Blind Bartimaeus
Mark 10:46-52
Can you imagine the scene? Here we are, at a congested crossroads. Beggars, and children mixed up with people making there way to the city. And a commotion, because a celebrity is walking down the road.Jesus is coming. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the Prophet, the one who is healing people and preaching with authority wherever he goes. He is a man that everyone would like to see. So the crossroads is very busy. People pushing and shoving, people trying to get to a high place so they can see. Maybe someone would climb a tree like Zacchaeus does at another time.
Not much room for a beggar. People would have been in front and all around Bartimaeus. He wouldn't have been able to see the crossroads even if he did have his sight. I imagine it wouldn't have been a good day for begging. With all the commotion, imagine the pushing and shoving, maybe someone stepping on Bartimaeus.
Any sensible beggar would have gone home. But what does Bartimaeus do? He sure doesn't go home.. He says something similar to what we said earlier in the service, we have a fancy name for it now..the trisagion…Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. I imagine he said it with a bit more feeling than we did this morning….In fact, he did more than say it didn't he. In all that commotion, he would have shouted it out…Jesus, Son of David, Have MERCY on ME.
Imagine sitting beside him. It might have gotten on your nerves a bit don't you think? Or worse than that. JESUS, SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME. It sounds to me like it pretty much ticked off those around him. It says in the gospel "and many sternly ordered him to be quiet". Think of that…you are blind, and sitting in a crowd, commotion all around…and now the crowd is pissed at you. Be quite Bartimaeus, Shut up Bartimaeus. And you are still yelling. Jesus, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me. Takes some courage don't you think?
And then Jesus stops, and he calls him. He asks him what he wants…what he wants!
And then Bartimaeus can see!
Now often we talk about this story as a miracle story, the very last miracle story in the gospel of Mark, before all the events that lead to Jesus' death in Jerusalem. The very next thing reported in Mark, is the preparations for Palm Sunday! And a miracle story it is. But it is more than that..it is also an account of a call…Jesus calls Bartimaeus, and he comes, and he is healed, and then he Follows Jesus…in the Gospel it says "and he followed him on the way."
We can learn many things from Bartimaeus I think…notice that he knows that he needs Jesus, he knows he needs Jesus, and he isn't put off, not by the difficulty of getting to Jesus. Not by the crowds, not by the people that told him in no uncertain terms to beeee quiet. Not by anything. He in determined to be heard by Jesus. He is determined to reach out to Jesus.
We all need Jesus don't we. We are all broken and blind in our own way's aren't we. Do we have the same kind of single minded commitment to reaching out to God. Are we willing to be told to shut up. To put ourselves at risk, to see Jesus? Jesus, Son of David, Have Mercy on me.
And of course, Bartimeus isn't the only one who asks things of Jesus. If we think back to last week, we heard about James and John asking Jesus for something too. We can see a real contrast between the request of the disciples James and John and Bartimaeus though. James and John were asking to sit at the right and left of Jesus in his Glory. This week Jesus is asked to give sight. -- We find that Jesus is not impressed by the request for glory. He sits the disciples down and gives them a talking to, about servanthood. That we are called to serve - not be served.
This time Jesus stops and calls Bartimaeus. And he heals him. I suppose in one way he is giving a lesson on servanthood here too. The Son of Man, the very messiah, the savior, stops and serves the one in need, the blind beggar on the road near Jericho.
What needs do we bring to God - is it about our pride, about our station in life, about our reputation?
Or do we bring Jesus the cries of our heart. Do we bring our need to be whole people, our need to see, our need to be made into the creatures that God meant us to be, before the fallen-ness of this world got in the way. Jesus son of David, have mercy in Me.
Finally I think it's important to look at what Bartimaeus did, when he received his sight. Did he fade away? Did he come and say thanks Jesus, you have really made my day, and then fade away? Or did he follow him on the road. Did he follow and learn and grow and become more than just a person who was once blind, and could now see.
He became a follower, a learner, a traveler on the way, a Jesus follower.
Jesus, son of David, have mercy on Me. Heal me and let me see. And help me follow.
Jesus, son of David, have mercy, have mercy on us all
©2003 Steve E. Timpson
(613) 272-2360
P.O. Box 69
2764 Highway 15, Portland, Ontario
stimpson@ontario.anglican.ca