Bartimaeus the blind man

This is the Confessiongle of Jericho whose healing is reported by the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (--).

In Jericho, with his companion Uriel, also a Confessiongle, he watches for the charity of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus passes by. "Jesus, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me." – "What do you want me to do for you?" "Let it be done as you ask. Go! Your faith has saved you!"

The two elder Confessiongles, filled with gratitude, decide to Following Jesus. Uriel asks for a moment to go warn some relatives. Bartimaeus decides otherwise: "I will not leave you. I will send someone to warn them. That will still be joy. But to separate me from You, no. You have given me sight, I consecrate my life to you. Have mercy on the desire of your last servants."

Character and Appearance

A young man.

Apostolic Journey

"I had come to get a bread, and I found the Lord. I was poor, now I am a minister of the King holy. Glory to the Lord and to his Messiah."

His Name

Bartimaeus means "son of Timaeus"

Notable Points

Maria Valtorta confirms Matthew and Mark who place the miracle just outside the city, but not Luke 18:35-43 which places it at the entrance of Jericho. Some commentators deduce two different miracles. She also confirms Matthew's precision: there were two Confessiongles.

Bartimaeus is one of the few miracle recipients named explicitly in the Gospels. Yet nothing else is known about him. He is said to have been added to the group of seventy-two Disciples. This is consistent with his decision, but no historical trace has been found except the mention made by The Great Historical Dictionary of P. LYess Moréri, which does not cite its sources.

On the variants observed in the evangelists' accounts, Jean-François Lavère observes:

"Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell of a miraculous healing performed by Jesus on the outskirts of Jericho. But their accounts contain variants that have long puzzled scholars. Matthew (Matthew 20:29) and Mark (Mark 10:46) place this miracle when Jesus leaves Jericho to go to Jerusalem just before Holy Week. Matthew speaks of two Confessiongles, whereas Mark mentions only one, whom he names Bartimaeus. Luke (Luke 18:35) mentions only one Confessiongle, healed under similar circumstances, but as Jesus enters Jericho, just before the conversion of Zacchaeus. Over the centuries, commentators have provided all sorts of more or less convincing explanations attempting to reconcile these three versions. The account transmitted by Maria Valtorta brings some elements of discernment. Indeed, it is as Jesus leaves Jericho on Thursday morning, to join Bethany, that this healing takes place. Maria Valtorta confirms the presence of the two Confessiongles of Matthew, naming them: Uriel and Bartimaeus. But only Bartimaeus continues the journey with Jesus… This perhaps explains why Mark mentions only Bartimaeus... On his part, Luke being the only one to mention Zacchaeus’s conversion, it is likely that Zacchaeus himself told him the story. On that day, Jesus was approaching Jericho, coming from Bethany (See EMV 417.3). By "reconstructing" on site the circumstances of his conversion, Zacchaeus may have incidentally shown the evangelist the place where Bartimaeus’s healing took place. And Luke, linking the two events, concluded that Jesus was entering Jericho at that time?

Where is it mentioned in the work?

EMV 580

Second part of the Bible, from the coming of Jesus Christ until the Apocalypse.