“Jesus, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me!” – The Cry of Christmas
The cry of blind Bartimaeus, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” is a timeless cry of the human heart. It is a cry of anguish and desperation. It is also a cry of expectancy and hope. In many ways, it is the cry of Christmas. We have a Messiah — the anointed King who has come to rescue His people from darkness, from the grip of the enemy who hates God and all of God’s Creation, especially us who are made in the image of God. Whenever Satan looks at us, he is reminded of his own depraved nature. This cry is an acknowledgement that we cannot escape this prison of darkness, this ‘slimy pit’ as David calls it, on our own. It is a cry of deep surrender and need.
It is also an acknowledgement of faith in the one who can rescue us. Even more than that, it is rooted in the belief that not only can He save us, He is willing to save us. This is important because there are times when we don’t think we are worth saving.
We cry out because we believe that He hears us. And we cry out because it is our last chance. Jesus, if you can’t do this we are truly lost. We cry out, even though the world tells us to be silent — “Don’t bother Jesus, He has more important people to save”.
We cry out because we know that this life is not what God intended for us. There is more, there is a better way. We have coped, gotten by. We have ‘survived’, but we know this is not what life in the Kingdom of God is like. And we believe in His goodness and the freedom of His Kingdom.
We are out of strength and energy. We have depleted all of our emotional and even physical reserves. “Jesus, you are our last hope”. So, we cry out to Him as He passes by, believing that if we don’t get His attention now, it will be too late.
“Why did I wait so long?”, I ask myself. “Couldn’t I have cried out long ago?” This question is irrelevant. The important thing is that I am crying out now. I am crying out to the One who hears me, whose deepest desire is to restore me, to heal me, to set me free. To the only One who can accomplish these things in my life, because Lord knows, I can’t. I have tried and look what I have to show for my efforts — a deeper pit, and bloody fingers from trying to claw my way out. It is no use.
“Jesus, Son of David” — He is passing by this Christmas season. “Have mercy on me, a sinner”. I am ready to relinquish my idols, I am ready to fall completely into your arms, trusting that, unlike the other master, you are good and your burden is easy. At least that is what I have been told. And I believe it because it had better be true.
I have nothing to give you, Jesus except my emptiness; not even my brokenness but my emptiness. I have let go of those things that give me value, and I stand before you empty, ready to receive whatever you have for me. Nothing more and nothing less. Empty but surprisingly full. Hope, joy, and peace — the three interrelated, intertwined strands that make up the rope that binds me to Jesus — my lifeline — coiled around my heart, drawing Him to me.
The world cannot know this place of intimacy, this connectedness to Jesus that will not fail me or be broken. But Jesus is the mirror image of me — where I cry out for Him, He cries out for the world. “Come to me, all who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” is the cry from His heart. It is also a cry of anguish and desperation. He loves us so much that He entered into the slimy pit with us and died in that place, alone in darkness, so that I might live.
He waits for our cry “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” so that He can lift us out of darkness, place us on a firm foundation in the light of the Father’s love. That is the deepest desire of His heart — restoration! But He waits — He waits for our cry. The greatest gift we can give Jesus this Christmas (and really every day) is not our obedience, our love, or our faith. The greatest gift is our total defeat coupled with our total surrender, knowing that He is the only way — there is no other. And in this defeat, in Him we find victory.
All glory and honor to the only King, Jesus
Hallelujah