Matins Devotion: May 13, 2024
After Jesus opens the eyes of this blind beggar, Luke tells us that the man followed Jesus glorifying God. And while we don’t know exactly how long this freshly-healed beggar followed Jesus praising God, the fact that he’s named called “Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus” in Mark’s Gospel indicates that he was known to the early Christian community, so it stands to reason that Luke doesn’t simply mean that Bartimaeus hopped around Jesus for a few minutes, praising His mercy. Rather, it’s likely that this means Bartimaeus actually becomes a follower of Jesus, a disciple of our Lord. Not one of the twelve, of course, but a disciple nonetheless.
And when does this happen? At the end of Luke chapter 18. And by chapter 19, Jesus has embarked on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which means He’s just a few days away from His passion. So Bartimaeus wanted to see, and see he certainly did. Jesus opened his eyes just in time to see the cross, just in time to see Christ’s brutal and bloody suffering and death.
What a glorious blessing, because what good is it for a man to see if he can’t really see? What does it profit a man to gaze upon the birds of the air and the beasts of the field if he can’t also see the face of the God who loves him? And in the cross, Jesus gave the greater sight to Bartimaeus. He opened His eyes to see that his sins were now gone forever, drowned in the saving blood of the Lamb. He opened the eyes of the man who called Him ‘the Son of David” to see Him fulfill the promises given to David and through David, the promise to make blind beggars worthy of the eternal embrace of God.
And today Jesus invites you to see the same thing in His cross, to have the greater sight as you look through faith upon His wounds and see the face of your Father in heaven now smiling upon you. Look upon the cross and there you will see the promise of eternal life. Look upon the cross and, in the nail-pierced hands of Jesus Christ, you will see the hands that will dry your every tear as you are welcomed into the eternal kingdom of peace.
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