Mark 10 46-52

Last week we looked at an inappropriate request from two of the disciples, James and John. They, you’ll remember, asked Jesus to place them in the positions of power, on Jesus’ right and left hand as He comes into His kingdom. When Jesus is ruling, James and John want to have everyone looking up at them, envying them. Today we get to look at a more appropriate request that a man makes of Jesus.

I have to be honest and tell you that I wasn’t going to preach on this passage. I was going to skip it in order to move into Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. But then in my notes of Dr. Bailey, I noticed that he really likes this passage and has some very interesting observations about this little passage that I want to pass along to you all. So we are not skipping this; instead we are going to dive deep into the text, into the world Jesus lived in and ministered in, and the message that Mark and Peter want us to hear as Jesus heads into the last week of His life. Next Sunday would be the triumphant entry, if I were going to preach straight through, so this is the last interaction between Jesus and a blind man is what Mark wants us to note before that huge event. But this is all good stuff, and we can get a great message out of this passage, despite my initial thoughts. So let’s dive deep. This is Mark 10:46ff Please stand.

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Let’s pray.

We’ve been working our way through Mark, the first written gospel, and the most universal in some ways. Mark was written to get the message out…Luke was written to communicate to the Gentiles, Matthew to the Jews and John was interested in going deep into the theology of who Jesus was and what He was about. But Mark is written to get the message out, but with all these interesting aspects that are so easy to skip over. I guess I got used to reading Mark quickly, and assumed it was rather simple when there is a lot of really deep commentary within the gospel itself. The passage for today is a prime example of a seemingly innocuous passage of another healing, when in fact there are some deep messages Mark wants to convey to us.

You see, we are headed into the Passion story, the story of Christ’s suffering; the last week of Jesus’ life. But before that happens, we are given one last incident to ponder. This is the last interaction Jesus has with someone before He enters Jerusalem in triumph to make His claim to be the Messiah. So, in some ways, this last story becomes more important. It is the last thing we hold in our minds before Jesus rides on the donkey into town. In John, the story before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem is the incident where Mary took some expensive perfume and poured it over Jesus’ feet. In Luke it is the story of Zacchaeus and a parable about stewardship of talents. In Matthew not one man, but two receive their sight from Jesus. But here in Mark, it is the one man, who is clearly named. This is the son of Timothy, Bar-Timothy.

This passage, I almost hate to say this now, is written in the form of an extended chiasm. It looks like this:

Bartimaeus—sits begging (beside the way)

Bartimaeus cries out

Jesus interacts

Bartimaeus-hears call, comes eagerly after Jesus

Jesus interacts

Bartimaeus cries out

Bartimaeus—follows in the way

Having said all that, lets head into the depth of Mark, into the heart of Jesus interactions with Bartimaeus.

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging.

Notice that Bartimaeus cannot participate in society; his blindness has pushed him out of the city, beside the road, listening to life pass him by. In other translations we could read that Bartimaeus sat beside the way, or the path. I like that translation a little better because it ties in better at the end of the passage. You can imagine the scene in your mind; a dirty peasant begs in the dust beside the road entering Jericho. He is a nobody to most people, but he is someone. He is the son of Timothy, he is someone to God. God always sees through the outward to the inside of us all. This is a person worthy of Jesus attention, as we will see. Through all the people wanting Jesus’ attention, through the disciples crowding in and the crowd pushing in to get closer to Jesus and traveling with Him, Jesus hears the calls of the blind man.

Jesus heals other blind people besides Bartimaeus. In John 9 the blind man Jesus heals is contrasted in the text with the blindness of the Pharisees who cannot see that Jesus is the Messiah. The formerly blind man has been healed of his blindness, but the Pharisees are still blinded by their assumptions and preconceived notions about who Jesus is. So in a real way, the blindness of Bartimaeus asks the question of us, the readers of Mark, are you blind in some way? Are you blinded by your preconceived notions about who Jesus is? Can you see clearly to follow Jesus along the way? Are you being willingly blinded by ambition, by pride, by whatever to what God wants for your life? Being blind isn’t just a physical malady. It happens all the time to people whose eyes work perfectly fine.

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

When Bartimaeus cries out, he cries out to the Messiah. He is clear in his language, namely “Son of David” that Jesus is the Messiah. Mark says to us reading, this blind man is clear that Jesus is the son of God. How long will you wait to make that connection? Even before Jesus went to the cross, this blind man knew Jesus was the Messiah. The blind see; do you?

The other thing I missed that was pointed out to me is this: Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus like someone would call out to a king, and Jesus responds as a king would respond. There is a recognition on Bartiamaeus’ part that Jesus is the king. We hear it in Jesus’ title, we hear it in his cry for mercy. This is the king that is going to be sacrificed, the king that will be riding into Jerusalem, the city of kings, to announce His kingship. The coming king is announced by blind Bartimaeus. And Jesus responds to Bartimaeus as the king He is. He does not call out to Bartimaeus, but instead tells someone else to call him. That is something a king does. Jesus is more and more acting the king he is.

