THE BLIND MAN, PART 4, FREEDOM

Luke 4.18-19
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the
captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (ESV)

The life of Bartimaeus must have been restricted after he lost his sight. Surely someone had to lead him to his place of begging. Whatever his capabilities were before the blindness, they were greatly reduced and he lost his ability to move about freely. He lived in captivity to the darkness.

The bluntness and energy of Bartimaeus in seeking from Jesus what he wanted is something to take notice of. It is easy to imagine that the people who tried to shut him up thought that he was not important enough to address Jesus and take up any of His time. But Jesus did not let the perspective of traditional thinking have an impact on what He would do in this situation. Jesus had care and concern for a mere blind beggar. In the culture of that day theological thinking would assert that Bartimaeus was being punished by blindness for the sin of his life. Jesus had corrected this error, as recorded in the ninth chapter of John. And in Jericho, Jesus brought sight, freedom and restoration to the life of Bartimaeus.

In the verses above, there is a connection of vision leading to freedom from the darkness of prison. And Jesus Himself is the way that leads to this freedom. Specifically, spiritual freedom from spiritual bondage. Spiritual sight from spiritual darkness. Jesus said that the verses set forth above were fulfilled in Him. That is, Jesus asserted that he is the Messiah. Certainly the healing of Bartimaeus demonstrates this to be true. And Bartimaeus knew this to be the case.