In the way to on the way

This is the kind of story that lends itself particularly well to slow, patient meditation. Take some time and imagine yourself in the crowd that day in Jericho. It’s hot, dry and dusty (it almost always is there). You’re excited; you’re with Jesus; you’re going up to Jerusalem. And here is someone shouting from the roadside. It’s a nuisance. It’s possibly even dangerous (if enough people call him ‘son of David’, someone in authority is going to get alarmed). Examine your own feelings. Try to remember other times when you’ve felt like that. Then watch as Jesus, never put out by what annoys his followers (remember the children, earlier in the chapter) turns to speak to the blind man. How do you feel about that? Do you want this beggar in the party? How about when Jesus speaks warm and welcoming words to him? Has he ever spoken to you like that? How do you feel as you set off together up the hill to Jerusalem?

Now imagine yourself as the blind man. We all have something, by no means necessarily a physical ailment, that we know is getting in the way of our being the people we believe God wants us to be and made us to be. Sit by the roadside and listen to the crowd. Examine your own feelings when you discover it’s Jesus coming by. Call out to him, and when he summons you, put everything aside and go to him. And when he asks you what you want him to do, go for it. Don’t look back at the small, selfish comforts of victimhood. Ask for freedom, for salvation. And when you get it, be prepared to follow Jesus wherever he goes next.

Now for the real challenge. Do you have the courage to think through the story from Jesus’ point of view? [Wright, Tom. Mark for Everyone. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004. Print.]

THE OUTSIDER

Bartimaeus is the only person healed in the Synoptic Gospels whose name is given. [Why do you think that is? Only here in Mark. I believe it is because Bartimaeus became a disciple.]

As a blind man, he would not be able to make a living. The most he was able to do was “get by” as he positioned himself in high-traffic areas and begged (10:46). [Not only was this humiliating, but it was also degrading because of the stigma associated with disabilities and sin - Jn. 9:2]

Yet, this blind man sees Jesus more clearly than those with two good eyes (10:47-48; cp. Isa. 9:6-7; 11:1; 29:18; 35:5; 61).

THE BYSTANDERS

Like the little children rebuked for coming to Jesus (10:13), this socially powerless man’s loud pleas were unwelcome (10:48).

Were they trying to shield Jesus from being harassed by a beggar? Did they consider him a nuisance or maybe even a danger? Were they too blind to see what Jesus could do?

While we may not know why “many” rebuked Bartimaeus, we do know their attempts to silence him were unsuccessful (10:48).

THE RESPONSE

The Son of David hears Bartimaeus’ cries of desperation. ”Jesus stopped.” On those words hangs the fate of Bartimaeus (10:49).

Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” On those words hangs the future of Bartimaeus (10:51).

Bartimaeus asks not for power, wealth, or success; he asks only for sight. In an instant, Jesus transformed this man from a beggar in the way to a disciple on the Way (10:46, 52). [Jesus declares, “ ‘Go, your faith has healed you.’ ”75 The word for “healed” (Gk. sō̧zō) also means “saved,” combining both physical and spiritual dimensions. In Bartimaeus’s case the word is doubly appropriate, for “he received his sight” and “followed Jesus along the road.” The Pillar New Testament Commentary.]

THE CALL

The Call to recognize who Jesus is (10:47, 48, 51; Rom. 10:17). [Son of David; Rabboni]

The Call to believe Jesus can help when you cry out (10:47-48; Ac. 7:56). [Cry out; Jesus stopped; Jesus stands]

The Call to leave the old way of living behind (10:50; 1 Pet. 4:1-6). [Cloak was what he sat on and used to collect money during the day and sleep on at night. It was of great value to him, but Jesus was more valuable.]

The Call to follow Jesus on the Way (10:52; Jn. 14:5-6). [The difference in his position “beside the road” at the beginning of the story and “on the road” at the end signifies the difference between being an outsider and an insider, a bystander, and a disciple.]