During the course of His ministry, Jesus performed more than 40 miracles, including healing the sick, changing the natural elements of nature and even raising people from the dead. A miracle is considered an event that occurs outside the bounds of natural law.
Each month, we will take a closer look at one of His miracles to understand the depth of His love for us. Understanding the miracles of Jesus can change your life, and it all begins with believing through faith.
In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the writers tell of Jesus healing a blind man. Of the many miraculous healings by Christ, it is unusual for the Gospel writers to name the people that were healed, but we can see here that the name of the blind man was revealed—Bartimaeus. There is much speculation on why Bartimaeus’ name was mentioned specifically during this miracle.
Biblical historians believe that Bartimaeus’ miraculous healing and conversion to Christianity was so incredible that it made a great impact on the people who witnessed and heard of it. Bartimaeus healing may have had a large influence and advanced the message of Christ after he was healed. His contribution could have been so significant that it compelled him to be named.
Bartimaeus was a blind man. He was poor, and his main source of income was from begging. Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was in his city, and as Jesus was leaving, Bartimaeus knew that this was his only chance to get healed. He had heard many wonderful things about Jesus, His teachings and His ability to heal the blind.
He went to the street and cried out, “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!”
If you were stranded on an island, wouldn’t you shout from the top of your lungs if you saw a nearby ship? With this same desperation, Bartimaeus cried out to get the attention of Jesus. He thought Jesus didn’t hear him at first and he cried out louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Now, there’s the proof of his faith. He firmly believes that Jesus is the promised Messiah. He called Him the Son of David, a title that is only reserved for the promised and Anointed One.
Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you,” and immediately Bartimaeus received his sight and followed Jesus. When the large crowd of people saw this miracle, as they had known Bartimaeus to be blind for years, they immediately started praising Jesus.
Shouldn’t we be like this blind man? Essentially, we have been all blind—spiritually blind. We may have chosen the wrong paths and can’t seem to find our way out. We may have felt hopeless. But, when we feel the darkness of our choices, we are reminded of our desire to learn of God’s way and to do His will.
This is the same situation where Bartimaeus found himself. This miracle is a reminder that our faith will remove our blindness and let us live fully in the light of Christ.
