Mark 10:46-52
Introduction
In this text Jesus is still resolutely making His way to Jerusalem where He will suffer and die. But when He gets to Jericho He is stopped in His tracks by a blind beggar.
Bear this in mind as we examine today’s passage.
Verse 46
Jesus and the disciples are still heading south to Jerusalem. But before He gets there He comes to Jericho. This is not the same Jericho that Joshua besieged in the Old Testament in which the city walls came tumbling down. That Jericho was in ruins at that time. The Jericho in today’s text is not far from the old Jericho and it is situated about seventeen miles north-east of Jerusalem. It was an oasis town in the middle of the desert.
In Jericho, Jesus is accompanied by the disciples and a large crowd. And then we are told that there was a blind beggar sitting by the road.
What is odd about Mark telling us that the blind beggar was named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus? Bartimaeus is a Jewish name and it means, ‘son of Timaeus’. In Hebrew the word ‘bar’ means ‘son of’.
Bartimaeus was begging on the road out of Jericho because the busy merchant roads in the area all passed through Jericho. So, it was a good spot for a beggar because there were plenty of rich people passing by.
Bartimaeus could not see anyone but he could hear them as they came near. As they came near, he would beg for money. Bear in mind that in Jewish society at that time, beggars were the lowest of the low in terms of social status. And this lowly beggar was about to meet Jesus.
Verses 47 to 48
Verse 47 tell us that Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus. Bartimaeus would have heard about Jesus healing people. When Bartimaeus finds out that Jesus is passing by He cries out to Jesus asking Him to have mercy on him.
Notice that Bartimaeus calls Jesus the Son of David. Unlike others such as Herod, Bartimaeus knew the true identity of Jesus. He knew that Jesus was the Messiah who had come to save His people. This is what Son of David means.
Verse 48 tell us that Bartimaeus was very determined to get the attention of Jesus. Bartimaeus was determined to seize this opportunity and nobody was going to silence him. Is that how you approach Jesus?
Verses 49 to 52
In the last study we learned that Jesus was resolute in His determination to get to Jerusalem. Nothing was going to stop Him. And here is this blind beggar stopping Jesus in His tracks. What was it that caused Jesus to stop? It was the cry of a beggar who recognized Him as the Son of David. There was no way that Jesus was going to walk past a man like that.
Notice how Jesus ‘calls’ Bartimaeus. What is the significance of Jesus calling Bartimaeus? It is that our redemption only comes when Jesus calls us. See Romans 8:29-30.
In Verse 50 we see that Bartimaeus answers the call of Jesus. Notice how he threw aside his cloak. The cloak represents a hindrance that gets in the way of Bartimaeus answering the call. By throwing it aside, Bartimaeus is removing that hindrance. And so should we when Jesus calls.
In Verse 51 Jesus asks Bartimaeus a question. Does this question remind you of anything? It is the same question that Jesus put to James and John in the previous study. See Mark 10:36. Bartimaeus answers Jesus.
What is the difference between Bartimaeus’ answer and the answer given by James and John? Bartimaeus did not ask for status or glory or exaltation. Bartimaeus just wants to be able to see. His life was in darkness. He groped around in the dark. He was always dependent on others. He couldn’t read and he didn’t have a guide dog or a stick to warn him about any dangers along the path. He was in constant darkness.
Notice how Bartimaeus calls Jesus, Rabboni. It is the same title that Mary gave to Jesus in the garden after His resurrection. See John 20:16. What is the significance of Bartimaeus calling Jesus, Rabboni? Rabboni is a similar title to Rabbi which means teacher. However, Rabboni is a more personal title and conveys with it a confession of faith. In effect, Bartimaeus said to Jesus, “My Lord and my Master, let me see.”
Remember in the previous study how Jesus told the disciples to be servants. A servant serves a master. To Bartimaeus, Jesus is His master He has the right servant attitude that was lacking in James and John.
In Verse 52 we see that Jesus gives Bartimaeus what he wants. Notice that Bartimaeus regained his sight ‘immediately.
If you had been blind but now you can see, what would you do? I think that most people would want to explore their ability to see by going on a sight-seeing adventure. But that’s not what Bartimaeus did. He just wanted to follow Jesus. Jesus was the best sight of all for Bartimaeus.
And Finally
If you have a request to make to Jesus, be like Bartimaeus and not James and John.