Mark 10:48
And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
The verse records blind Bartimaeus calling to Jesus as Son of David for mercy, and crying out all the more a great deal when many charged him to hold his peace. His persistent plea despite being told to be quiet becomes the model for bringing a sick person and every need to Jesus in prayer and in the arms of faith. Calling him Son of David identifies him as the promised Messiah, and the cry expresses humble dependence on him for help.
Jesus passing by means the sin-pardoning Saviour mighty to save coming near even at the eleventh hour on the very borders of the eternal world. He comes to one blind to the higher interests of the soul and to heavenly life and to the attractions of the city of God, who has labored for what is not bread and sacrificed peace, honor and fellowship with God's children to walk in his own way and content himself with secret sinful pleasure apart from God and heaven. Even when such a person has no hope and is without God, Jesus still comes near to offer what he most needs, something of infinite gain worth the toil and suffering of a whole lifetime.
The many bidding him hold his peace represent Satan's desperate suggestions and whatever or whoever would keep a sin-bound soul silent in despair and afraid to come to the light lest deeds be reproved. For a sin-hardened, hopeless, godless sinner the verse means throwing himself at the feet of Jesus with a broken repentant heart crying for mercy, falling on the rock Christ and being broken before it is utterly too late. He must come without waiting for anything, without stopping to reason and without delay even at the eleventh hour, and if he cries in this way God will not leave him to perish but will touch his heart with new tenderness and lead him to a sense of long-perverted obligations to Him. The sinner must not heed the deceiver or obey at the peril of soul and life, but must risk everything, cry the more for mercy, ask what to do to be saved, break Satan's bands and go to Jesus without a moment's delay. He must confess sin and make thorough work for repentance so as to grasp the crown of life and be rescued out of the snare of the devil.
The appeal to Son of David is a cry to Christ with persistent hope for the remedy for sin and for the mercy God offers to rebels and enemies, even when others try to silence the sinner. For the sick, Bartimaeus's cry is the pattern for bringing a sick person to Jesus as the great healer in the arms of faith and in prayer. That cry means persistent prayer for mercy that does not stop, lays aside all medicine and relies alone on the arm of God. It is not yet satisfied with what has been seen of salvation but affirms entire restoration and expects to see and feel more, believing the sick one will yet be fully restored to sound the last notes of warning to the world.
For those who awake and seek God for themselves, the verse teaches to call upon Jesus individually and most earnestly while he passes by. The appeal is answered with sight, giving clearer sight than was had before and giving through the grace of God what is more valuable than gold or silver or precious stones. That faith brings comfort and a felt experience of God's healing power, with peace like a river, triumph in God and unspeakable gratitude for tokens of His love, while continuing to expect complete restoration.