Come on over, you’ve gotten my attention with your words and your voice, your faith is evident in both those things. Come one over, faithful one. Isn’t that what we want to hear as well when we cry out…come on over faithful one. Come on over with your hopes and fears, come on over with your praise and needs, come on over, faithful one.

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

This is the center of the chiasm. Throwing aside his cloak, he comes to Jesus. Bartimaeus was beside the way and not able to interact, not able to follow. But now, by faith, Bartimaeus is able to interact with God. The first thing Jesus asks should remind us of the sermon from last week. You remember last week we looked at James and John and their inappropriate request of Jesus, that they should have reserved for them seats on Jesus left and right hand. They come up to Jesus and say, like children, “do whatever we ask you to do”. And Jesus responds the exact same way He responds to Bartimaeus. “What do you want me to do for you?” There should be a humility we carry with us as we approach the king, who of course, has the power to grant our requests, or say no to them. We have in these two passages two examples of requests, almost prayers as it were, and how Jesus responds to those requests that are off target, and a request that is completely appropriate.

James and John ask for something to improve their status; it is a completely self-serving request. Theirs is a request for adulation, a request to be admired and adored. Bartimaeus, on the other hand, does not ask for anything like that. He will ask for something appropriate. He will ask to be a part of civilization again, he will ask for his sight.

But I want to take a look at the center of the chiasm. The person who was wretched by the side of the road, begging, recognizes Jesus. The blind recognizes here is the Messiah, here is someone who can help me, here is someone I can come to with my troubles, and eventually, someone I can follow. The blind see the truth of Jesus. Will we, the readers over the thousands of years Mark has existed for us, will we see the truth like this blind man, or are we more blind than he is? Mark tells us, see Jesus for Who He is. This is the Messiah, this is the King, this is the One we leave everything behind for, and follow Him. Don’t stay any longer by the side of the road watching the Christians follow along the path after the Lord. You get up, you see for yourself that Jesus is God, and you get going along the road of discipleship, just like blind Bartimaeus. He got it. You get it. This is at its core the call to follow faithfully, again.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Bartimaeus gives Jesus his appropriate request, and Jesus heals the man. You can see Jesus tells him that his faith has healed him. It is Bartimaeus’ faith in Jesus that has enabled him to be healed. The demonstration of faith in the calling out, in the naming of Jesus as the Messiah, in coming to Him as the king, all that was evidence of Bartimaeus’ faith. And it is because of this faith he is healed. Jesus grants this request, made in faith, and rejects the request of James and John because it was not made in faith, but in selfishness. Bartimaeus sees, and it could be argued that James and John didn’t see. They thought Jesus was around for their glorification, while Bartimaeus came in humility, in need.

Bartimaeus receives his sight, and what does he do? Does he run around, does he start his own business, does he go on vacation to sightsee? No, he begins to follow Jesus. He had been unable to participate, had just been by the side of the road, listening to people follow Christ, and now He gets to follow himself. He is able to be a full participant, a full disciple following Jesus, learning, and giving out some of the blessing he had received. The person who had been continually passed by was invited along for the ride; come along, you are healed and ready to go. When you consider that the early name of the church was “The Way” it seems obvious that a great translation was that Bartimaeus received his sight and followed Jesus along the way. He can participate in the following in the worship of God.

You can see how this passage is at the same time an invitation and a challenge, it is about faith and it is about following. All in this simple little healing story. It is an invitation to faith, and is a living display of the result of faith. It is an invitation to place your faith, your life into the hands of the king, who heals, who leads His people as He himself heads towards the cross waiting for Him in Jerusalem. It is a challenge to come to Jesus in faith, rather than demanding anything of Him. It is a challenge to approach Jesus as the king who grants healings, but will not be manipulated or taken advantage of so that our sinful desires or our sinful nature can be crowned by His acquiescence. It is the challenge of faith, to come to Jesus, knowing He is the king and to learn how to approach the king with requests, not demands. It really is the challenge to grow up in Christ, to come to God recognizing that He is the King, and we approach the King differently than we would a friend or a Father. Jesus is both Friend and Father, but He is also the King.

It is also an invitation to believe, and act on that belief. If you haven’t put your faith in Christ, I invite you to do so. We’ll pray a prayer at the end of the sermon if you need to do that. But even more, it is an invitation to participate, to follow the Way laid out for us by Christ. It is an invitation to leave the past life of begging for scraps behind, and live in Christ, following Him, fully functioning and ready to do what He would have us do. It is a call to really see Jesus for who He is. And when we really see, we will follow, best we can, the rest of our lives. This is the last event in Mark before the beginning of Jesus’ time in Jerusalem where His life will be taken from Him, laid down of His own accord, but it will be the place where He will conquer death, once and for all. Bartimaeus believed and saw; Mark is going to show us all what happened, and he would have us believe as well. I pray that you do.

Let’s pray.