And it came to pass when he came into the neighbourhood of Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging.
Near Jericho, on the last stretch of road to Jerusalem, a blind man sits and begs. Two questions rise at once. Why does Luke place this healing here, when Matthew places it later? And why does Jesus stop for a beggar?
Matthew ties this healing to Jesus leaving Jericho. Most readers take Luke's words to mean He was arriving. One writer states the problem plainly:
We will find, beyond all doubt, that everything is perfectly accurate, though some things may be quite beyond us. Take the opening of the eyes of blind Bartimaeus. Did it happen before our Lord entered Jericho, as Luke 18:35 seems to say, or afterwards, as Matthew 20:29 seems to show?
Commentators settle it in different ways. One answer looks at Luke's exact words. English versions read them as an approach — "As he drew near to Jericho" — but the wording itself may be looser:
Luke does not say "when he had come near to Jericho," but "when he was near." It is not necessarily a question of coming near, but simply of being in the area… Clearly, whether you go into a place or come out of it, you are just as near — on one side of the town or the other. The truth is that Luke here states only the fact that Jesus was nearby.
Luke groups events by meaning, not by the clock. Telling the beggar's story first lets Zacchaeus stand right next to the parable that follows:
Sticking to the bare order of events would have spoiled the very impressive order Luke actually used. In it we see the story of Zacchaeus, with salvation brought to his house even though he was a chief tax collector, followed at once by the parable of the pounds. Together these two set out the general character and the different aims of the Lord's two comings. He was about to suffer as the Ground of righteousness and salvation for the lost, instead of setting up His throne in Zion at once, as others mistakenly expected.
This town had a heavy past. Jesus was not the first to bring mercy there:
Jericho held a remarkable place as the road to Jerusalem from the Jordan. Long ago, while it was still strong, it was the key to the whole area. That is why Joshua destroyed it so solemnly, and why a curse was spoken over anyone who dared to rebuild it. Yet it was there that Elisha healed the waters. That was after Elijah was taken up, and after Elisha himself had crossed the river, which parted by a miracle. So here the Lord, near the end of His long and last journey, works a miracle of mercy on the blind man.
What He brought to Jericho was the opposite of what Joshua brought:
The Lord enters Jericho, the city of the curse. He does not come in judgment to carry out the curse, but in lowly grace that was about to bear it.
Luke names two things about the man: he could not see, and he lived on what others gave him. Set beside Zacchaeus the rich tax collector, the contrast is total:
Bartimaeus was in every way a contrast to Zacchaeus. The one was wealthy; the other was a beggar. The one felt he had much to plead; the other knew nothing but his desperate need… A blind beggar! Yet such a pitiful sight is a true picture of every man's condition by nature, if only men could see it. "Nothing to pay" is the Lord's account of us all, and what is that but beggary?… Bartimaeus was needy, and he knew it. Unlike Zacchaeus, he had no self-righteousness to get rid of. His one aim was to bring his need to the Son of God at the first chance he had.
The man's blindness was physical. Writers have seen in it something deeper:
May we not say that the physical condition of the blind man sets forth the moral condition of the nation? The Messiah was present with grace and power to bless, but the nation, as such, was blind both to the glory of His Person and to its own deep need. All they could see in Jesus was a despised Nazarene.
- Place. Jericho was the cursed city and the key to the land. Yet mercy kept returning there. Elisha healed its waters; Jesus healed a blind man on its road.
- Position. Luke says only that Jesus was near Jericho. He never says whether Jesus was arriving or leaving, so the accounts do not clash.
- Purpose. Luke arranges by meaning, not by the calendar. So Zacchaeus and the parable after him stand side by side, and show the two comings of Christ.
- Person. Blind and begging, the man is a picture of every person by nature. He had nothing to pay, and no self-righteousness to give up first.
- People. His blindness pictured the nation's. The Messiah stood there in power. All they could see was a man from Nazareth.
And when he heard the crowd passing, he inquired what this might be.
Outside Jericho, a blind beggar hears a crowd go past and asks what it means. Everything that follows turns on that question and on the answer he gets.
He could not see the crowd. He used what he still had.
Bartimaeus could not see, but he could hear. The noise of a crowd passing by attracted him, and he asked what it meant. Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. What a moment that was for him! It was the Son of David, and he claimed His help… He had faith, too, in the power and the willingness of the Lord. Now was his opportunity, and he took it.
His curiosity had something behind it. He had already heard what Jesus had done for other blind men.
