Summer 1998
The Beggars Garment
Edgar F. Parkins

It was ragged and dirty, that woolen "abaye" that covered Bartimaes as he sat at the busy road. Well meaning people had given him better ones for which he was grateful, but he kept those at home or passed them on.

This was his beggar's robe. Its warm, personal smell was pleasant to him; its tattered fringes semophored additional appeals to passers by, as lifting sightless eyes, he begged for a mite. He had found long ago that the returns were better when he was wrapped in this worn-out garment.

Jericho was a comfortable place for beggars, hot and dry most of the time. Because Herod's winter palace attracted rich visitors, it was far better than Jerusalem for those of his profession.

Although without vision, natural or spiritual, and with little concept of the glory of the Creator's handiwork, or of those subtle warnings written by sin and greed upon the countenances of men, Bartimaes had to catch the almost imperceptible inflection, or the gait of shuffling feet, to teach him what others might learn more easily. He was not unhappy, all men had their allotted tasks. So he begged without shame, and loved his threadbare garment.

Then Jesus came. There was a new excitement, a breath of life stirring through the gossip; there were stories of mighty healings, of vast crowds, hopes of a new Kingdom at hand. This Jesus of Nazareth, could He be the expected Messiah? Would He bring deliverance in this urgent hour to Israel?

Jesus had arrived at Jericho. The excited crowd was surging past the beggar's shady corner to line the road. As the crowd stilled to observe Jesus as He passed by, Bartimaeus's beggar's whine changed to an urgent cry; "Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Louder and more impassioned sounded the repeated, desperate appeal. He was told by orthodox citizens to be quiet, but he shouted louder. Then a Word was spoken and someone said, "Rise, He calleth thee!" Leaping up, he cast aside his garment, the very symbol of his profession - the familiar accompaniment to his way of life. With that gesture, he was giving a joyous farewell to the past. He would never beg again!

Jesus asked, "What will you that I should do for you?" Some beggars love their life pattern, and do not desire anything more strenuous. "Lord, that I might receive my sight."

This was his true heart's desire, deeply stirred, defined in hope, and uttered in the presence of the Son of God. The declaration of that desire, in the presence of Jesus, transmuted hope into invincible faith, and the answer came, "Go your way, your faith has made you whole." Immediately, he received his sight, and followed Jesus.

Young Mark, writer of the Gospel, knew Bartimaes and his father. Later, he heard his testimony in the church at Jerusalem. He had perceived with others the desperation in a heart cry that would not be denied. That cry in that Presence had become faith, by the grace which Jesus gives. That faith had made Bartimaeus whole.

But Mark noted something else. The beggar had cast aside his garment while still blind, as though to say; "Begone, beggar's garb! You shall not earn a mite more for me!" Bartimaeus was about to became a new creature by faith in Jesus Christ.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold all
things are become new" II Cor 5:17.

Do you keep a beggar's garment? Do you make provision for the flesh, just in case following Christ should demand too much? Or, have all things become new?

Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. It is good to cry out, to formulate your innermost heart's desire, as He invites you to come and receive. It is better still to fling aside the garments of despair and reserve; to say farewell to past limitations and assets, and to venture into Christ's fullness to define our heart's desire in His presence.

And is receiving that heart's desire the best of all? Rather, the best is to receive spiritual sight with which to see His face, and to follow Him on the uphill road to Calvary.

Addendum: Edgar F. Parkyns was born and raised in England. He received his call to ministry while a government worker. He pastored in England and received a call to Africa, where he founded a Bible school. Later, he came to America. He taught at Elim from 1972-75 and at Pinecrest from 1975 until his death in 1987.