The Blessed Injeel tells us in Mark 10.46-52 that one day Hazrat Isa ( ع ) was leaving the city of Jericho, on the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories.
As Hazrat Isa ( ع ) and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him.
A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. When Bartimaeus heard that Hazrat Isa ( ع ) of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Hazrat Isa! Son of David, have mercy on me!”
“Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.
But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
When Hazrat Isa ( ع ) heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”
So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!”
Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to him.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Hazrat Isa ( ع ) asked.
“My teacher,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”
And Hazrat Isa ( ع ) said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.”
Instantly the man could see, and he followed him down the road.
What do you think about this story?
- Is there something you like in the story?
- Or something in it that doesn’t seem right?
- Does this story remind you of the way people sometimes behave?
- Maybe it starts you thinking about God.
- What does this story seem to suggest you do? (I think you know that God will bless you read the teaching of Hazrat Isa ( ع ) and obey and copy him.)
Did you notice that Hazrat Isa ( ع ) had completed his time in the city of Jericho? He was walking out, to go to another place. Many people were crowding around him. But he stopped and helped one person. Even a person who the crowd did not like.
Today, would he “stop” and give you what you need? Do you also take notice of other people?