Dear Parents,

Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. Today’s Bible story takes us to the outskirts of Jericho where a man named Bartimaeus sat by the side of the road begging. You see, Bartimaeus was blind. As Jesus traveled from Jericho, He passed Bartimaeus. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by, he cried out to Him, using a messianic title: “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Socially, Bartimaeus would have been considered unimportant—certainly not important enough for the attention of someone as popular as Jesus. Perhaps Bartimaeus was used to being ignored by passersby, but Jesus stopped and reached out to him. Jesus said to Bartimaeus, “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51).

Bartimaeus answered Jesus’ question with a plea of faith: “Teacher, I want to see!” Bartimaeus believed that Jesus could heal him, and Jesus did. Bartimaeus had nothing to offer Jesus. He knew he was needy, and he begged for mercy. Jesus is willing to help those in need.

The prophet Isaiah wrote that the promised Messiah would open the eyes of people who were blind. (Isaiah 35:5; 42:7) He was here! Jesus was the promised Messiah. Even if we are not physically blind, we are sinners. In our need, we can cry out like Bartimaeus, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Sinners can’t see the truth about God until Jesus opens our eyes and saves us.

In Christ,

Pastor Jon