He was sitting there, hoping to get a little money. As he heard the crowd approach, I have no doubt he said to himself, "I shall have a good day, and get a lot of money from this passing crowd." But he was curious to know the meaning of that crowd. He was told, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." No doubt he had heard of His miracles, and of how He had opened other men's eyes. He concluded He could open his.
The crowd had eyes and used them for nothing. Their careless noise is what announced Christ to a man with no eyes at all.
The Lord was still the rejected One, not understood even by His disciples, yet with a heart toward the most lowly and wretched in Israel who cried to Him in faith. The blind man near Jericho was one of them. He seized the moment of His presence. The careless noise of those who saw and yet saw nothing made it known to his sightless eyes. Blindness in part had indeed happened to Israel, and most of all in those who least admitted it. … The story of His gracious power was not lost on the blind man. Now was his opportunity: might it not be the last? He called aloud; and the more they rebuked him, the far more he cried.
The crowd gave him a name, not a title. Attaching Jesus to Nazareth was a way of saying very little — or worse.
The crowd, when Bartimaeus asked what the noise was, told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. This was a name that meant nothing to the Jews; instead, Nazareth was a name linked with reproach. But there was faith in the blind man's heart. It matched the place Jesus had taken toward His people. The man says, "Son of David." He recognises that Jesus of Nazareth had a right to that title.
Given half an answer, he gave back a full confession. He knew who he was calling to.
He heard the crowd, so the blind man asked who was passing by. They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Is that all you know of Him? "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." What acquaintance did this man have with Christ? He knew Him — and so must you and I — in His personal glory and in the boundlessness of His grace. … If we do not recognise the glory of His Person, the grace of His work is worth nothing. We must connect His grace and His glory.
The healing that follows points beyond one man. Darby reads the blind man's opened eyes as a picture of what the faithful part of Israel will yet receive.
Here was a sample of the power of the Name that Israel rejected. The eye of the blind was opened then, as it will be in the remnant by and by.
The bystanders told him only who was passing. It was enough.
The poor blind beggar heard that short sermon: "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." Then he cried, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" What was His answer? Could He say, I have no mercy for you? Impossible! that would have been to deny the character of God and the whole truth of the Bible. The fulness of divine mercy was his from the moment his heart first spoke. … The same cry will bring the same blessing today.
- Hear. The man had no sight, but he had ears, and the passing noise reached him. He used what he had left.
- Ask. He did not let the crowd pass unexplained. The question about the noise is the first step of the whole miracle.
- Weigh. The answer he received — Jesus of Nazareth — was a name loaded with contempt, and he refused to leave it there. He replied with "Son of David."
- Cry. The moment might never come again, so he called out, and louder still when told to be quiet.
- Receive. The mercy he begged for was his from the first cry. His opened eyes also picture a wider opening still ahead for Israel.
And they told him that Jesus the Nazaraean was passing by.
A blind beggar outside Jericho hears a crowd going past and asks what is happening. The crowd names the traveller — Jesus of Nazareth — and everything turns on what the beggar does with that plain answer.
The crowd's answer was accurate, but it was not a confession. The name they used carried no weight with a Jewish hearer:
When Bartimaeus asked what the noise was, the crowd told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. That name meant nothing to the Jews. Nazareth was instead a name tied to reproach.
The beggar took the fact and rejected the label. He answered their flat report with a title they had not used:
The blind man heard the crowd and asked who was going past. They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Is that all you know of Him? He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Tell me, how well did this man know Christ? He knew Him in His personal glory and in the boundlessness of His grace — and so must you and I... He did not take up their word, but called Him Son of David. When they rebuked him, he cried out all the more.
The old jibe about Nazareth gets a direct answer here:
He had heard of Jesus before. It seems that in secret he had owned that the One who was to sit on David's throne is the Jesus he had heard about. Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? "Yes," says this poor man, "The Christ of God can come out of Nazareth."
One writer contrasts the crowd with the man who could not see, and the names each of them gave Jesus:
The blind man near Jericho was one of them. He seized the moment of His presence. What told his sightless eyes that Jesus was there was the careless noise of people who saw and yet did not see. Blindness in part really had happened to Israel, and most of all to those who least admitted it... If to others Jesus was only the Nazarene, to him He was none other than David's Son.
