The words the crowd spoke this time were encouraging and helpful, delivering the sweetest message: Jesus is calling you. Notice the attitude transformation of the crowd when they were offered a chance to do it over! The same people who were heartlessly trying to silence Bartimaeus’ pleas now said to him, “Take heart. With these simple words, Jesus offered the grace-filled gift of a do-over. Instead, Jesus, in His wisdom and love, didn’t scold them but gave them what they needed most: an experience of grace rather than condemnation, a chance to try again to show love to their neighbor. Jesus could have walked over to Bartimaeus or reprimanded the crowd for their pitiless response to someone in need. It is Jesus’ response to the unkind crowd that moves me: Jesus said to them, “Call him” ( Mark 10:49). He heard the commotion, heard Bartimaeus’ cries for mercy, and also heard the nasty response of the crowd.

The crowd of people with Jesus reacted by shushing Bartimaeus, sternly telling him to be quiet! But Jesus stopped walking. Jesus was walking on the road with a crowd of people when Bartimaeus heard Jesus was passing by.īartimaeus cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ( Mark 10:47, NIV).

The end of Mark 10 tells the story of Bartimaeus, who was blind and sat by the roadside asking for support from passersby. I began to condemn myself … but then I remembered Jesus handling a similar situation. My daughter was hurt, and I felt like a failure as a mom. I cringed inside and sighed, feeling disappointed in myself. Her shoulders sagged, her face grew long, and her eyes filled with tears. I could see it written all over her face. Quick, thoughtless words flew out of my mouth and hurt my daughter. Get up he is calling you.’” Mark 10:49 (ESV) “And Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart. AMY WHITE, COMPEL Training Member Lee en español

The bartimaeus series