Jesus Helps Bartimaeus See

Luke 18:35-43; Mark 10:46-52

Bartimaeus (bar-tih-MAY-us) was blind. He could not see. But he could hear. Bartimaeus sat by the road near a town called Jericho. He called to the people that passed by. Bartimaeus had to beg because he didn’t have any money to buy food. He would sit by the road asking people to give him food.


Bartimaeus heard people talking. They had exciting news. They said, “Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming!” Bartimaeus learned that Jesus and his helpers were on their way to Jerusalem. And Jesus was passing by!


Bartimaeus was happy to hear about Jesus. He knew Jesus would listen if he asked for help. He called out in a loud voice, “Jesus! Son of David! Help me!”


The people around Bartimaeus told him, “Be quiet."


But Bartimaeus shouted even louder, “Jesus, help me!"

Jesus stopped. He heard Bartimaeus asking Him for help. Jesus asked the people to bring Bartimaeus to Him.

The people told Bartimaeus, “Get up! He is calling you.” Bartimaeus got up, threw off his cloak, and came to Jesus.


Then Jesus asked “What do you want Me to do for you?”

Bartimaeus said, “I want to see.”


Then Jesus did something wonderful. He helped Bartimaeus see! Jesus said, “You believed in Me, and now you can see.”


Bartimaeus was so happy! He could see Jesus. He could see the people. And he could see a bird flying by, too. “Thank You, Jesus!” said Bartimaeus. “You listened when I asked You for help.”

Bartimaeus followed Jesus, praising God. All the people praised Jesus, too.

Jesus listened when Bartimaeus asked for help. Jesus listens when we ask Him for help!


Bible Paraphrase: He cares for you. (Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

Text Truth: Jesus listens when we ask for help.


Activities You Can Do at Home


Listen to Sounds
  • Take time to listen to sounds while you are out with your preschooler: in the backyard, at the park, a zoo, the grocery store, anywhere!
  • Help your child identify each noise. 
  • Talk about how just as you listened to hear different sounds, Jesus listens to us when we ask Him for help.
  • Repeat with your child the Bible paraphrase: “He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Before and After

You’ll Need: Bible, crayons, sheets of paper
  • Have your child use a dark crayon to completely cover a piece of paper.
  • Explain that this was how everything looked to Bartimaeus when he was blind: He saw only one color and it was very dark.
  • Reread the Bible story. 
  • Help your child think of things that Bartimaeus saw after Jesus healed his eyes. 
  • Have your child draw these things on another piece of paper using bright-colored crayons. 
  • Remind your child that Jesus listens when we ask Him for help.
  • Repeat with your child the Bible paraphrase: “He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

What’s in the Bag?

You’ll Need: a large shopping bag or tote bag, several items that are safe for children to handle, blindfold or mask (optional)
  • Place the items in the bag. 
  • Have your child cover or close his eyes, reach in the bag, and take out one thing. 
  • Let him feel the object and guess what it is. 
  • Play until he has guessed everything in the bag. 
  • As he plays, remind your child that this was how Bartimaeus experienced the world until Jesus helped Bartimaeus to see.
  • Repeat with your child the Bible paraphrase: “He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

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Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported licence. 
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