Healing of blind Bartimaeus. Following Jesus

1) Matthew 9:27-31: When Jesus walked from there, two blind men followed Him and shouted: Have mercy on us, Jesus, son of David! When He came into the house, the blind came to Him. And Jesus said to them: Do you believe that I am able to do this? They say to Him: Yes, Lord! Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened; and Jesus sternly said to them: Take care that no one finds out. And they went out and spread the word about Him throughout all that land.

2) Gospel of Mark 8:22-26: Comes to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man to Him and ask him to touch him. He, taking the blind man by the hand, led him out of the village and, spitting in his eyes, laid his hands on him and asked him: does he see anything? He looked and said: I see people passing by, like trees. Then he again laid his hands on his eyes and told him to look. And he was healed and began to see everything clearly. And he sent him home, saying: Do not enter the village and do not tell anyone in the village.

3) Matthew 20:29-34: And when they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And so, two blind men who were sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, began to shout: have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David! The people forced them to remain silent; but they began to shout even louder: have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David! Jesus stopped and called them over and said, “What do you want from Me?” They say to Him: Lord! so that our eyes may be opened. Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

4) Gospel of John 9:1-41: And, as he passed, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him: Rabbi! Who sinned, he or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered: Neither he nor his parents sinned, but [this was] so that the works of God might be revealed in him. I must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night comes when no one can do anything. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Having said this, He spat on the ground, made clay from the spit, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with clay, and said to him: Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which means: sent. He went and washed, and came back seeing. Then the neighbors, who had seen before that he was blind, said: Isn’t this the one who sat and begged for alms? Some said: this is him, and others: he looks like him. He said: it’s me. Then they asked him: how did your eyes open? He answered and said, The man called Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes, and said to me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash. I went, washed and received my sight. Then they said to him: Where is He? He answered: I don’t know. They took this former blind man to the Pharisees. And it was the Sabbath when Jesus made clay and opened his eyes. The Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Then some of the Pharisees said: This Man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath. Others said: how can a sinful person perform such miracles? And there was a quarrel between them. Again they say to the blind man: What will you say about Him, because He opened your eyes? He said: this is a prophet. Then the Jews did not believe that he was blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of this man who had received his sight and asked them: Is this your son, about whom you say that he was born blind? How can he see now? His parents answered them: we know that this is our son and that he was born blind, but how he sees now, we don’t know, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Himself in perfect years; ask yourself; let him speak about himself. This is what his parents answered because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that whoever recognized Him as Christ should be excommunicated from the synagogue. That is why his parents said: he is of perfect age; ask yourself. So, they called the man who was blind a second time and said to him: Give glory to God; we know that Man is a sinner. He answered and said to them, “Whether He is a sinner, I don’t know; One thing I know is that I was blind, but now I see. They asked him again: What did He do to you? How did I open your eyes? He answered them: I already told you, and you did not listen; what else do you want to hear? or do you also want to become His disciples? They reproached him and said: You are His disciple, and we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; We don’t know where He comes from. The man [who received his sight] answered and said to them: It is surprising that you do not know where He comes from, but He opened my eyes. But we know that God does not listen to sinners; but whoever honors God and does His will listens to him. Since the beginning of time it has not been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If He were not from God, He could not create anything. They answered him: You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us? And they kicked him out. When Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when he found him, he said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered and said: Who is He, Lord, that I should believe in Him? Jesus said to him: And you have seen Him, and He speaks to you. He said: I believe, Lord! And he bowed to Him. And Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” When some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, they said to Him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them: If you were blind, you would have no sin; but as you say what you see, the sin remains on you.

