God’s Tiny Details (Part 3)

“When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the (former blind) man and asked, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ The man answered, ‘Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.’ ‘You have seen him,’ Jesus said, ‘and he is speaking to you!’ ‘Yes, Lord, I believe!’ the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.” John 9:35-38

Bartimaeus was born blind and spent his entire life without being able to see. Jesus put mud and spit on his eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. When he washes the mud out, he looks down and sees his face in the ripples in the water for the first time. This all happened on the Sabbath. Even though he wasn’t supposed to exert energy on the Sabbath, he takes off running through the streets, bursts through the doors of the synagogue, and runs down the aisles, leaping, jumping, and yelling, “I can see. I was born blind, but now I can see.” He interrupted the dead, boring service. 

The Pharisees tried to quiet him down, but he said (paraphrased), “I’m sorry, but I was a blind beggar all my life, but Jesus has opened my eyes, and I can’t be quiet!” The Pharisees believed that Jesus did this by demonic empowerment. They asked Bartimaeus, “What do you say?” He had a brilliant answer. He said (paraphrased), “I don’t know who He is. All I can tell you is I was blind when I met Him and I can see right now. So, you call Him whatever you want to call Him, but I call Him healer, deliverer, and savior, and I’m not ashamed to praise Him.”   

There is an interesting part of the story that is often overlooked. It demonstrates how much Jesus is in the details. They kicked Bartimaeus out of the temple, and on what should have been the happiest day of his life, he finds himself ostracized and all alone. As he was sitting alone, Jesus found him, walked up to him, and asked, “Would you believe I’m the Son of God?” Bartimaeus recognized the voice of the man who healed him. He whirled around and said, “Lord, I believe.” And he fell at Jesus’ feet.     

It wasn’t enough for Jesus to only heal the man. Jesus wanted to make sure the man would have eternal life and be in Heaven with Him one day.

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