Learning to Live with Our Eyes Wide Open
Devotional Scripture: Mark 10:46-52
Key Verse: “And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.” Mark 10:52
At the end of Mark chapter 10, there are seven verses about a guy named Bartimaeus. It’s a story much like many others found in the gospels. Bartimaeus was a blind beggar who sat roadside seeking handouts until he met Christ and joined the ranks of those who once were blind but now could see due to God’s great grace. Yet, there are a few aspects of Bartimaeus’s story I can’t stop rehearsing.
The Location
Bartimaeus begged roadside in Jericho, the last major city a traveler would come to before making the up-hill eighteen-mile trek southwest to Jerusalem. It’s an ancient city you’re probably well acquainted with if you grew up attending children’s church like I did. Remember the story? After passing through the Jordan River on dry ground, Joshua and the Israelites marched around Jericho’s impassable walls once a day for six days.
Then on the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times, and on the last pass, the priests blew their trumpets, and the people shouted in faith, and the walls came tumbling down (Joshua 6). The Israelites saw the Lord do a mighty work at Jericho that day.
And in Mark 10, the Lord is again at work in Jericho. Only this time, the Lord isn’t leading heaven’s army over the dusty terrain of Jericho. Instead, it’s a curious crowd and a few unsure disciples following Him around.
But just as there were shouts of faith occurring on the outskirts of Jericho so long ago, so is there (in this story) once again shouts of faith on the outskirts of town. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” shouted Bartimaeus (Mark 10:45). While “many rebuked him, telling him to be silent” (v. 46), Bartimaeus refused, crying out all the louder in hopes of a completely different type of wall crumbling to the ground—the barricade of blindness.
The Hope of Being a Seeing Person
Bartimaeus had obviously heard of Jesus and decided in his heart that He must be the Christ, the promised Messiah, the root of David. Otherwise, I don’t think he would have incessantly shouted such things. Perhaps as a believing blind man, he even knew the prophecy of Isaiah 35:4-5,
“Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.”
Did Bartimaeus dare hope this Scripture could include him? Whether it was that verse or another prompting Bartimaeus to yell all the louder, here’s the bottom line: it’s always rewarding to place your hope in the Word of God.
Though Jesus probably had a million other things on his mind eighteen miles out from Jerusalem (and the most gut-wrenching week of his earthbound life), our Savior didn’t ignore the cries of faith. Stopping, Christ instructs those around him to call Bartimaeus, who instantly throws off his cloak and runs to Jesus.
The detail of the cloak may be significant. It’s likely Bartimaeus wore a special color-coded coat to signify his status as a blind beggar, but in an act of faith—and the call of Christ—he threw it off. It’s also likely that he kept his meager earnings inside his cloak, but at that moment, he chose to leave what little he had acquired in pursuit of the greater treasure.
There is only one right response to the call of Christ, my friends—an immediate and decisive yes where we leave everything that was once precious to us behind in exchange for meeting God.
The Cost of Being a Seeing Person
“What do you want me to do for you?” asked Jesus of Bartimaeus, but He knew. “Rabbi, let me recover my sight” (v. 51). Then Jesus responds, “Go your way; your faith has made you well” (v. 52). Immediately the walls of blindness came crumbling down, and Bartimaeus saw the face of the Lord, illustrating for us the spiritual equivalent of removing our spiritual blindness.
But here’s what I can’t get over. Verse 52 says Bartimaeus followed Jesus. What comes next after this story? The triumphal entry of Christ seated on a donkey through the streets of Jerusalem while those in attendance shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
The first week of Bartimaeus’s seeing life was the last week of Jesus’ life. And I have no doubt Bartimaeus was in attendance for all of it. From beginning to end, Bartimaeus saw in vivid color the blood of Jesus shed for him.
God opened Bartimaeus’s eyes just in time to see the Savior of the world die for humanity’s sin. Meaning, Bartimaeus heard the taunts of those shouting, “Crucify him!” Along with the jeers of those mocking Christ’s apparent inability to save himself.
I wonder, in disbelief and despair, was there a moment Bartimaeus wished himself blind again? Was it too much to bear? That week, there was indeed a cost to being a seeing man. A price, even today, that some are unwilling to carry.
The Challenge of Being a Seeing Person
If I were Bartimaeus, I would have silently begged Jesus with my newly opened eyes to come down from that cross. To shred the nails that held him, silencing His accusers into oblivion. But Jesus refused, and Bartimaeus saw that too.
But do you know what else I think Bartimaeus saw? The resurrected King who defeated the power of death and sin. Too dumbfounded to leave, I have a feeling Bartimaeus stuck around Jerusalem and was glad He did. Because here’s the thing about seeing a crucified man: you can’t unsee it. And here’s the thing about seeing a resurrected man: you never forget it.
Though today we see by faith and not by sight, the truth remains that our eyes are open if we’ve placed our faith in Jesus Christ. Our spiritual blindness is gone, but for sure, there’s a cost to seeing the truth. A cost requiring us to see the cross with our hearts laid bare again and again in the face of our sin.
The challenge is to live like a seeing person—not a blind one. To be the kind of Christ-follower who lives as though we can’t unsee the crucifixion because Christ was gracious enough to open our eyes, not only to his death but also to his resurrection. Our hearts have gazed upon the living Christ, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit bears witness to it.
Friends, it’s tempting at times to put blinders on. To pretend our sin wasn’t really that costly and that Jesus didn’t really have to go through all that suffering because we’re good people deep down. But that’s not the truth.
We need to learn to live with our eyes wide open. Go ahead and see the scars permanently mutilating our Savior’s body; touch them with your heart engaged. Let your spiritual eyes rest on the Lord Jesus Christ seated at the Father’s right hand. He is alive, and He is the King of kings. There is no other way to heaven except through Him.
See the cross people, and then see the empty tomb. Be the kind of Christ-follower who refuses to unsee the crucifixion and never forgets the resurrection.
