The Blind Man Who Could See
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Mark 10:46-52
Mark 10:46-52
46 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. 47 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!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 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.” 52 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.
This account tells us;
That Christ is a healer
That Christ is the saviour
That we are all blind and poor by nature until we come to Him
That our faith in Him is what makes us well
That a true disciple doesn’t just have faith in Christ but follows Him on the way
46
Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, travelling in from across the Jordan in Perea. He arrives in Jericho, which is around 15 miles to the West of Jerusalem.
Jericho was now a very different city than the city taken by Joshua roughly 1400 years earlier. A new Jericho had been built next to the site of the old Jericho and it was famous for it’s beauty and especially for it’s plantations which were used to create perfumes. These perfumes were traded all across the ancient world and the new city of Jericho became famous for it’s produce. The city was actually given as a gift by Mark Antony to Cleopatra in AD 35.
Confusion - Matt and Mark say this miracle happened as Jesus was leaving Jericho, Luke says it happened as He was drawing near to Jericho. So which is it? Is there a contradiction?
Each of the gospels records the same events with more or less detail
several harmonising theories exist:
That Jesus crossed the Jordan and came to the outskirts of Jericho where he lodged, and then setting out the next day towards Jerusalem he encountered the blind man, so in a sense he was both leaving Jericho but also drawing near to the centre of the city.
That the fact that there two cities of Jericho (ancient and modern) explains any apparent contradiction, perhaps Mark and Matthew refer to historical Jericho and Luke to modern Jericho.
Matthew mentions that there were two blind men but doesnt give their names, there is no issue of contradiction here - this is simply an extra detail that Mark and Luke chose to leave out. Mark covers the story in greater detail and focusses on just one of the men; Bartimaeus. Why record his name? Many think that Bartimaeus went on to be a well known disciple, at least his testimony was known all across the early church, and so Mark includes the name because perhaps there would have been people in Rome who had heard the story of Bartimaeus.
The name Bartimaeus is explained - Aramaic (Son of Timaeus) but Mark explains it for the sake of his gentile audience.
He was a blind beggar - not only was he blind, but he was poor the least desirable of all. In fact he wasn’t the only undesireable to receive a blessing from Jesus in Jericho that day; Luke records that it was at this time that Jesus encountered the diminutive tax collector, Zaccheus!
Bartimaeus as a picture of humanity apart from Christ; spiritually blind and destitute.
So this story, more than just being another testimony of miraculous healing, is also a picture of salvation.
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
VERSE 47 - Mark 10:47
47 καὶ ἀκούσας ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζαρηνός ἐστιν ἤρξατο κράζειν καὶ λέγειν· υἱὲ Δαυὶδ Ἰησοῦ, ἐλέησόν με.
The difference between Bart and the world is that Bartimaeus knew what a state he was in. He knew he was blind and he wanted to see, he was fed up with his condition and was desperate and CRIED out, loudly.
Our blindness is of such a kind that it makes us think our vision perfect; whereas, when we are enlightened by the Holy Spirit, we discover our previous sight to have been blindness indeed. - Spurgeon
Unless we feel some discomfort at our own condition like Bartimaeus we will never cry out!
What is the reason that men are so half-hearted in seeking Christ? Why are they so soon deterred, and checked, and discouraged in drawing near to God? The answer is short and simple. They do not feel sufficiently their own sins. They are not thoroughly convinced of the plague of their own hearts, and the disease of their own souls. - JC Ryle
Bartimaeus couldn’t see Jesus, but his ears still worked well enough to hear the large crowd passing by. He must have asked someone who it was that the crowd was following - the answer came - Jesus of Nazareth.
This same crowd follows him up the road to Jerusalem and throngs the road waving palm branches at the triumphal entry. However just a week later some of this crowd would be standing in the praetorium shouting ‘crucify Him’.
Never place too much value on the opinions of the crowd.
They saw him with their eyes but they didn’t see him like Bartimaeus saw him. They called him Jesus of Nazareth, Bartimaeus called him the Son of David.
5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
News must have reached Bartimaeus of one of Jesus’s miracles, he must have heard testimony of Jesus the healer, and of Jesus being the Messiah. How important is it that we share our testimony?!
There’s no entitlement to his plea - Have mercy on me!
VERSE 48 - Mark 10:48
48 καὶ ἐπετίμων αὐτῷ πολλοὶ ἵνα σιωπήσῃ· ὁ δὲ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἔκραζεν· υἱὲ Δαυίδ, ἐλέησόν με.
The crowd were embarrassed for Bartimaeus, they were cringing for him - rebuking him and telling him to be silent. But he didn’t let it bother him and cried out all the more!
