He sat by the side of the road as he always did. Without the use of his eyes he couldn’t find work and he had no one else to care for him. His only hope was the wooden bowl in front of him and the kindness of a passer-by.

His was a busy spot and the sound of footsteps combined into a constant beat. Sometimes people would stop and look at him. They laughed and joked; they called him names. Every now and then he would hear the sound of coins being taken from a purse and dropped into the bowl.

Today seemed to be just an ordinary day for Bartimaeus. He’d found his place outside of Jericho and had settled in to see what the day would bring. What happened next was beyond his wildest dreams.

It all began with a change in the sound of the road. Rather than people walking backwards and forwards, intent on getting where there going, they all came to a stop. Bartimaeus could hear the people lining along the road, pushing each other for position.

‘What’s going on?’ he shouted, pulling at the cloak of the person nearest to him. ‘Leave me alone,’ came the reply, ‘I’m trying to get to see Jesus.’ ‘Jesus? Do you mean Jesus of Nazareth?’ the blind man asked. ‘That’s right, now let go of my cloak.’

Bartimaeus had heard people speaking about this Jesus as they passed by him each day. He’d heard that Jesus taught people about God and performed miracles. How many times had he heard of a healing that Jesus had performed? Bartimaeus thought to himself, ‘maybe he could help me see?’

He sensed where the crowd was gathering, turned his head in that direction and began to shout out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ People from the crowd turned. ‘Be quiet,’ some said. Others told him to ‘stop making so much noise.’ He didn’t listen. Instead, raising his voice even louder, he cried out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’

His voice penetrated through the crowd and on the other side Jesus heard him and stopped. He turned to those lining the road and said, ‘Call him.’ They turned to give Bartimaeus the news. He sprang up and felt his way through the crowd until he was standing before Jesus.

‘What do you want me to do?’ Jesus asked him. ‘Teacher, I want to see,’ came the reply. ‘Go, your faith has healed you,’ said Jesus. At that moment, something incredible happened. Bartimaeus could see. He looked down and there were his hands. He looked around at the people, there were their faces. Jesus had healed him! He left his place by the side of the road; he left his bowl and with the crowd he followed Jesus.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was no ordinary man. Why not come and hear more at our Sunday morning services this month as we look at the miracles of Jesus and their relevance to us today?