And those who were passing by rebuked him, so that he would be silent. Yet truly, he cried out all the more, “Son of David, take pity on me!” (Lk 18:39)
καὶ οἱ προάγοντες ἐπετίμων αὐτῷ ἵνα σιγήσῃ, αὐτὸς δὲ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἔκραζεν· υἱὲ Δαυίδ, ἐλέησόν με.
Et qui præibant, increpabant eum ut taceret. Ipse vero multo magis clamabat: Fili David miserere mei.
The blind man, Bartimaeus, did not allow himself to be silenced by those who tried to silence him. The more they insisted, the more he shouted for Jesus. The blind man, paradoxically, is now a “sighter”. He had good hearing. He knew that Jesus of Nazareth was also the Son of David, the Messiah. He believed that He came to restore sight, free the imprisoned, and raise the brokenhearted. All this happened at Jericho. Bartimaeus’ scream can still be heard, more than the sad voices of skeptics, interested people, and sensation-seekers. A wave of doubt crashed against the rock of faith. By the way – faithfulness, truth, in Hebrew comes from the word ’emet, which means, among others, rock.