5) Gospel of Mark 10:46-52: They come to Jericho. And when He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a multitude of people, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat blind by the road, begging [alms]. Hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say: Jesus, Son of David! have mercy on me. Many people forced him to remain silent; but he began to shout even more: Son of David! have mercy on me. Jesus stopped and told him to call him. They call the blind man and tell him: don’t be afraid, get up, he’s calling you. He threw off outerwear, stood up and came to Jesus. Answering him, Jesus asked: What do you want from Me? The blind man said to Him: Teacher! so that I can see the light. Jesus said to him: Go, your faith has saved you. And he immediately received his sight and followed Jesus along the road; Gospel of Luke 18:35-43: And as He approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging, and when he heard that people were passing by, he asked, “What is this?” They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was coming. Then he shouted: Jesus, Son of David! have mercy on me. Those walking in front forced him to remain silent; but he shouted even louder: Son of David! have mercy on me. Jesus stopped and ordered him to be brought to Himself: and when he approached Him, he asked him: What do you want from Me? He said: Lord! so that I can see the light. Jesus said to him: see! your faith has saved you. And he immediately received his sight and followed Him, praising God; and all the people, seeing this, gave praise to God.

Healing a Man Born Blind
Chapter from the Law of God by Seraphim of Slobodsky

Having visited the Jerusalem temple on the occasion of one holiday, the Savior, after His sermon, left the temple and, walking along the street, saw a man blind from birth (born blind).
The Jews thought that every misfortune that happens to a person is a punishment for his sins. If misfortune befell the baby, they considered it a punishment for the sins of the parents.
Therefore, Jesus’ disciples asked Him: “Rabbi (teacher)! Who sinned, he or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Jesus Christ answered: “Neither he nor his parents sinned, but this was so that the works of God might be revealed in him.”

Having said this, He spat on the ground, made clay (dirt) from the spit, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with clay.
Then the Savior said to the blind man: “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (that was the name of one source of water located outside the city; the word Siloam means “sent”).
To heal a man born blind, the Savior could only say a word, and the blind man would begin to see. Therefore, if He now anointed the eyes of the blind man, he did not do this because this ointment contained healing power, but in order to arouse faith in him by such a touch to his eyes and show people that the blind man accepts the words of the Savior with faith.
The man born blind went to the pool of Siloam, washed himself and began to see; and returned sighted.

Then all the neighbors and those who had seen him before were surprised and asked: “Isn’t this the blind beggar who sat and begged?”
Some said: “It’s him.” Others said: “only similar to him.” He himself said: “It’s me, the one who was blind.”
Then everyone began to ask him: “How did your eyes open?”
The healed man answered: “The man called Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes and said to me: Go to the pool of Siloam and wash. I went, washed and received my sight.”
He was asked: “Where is this Man?”
The healed one answered: “I don’t know.”

Then they took the former blind man to the Pharisees; and it was Saturday when Jesus Christ healed him.
The Pharisees also began to ask the healed man how he regained his sight.
The healed one said to them: “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
Some of the Pharisees began to say: “This Man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath.”
Others said: “How can a sinful man perform such miracles?”
And there was a quarrel between them.
Then they asked the healed man again: “What will you say about Him, because He opened your eyes?”
The healed one said to them: “This is the Prophet.”

Then the Pharisees did not believe that he was blind and received his sight. They called their parents and asked them: “Is this your son, about whom you say that he was born blind? How can he see now?
The parents of the healed man answered them: “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. But we don’t know how he sees now, and we don’t know who opened his eyes. Our son is of advanced age (adult), ask yourself; let him speak about himself.”
This is how his parents answered, because they were afraid of the Pharisees, who had already agreed earlier and decided that anyone who recognizes Jesus of Nazareth as Christ the Messiah, the Savior of the world, will be excommunicated from the synagogue, that is, considered an apostate from their faith and law. That is why the parents, out of fear of the Pharisees, said: he is of advanced age, ask yourself.

Then the Pharisees called the healed man a second time and said to him: “Give glory to God! we know that That Man is a sinner (i.e., thank God for your healing, and not this Man, He is a sinner).”
The healed one said to them: “Whether He is a sinner, I don’t know; One thing I know is that I was blind, but now I see.”
The Pharisees began to ask him again: “What did He do to you? How did I open your eyes?
The healed one replied: “I already told you, and you did not listen; what else do you want to hear? Or do you also want to become His disciples?”
The Pharisees became angry, reproached him and said: “You are His disciple, and we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, but this (Jesus) we do not know where He comes from.”
Then the healed man answered them: “It’s amazing that you don’t know where He comes from, but He opened my eyes. But we know that God does not listen to sinners; but whoever honors God and does His will listens to him. Since the beginning of time it has not been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If He were not from God, He could not create anything.”
These simple and reasonable words, against which nothing could be said, angered the Pharisees. They said to him: “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?”
And they kicked him out.

