Bartimaeus

Bartimaeus

Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was a blind beggar who was healed by Jesus Christ. He is called by Jesus. He was sitting on the side of a road when Jesus was walking through Jericho. When he heard that Jesus was near, he shouted "Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me!" When Jesus heard him he stopped there in the road and said, "Tell him to come here." Bartimaeus yanked off his old coat and flung it aside, jumped up and went to Jesus. Jesus healed Bartimaeus, and the blind man could see. The fact that he threw off his coat is significant.

As a matter of custom, blind men and beggars wore certain coats to identify them, so that people could recognize their needs. Bartimaeus had so much faith that he would be healed by Jesus that he threw off his coat, knowing that he no longer would need the coat that identified him as a blind beggar, even before he was healed.