Another writer sets the beggar beside Israel's own teachers:
Here the blind in their need understand more than the guides of Israel do. Their need makes them heralds of His power, and they cry out, "Son of David, have mercy on me." Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of David to him. He had come so that those who do not see might see, and those who see might be made blind.
The crowd said Jesus was passing by, not stopping. That put a limit on the beggar's chance:
If he had missed this opportunity, he would never have had another. The Lord never visited Jericho again.
What he asked for rested on nothing in himself. Others had to lead him to Jesus, and one writer sees purpose in that:
He recognized in Christ the glory of the true King of Israel, and he asked for nothing on the ground of his deserving it, but pleaded only for mercy. Such a cry is always enough to make the Lord stand still. He ordered the man to be brought to Him. Notice how God sees fit to bring a sinner so low that he depends on the help of others. Pride must be broken down.
A few words from the crowd worked like a sermon, and the cry they drew out still works:
The poor blind beggar heard that short sermon: "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." Then he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" What was His answer? Could He say, I have no mercy for you? Impossible! That would have been to deny the character of God and the whole truth of the Bible... And these things are written, remember, so that you may believe. The same cry will bring the same blessing today.
- Told — the crowd gave him a name the Jews despised. Nazareth carried reproach, not honour.
- Heard — he would not repeat their word. He called out to the same Person as Son of David, owning His glory and His grace.
- Blind — the people with working eyes made only careless noise. The man without sight understood more than Israel's teachers.
- Passing — Jesus was moving through, not staying. If the beggar let that moment go, no second one was coming to Jericho.
- Mercy — he claimed nothing and asked only for mercy. Commentators say that cry is always enough to stop the Lord, then and now.
And he called out saying, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
The road to Jerusalem passes Jericho, and a blind beggar by the roadside hears a crowd go by. They told him one thing. He shouted back another — and that difference is the whole story.
The bystanders gave the man a place-name. He answered with a throne.
The noise of the crowd stirred the interest of this blind man. People told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. But he did not use that name, for the Jews despised Nazareth. Instead he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." He recognized in Christ the glory of the true King of Israel. He asked for nothing on the ground that he deserved it. He pleaded only for mercy. God sees fit to reduce a sinner to a state where he depends on the help of others, for pride must be broken down.
He could not see, yet he knew who was passing. One writer makes this the pattern for every believer.
The blind man heard the crowd and asked who was passing by. They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Is that all you know of Him? "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." What acquaintance, tell me, had this man with Christ? He knew Him (and so must you and I) in His personal glory and in the boundlessness of His grace... If we do not recognize the glory of His Person, the grace of His work is worth nothing. We must connect His grace and His glory.
The title was not flattery. Scripture gave a blind Israelite the right to expect this from David's promised King.
Bartimaeus cried out loudly, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." The Saviour did not rebuke him for using that title... He was born of the stock of Israel. So he had every right to look for a king of David's line. That king would open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, make the lame leap like a deer, and teach the tongue of the mute to sing (Isaiah 35:5-6)... If he had missed this opportunity, he would never have had another. The Lord never visited Jericho again.
He asked for pity, nothing else. Such a cry cannot go unanswered without God denying Himself.
The poor blind beggar (Luke 18) heard that short sermon: "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." He cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" What was His answer? Could He say, "I have no mercy for you"? Impossible! That would have been to deny the character of God and the whole truth of the Bible. The fullness of divine mercy was his from the moment his heart first spoke... The same cry will bring the same blessing today.
The crowd told him to be quiet. Their opposition only showed how much he meant it.
Many rebuked him, but faith persevered. He cried out all the more: "Son of David, have mercy on me." Here was a sample of the power of the Name that Israel rejected. The blind man's eye was opened then, and so it will be with the remnant of Israel in days to come.
The one man without eyes saw more than the whole crowd with eyes.
Blindness in part had happened to Israel indeed, and most of all to those who least admitted it. Here was one who, near Jericho, the city of the curse, dared to confess Him as the Messiah whom the religious leaders had long wanted to destroy... If to others Jesus was only the Nazarene, to him He was none other than David's Son. "Son of David, have mercy on me." And no cry of distress ever goes out to Him in vain.
A voice of need stopped Him on that road. Glory has not made Him deaf to it.
That voice of need falls on the Saviour's ear and touches His heart. Scripture says, "Jesus stood still." He was on His way to Jerusalem to perform the wonderful work of the cross... but the cry of need arrested Him. He is now in heaven, in glory, but the voice of need touches Him now, just as the voice of misery and need touched Him then.