Jesus Christ, hearing that the Pharisees had thrown out the healed man, found him and said to him: “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
The healed one asked: “Who is He, Lord, that I should believe in Him?”
Jesus Christ said to him: “And you have seen Him, and He speaks to you.”
Then the healed man said with great joy: “I believe, Lord!” and bowed to Him.

See in the Gospel of John, ch. 9, 1–38.

Pool of Siloam.
Yakov Fedorovich Kapkov. 1845 Oil on canvas. 139x179.
Pskov State United Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve
Art site

In 1845, for the execution of the “Pool of Siloam” program, Yakov Kapkov was awarded a large gold medal and the title of class artist of the XIV class.

Healing a man born blind.
N. M. Alekseev (1813-1880). 1848 Oil painting on dry plaster
Painting in the attic above the north-eastern pylon.
St. Isaac's Cathedral, St. Petersburg

Healing a man born blind.
Khudoyarov Vasily Pavlovich (1829/31-1892). 1860-1870s. Oil on canvas
Nizhny Tagil Art Museum of Fine Arts
www.christianart.ru

Healing of a man born blind by Jesus Christ.
Vasily Surikov. 1888 Oil on canvas. 162x107.
Museum of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra
(Church and archaeological office of the Moscow Theological Academy).
Gift His Holiness Patriarch Moscow and All Rus' Alexy I 1956 Signature with date at the bottom right.

The monumental figure of Christ occupies almost the entire space of the canvas. He is wearing a loose white robe with a draped over left shoulder blue himation. His intense gaze is directed directly at the viewer. Right hand Christ lay heavily and wearily on the head of the blind man. With his left hand he barely touches the frantically outstretched hand of the person being saved. Still unable to see anything because of the light that blinded him, the man releases the staff from his clenched hands. A miracle happened in the vestibule of the temple, and the apostles crowding behind and barely visible cannot hide their amazement. As the basis of his work, Surikov chose the lines of the Gospel of Mark (8:22-26), about the healing of a blind man in Bethsaida, and the Gospel of John (9:1-8), in which the words were heard: “I am the light of the world.”

Although the outstanding painter V.I. Surikov was not a church artist in the literal sense, but he repeatedly turned to religious themes. His most significant and earliest religious work was cardboards for paintings of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, completed in 1876. The canvas in question, executed by the master 12 years later, already demonstrates serious changes in the pictorial structure that appeared in many of the master’s famous works.

Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (1848, Krasnoyarsk - 1916, Moscow) is an outstanding painter. In 1867, the Krasnoyarsk governor sent a petition to the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts to accept the talented boy as a student. In 1869, Surikov was accepted as a volunteer student at the Academy. His educational work repeatedly awarded with silver medals and prizes. In 1875 he was awarded the title of class artist of the 1st degree. In 1876, he received an order for paintings in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, completed in 1878. The 1870-1880s were marked by work on the most famous works that made up the glory of Russian art. In 1881 he was accepted as a member of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions, with which his entire creative activity. The paintings that followed later, such as “The Conquest of Siberia by Ermak”, “Suvorov’s Crossing of the Alps”, “Stepan Razin”, strengthened his position as the first historical painter. In 1914, two years before his death, he painted the painting “The Annunciation.” The artist died in Moscow in 1916.
M. Krasilin. MDA
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The meeting of the man born blind with Christ fascinated Surikov more and more. He suddenly understood why the Savior healed people on Saturday. Not at all to offend the feelings of the Pharisees. And to show the true meaning of the Sabbath day - the day on which the Lord rested from His labors, entrusting the created world to the care of man. This meaning is that love for one's neighbor is what turns the Sabbath into the Day of the Lord. When Surikov wrote “The Parable of the Good Samaritan,” with which Jesus answers the question: “Who is a man’s neighbor?”, he somehow had not yet thought about it seriously. And now he clearly saw that he has Olya and Lenochka, to whom he is now father and mother, there is an old mother, there is Sasha, finally... and they all really need him. And Christ calls him to forget himself. How the former blind man forgot himself, fearlessly answering the Jews that the Man who healed him was a Prophet, although the man who had received his sight knew very well the threat of the Pharisees to excommunicate from the synagogue anyone who recognizes Jesus as the Christ.

