Mark 10.46-52

22^nd Sunday after Pentecost | 24.10.21 | Mark 10.46-52 | Richard O. Johnson |

And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.”  And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.  And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. [Mark 10.46-52 ESV]

We’re nearing the end of this lectionary year when we focus on Mark’s gospel. In this morning’s lesson, we are just on the cusp of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the beginning of the Passion narrative. So this story of blind Bartimaeus is a kind of turning point in the story. The tension between Jesus and his opponents has built up to its highest point. This incident takes place in Jericho, the last stop on the road to Jerusalem. In just a matter of hours, Jesus will be riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the crowds will be waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna!” Here in this story, at this moment, there is no turning back. The interaction with Bartimaeus is the beginning of the end.

So let’s pick up the story here and see what it might mean for us. Jesus is leaving Jericho, on a road crowded with pilgrims. The Passover is at hand, and thousands of Jews are on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus has gained quite a reputation, and many of these pilgrims are crowding around him, sensing that something dramatic is about to happen. Is he the Messiah? If that is about to be revealed, they want to be there for the action.

Beggars

The Jericho road was a good place for beggars, since it was crowded with pilgrims, all filled with religious fervor, many probably feeling charitable or at least guilty enough to toss a beggar a coin. And these beggars were really beggars. They were not like your typical panhandler with a sign at as freeway offramp; they were more like professional beggars, people who had no welfare or charity system to help them out, people so seriously disabled that they had to depend on begging for the food they ate. We don’t see this much in America, but in Asia, for example, it is still quite common. I traveled in India many years ago, and there one would see lepers with mangled limbs and open sores lying by the road crying for help. They are a piteous sight, and like these beggars on the road to Jerusalem, they are dependent on travelers for help. The inhabitants of the city have seen them lying in the road every day, and they are no longer moved with pity. Accustomed to the sight, they can ignore it without feeling guilty. But the travelers, the strangers, the pilgrims on the way to Holy City might toss a coin before going quickly on their way.

Past this line of beggars walks Jesus of Nazareth, hurrying on his way to suffering, to death, to resurrection. As he passes, one beggar, a blind man named Bartimaeus, hears the commotion and asks someone with sight what is going on. When he hears that it is Jesus of Nazareth, he sits up straight and his heart beats faster. He has heard of Jesus of Nazareth! He has heard about the sick people he has cured, the deaf people whose ears have been opened. And he knows this is his chance, perhaps his only chance. to be touched himself by this Jesus of Nazareth. He is right about that, of course; Jesus of Nazareth will not walk this road again.

Have mercy on me!

“Jesus!” Bartimaeus cries. “Jesus! Son of David, have mercy on me!” Now Bartimaeus

has broken the first rule of the successful beggar, which is to avoid too much attention. Beggars are supposed to look destitute and be terribly polite, and then good pious folk will toss them a coin if they can find one small enough. If a beggar makes a scene, he has blown it; people will run the other way. Bartimaeus is not polite! He screams at the top of his lungs! Mark says that many rebuked him, and it may be that the rebukes came from the other beggars, telling him to shut up, lest he ruin business for all of them. But the more they try to hush him, says Mark, the louder he cries, “Jesus, Jesus, have mercy on me!”

And Jesus, hurrying toward Jerusalem, suddenly stops. He hears the cry, above the noisy sounds of the Jericho road, and he stops in his tracks. He does not look around to find the source of this commotion, he does not stop to consult with the disciples about what to do “Call him,” he says. “Just call him.”

Now those other beggars who have been trying to silence their embarrassing friend change their tune. “Bartimaeus!” they cry. “Take heart! Jesus is calling you!” And Bartimaeus, Mark says, “sprang up”! This is another one of those “eye-witness details” so common in Mark; in Matthew and Luke, the man just comes over to Jesus, but Mark says he “sprang up” and “threw off his cloak” as he came to Jesus. He came with dignity, the dignity of a blind man walking without assistance over familiar territory, the one dignity left for a blind beggar like Bartimaeus. He came to Jesus.