- Need — Helplessness made him listen, ask, and shout. God reduces a person to dependence, because pride must be broken down.
- Sight — The crowd said "of Nazareth"; he answered "Son of David." Faith saw the King where the crowd saw a village name. Opening blind eyes was the promised sign of David's King (Isaiah 35:5-6).
- Mercy — He pleaded nothing he deserved. Christ could not refuse that cry without denying the character of God.
- Persistence — Told to be quiet, he cried louder. The opposition proved his faith instead of defeating it.
- Answer — The cry stopped Christ on the road then. It still reaches Him in glory now. Commentators also read the healed eyes as a preview of Israel's future sight.
And those [who were] going before rebuked him that he might be silent; but *he* cried out so much the more, Son of David, have mercy on me.
A blind beggar hears that Jesus is passing and shouts for mercy. The people at the front order him to be quiet — and what he does next is the heart of the verse.
The people who rebuked the beggar were not enemies of Jesus. They objected on grounds of good manners.
Many kept rebuking him, though they felt their own need no more than he felt his. To them it was bad manners — and they were people travelling at ease towards ruin. Such cries might be fine on the Sabbath, perhaps, and no doubt on a dying bed. But by the roadside and in front of a crowd they would not do at all.
The people closest to Jesus in the road were the ones standing in the way of the man who needed Him.
The crowd around Jesus cared little for Him, because they knew nothing of His person and work. The mass of people acted more as an obstacle to a helpless person who felt their sin and wanted to come to Jesus. So it is now. Who, I ask, are the great hinderers of the gospel in our day? Are they not the people who claim to be religious without knowing Christ Himself in a living way?
The rebuke did not weaken his appeal.
Many rebuked him. But faith persevered, and he cried so much the more: "Son of David, have mercy on me." Here was a sample of the power of the Name that Israel rejected.
He never took up the crowd's word for Jesus. He kept the royal title, before the rebuke and after it.
The blind man heard the crowd and asked who was passing by. They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Is that all you know of Him? He knew Him — and so must you and I — in His personal glory and in the boundless reach of His grace. He called Him "Son of David," and when they told him to hold his peace, he cried "so much the more." That is how you and I must know Him. If He is not the Person He is, everything He has done is worth nothing... If we do not recognise the glory of His Person, the grace of His work is worth nothing. We must connect His grace and His glory.
The man was not guessing. Scripture had promised that David's King would open blind eyes. And the moment would not come round twice.
Jesus gave him no rebuke for addressing Him by this title... He was born of the stock of Israel, so he had every right to look for a king of David's line. That king would open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, make the lame leap like a deer, and teach the tongue of the mute to sing (Isa. 35:5-6). Bystanders tried to silence him, but it was no use... If he had missed this chance, he would never have had another. The Lord never visited Jericho again.
Israel's teachers had their sight. It did not give them understanding.
Here the blind in their need have more understanding than the guides of Israel. Their need itself announces His power as they cry out: "Son of David, have mercy on me."... Need, personal need, made him persevering, and the Son of David had come for the need of Israel.
The crowd decided he should be quiet. The Lord stopped for him instead.
His dignity is beautiful as He stops on His way at the bidding of a poor blind beggar. Joshua once told the sun and moon to stand still in the heavens. But here the Lord of the sun, the moon, and the heavens stands still at the bidding of a blind beggar! That is the gospel. The glorious, gracious One gives out the grace of healings that last for ever, to meet us in our fallen state.
- Need cries. Personal need made him persistent. The guides of Israel felt no need, and understood less than a blind beggar did.
- Need is rebuked. The crowd around Jesus silenced him. They felt no need themselves, and thought his cry was bad manners in that place.
- Need cries louder. The rebuke did not stop faith; it drew it out — "the perseverance of faith," crying so much the more.
- Need names Him rightly. He would not swap "Son of David" for the crowd's "Jesus of Nazareth." He held the glory of His Person and the grace of His work together.
- Need is answered. The Lord of sun and moon stood still at a beggar's shout. That chance came once, and would never have come again.
And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be led to him. And when he drew nigh he asked him [saying],
The road from Jericho to Jerusalem was crowded and loud, and the Lord was walking it on His way to the cross. Then one voice from the edge of the crowd stopped everything. The verse turns on two small facts: He stopped, and He had the man brought to Him.
