As He was making His way to Jerusalem ,
Jesus went through Jericho . A blind man sitting by the side of the road
heard all the hubbub and commotion. When he found who it was that was walking
by, he became quite a commotion and disruption himself. He must have heard reports about Jesus and he knew that this was his lucky – if you believe in luck – day. He wasn’t
going to waste it. He yelled and cried
out from the top of his lungs:
Jesus, Son of David,
have mercy on me!
Again and again. Apparently without a trace of
self-conscious embarrassment, he made quite a scene. He created so much
racket some people felt compelled to intervene and shut the nuisance up.
Those who led the way were
sternly telling him to be quiet. Luke 18:39
I always found this statement so… insightful.
Those who led
the way were on a mission. They knew where they were going. They had
single-minded focus to accomplish their important goals. They would not be distracted or delayed by
some… insignificant bottom feeder… by some blind beggar.
And what did Jesus do?
He stopped. Luke
18:40
And then He had a chat with Bartimaeus, for that was the blind man’s name (the leaders, mercifully, remained anonymous). As a result of that conversation, the blind man received his sight. His darkness was swallowed up by Light and he begun to follow Jesus.
Clearly, Bartimaeus wasn't the only blind person in this scene. One can’t help but wonder about other blind men and women who witnessed the entire event… those who just saw an interruption and disruption, an interference with their important goals and plans but missed, even mistreated a son of Abraham, a child of God inside the broken man.
Sobering thought, indeed.
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