In February 1893, the XXI Traveling Exhibition opened in St. Petersburg. Vasily Ivanovich, who for a long time did not dare to show his painting to a wider audience, was finally able to tell his mother and brother: “I put “Healing of the Blind by Jesus Christ” at the exhibition. The Moscow public, who saw my painting at home, also praises the artists. I don’t know what the St. Petersburg woman will say. And I think that she is rather indifferent in the matter of faith.”

And a few days later the second news flew to Krasnoyarsk. “My dear mother and Sasha! Critics of the film “Healing the Blind by Christ” are dissatisfied. Idealists criticize that it is very real, and realists that it is too ideal. So figure it out. But you will have to spit on both.”

Healing two blind men.
Andrey Petrovich Ryabushkin (1861-1904). 1888 Oil on canvas, 182x141.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

When Jesus walked from there, two blind men followed Him and shouted: Have mercy on us, Jesus, son of David! When He came into the house, the blind came to Him. And Jesus said to them: Do you believe that I am able to do this? They say to Him: Yes, Lord! Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened. Matthew 9:27-30

Christ's healing of the blind.
Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky. 1860. Paper, watercolor, graphite pencil. 35 x 45 cm
Private collection

Healing a man born blind.
K.V. Lebedev. Chromolithograph. Paper, graphics.
Ed. Moscow, beginning of the 20th century.
From the collection of the State Museum of the History of Religion

Healing Christ.
Klavdiy Vasilievich Lebedev.

One day Jesus was walking with His disciples. They saw a man blind from birth. The disciples asked why he was blind: whether because he had committed a sin or because his parents had sinned.

John 9:1–2

The Savior said that neither the parents nor this person sinned. The man was blind so that Jesus could heal him and show people the power of God.

John 9:3–5

Jesus made clay from clay. He anointed the blind man's eyes with it. Jesus told the man to go and wash his eyes.

John 9:6–7

Having washed the clay from his eyes, the man began to see!

John 9:7

When the neighbors saw him, they doubted whether he was the right person. He told them that Jesus had healed him. The neighbors took this man to the Pharisees. The man told the Pharisees that Jesus had healed him.

John 9:8–11

Some Pharisees thought that Jesus was most likely righteous. Others thought He was a sinner. When this man said that Jesus was a righteous man, some of the Pharisees became angry and kicked him out.

John 9:13–16, 30–34

Jesus found this man. He asked him if he believed in the Son of God. The man asked: who is the Son of God? Jesus said that He was the Son of God, and the man worshiped Him.

One day Jesus Christ met a man blind from birth on the road. Sometimes, children, it happens that a person sees well at first, but then his eyes begin to hurt and finally he goes blind. And sometimes it happens that a person is born blind. These are people who are blind from birth. This is the blind man Jesus Christ met.

The disciples asked Him: “Teacher! For whose sins was he born blind? Did he himself sin or his parents?”

Jesus Christ answered: “Neither for his own nor for the sins of his parents, but was born blind so that a miracle of God would happen to him.” Jesus Christ spat on the ground, rolled a ball out of mud and anointed the blind man’s eyes, and then said: “Go wash in the pool of Siloam.” The blind man went, washed and began to see.

Neighbors and acquaintances of the blind man, surprised, said: “Isn’t this the blind man who sat and begged?” Some said that it was the same one, others argued that this person only looked like him. But the blind man himself convinced that it was he. They asked him how he received his sight, and he told everything about the miracles that Jesus Christ does. “Where is He?” - people asked. “I don’t know,” answered the healed man.

