In Mark 10:46-52, Jesus heals blind Bartimaeus. Matthew 20:29-34 and Luke 18:35-43 also tell of this healing, but Mark actually identifies the blind man. Bartimaeus is a picture of today’s Church, especially the Western Church. Indeed, the Western Church is one without the move of God and without anything happening in it.
Jericho, where Bartimaeus was healed, means “a fragrant place” and it was also the first place conquered by the Israelites when they came out of Egypt to the Promised Land. In Joshua 6:26, Joshua curses anyone who tries to rebuild Jericho. He declares that such a person would lay its foundation at the cost of his first born and at the cost of his youngest child, he would set up its gates. 1 Kings 16:34 shows that this curse came to pass in Ahab’s time. Bartimaeus was living in this city and there were negative things connected to it. He was the son of Timaeus. Timaeus means “worth,” “significance” or “honour.” However, here is the son of this man in a place with a curse attached to it; blind, and begging, when his name meant “a man of worth and importance.”
We have been blessed in the Church to go out and speak the Word, but we are like Bartimaeus: blind and begging. Instead, we should be giving out. Spiritual blindness is a state where a person cannot see or understand the things of God. We need to be delivered from being led by people. Many in the Church have lost their vision. The Church in general is blinded by fear, doubt, unbelief or by someone hurting us. Bartimaeus was sitting and begging, suggesting inactivity, dormancy, resting in a comfort zone; stuck in complacency, in a dry place, doing the same thing, staying the same place. Churches are questioning the gospel and accepting anything and declaring that it is of God. Religion has been designed by the devil to keep the Church powerless where we do religious things, but have no power.
In the Church today, we focus on man instead of God. Thus, spiritual begging, not relying on God, is present in the Church. When we are desperate for change, we are going to cry out like Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus understood that Jesus walked with a Kingly anointing. If you want change, you are going to break tradition and cry out. One was not supposed to call out to the Rabbis as they passed, but Bartimaeus did just that. He also did not address Jesus as a Man but as the son of David, a name that others could not see in Him. Likewise, we should, as in Isaiah 64:1-4, cry out to God to rend the heavens, come down in our midst and do things that we never dreamed of. Press in for more of God, and more will come because the time has come.
When Jesus came on the scene, that is when things began to happen and Bartimaeus was aware of this. He had to shout above the din of the crowd and although his cries disturbed the multitude, they got Jesus’ attention. Jesus then used the same people who told Bartimaeus to shut up, to bring that blind man to Him. Jesus is saying to NDM: “Get My attention first!”
Bartimaeus dealt with what needed dealing with in order to get his healing. As a result, he did the following:
- He did not shut up
- He broke with tradition
- He threw away his cloak on hearing the Master’s voice
In a similar fashion, the old is passing away from our lives. We are throwing away that which held us back. Some things which we had been praying about for years, will take place suddenly. There is going to be a move of God. Jesus told Bartimaeus to go back his way after he was healed (i.e. to return to Jericho, “the fragrant place”). However he opted to follow Jesus instead. That is what we need to do.
When we next see Jesus, He is in Bethany, where people are spreading palms at His feet, throwing their cloaks down before Him and calling Him “Son of David.” If we want to see a mighty move of God we have got to do the following:
- Cry out for change
- Treat this season as though it is our last and only chance to get a revival
- Throw out our cloaks and follow Jesus all the way
There is going to be an outpouring of God because there are people who refuse to give up!
