Digging Deeper: Hearing Before Seeing

46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Mark 10:46-52 (ESV)
HEARING BEFORE SEEING
When I think of the quote, “You have to see it to believe it,” I immediately think of the movie Now You See Me. The premise of the movie is about illusionists who perform mind-blowing magic tricks—while secretly stealing money from their audience members. The first time I watched this movie was with my wife’s family, and they had all seen it before. They had a great time watching me react to each and every illusion on screen.
In the second movie, there is a crazy scene where the main characters pass a card around while being searched (using the real magic of CGI). It was one of those moments where I had to rewind just to process how they pulled it off.
This movie was a wild story that you had to see to believe, but ultimately, it was just a fictional story meant to entertain. However, the story of Bartimaeus in Scripture is also one that might seem hard to believe at first, yet I assure you—it is completely true.
It’s easy to put our faith in things we can see and trust. But put yourself in Bartimaeus’ shoes for a moment. He had never seen Jesus perform a miracle. He had never watched as Jesus taught the crowds. He probably didn’t participate in any of the other stories written in Scripture because of how difficult it would have been for him to get there. Yet, he had full faith in Jesus as the Son of David, the promised Messiah.
I wonder how Bartimaeus even heard about Jesus. Maybe it was as others walked past him on the side of the road, sharing stories of healings and miracles. Maybe it was from people he used to spend time with before his blindness isolated him from society. Imagine how much faith it must have taken to fully believe in something he had only heard about but never seen for himself. His faith was not based on sight but on trust in what he had heard about Jesus’ power and goodness.
This is the same place where many of your friends might find themselves today. Maybe they are familiar with who Jesus is or have heard the stories of the Bible, but those truths haven’t yet taken root in their hearts. We must fully depend on the Holy Spirit to open our eyes so we can truly understand and receive the Word of God. This is why two people can read the same verse—like John 3:16—and have completely different reactions. One person may be unmoved, while another may be so deeply convicted that they put their trust in Christ on the spot. It’s not just about hearing the Word but having the spiritual eyes to see and believe it.
Now let me ask you: What are you believing in God to do before you ever see the fruit of it? What do you trust Him to do because of His faithfulness to His promises so far? So often, we wait for visible proof before trusting in God’s plan, but faith calls us to trust before we see.
Can I assure you today that if Jesus accomplished the work of bringing us new life spiritually through the cross, then truly anything is possible? He is still faithful, still working, and still calling us to trust Him… even when we haven’t yet seen the full picture.
Sellers Hickman serves as College & Teaching Pastor at NorthStar Church and loves cheering on his Ole Miss Rebels. He and his wife, Hannah, live in Dallas, Ga. with their two daughters. He also serves as the chaplain for the KSU Men’s Basketball team.