HOST: Ron House
SPONSOR: Start2Finish
And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 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.
“Go your way; your faith has made you well.” These were Jesus’ words to Bartimaeus. I want to focus your thoughts for a moment on the “Go your way” portion of Jesus’ statement. Jesus was giving this man the freedom to go back to a normal life. He was free to go and experience and enjoy the aspects of life that blindness had taken from him. There was no obligation to Jesus, no price to pay, nothing else asked of him. But notice what Bartimaeus did: “And immediately he recovered his sight and followed Him on the way.” He did not take advantage of the opportunity to go his way, to return to a normal life, to celebrate his healing. He did not rush off to let his friends and family know of the wonderful thing that had happened to him. In response to his healing, he chose to follow the One who had restored his sight and, in many ways, his life. Jesus had given him a new lease on life, and he chose to give that life back to Jesus. What a wonderful example of the kind of faith, gratitude, and commitment to Christ we should all have.
What does it mean to follow Jesus today?
Don’t forget to pray and have a great day!