A whole journey stops for one beggar. Where the ESV reads "Jesus stopped," older translations say "Jesus stood still." One writer sets this beside a moment in Israel's history, when Joshua called on the sun and moon to halt in the sky:
His dignity is beautiful as He stops on His way at the request of a poor blind beggar. Joshua once told the sun and moon to stand still in the heavens. But here the Lord of the sun, the moon, and the heavens stands still at the request of a blind beggar! That is the gospel — the glorious, gracious One giving out the grace of eternal healings to meet our degradation.
The man had every reason to think no one would hear him. A moving crowd is loud, and the people around him had already told him to be quiet.
One knows what noise a passing crowd makes. The tramp of feet and the talking could easily drown the voice of a wayside beggar. But the Lord heard it. No noise, however great or distracting, keeps a petition for mercy from reaching His ear.
What stopped Him was not the volume but the faith behind it. That faith showed itself in refusing to go quiet:
Jesus stood still, because the man kept on when others rebuked him. In that way his faith was exercised. And He commanded him to be brought. He acknowledges His royal title as He goes up to the royal city, and He will do all that is asked of Him under it.
He was not out for a walk. The journey He broke off was the journey to the cross.
That voice of need falls on the Saviour's ear, and touches His heart. Scripture says, "Jesus stood still." He was on His way to Jerusalem, to do the wonderful work of the cross. But the cry of need stopped Him. He is now in heaven, in glory, but the voice of need touches Him now, just as the voice of misery and need touched Him then.
He did not heal the man from where He stood. He had him led through the crowd to Him instead.
Many had rebuked him so that he would be quiet. Now he had reached the immediate presence of the Lord, and could bring his request in person. Sight, not money, was what he wanted; sight he asked for; sight he got.
His need of other hands was part of the work. One writer sees that helplessness as God's own doing:
Notice how God sees fit to bring a sinner so low that he depends on the help of others. Pride must be broken down.
The man had confessed Him as the Messiah — Israel's promised King. One writer sees in this one healing a picture of a day still to come:
Here was one who, near the city of the curse, dared to confess Him to be the Messiah… And never does the appeal of distress go out to Him in vain. How pleasant in His ears is the persistent call on His name! Jesus stops, commands him to be brought, asks about his need, and gives all he asks. He will do the same in the day of His power. Then Israel will be made willing, will call on Him, and will find sight, salvation, and every other good thing, to the praise and glory of God.
The verse ends with a question, not with a cure. The Lord is in no hurry here:
He does not hurry through His work of mercy; He lingers over the sacred scene. It fills and moves His soul… What would you have asked, my soul, if it had been you? It is as if the Lord had said, "Ask what you will, I am waiting to serve you — waiting to grant your request."
- Cry. One voice of need, raised again after the crowd hushed him, reached Him over all their noise.
- Stop. The Lord of sun, moon and heavens halted His journey to the cross for one beggar at the roadside.
- Brought. He called the man right up to Him. Other hands led him through the crowd, and that dependence broke his pride.
- Asked. The Lord does not rush mercy. He draws out the asking, so the man speaks his need to His face.
- Answered. He gave all the man asked — a picture, one writer says, of the day Israel calls on Him and receives sight.
What wilt thou that I shall do to thee? And he said, Lord, that I may see.
A blind beggar refuses to be quiet, and his cry brings the whole crowd to a stop. Jesus then asks what he wants, though the need is plain to see — and the man's short answer shows why the question was worth asking.
Before either of them speaks, the Lord has already stopped. One writer sets this beside the day a man commanded the sun and moon, and they obeyed.
His dignity is beautiful as He stops on His way at the bidding of a poor blind beggar. Joshua once told the sun and moon to stand still in the heavens, but here the Lord of the sun, and the moon, and the heavens stands still at the bidding of a blind beggar! That is the gospel — the glorious, gracious One giving out the grace of eternal healings to meet our degradation. Look at Bartimaeus! He would not keep quiet, but cried out until Jesus stood and said, "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, let me recover my sight." "Take it," said Jesus.
The Lord does not announce what He will do. He asks, and leaves the amount to the man.
What do you want? Your sins forgiven; your soul saved; pardon, love, and acceptance with Him? You may have all. What Christ does is to put down a blank cheque, with His name at the bottom, and you can fill it in for any amount you like. He says to you tonight, "What do you want me to do for you?" What is it you desire? That you may see the Saviour, the Son of God, who died but rose again? "Lord, let me recover my sight," said the blind man… His eyes were opened, and what was the first object he saw? Jesus! And that is what happens when the eyes of a sinner are opened. He sees Jesus.
