MARK 10.47-48: 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!” (48) And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ESV)
When Jesus was exiting Jericho on His final trip to Jerusalem, Bartimaeus was well-positioned to hear the sounds of the group passing by. It seems as though the traveling group following Jesus would have been energetic and full of anticipation of Jesus’ victory in Jerusalem, as they had imagined it in their minds.
So this group would not escape the notice of Bartimaeus. After he was told that it is Jesus of Nazareth passing by, he emphatically began to call out to Jesus. I believe Bartimaeus addressing Jesus as, “Son of David” has great significance within his heart and thinking. I do not believe that he used this as a form of address just simply to be respectful. Rather, I think Bartimaeus had settled it in his heart already that Jesus is the Messiah. The Messiah must be of the tribe of Judah and in the lineage of David, son of Jesse. I think Bartimaeus accepted these things as fact.
And Bartimaeus knew he needed mercy from Jesus more than he needed to receive the small amount of coins given to him as a result of his begging. And so he called out to Jesus over and over.
At this time of the ministry of Jesus on earth, I’m confident that quite a number of the people traveling with Jesus had either personally seen miracles by Him, or heard first hand accounts of them. So this crowd should be expected to want to help Bartimaeus get into contact with Jesus. But they did not. They treated Bartimaeus like he was a nuisance and tried to shut him up. They were the would-be obstructionists.
So at this point we have a lesson to be learned from Bartimaeus and his interchange with Jesus. That is, do not let the nay-sayers and people who would hinder your appeal to Jesus stand in your way. Ignore them. In this case, these people had no regard for Bartimaeus’ well-being. And I think it is a cold heart who doesn’t want someone to make an appeal to Jesus for help in a time of need, or any other time for that matter.
But the obstructionists were not successful. Jesus heard the appeal of Bartimaeus and granted his request. Bartimaeus had to rise to the occasion more ardently because of the opposition against him. But he shows us that with a resolve that refused to be denied by anything or anyone, we too, can be successful in our appeals to Jesus.