Mark 10:46-52
This story about the healing of blind Bartimaeus is a dramatic one and a serious one. But the first line of the story hits my funny bone. Now the last time I mentioned something like this, you all just sat there and looked at me. So it may just be funny to me.
Anyway, the first line of the story reads, “And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving with his disciples…” It’s hilarious to me because Jesus and the disciples came to Jericho and apparently walked right through and left. Nothing happens in between those two sentences: Jesus came and Jesus left. I imagined Jesus coming into town. People got really excited. “Jesus is here! Jesus is here!” But he just keeps walking and walks right on through without stopping. Evidently nothing to see. Not much happening.
I’ve heard a story about Lindsborg, you know that little Swedish town up by Salina. I don’t know if it’s true or half true, or utter fiction. Maybe one of you knows. I had heard that Lindsborg had some big anniversary of the town, and somehow got the King of Sweden to come over and be part of the parade. So they had their typical small town parade, and the King of Sweden rode through in his car, and never stopped, but just kept going, right through town and down the road. And never came back.
That’s what the start of this story of Jesus and Jericho feels like. Walk through town, wave at a few people, and just keep right on walking.
That is until they get to the other side of town. Where beggars row is. All the outcasts lined up along the side of the road, trying to get a few pennies out of those coming and going.
Jericho at this time in its history (it is one of the oldest cities in the world) was a fairly bustling place. Herod had a Winter palace there because it stayed warm in Jericho during the winter. So it was the place to go. But evidently not for Jesus. He was moving on through. Jericho, being the lowest place on the earth, makes for a vigorous climb up and out of there to Jerusalem. Maybe that’s all Jesus could think about was the seventeen mile climb up that hill. The sooner he got at it, the better.
The story makes it sound like Bartimaeus was the only one begging. But there would have been others. Especially since it was a resort town with lots of important (and rich) people coming and going to Herod’s Winter palace.
The name, Bartimaeus is interesting. Bar means son of. So he was the son of Timaeus. The name Timaeus means honor. Literally, Bartimaeus means the “son of honor.” Which is sadly ironic since the blind and the crippled and the other outcasts were given no honor. Even Jesus was evidently in a hurry to walk right on by all the beggars.
Until one of them started shouting. Maybe threw a bunch of dust in the air to attract attention. Bartimaeus—this son of honor who could not see, and whom others refused to look at. He could not see. And everyone else refused to look at him even though they could see. Blindness in both directions.
Bartimaeus called out to Jesus. Shouted at him. Used a couple of names for Jesus that no one else in Mark’s gospel used of Jesus: Son of David; and, Rabbi. And, as I’ve already mentioned, we know Bartimaeus’ name. We aren’t told too many of the people’s names whom Jesus healed: the woman with the flow of blood, the woman at the well, the man possessed with a “legion” of demons, the man with the paralyzed hand who came into the synagogue, the deaf mute. And on and on: so many whose names we’ll never know, but their story is recorded in the most read book in all of history, in all of the world. But Bartimaeus gets his name mentioned. This son of honor calls out to Jesus—“the Son of David”—and is then called out, by name by Jesus.
But Bartimaeus—this son of honor—got further dishonored. People in the little parade told him to shut up. They disrespected him. If Bartimaeus stood up, maybe they shoved him back down into the dirt, and told him to stay where he belonged. Blind people are easy to bully because they can’t see their attackers. And their attackers know that.
The sad thing is, it wasn’t just the crowd. It was also the disciples. They had their own back talk ready for Bartimaeus. Jesus’ insiders making sure that another human being understood where his position with Jesus was: sitting in the dirt and told to put a sock in it.
One of the qualities of Bartimaeus that I really like is that he refused to be defined by his circumstances. He knew within himself that just because he had the disability of blindness, he’s not going to let others define what that means for who he is. For who he knows himself to be. He is more than his blindness, and he won’t let anyone else tell him otherwise—including the disciples.
Nor is Bartimaeus going to let others define him by their own expectations of how someone who is blind should act. Even when those others are the ones who assume they have the right/power to speak on Jesus’ behalf. What I like about this Son of Honor is that he does see that he is an honorable person. And the only thing holding Bartimaeus back is nothing within himself; it is the crowd and the disciples who are acting out of their own small expectations of a blind man and are keeping him from being healed.
How many feel the same way? It may not be blindness or some other physical or mental disability. It might be something you did in the past, something stupid you aren’t proud of, and people try to define who you are by that once-upon-a-time incident. Bartimaeus isn’t letting others have that much power over him, to determine what he can or can’t do in life; where he goes and who he can talk to and who he can’t. Or hold him back from his desire to be healed.