Earlier in the same chapter a rich ruler asked what he could do. Jesus asks this man what he wants, and his reply runs the other way.
Then the Lord asked him what he wanted (v.41). It was useless for him to speak as the rich ruler had done, "What shall I do?" (v.18). He knew he could do nothing to give himself sight. Nor did he say, "Good Teacher," but "Lord, let me recover my sight." He took his own place of helplessness, gave the Lord the supreme place of authority, and depended on His mercy.
The question and the answer settle who does what, and in what order.
The Lord takes the place of the doer, and the blind man accepts the place of the receiver. At once the Lord acknowledges this simple faith. The blind man receives his sight and "followed Jesus in the way," from then on to be His disciple. We must first receive the blessings of salvation and forgiveness through what Christ has done before we can follow Him as an object for our soul's delight.
The man asked only for what he felt — his eyesight. What he received went far beyond that.
He does not seek to hurry through His work of mercy; He lingers over the sacred scene. It fills and moves His soul. He alone knows all that it means… What will he ask, poor soul? Only what he feels the need of — his natural sight. But the good Lord added to his request a thousand-fold. "And Jesus said to him, Recover your sight; your faith has saved you."
(The ESV reads "your faith has made you well"; older translations say "saved you.")
Commentators read the whole scene as a preview of something still ahead.
How pleasant in His ears is the persistent call on His name! Jesus stops, commands him to be brought, asks about his need, and gives all he asks. He will do the same in the day of His power. Then Israel — the remnant becoming the people — will be made willing. They will call on Him and find sight, salvation, and every other good thing, to the praise and glory of God.
- He stops. One cry halts the Lord of the sun and moon.
- He asks. The question is a signed blank cheque — the man fills in the sum himself.
- He hears. "Let me recover my sight" is the opposite of the ruler's "What shall I do?": helplessness naming its one need.
- He gives. Christ takes the place of doer, the beggar the place of receiver — and the gift goes past what he asked, reaching salvation.
- He is followed. Sight came first, then following. The same cry, commentators say, will one day be Israel's own.
And Jesus said to him, See thy faith has healed thee.
Near Jericho, a blind beggar brings his need to Jesus, and Jesus stops for him. One short sentence answers him — with sight, and with a word about his faith.
A beggar by the road could have asked for money. He asked for sight instead.
Sight, not alms, he wanted; sight he asked for; sight he got. But more, the Lord spoke a word commending his faith: "Recover your sight; your faith has made you well." A beggar could receive blessing. It did not depend on anything a man could give or do, but on faith in the Lord to heal. The man's circumstances were no obstacle to receiving what he desired. Where faith draws out the blessing, the rich man has no advantage over the poor man, even if the poor man is a beggar.
The second half of the sentence goes past the body. Commentators read it as a word about the man's soul, not a repeat of the cure.
At once he received his sight. It was an amazing miracle, a work no one had ever done before this blessed Messiah of Israel came. But as well as giving him natural sight, the Lord told him that his faith had saved him. This went far deeper than his natural healing, for many were healed who showed no evidence of faith at all. The man's soul was saved, for his faith was in the Lord Jesus.
One Greek word stands behind both the healing and the saving.
It is worth noticing that the word sozo, usually translated in the New Testament "save," is used in its general sense of deliverance... for the healing of Bartimaeus, Mark 10:52, Luke 18:42... In these instances the Greek word is translated "made whole," or "healed."
Writers see the beggar's condition as a picture of every person.
A blind beggar! Yet such a pitiable object is a faithful picture of every man's condition by nature, if only men could see it! "Nothing to pay" is the Lord's account of us all, and what is that but beggary?... Bartimaeus was needy, and he knew it. His one business was to bring his need to the Son of God at the first opportunity.
A rich ruler had already come to Jesus with a question and left with nothing. The two conversations turn on opposite verbs.
The rich ruler had asked what he should do, when the Lord had just spoken of the kingdom being received. The blind beggar said that he would receive when the Lord asked what He should do for him. No transaction took place in the case of the ruler: a transaction was completed on the spot in the case of the beggar. The contrast between the two cases is very decisive.
One writer sets this moment beside an older miracle, when the sun itself stopped in the sky.
