking the liberty of simply posting  again of the Bible account of this blind man's "Adventure",  this account being one of two  accounts of blind men mentioned in the Bible. 

From the account by Mark:

 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road."

[Neighbor]

I  am trying to form for myself a picture of the general scene:

"With a great multitude"- including his disciples and the twelve, plus likely some of the faithful women in what I think of as an entourage going some 10 miles from Jericho to the Temple at Jerusalem. That would have been a bit of a crowd, perhaps rather noisy as they marched, and of pure speculation on my part - singing some of the marching Psalms too including Psalms of David.

[Dennis1209]

Interesting question, and some lengthy thoughts attached:

Most Jews would have known there was a promised Messiah coming through the Davidic royal line from the scriptures (2 Samuel 7:12-16), the Son of David. However, they were expecting an eloquent political leader to free them from the yoke of the Romans, not a spiritual Savior.

To be brief, had the Sanhedrin, Pharisees, and Sadducees not been so lazy and looking for the coming Messiah, Son of David, they could have figured it out to the exact day of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday riding on an ass.

In hindsight, from the genealogical record of Matthew 1:1, we see the royal lineage of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of David, through Joseph and the bloodline of Mary.

Son of David. By tracing Jesus’ ancestry back to King David, through the line of Davidic kings, Matthew connects Jesus with His royal heritage. Despite six centuries of vacancy on the royal throne, the Messiah must be of royal descent. The genealogy here is that of Joseph, Jesus’ legal father, whereas the genealogy of Luke 3:23–38 is that of Mary, His actual parent, showing His blood line back to David. The author’s purpose is to show that the messianic promises made to David’s line are fulfilled in Jesus.^[1]

Under the Old Covenant, Bartimaeus and the Jews would or should have known the coming Messiah would come from a royal heritage, the Son of David. Some were alert to the time frame of the coming Messiah, much like we are on the alert today for Jesus’s second coming.

The lineage would not have been known to Bartimaeus or anyone else; thus, Matthew documents and records it. There is no information about how much Bartimaeus knew about the coming Messiah or if he attended the synagogues or Temple.

Bartimaeus was blind, not deaf. Being constantly on the streets, he would have consistently heard the talk of the town. Jesus’s miracles, His words from passers-by, and what the Pharisees and everyone else discussed and debated in the streets.

Bartimaeus no doubt heard of many miracles Jesus performed, restoring eyesight to the blind, raising the dead, healing leapers, issues with blood, etc. All these healings had one thing in common: hearing, faith, and belief in the Messiah, the Son of David. The same applies in the Old Testament as well as the NT.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The Son of David is one title and name of 135 for Jesus given in our Bible, the heir and Royal Title.

Quote: “Any thoughts about how this man, possibly born blind and forced to beg for his living, came to have such spiritual insight . . . ?”

2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

Men penned the Holy Scripture inspired and directed by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is the Holy Spirit that supplies the truth and insight. Bartimaeus believed and had faith as the others had. The power of the Holy Spirit opened Bartimaeus's eyes to truth and faith.

 

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^[1] Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M., eds. (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1869). Thomas Nelson.

[farouk]

On 10/23/2023 at 5:37 PM, Jayne said:

Just because he was blind and a beggar doesn't mean he didn't or couldn't have spiritual insight.

There are men standing behind a pulpit and people singing solos in church who have no spiritual insight.  Spiritual insight requires no formality of birth or station.  It requires the Holy Spirit and faith.

He knew it was Jesus coming because the people said it aloud and he heard them.  Jesus is about to die soon and everyone knows who Jesus is.  He's the talk of the region - good or bad talk.

Bartimaeus had heard of him, obviously, and through the Holy Spirit's prompting - he believed in him with faith enough to shout!

The Holy Spirit didn't fall upon the church and Christians as a whole until Pentecost.  But the Holy Spirit can be found even in the Old Testament.

@Jayne We need indeed to be like Lydia in Acts 16, "whose heart the Lord opened".