The Beggar Who Wouldn't Be Quiet

Ever since the bright day on the mountain, Jesus had been walking toward Jerusalem. Along the way he told his friends, more than once, that he would be killed there and would rise again. Somehow they went on dreaming about thrones.

James and John, who had seen him shining, had a plan of their own. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do whatever we ask!"

"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked.

"When you are King in all your glory, let us sit next to you, one on your right and one on your left."

(When the other ten disciples heard about this, they were very cross indeed.)

Jesus called them all together. "Whoever wants to be great among you must be everyone's servant," he said. "I came not to be served but to serve, and to give my life to set many people free."

Then they came down to Jericho, the last town before the long climb to Jerusalem. (That road goes uphill nearly all day, so travelers rested in Jericho first.) As Jesus left the town, a big crowd squeezed along the road with him.

By the side of the road sat a man named Bartimaeus. He was blind, and he begged for a living, with his cloak spread on the ground to catch whatever people tossed him. All day long he listened to feet go by.

Today there were more feet than he had ever heard. "What's happening?" he asked.

"Jesus of Nazareth is passing by!"

Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus. He took a deep breath and yelled.

"Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!"

Heads turned. People frowned. "Shh! Be quiet!"

(A crowd busy shushing someone is never very quiet itself.)

So Bartimaeus shouted louder. "SON OF DAVID! HAVE MERCY ON ME!"

Son of David was a name for a king. God had promised King David that someone from his family would be King forever. Bartimaeus could not see Jesus, but he knew who was walking past.

Jesus stopped, and the whole crowd bumped to a stop behind him. "Call him over," he said.

Now the same people who had been shushing Bartimaeus changed their tune. "Cheer up! Get up! He's calling you!"

Bartimaeus threw off his cloak, jumped to his feet, and came toward the voice.

Then Jesus asked him the very question he had asked James and John. "What do you want me to do for you?"

"Teacher," said Bartimaeus, "I want to see again."

"Go," said Jesus. "Your faith has made you well."

At once Bartimaeus could see: the dusty road, the swaying palm trees of Jericho, the crowd with their mouths hanging open, and Jesus looking straight at him. Instead of going back to his place by the road, he followed Jesus up the hill toward Jerusalem.

Two men asked for the best seats beside the King. One man asked for eyes, and as soon as he had them, he used them to follow.

God's people had an old promise from the prophet Isaiah, about the day God would come to save them: on that day the eyes of the blind would be opened. For hundreds of years they had listened to that promise. Now it came true on the Jericho road, for a man the crowd had tried to hush.

This was what David's great Son turned out to be like. He was walking out ahead of a whole crowd on the road to Jerusalem, and he stopped for one shout. He was on his way to give his life away, and he still had time to ask a blind man what he wanted.