Little phrases often have big meaning. This Sunday I will be sharing what God has taught me from the life of Bartimaeus. One lesson will be from a small phrase from Mark 10:52, “Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.”
This does not seem to be an extraordinary response. Of course, he would drop everything and follow Jesus. He had just been healed! But we also know that not everyone who had been healed followed Jesus. In the story of the ten lepers found in Luke 17:15, all were healed but one followed.
It is the same today. We feel that if only God would take care of our problems, heal our diseases, pay our bills, remove our enemies then we will follow. But the reality is that many are healed, many have no debt, many are safe from enemies and yet, they do not follow. What makes the difference in the healing of Bartimaeus and the tenth leper?
Bartimaeus was told that the Savior wanted him to stand up and come. He immediately threw aside his cloak which contained all his earthly possessions. Bartimaeus had no idea if he would be healed. He just knew that the Savior told him to stand up. Bartimaeus followed because physical healing was secondary to spiritual healing. He trusted the Savior regardless of where it would lead. And he continued to follow Christ into the unknown of this world. The tenth leper understood that there was more to life than simply physical healing.
Is Christ telling you to stand up and follow? Or are you still sitting by the road crying for
help?
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