Mark 10:46-49 "And they 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. (47) And when he heard that it was Jesus of
Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on
me. (48) And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he
cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
(49) 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 calleth
thee."
"Judge not, that ye be not judged." (Matthew 7:1) Some people tend to take Matthew 7:1 out of context to say that we are not to judge whether an action is right or wrong. For me, that is not what Jesus was saying concerning judgment of others. Just about now, you may be asking, "What does this verse of Scripture have to do with today's devotion?" I'm glad you asked.
The disciples set themselves up to be the judge as to whether or not this man, Bartimaeus was worthy of Jesus' time or not. They took a look at him and quickly decided that Jesus should not be bothered by this man. Can you imagine what Bartimaeus looked like as he sat on the side of the road. No doubt, he was covered with dust. His face was probably weathered by the sun. His clothing was probably disheveled to say the least. We will look at this more closely in the next devotion, but the cloak of Bartimaeus was that which identified him as a bonafide blind man with permission to beg from others. It was his identifying mark.
Apparently that is what the disciples saw and when they heard him crying out to Jesus, they commanded him to be quiet. You see, they looked on the outward and decided among themselves that this man was not worthy of the grace and mercy of our Lord. There is much to be said about these verses and they are not even the full account of the interaction between Jesus and Bartimaeus. As I think on these verses this morning, my mind is going to the manner in which so many times, people's response toward another is based entirely upon the outward appearance. Let me be more specific, I am guilty of judging others at times based solely upon that which I see at the moment. It is at those times that I hear the words of Jesus, "Judge not, that ye be not judged."
Would I want others to judge my position in Christ based upon what they see in me? I certainly would not. So, why would I judge others based upon the outward when I cannot look into the heart. I'm so thankful that our Lord can look beyond the visible to see our hearts. Aren't you?
I just now looked back up at verse 46 and saw the name, Bartimaeus. In that verse we are told what that name means: "son of Timaeus". That was his sole identity in the eyes of other people. 'He is Timaeus' son.' But when Jesus looked upon him, He saw the true identity of this poor blind beggar, sitting on the side of the road. Yes, his earthly identity was the son, or child, of Timaeus, but his true identity is found in being a child of God. And as such, we see a miraculous statement: "Jesus stood still."
Praise God that our connection, our relationship, our daily interaction with Jesus is not due to someone else's thoughts about us. We have earthly identities, but the main identity is found in that we are children of God.
"Judge not, that ye be not judged." (Matthew 7:1) Some people tend to take Matthew 7:1 out of context to say that we are not to judge whether an action is right or wrong. For me, that is not what Jesus was saying concerning judgment of others. Just about now, you may be asking, "What does this verse of Scripture have to do with today's devotion?" I'm glad you asked.
The disciples set themselves up to be the judge as to whether or not this man, Bartimaeus was worthy of Jesus' time or not. They took a look at him and quickly decided that Jesus should not be bothered by this man. Can you imagine what Bartimaeus looked like as he sat on the side of the road. No doubt, he was covered with dust. His face was probably weathered by the sun. His clothing was probably disheveled to say the least. We will look at this more closely in the next devotion, but the cloak of Bartimaeus was that which identified him as a bonafide blind man with permission to beg from others. It was his identifying mark.
Apparently that is what the disciples saw and when they heard him crying out to Jesus, they commanded him to be quiet. You see, they looked on the outward and decided among themselves that this man was not worthy of the grace and mercy of our Lord. There is much to be said about these verses and they are not even the full account of the interaction between Jesus and Bartimaeus. As I think on these verses this morning, my mind is going to the manner in which so many times, people's response toward another is based entirely upon the outward appearance. Let me be more specific, I am guilty of judging others at times based solely upon that which I see at the moment. It is at those times that I hear the words of Jesus, "Judge not, that ye be not judged."
Would I want others to judge my position in Christ based upon what they see in me? I certainly would not. So, why would I judge others based upon the outward when I cannot look into the heart. I'm so thankful that our Lord can look beyond the visible to see our hearts. Aren't you?
I just now looked back up at verse 46 and saw the name, Bartimaeus. In that verse we are told what that name means: "son of Timaeus". That was his sole identity in the eyes of other people. 'He is Timaeus' son.' But when Jesus looked upon him, He saw the true identity of this poor blind beggar, sitting on the side of the road. Yes, his earthly identity was the son, or child, of Timaeus, but his true identity is found in being a child of God. And as such, we see a miraculous statement: "Jesus stood still."
Praise God that our connection, our relationship, our daily interaction with Jesus is not due to someone else's thoughts about us. We have earthly identities, but the main identity is found in that we are children of God.