It was Saturday, and the Pharisees said that it was sinful to even heal on Saturday. The people took the healed man to the Pharisees, where they began to interrogate him as to why he began to see. The blind man replied that the Lord put dirt on his eyes, then told him to wash himself, and after that he received his sight. Then some Pharisees began to say that this man was not from God, since he did not keep the Sabbath. And others said: “Can a sinner perform such miracles?” They began to argue and then decided to ask the man who was blind from birth: “What can you say about Him, because He opened your eyes.” He replied: “This is the Prophet.” The Jews did not like this, they did not even believe that this man was blind and began to see. So they called his parents and asked them: “Is this your son, who, as you say, was born blind? How did he begin to see? The parents answered: “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind, but why he began to see - we cannot say, he is not small, ask him yourself.” The parents were afraid that the Pharisees would not let them into the synagogue to pray, so they themselves did not say anything, but blamed everything on their son. The Pharisees called the healed man again and said to him: “Thank God! And this man (who healed you) is a sinner.” “It is none of my business whether He is a sinner or not; I know one thing: I was blind, but now I see.” The Pharisees are annoyed, and they think about how to confuse him, and again they ask: “What did He do to you? How did I open your eyes?” “I already told you, but you don’t want to listen to me. Why are you asking again? Or do you yourself want to become His disciples?” The Pharisees got angry: “You are His disciple, and we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we know nothing about Him, who He is and where He comes from.” The healed one said: “This is what is surprising, that you do not know Him. Meanwhile He made me see. After all, God does not listen to sinners, but listens only to those who honor God and do His will. Is it ever heard of anyone opening the eyes of someone born blind? If He were not from God, He could not do this.” At this point the Pharisees lost their temper. “You were born full of sins and still dare to teach us!” - they told the former blind man and kicked him out.

Jesus Christ met him and asked him if he believed in the Son of God. He replied: “Who is He that I should believe in Him?” - “You see Him. This is the One who speaks to you." “I believe, Lord!” - the healed man exclaimed and bowed to Jesus Christ.

We are talking about these texts of the New Testament:

“And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ... He spat on the ground, made clay from the spitting and anointed the eyes of the blind man with clay, and said to him: go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which means: sent. He went and washed, and came seeing.”(John 9:1,6,7).

There were two pools in Jerusalem, the Pool of Siloam (Siloam literally translated from the Hebrew Sent); and Bethesda. Bethesda is in the northern part of the city, and Siloam is in the southern part. On holidays, many pilgrims came to the city. None of them could enter the temple “unclean” and therefore they committed ritual ablution. And only those who had their own home in the city had mikvahs (home fonts). The number of pilgrims could reach a million people, which was many times the population of Jerusalem. In Bethesda they also washed sacrificial animals, so the water there was dirty. She was located at the market where they were sold (“at the sheep gate”). The Pool of Siloam was much cleaner and there was a spring there clean water. It was from the Spring of Siloam that on the Feast of Tabernacles they took water to the temple for a solemn libation on the altar from a golden vessel, on the last day of the holiday, with joyful exclamations of the people, the sounds of trumpets and cymbals. This was done in memory of the miraculous production of water from a rock during the wanderings of the Jews in the desert, as indicated in Holy Scripture(John 7:2,37,39; Is.12:3).

This passage indicates that Christ stained the eyelids of the blind man with dirt and therefore directed him to wash himself in the nearest source of water in order to wash off the “shaven clay” from himself. The fact that He sent him to the pool of Siloam can have two understandings. 1. That the water there was much cleaner. 2. That she was closer to the place where they met. The second option is more likely, since it is unlikely that Christ would send a blind man through the entire city.

Based on the text, one cannot draw conclusions about any allegorical meaning. The text is a direct description of the event. Sometimes, regarding the passage of the Gospel being studied, believers have another question:

“Why did Jesus not just heal the blind man with the Word, but make clay and anoint his eyes with it?” B. >

Indeed, we see stories in the New Testament when Christ healed from a distance, for example, the centurion's servant (Luke 7:2-10), lepers (Luke 17:12-14), etc. However, Jesus also healed by touching to people. That is, His miracles were always different - sometimes he would touch, sometimes he would heal with a word, sometimes he would send lepers to the priest, sometimes he would spit on the eyes, sometimes he would make clay, sometimes he would cure blindness immediately, sometimes gradually, etc. According to the text, it is impossible to give an answer why this is so in In each specific case, Christ did... Obviously, Jesus always showed a new miracle for a reason. Most likely, He did this so that no one would repeat and teach the “method” of Christ’s healing, saying that it was a matter of certain forms and manipulations...