What do you want me to do for you?
We can learn so much of a person’s character by their conversations. Take for instance this week’s Gospel conversation between Bartimaeus and Jesus. Bartimaeus starts the exchange with ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ In one of my earlier posts, I discussed the phrase ‘Son of David’, today I would reflect on the other phrase ‘have mercy on me’.
Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, wants his situation to change. Yet, he does not call out ‘Jesus,… let me see again’ instead he petitions Jesus to have mercy on him. To ask for mercy is to acknowledge that he is a sinner, and that his situation may be through his own making. He is expressing his unworthiness, his innermost prayer does not deserve to be answered, just be merciful.
It brings to mind Luke 18: 14 on Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. The Pharisee tells God of his (the Pharisee’s) sanctity, the tax Collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner’. Jesus goes on to say he (the Tax collector) went home at peace with God.
So often we approach God, with our petitions, from a position of deserving. Why me God? But after all I have done for you, this is the way you treat me? What did I do to derserve this? I prayed so hard for this, and you have not answered my prayer. We justify ourselves, we are deserving!
In contrast, Bartimaeus approaches Jesus with a humility that challenges our modern mindset. He doesn’t come to Jesus with a list of his virtues, nor does he insist on the fairness of his request. Rather, Bartimaeus, like the tax collector, opens his heart with raw honesty, recognizing his dependence on God’s mercy, not his own worthiness.
This plea for mercy is not about entitlement but surrender—a total reliance on God’s goodness and grace, no matter his past or present state. It’s a profound reminder for us to let go of our self-justification and approach God with a similar humility, trusting not in our own merits but in His boundless mercy and love. In doing so, like Bartimaeus and the tax collector, we find true peace in God.
It is no wonder that Jesus answers him ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ While it is obvious, what he wants, Jesus does not take away his dignity, looking past his status as a blind beggar, to his humility as a person.
Friend, as we approach Christmas, and the birth of the Christ Child into our heart and home, just as Bartimaeus heard Jesus coming, let us prepare ourselves to meet him in conversation. I urge you to avail yourself of my book of preparations for Advent and Christmas at the following link ‘A Season of Hope LINK’
If you can, please consider upgrading to a paid subscriber by clicking on your subscription link below and following the process. Your donation funds the growth of this online ministry of the word - thereby changing the world into a better place.