The Aramaic name Bartimaios means 'son of Timaeus.' He was a blind beggar who sat by the road near Jericho, and when he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by he cried out repeatedly, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' Despite the crowd's attempts to silence him, his persistent cries brought him healing. He immediately followed Jesus.
Bartimaeus is one of the New Testament's great models of persistent, Messianic faith. His cry — 'Son of David, have mercy!' — was a public Messianic confession at a risky time. He would not be silenced. His healing becomes a model of salvation: spiritual blindness cried out in need, Jesus stopped and called him, and the man received sight and 'followed Jesus along the road.' Physical healing as a picture of spiritual restoration.