A Real Eye Opener - Mark 10:46-5246Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." 50Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see." 52"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.In my mind, there are two key quotations and one key response in this passage. Both quotes are spoken by Jesus to Bartimaeus.
1) "What do you want me to do for you?" - Jesus simply asks the question. He has asked a question similar to this before when James and John approached him and asked to be seated at his right and left hand in the kingdom. They were seeking power and prestige in their question. Bartimaeus is exactly the opposite. He seeks a gift of grace from Jesus. In most situations like this you would expect a beggar like Bartimaeus to ask for money or food or clothes maybe, but though Bartimaeus is blind, he still has a sight. A spiritual sight lets say. We can see this in his calls to Jesus. Bartimaeus calls him "Son of David" which is a proclamation of Jesus as Messiah. Bartimaeus, also although physically blind, has the spiritual foresight to understand Jesus can give much more than money, food or clothes to him. He asks Jesus for the gift of sight and Jesus gives it to him, which leads us to number 2.
2) "Go, your faith has healed you" - This is wonderful proclamation by Jesus about the power of faith and belief in Him. Bartimaeus' belief is the sole reason given to him and the people around as to why Bartimaeus has been healed. I mentioned in number one the idea of spiritual sight. I think this is further evidence of that idea. Though the people in the crowd had their physical sight, they could not get past Bartimaeus' condition and their time with Jesus to see that Jesus wanted to help Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus could not physically see, yet he saw better than basically every person who could see that was walking with Jesus. By our faith and prayer to God, we can overcome this spiritual blindness we have and truly experience what Bartimaeus already knew.
3) The last thing I believe is important is the fact that Bartimaeus followed Jesus along the road after his sight was restored. He did not run off and celebrate his sight by going to do something like watch tv (i know they didn't have tv in that time but I think you get my point). Bartimaeus joined Jesus. Bartimaeus responded to the work of Jesus in him by committing his life to Jesus and following him. So often when answered prayer comes around for us, we can lose sight of where it came from. We either go out and celebrate with friends or go about business as usual with a little "thank you" for God before we do. We are called to a much greater response than this. We are called to follow Jesus. He offers his grace freely to us and our response should come without the need for urging as well. We can take Bartimaeus as a wonderful example of a person who can be imitated in our lives. He proclaimed Jesus as Lord and believed in Him. Jesus, as a result of Bartimaeus' faith, healed him. Then, Bartimaeus responded and followed Jesus. This is exactly what we are called to. Can we see Jesus with spiritual sight? Do we have the faith to be healed if we cannot? And, do we respond to Jesus and follow him in light of all he has given us? Something to ponder for the week ahead.
John
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