Complimentary Story
August 2026 We all wear many coats. I have a tattered old sweatshirt that’s my ‘mom coat,’ a spiffy black blazer that’s my ‘realtor coat,’ and an apron that is my ‘hospitality coat.’ What coats do you wear?
These coats were never intended to be our primary identity, but it is so easy for any one of them to become just that. When people ask you who you are, it’s so easy to answer ‘I’m a mom, I’m a realtor…”
And while each of these coats do give a glimpse into who we are, they are not our primary or defining identity. And sometimes we wear coats that are not intended to be our identity at all. Today we’re going to look at one such coat in the story of Blind Bartimaeus.
Mark 10:46-52 Christian Standard Bible, “They came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many warned him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, ‘Have mercy on me, Son of David!’
“Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ So they called the blind man and said to him, ‘Have courage! Get up; He’s calling for you.’ He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. Then Jesus answered him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Rabboni,’ the blind man said to him, ‘I want to see.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go, your faith has saved you.’ Immediately he could see and began to follow Jesus on the road.”
They came to Jericho…Jericho was a place of one-time victory. This doesn’t mean there won’t be other trials.
A significant setting where the weakness of men is met with the power of God. Where we see the impossible, insurmountable obstacles of the world and our dependance on God to overcome them. Jericho is where the Israelites saw Divine Instruction superior to human strength. Jericho is where Rahab, a foreigner, would be spared by God’s mercy and even become a part of Christ’s lineage. Jericho was the setting for Jesus’ famous parable of the Good Samaritan, an example of love and compassion.
And as he was leaving Jericho…Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.
Bartimaeus would have been an outcast as a beggar, illustrated by sitting outside the city gates, outside of society. He was known, but rejected. His family was probably well-known and respected for his father to be named in Scripture. Earthly lineage can disappoint, disown, and disregard. But AS CHILDREN OF GOD WE ARE LOVED, ADOPTED AND CARED FOR.
When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Bartimaeus was a blind man who truly saw who Jesus was, the Messiah, and a merciful God. While the 20/20 vision crowd following Jesus misunderstood His heart and His mission, Bartimaeus saw Jesus for who He is…his faith was in Jesus as our Savior and King and in His goodness.
Many warned him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, “Have mercy on me, Son of David!”
Often what makes man angry or uncomfortable pleases God. Man looks outward, God sees the heart. The loudest voices are not always God’s voice. Faith is not intended to sit quietly by the roadside. God is not irritated by our persistence. On the contrary, He rewards it! Because it delights Him, as it shows our faith in His Goodness and His timing. Like the persistent widow.
Have our cries gone silent? Why? Impatience? Unbelief? Distraction? Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up; He’s calling for you.”
Jesus stopped. He was not too busy. He is not too busy for you and me. He actually longs to hear us cry out for His mercy. “Call him.” He still calls us to Himself today — not only for salvation, but for every moment after, until we see Him face to face.
He threw off his coat, jumped up and came to Jesus. The coat is very significant and symbolic here. In this culture of the ancient middle eastern and Roman world, a beggar’s coat functioned as an official government issued document or license to beg. For someone like Bartimaeus, it would have been his sole possession, his protection against the elements, a mat to sit on and catch coins throughout the day. It marked him as a social outcast, despised and dependent on society, afflicted and bound to the roadside. It was quite literally the square of the world he was resigned to live in. Bartimaeus literally leapt at the chance to come to Jesus. His coat was his identity, his ‘place’ in society. He threw aside the confines of his physical limitations and society’s definition of his value…and came to Jesus.
Do we leap at the chance today? To come to Jesus? He still calls! Bartimaeus took ACTION…He did something…he chose to throw off the coat.
Then Jesus answered him, “ What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus can easily bless the heart that desires and knows its need for mercy. “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Do we know? That we still need it? Do we know that it is our primary need? Positioned perfectly by seeking first the King and Kingdom so that all else may be added unto it? Mercy is the withholding of wrath, but it is rooted in compassion, not anger. Jesus has compassion on Bartimaeus and He has compassion on us!
“Rabboni,” the blind man said to Him, “I want to see (again).” The faith to ask – more than that – the faith to believe that Jesus cared and was able to do the thing he asked when the whole world was screaming at him to shut up and sit down. Do you want to see? Do we want to see AGAIN? The heart that is desperate for mercy will receive that and SO MUCH MORE. How would we answer Jesus? Do we believe that He cares AND that He is able? Is society telling you not to ask? Will you cry out all the more? What do you want Jesus to do for you?
“Go. Your faith has saved you.” The word for ‘saved’ in this verse is “SOZO,” which means any and all of the following: salvation, deliverance, and physical healing. Bartimaeus was healed FULLY…sight AND soul. He was saved from begging and blindness, but also from society’s definition of him. Through his faith, he was given a new IDENTITY. He was MADE WHOLE (sozo). From outcast to accepted, rejected to adopted, nuisance to loved. This is what Jesus does (sozo – full healing, complete) when I trust Him to do it, when I have faith in Him…when we believe that He CAN and He WANTS TO. Where do you need sozo today?
Immediately he could see and began to follow Jesus on the road.
Just like Bartimaeus made a choice to throw off his cloak, following is our choice. IT IS PART OF THE REWARD, NOT AN OBLIGTION.
The Rich Young Ruler appears in Scripture right before this account and we see someone who followed all the rules and yet didn’t follow Jesus. The rich man missed out because he wouldn’t follow Jesus. Bartimaeus chooses to immediately follow. Again, he chooses action. No more sitting on the coat, the little square of the world that society had resigned him to...NO! He has received mercy! What he saw by faith, he now sees with his eyes and it is even more glorious! He doesn’t run to his family – he turns to Jesus. He doesn’t chase societal approval and acceptance. He follows the one who cared and was able to show him mercy — and so much more!
Will we? Will we follow the One? Will we cry out, “Son of David, have mercy on me?” Will we see the miraculous blessings that come from the gift of faith?
Chris McMahan
Email: Happy1970@icloud.com