It was a remarkable moment when "the sun stood still" at the voice of Joshua. How much more wonderful when "Jesus stood still" at the cry of a poor blind beggar! He is the Mighty Creator, yet here He is in humility as Jesus of Nazareth, found in the place of the curse, so that the eyes of the blind might be opened to see Himself — to "follow Him" and to give glory to God. Amazing grace indeed!
One writer sees the same pattern repeating one day on a national scale.
Jesus stops, commands him to be brought, asks about his need, and gives all he asks. He will do the same in the day of His power. Then Israel (the remnant becoming the people) will be made willing, will call on Him, and will find sight, salvation, and every other good thing, to the praise and glory of God.
- Need — He had nothing to pay, and he knew it. That need is what brought him to Christ.
- Faith — The blessing rested on trust in the Lord to heal, so a beggar stood on level ground with a rich man.
- Word — One sentence from Jesus, and the man saw at once.
- Salvation — The second clause reaches past his eyes to his soul, since many were healed who showed no faith at all.
- Following — Sight came at the place of the curse. The man followed Jesus, God received the glory, and Israel's coming day appears here in small.
And immediately he saw, and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people when they saw [it] gave praise to God.
Outside Jericho a blind beggar shouted for mercy until Jesus stopped and gave him what he asked. This verse tells us what he did with his new eyes, and what the watching crowd did with what they saw.
The man had nothing to give. What he had was trust that Jesus could heal him, and that was all he needed:
A beggar could receive blessing, for it did not depend on anything anyone could give or do, but on faith in the Lord to heal. The man's circumstances were no obstacle to his receiving what he wanted. Where faith draws out the blessing, the rich man has no advantage over the poor man, even if the poor man is a beggar. Receiving his sight, he showed at once that he no longer needed any human hand to guide him. He showed everyone that he could see, for he followed the Lord, glorifying God.
Jesus did not only say "receive your sight." He also told the man that his faith had saved him — and that word points past the physical cure to something deeper:
The beggar received his sight, and the Lord said, "Your faith has saved you." This shows that what happened went deeper than the opening of the eyes of his head. He became a follower of the Jesus who was going up to Jerusalem and to the cross; and there was glory to God, both on his part and on the part of all who saw it.
Another writer draws the line between a cured body and a saved soul:
This went far deeper than his natural healing, for many were healed who showed no evidence of faith at all. The man's soul was saved, for his faith was in the Lord Jesus.
Nobody told this man to follow. He simply went. Set him beside the rich ruler of the same chapter, who was invited to follow and refused, and the contrast is sharp:
The word to the young man was, "Come, follow me." And he turned his back and went away. He had too much to leave, to follow Jesus. Here was one who had nothing to leave and nothing to bring. Empty and ruined, his need draws out the grace of Jesus… The first thing his eyes rest on — eyes now open inside and out — is the One who links his heart to Himself. That affection cannot be held back, and he follows Him of his own accord.
Following Jesus that day was not a stroll. The road out of Jericho ran uphill, and the physical detail makes the decision concrete:
He was so attracted to the Lord that he followed Him. That meant the long, steep climb to Jerusalem — a rise of about 3,600 feet (1,100 metres) over 13 miles (21 km). The common people, seeing the great miracle, gave praise to God, as Israel will one day do.
Luke's account ends where the others do not:
Luke alone adds the expressed moral effect, both on the part of the blind man and of all the people who saw the miracle: he glorified God, as they gave Him praise. But this is exactly Luke's territory, as every careful reader will have noticed.
The Gospel accounts of this healing differ in wording. One writer explains why:
Each writer was independent of his fellow historian, and each was guided by the Holy Spirit.
What Jesus did here for one blind man, He will one day do for a nation:
Jesus stops, has the man brought to Him, asks what he wants, and gives him all he asks. He will do the same in the day of His power. Then Israel — the remnant becoming the people — will be made willing. They will call on Him and find sight, salvation, and every other good thing, to the praise and glory of God.
- Nothing to bring. The blessing rested on faith in the Lord's power, not on what the man owned — so a beggar stood on level ground with the rich.
- Sight, then salvation. The Lord's words went deeper than the eyes of his head; the man was saved as well as healed.
- Sight, then following. The first thing his opened eyes rested on was Jesus. He followed with nobody urging him — unlike the rich ruler, who had too much to leave.
- Following, then cost. The way he took led uphill to Jerusalem, and to the cross.
- Following, then praise. Luke alone records the double effect: the healed man glorified God, and the whole crowd joined in. It points ahead to the day when Israel calls on Him and receives sight and salvation.