Bartimæus and His Companion Healed.

  32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, ^c and commanded him to be brought unto him: ^b and said, Call ye him. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good cheer: rise, he calleth thee. [The multitude had rebuked the cry, but Jesus stood still to hear and answer it. He is no respecter of persons. Rich rulers and blind beggars received his attention and care without respect of station. He died for every man.]

  50 And he, casting away his garment, sprang up, and came to Jesus. [He cast off his outer garment or pallium, which was like a large shawl thrown over the shoulders, and is elsewhere called a cloaktfg.cgi?section=T#">Section It probably represented more than half the beggar's wealth, but he valued his eyesight more than through the crowd. Many to-day would come to Jesus, but their steps are impeded by some trifling obstacle ( Isaiah 64:6 ). In the race to win the presence of Christ on high, Christians are advised to lay aside every weight-- Hebrews 12:1 Hebrews 12:2 .]

^c and when he was come near, ^b Jesus answered him, ^c asked him, ^b and said,

^a What will ye {^c wilt thou} ^a that I should do unto you? {^b thee?}

  ^a 33 They say {^b And the blind man said} ^a unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. ^c Lord, ^b Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.

[Bartimæus had cried for mercy without specifying what mercy, and he had asked this mercy of Christ as the Messiah. The Lord therefore in his royal majesty asked Bartimæus to name the mercy, thus suggesting to him the fullness of the treasury of power and grace, to which he came. He was not to blame for this.]

^a What will ye {^c wilt thou} ^a that I should do unto you? {^b thee?}

  ^a 33 They say {^b And the blind man said} ^a unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. ^c Lord, ^b Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.

  ^a 34 And Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes;

  ^b 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; ^c Receive thy sight: thy faith hath made thee whole.

[We can see in this instance what faith really is. It caused Bartimæus to cry out, to come to Jesus and to ask for sight. Thus we see that faith saves by leading to proper actions.]

  ^b 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; ^c Receive thy sight: thy faith hath made thee whole.

  43 And immediately ^a straightway they {^c he} ^a received their {^b his} sight, ^a and followed him. ^b in the way. ^c glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God. [Being a beggar, it would have been natural for him to hunt first for means of livelihood, but faith and gratitude prompted him to follow Jesus.]