Jesus Calls Bartimaeus - Mark 10:49

Mark wrote how Jesus and His disciples, “came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, you Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, You Son of David, have mercy on me”, and in chapter ten and verse forty-nine of his book, Mark shared how, “Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called” where we read:

And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called.

And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calls you.

The verse reads, “And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called.” Mark began with the words, “and Jesus” which means “and the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate whose name means Jehovah is Salvation” “stood still” or “made Himself fixed, established, set in place and stopped”, “and commanded him” which means “and ordered, told and bid Bartimaeus” “to be called” or “to be beckoned, bid and invited to come to Him”. Mark shared how Jesus stopped and asked for “Bartimaeus” to be “beckoned” to Him.

The verse continues, “And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calls you.” Mark added the words, “and they call the blind man” which means “and the people around Bartimaeus beckoned him”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” “unto him” which means “to Bartimaeus”, “be of good comfort” or “have courage and cheer”, “rise” which means “get up, raise up and arise”; “he calls you” or “Jesus is asking for you Bartimaeus”. Mark shared how the people around “Bartimaeus” began to tell him to “be of good cheer” because Jesus was “asking” for him.

When we think through Mark's words in this verse, we see how Jesus “stilled and quieted” the crowd by stopping and asking for “Bartimaeus”. In fact, the crown around “Bartimaeus” began to echo Jesus' beckoning of him, and rather than being his opposition, they became “Bartimaeus'” advocates. God desires people to be in a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus, and when they yield their lives to Him, they not only obey His will but also receive His blessings and the promise of everlasting life with God.

Next time Mark shares how Bartimaeus, “casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus” , so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".