Let all who wish to be saved, mark well this conduct of Bartimæus, and walk diligently in his steps. Like him, we must care nothing what others think and say of us, when we seek the healing of our souls. There never will be wanting people who will tell us that it is “too soon,” or “too late,”—that we are going “too fast,” or “too far,”—that we need not pray so much, or read our Bibles so much,—or be so anxious about salvation. We must give no heed to such people. Like Bartimæus, we must cry the more, “Jesus, have mercy on me.” - JC Ryle
VERSE 49 - Mark 10:49
49 καὶ στὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν · φωνήσατε αὐτόν. καὶ φωνοῦσιν τὸν τυφλὸν λέγοντες αὐτῷ· θάρσει, ἔγειρε, φωνεῖ σε.
Jesus stood still - Bartimaeus’s persistant cries stopped Jesus in his tracks.
Encouragement to pray fervantly and persistently in the face of difficulties
Not every prayer receives the same attention from God.
The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons, Vol. V The Blind Beggar (No. 266)
No prayer ever reaches God’s heart which does not come from our hearts. Nine out of ten of the prayers which ye listen to in our public services have so little zeal in them, that if they obtained a blessing it would be a miracle of miracles indeed.
Jesus asks for Bartimaeus to be brought to Him, in Luke, the language is even stronger - Luke 18:40
40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him,
Effectual calling - We can reject the grace of God all we like, but when Christ effectually calls a man, they come.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
There is also a picture here for us of the work of an evangelist - Jesus commands his followers to bring this man to him, just as He commands us to go out into all the world bring bring people of every nation to Him:
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
They say to him ‘take heart Jesus is calling you’. Whatever your pain or trouble - we can take heart in coming to Jesus.
VERSE 50 - Mark 10:50
50 ὁ δὲ ἀποβαλὼν τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ ἀναπηδήσας ἦλθεν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν.
He casts off his outer cloak, which would have kept him warm. Why does he do this? To keep it from hindering him.
We must cast aside worldly comforts to pursue Jesus - Hebrews 12:1
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
He springs to his feet, no delaying.
VERSE 51 - Mark 10:51
51 καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· τί σοι θέλεις ποιήσω; ὁ δὲ τυφλὸς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ραββουνι, ἵνα ἀναβλέψω.
Jesus addresses the blind beggar with dignity, as he would have spoken to a dignitry. What would you like for me to do for you? He doesn’t assume but wants the man to put forward his desire in prayer.
He asks him the same question that he asked the sons of thunder ‘what would you like me to do for you?’
Bartimaeus doesn’t actually call him Rabbi, he calls him Rabbouni, which is a transliteration from aramaic meaning my teacher or my master. Its a more elevated title than Rabbi. To him, he wasn’t just a teacher he was HIS teacher.
Bartimaeus asks to be able to see.
VERSE 52 - Mark 10:52
52 καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ὕπαγε, ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν σε. καὶ εὐθὺς ἀνέβλεψεν καὶ ἠκολούθει αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ.
Jesus literally says - Go, your faith has saved you. it’s the greek word sozo (healed, saved, made whole) rather than iaomai (healed).
What was Jesus referring to when he spoke of the man’s faith? Some inner quality in the man that Jesus saw? Some nebulous force? We get an idea of what Jesus meant by faith by looking at Mark 2:4-5
4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
How did Jesus see their faith? It was in their action of lowering their friend through the roof. Bartimaeus’s faith was visible to Jesus in his crying out! It wasn’t a kind of entitlement. That’s how some word of faith teachers talk about faith - well, I am royalty because I’m a child of the king and I believe that daddy god wants me to have nothing but the best, i expect it, I believe it, I receive it. You see that’s not the faith of bartimaeus ‘Son of David, have mercy on me’, that’s entitlement, it’s conceited, not the kind of faith that Christ praised.
Word of faith preacher Andrew Wommack seems to disagree with Jesus here:
“We will not obtain the miracle we seek by impassioned pleas to God, it requires faith to obtain a miracle.”
An impassioned plea to God for mercy IS faith according to Jesus, Andrew.
The word of faith movement’s teaching on faith is not Christian, it’s new age.
“Decide what you want, believe you can have it, believe that you deserve it, and believe it is possible for you.” - New Age Quote
Thy faith hath saved thee. By the word faith is meant not only a confident hope of recovering sight, but a loftier conviction, which was, that this blind man had acknowledged Jesus to be the Messiah whom God had promised.
The evidence that this man was sozo’d and not just iaomai’d is in the fact that he didn’t go his own way, he followed Jesus on the way!
I believe that we ought to believe God for physical healing today, we ought to pray and believe for the gift of healing. But not everyone who prays for healing this side of glory will be healed, but all who come to Jesus for salvation will be saved. Just like the story of the 10 lepers, where only one returned to thank Jesus, I have seen people get supernaturally healed but still reject their healer, but I’ve never known someone who was truly saved reject Jesus because they weren’t healed.
Jesus transformed Bartimaeus from a beggar beside the road, to a disciple on the road. - James Edwards