By: Obed Pineda
On the day that the prophet Isaiah was commissioned by Jehovah God, his marching orders were “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed” (Isaiah 6:9-10). Admittedly, God’s directive to Isaiah does appear to be odd and confusing taking into account that earlier in the book He had pleaded with the house of Judah to turn away from their sins and be reconciled to Him (cf. Isaiah 1:16-20). Did Jehovah give up on His chosen people so quickly? Was Isaiah enlisted for the purpose of guiding the people to their own destruction? Absolutely not! The same prophet through inspiration writes, “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts” (Isaiah 65:2). Holy Writ has always made it clear that heaven’s purpose for sending prophets was to teach the people out of their sin in order to prevent them from dying in their sins (cf. 2nd Chronicles 36:15-16, Jeremiah 3:6-18, Ezekiel 3:16-21). Yet, it is important to illuminate that what God desired for His people did not match what the people desired for themselves. This is what is intended to be revealed by the prophet’s delegation. God was preparing Isaiah for the difficult task he was being called for. The Father was revealing to Isaiah that the hearts of Judah had been petrified by their constant refusal to obey His commandments – similar to Pharaoh of old (cf. Exodus 5:1-12:30). One can see the similarity between Pharaoh and Judah for Isaiah recorded, “that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the LORD; who say to seers, ‘Do not see,’ and to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us’” (Isaiah 30:9-10). Isaiah soon confirmed the meaning of his duty was to preach the truth, being forewarned that the more he spoke on behalf of God the more the people would obdurately resist it. Paul explains this reaction saying, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap for themselves teachers” (2nd Timothy 4:2-3). This was the same instructions that the prophet Isaiah was being given by God when he was called into office. The merciful Father was exhorting Isaiah to continue to prophesy His Word even though they would react strongly against it. God was preparing the prophet with the understanding that it was not that they could not comprehend the message, rather it was that they chose not to heed it. Therefore, this manifests that not all blindness is involuntary, for the same was true during the Master’s earthly tenure. John states, “although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled” (John 12:37-38a). The beloved apostle proceeds to quote two of Isaiah’s prophecies that forewarned of the Jewish rulers obstinacy, as foreshadowed by their father’s own hardened hearts (cf. Isaiah 53:1, 6:10). In fact, Isaiah’s assigned commission is often quoted in the New Testament to corroborate the persistent rejection of Jesus as the Messiah by the rulers of that time (cf. Matthew 13:14-15, Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10, John 12:40, Acts 28:26-27). Keeping in mind the apostle Paul’s entreaty to Timothy, it is unquestionable that the same is true today in this modern world. However, this constant choice of mankind closing its eyes to God’s truth revealed through His Spirit is what makes Mark’s story of Bartimaeus so precious and apropos (cf. Mark 10:46-52). Here was a beggar who was physically blind, who sat by the road out of Jericho (cf. Mark 10:46). Biblical historians establish that this city was about fifteen miles from Jerusalem, where the Savior was headed (cf. Mark 10:32). This would be the Lord’s final time coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Thus, when the blind beggar “heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me’” (Mark 10:47)! Even though Bartimaeus had never seen Jesus, it is clear from the Scripture that he had heard of all the great things He had been able to do. Again, Bartimaeus had never seen Jesus perform His miracles, but had only heard about them, and this was sufficient for him to react with the urgency that he did. Bartimaeus recognized the massive once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that had appeared before him, and he was not about to be denied this precious blessing. This is manifested by the fact that among the great multitude of people walking with the Lord, there were many who did not agree with Bartimaeus’ conclusion as to the identity of Jesus (cf. Mark 10:48a). Those among the crowd who disagreed that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah (which is what the title “Son of David” meant) sought to silence the blind beggar’s proclamation. Ironically, the blind beggar could see clearly what the sighted people walking with Christ could not. John further explains why this was so, saying, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:10-11). Although they walked with Jesus out of Jericho, their hearts were still veiled by their incredulity. Certainly, there was no denying the power He had exhibited nor the authority with which He taught, but in spite of all that, they still refused to acknowledge Him as the prophesied Messiah “for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43). Their voluntary blindness was exposed by Bartimaeus’ diligence in coming to Jesus, being convinced of His true identity. Bartimaeus did not need to see Jesus work His miracles in order to believe in Him, and for this reason when He called him “throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus” (Mark 10:50). Notice that it was not enough for this blind beggar to believe in Jesus for him to be healed from his ailment. When Jesus called for him, Bartimaeus needed to accept and answer the call if he was to be healed. This man removed what could have become an obstacle to his feet, keeping him from reaching Jesus. He rose to his feet immediately, and approached the Redeemer with his humble plea. His obedience allowed him to cease this extraordinary blessing, that many others had tragically squandered away. It is certainly a travesty to learn the frequency with which we deny Christ from making us whole simply because we refuse to recognize who He is. Bartimaeus teaches us the value of laying hold of the opportunity Jesus offers when He calls, but at the same time he also reveals that when we refuse to heed the Savior’s call, we are doomed to remain in darkness forever (cf. 2nd Corinthians 3:14-4:4)