Let me receive my sight!

“What,” says Jesus, “do you want me to do for you?” A strange question—indeed, how strange for Bartimaeus even to be spoken to. Most passers-by might toss a coin, but they would never bother to speak a word to a wretch like Bartimaeus. But Jesus bothers. He is on his way to death in Jerusalem, and he bothers to speak to a blind beggar! “What do you want me to do for you?”

Now I think if I had been Bartimaeus, I would have asked for money. This Jesus is supposed to be somebody great, he must have a pretty rich purse! This one contribution might be worth a week’s begging, or even more! And if Jesus gives a sizeable sum, perhaps his followers will do the same! This might be my chance to really be in fat city! A coin, Jesus, a gold piece! Give me a little help! That’s what my response would have been.

But not Bartimaeus! You can see him trembling at the question, shook up that such a great man was speaking to him, aware in his darkness that all those eyes were trained upon him, that he was being noticed, that he was being watched, that this was his one chance either to make it big or really blow it. And in his trembling voice he blurts out, straightaway, with no hesitation, “Rabbi! Let me recover my sight!”

There is a moment of shocked silence from the crowd, as they decide whether to laugh or to weep at this pathetic blind beggar, stopping the Rabbi on his way to Jerusalem. Then Jesus’ words: “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately, Mark says, he received his sight. When Jesus said, “Go your way,” he was still blind, but when Jesus finished saying “your faith has made you well,” he could see. A flood of color, a flood of detail came pouring into his eyes, eyes which had never before seen anything! Bartimaeus probably saw more in ten seconds that most of us see in a lifetime! It was all new, all strange, all wonderful! And suddenly he realizes that this Jesus has already turned and is hurrying again to Jerusalem. Just that one word and he is gone. And Bartimaeus, so drunk with wonder at the marvelous thing that has happened to him, leaves his cloak on the ground where he has thrown it and follows Jesus on the way!

What we need

It is a dramatic story, and so typical of Mark’s gospel. There is not time left to say much more about it, and perhaps there is nothing more that can be said. Perhaps the story stands by itself, its dramatic impact echoing in our minds as we consider the kind of Master that we, too, with Bartimaeus, follow on the Way.

But perhaps just one word about Bartimaeus and about us. And that is that Bartimaeus, quite unlike most of us most of the time, is a man who knew what he needed and was not afraid to ask. So many of us, when we come into Christ’s presence, forget what we really need. We pray for vague generalities that we wouldn’t recognize if they bit us on the nose. How often I find myself praying for peace and happiness and sunshine and good feelings, for motherhood and apple pie! Worthy goals, but meaningless. If God were to answer my prayer, if God were to grant my request, I’d have a hard time knowing it.

What I long for is a faith like Bartimaeus, faith that takes a good hard honest look at what exactly it is that’s lacking in my life. Because knowing our needs is the first step in asking God to meet them. Do you have a terrible temper that needs to be controlled? You’d better say that to the Lord; he’s interested in hearing about your temper, not a general prayer about being a better person! Do you have a habit of some kind that you are trying to stop? Find words about it, friend, don’t just offer a vague prayer about being a better Christian.

How much better off we would be if we admitted as honestly as Bartimaeus what it is we need! If you go to a dentist with a toothache, you ask her to deal with that particular tooth; you don’t want her just to pick one at random and extract it! that’s how it is with the Lord: you must know what you want from him, you must know where it hurts! And you do know; we all know where we hurt. Just as surely as Bartimaeus knew his need, so do we, if we face ourselves squarely and admit it.

What would you ask for? If Jesus stood before you and said, “what do you want me to do for you?”, what would you answer? Blind Bartimaeus knew. Let Bartimaeus show you the way!

Pastor Richard O. Johnson

Webster, NY

roj@nccn.net