Seeing blind Bartimaeus’ reaction, doesn’t it make us think about who we might be allowing to push us down or hold us back from the healing we are seeking? Or it might not be a who, but a what. What circumstances in life are we allowing to shut us up and keep us restrained from fulfilling our God designed destiny? How do we arouse the courage within to stand up and keep shouting, “I am a son or daughter of honor, and I will be heard!”?
Or maybe it’s the other side of that coin. Who might we be pushing down into the dirt? Who are we holding back from becoming the person they could be because of our own stupid misconceptions and prejudices?
It’s like in the book of Job in the Old Testament, where Job suffered awful experiences. He demands to speak to God, but his so-called “friends” push him away. The three men tell Job he doesn’t deserve to speak to God—that Job must have done something awful to experience what he experienced. But Job knows he, like Bartimaeus, is also a Son of Honor, and deserves to be heard and healed. Job, like Bartimaeus, finally makes enough noise that God pays attention.
One of the questions I have previously suggested for stories such as this is, “Who is this miracle for?” Often the answer to that question is not obvious. Who is the giving of sight to blind Bartimaeus for? For Bartimaeus, or for someone else?
In order to answer that question, we need to go back a couple of chapters in Mark’s gospel. In chapter 8, Jesus talked about his future suffering, rejection and death. But Peter didn’t understand. So Peter rebuked Jesus, to which Jesus returned the favor and pushed back on Peter.
Next, the disciples got in an argument about which of them was the greatest. They still don’t get it, so Jesus has to talk to them about being servants, not someone who is large-and-in-charge.
Then James and John want Jesus to give them the second most powerful positions that can be had—they want to sit on the right and left of Jesus’ throne when he comes in his kingdom. Which creates an uproar with the other disciples. It seems all the disciples can do is be blind to who Jesus is, and jockey for positions of power and prestige.
Then comes along a blind man who has never encountered Jesus, has only heard about Jesus, and demonstrated he saw and understood Jesus and what Jesus is about. So here we get to answering the question I asked: “Who is this healing of blindness for?” Jesus is not only seeking to bring sight to the blind Bartimaeus but also insight to the disciples as Jesus now makes his way to Jerusalem and the end.
Jesus’ insiders remain blind to Jesus’ true identity; but, outsiders like Bartimaeus see it clearly.
Another reason this miracle is for the disciples as well as Bartimaeus, is to let the disciples know they don’t get to keep people at arms length. They certainly recognized that a lot of people wanted to be near Jesus. Even children, whom the disciples tried to push away as well. It seems the disciples are always pushing people away from Jesus. Maybe they were just trying to secure their own positions as Jesus’ special disciples. Whatever the reason, Jesus constantly had to push the over protective disciple aside, and let others close to him. The task of the disciples was not to keep people away from Jesus, but to find ways to give them access.
The problem with the disciples was that even though they knew a lot of people wanted to be near Jesus, the disciples didn’t necessarily want to be around the kinds of people who are drawn to Jesus. The disciples want it to be just them and Jesus. Not them, and Jesus, and a bunch of losers trying to get at Jesus. Jesus had to constantly remind the disciples it was the “losers” he’d rather be around. And let the disciples know that they should not keep pushing them away.
Once Jesus stopped, and stopped the disciples from shielding him from Bartimaeus, and Bartimaeus was summoned, we are told that Bartimaeus “threw off his cloak and was led to Jesus.” What you may not know is that his cloak would have been his most treasured possession. A person’s cloak served many purposes, such as protection from the elements, providing warmth like a blanket at night.
Leaving his cloak behind put it in danger of being stolen. But Bartimaeus was willing to lose his one most prized possession just for the chance to meet Jesus and possibly be healed. At that point, Bartimaeus didn’t know if his sight was going to be restored or not. But he left behind something of great importance and worth to get that chance.
What would you be willing to give up or leave behind for that chance? What would you be willing to treat with surprising disregard to have that chance to be face-to-face with the Lord, to be able to have the Savior ask you, “What would you want me to do for you?” Everything pales in value, doesn’t it, when you are given that chance.
This is the last healing miracle in Mark. No others are healed after Bartimaeus gets his sight. Usually last things have a way of being remembered and pondered. Why was this miracle the last one? Was Jesus trying to put an exclamation point on his healing ministry with this one? Was Jesus trying to get his disciples attention one last time before they headed to Jerusalem?
We can’t be sure. We just know that Jesus started that long trek up the hill towards Jerusalem and his death. And following along behind was one more, one new disciple named Bartimaeus—the son of honor—who was blind but now can see.
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