What do you want me to do for you?

“Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. Mark 10:46-52.

 Most of us are familiar with this story of Blind Bartimaeus.  Here was a man, presumably blind since birth, who not only had to deal with the physical disability, but also the emotional/spiritual one.  Remember, that at that time, Jews believed that a physical impairment was due to the sins of the parents attaching themselves to their ancestors.  It was bad enough to maneuver in a darkened environment, but thinking that your parents, or your sin was responsible, would have been the biggest crippler. Add to that, being ostracized from society, and life must have been difficult indeed for Bart.  Day after day, he earned a meager living by begging alongside the dusty road.  As he sat there, with the other “sin-afflicted” folks, they must have shared gossip and current events, to pass the time.  Surely, the topic of the new rabbi, Jesus, must have come up more than once. Tales of miraculous healings being performed, on the blind, lame and even the dead, made life a bit more tolerable for these poor unfortunates.

On a day that began as any other, Jesus and his followers were passing by.  In his prayers and dreams, Bart had imagined himself fully-sighted, having been touched by the rabbi.  Up until then, it had only been a dream, but a dream that he held on to with all his might.  As the assembled throng grew restless with excitement, he heard the name Jesus being called out.  “Today is my day to see,”  he said as he jumped to his feet.  Even though there must have been a multitude of hurting people, Jesus heard the voice of Bartimaeus above the din.  Calling him to his side, Jesus asked, what might have seemed like a silly question,  “What do you want me to do for you?”  Bart could have said, “well duh, isn’t it obvious, I’m blind,” but he responded by telling Jesus his need.  Many might say it was his desperation, but tell me, what prayer isn’t rooted in desperation?  Jesus knew that vision was the  desire of the blind man’s heart, but he wanted him to verbalize it.  He was healed immediately, because of his persistent faith.

What is your need today?  A health condition; a wayward child or loved one; are you, like Bart, at the point of desperation? If so, that’s wonderful, Jesus is passing by your way, don’t sit silently, shout out and tell him, in faith, what you  want him to do for you. “You do not have, because you do not ask.” James 4:2.