This is the thirtieth installment, comprising Act 4. Scene 9,
chapter 10: 32-45, in the online commentary on the Gospel of Mark, which I am
blogging on throughout the liturgical year. Please see the
twenty-ninth installment here. Links to the entire series are available in
one spot at The
Complete Gospel of Mark Online Commentary.
This is my division of the Gospel:
Prologue, 1:1-13;
Act 1, 1:14-3:6;
Act 2, 3:7-6:6;
Act 3, 6:7-8:26;
Act 4, 8:27-10:52;
Act 5, 11:1-13:37;
Act 6, 14:1-16:8(20).
Scene 9
46 They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49 Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you." 50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." 52 Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. (NRSV)
Mark cuts to his next scene, the healing of Bartimaeus,
rapidly and without comment. Travel is not described; suddenly they are in Jericho
– “they came to Jericho” (10:46)- not far from Jerusalem. Then, they are
leaving Jericho – “he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho”
(10:46) – and we must assume, given the three Passion Predictions especially,
on the way to Jerusalem. The teaching of Jesus remains hanging in our
minds, as he encounters Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus on the side of the road. The
identification of Bartimaeus not only by his given name, but by his father’s
name is especially precise and detailed for Mark. It stands, therefore, as an important
encounter in Mark’s narrative. What makes it so significant for Mark’s
narrative?
Mark must want to stress the historical dimension of this
encounter. Perhaps Bartimaeus was known to many early Christians through this
encounter and subsequently, if he became a disciple (Bartimaeus “followed him
on the way:” 10:52). Perhaps the healing on the way to Jerusalem remained
especially significant in the minds of the disciples due to its timing; as to
its placement in Mark, it is the last of Jesus’ healings or miracles of any
kind. This sets the healing and Bartimaeus apart historically and narratively. These
are significant enough considerations, but there is more to it than that
dramatically and in terms of Jesus’ mission.
Recall that at the end of Act
3, in Scene 11, Jesus encounters a blind man, whose name is unknown to us,
and whose healing is initially only partial. He cannot see clearly. A second
attempt allows him to see fully. I wrote there,
The partial miracle is combined with the secrecy motif in
Mark – the healed blind man in Act 3 does not follow Jesus and he is told not
even to go to his village. We suspect that the twice healed man is not to tell
of Jesus to anyone, and this might have to do with his still partial
understanding of Jesus’ identity and destiny, or Jesus' desire to reveal himself fully to his disciples' first, as we have seen in Act 4. It is only throughout Act 4 that
Jesus reveals his identity and links it to his destiny clearly: I am the Messiah
and the Messiah must go to Jerusalem to die on behalf of the many. Bartimaeus definitely
understands Jesus’ identity, according to Mark’s narrative, for it is the first
time in the Gospel that anyone has
identified Jesus as “the son of David,” arguably the most significant of the
Messianic titles because there is no question as to its meaning (“son of man,
for instance, is able to be understood in a number of ways).
When Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is on the road, “he began
to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (10:47). People
told him to shut up, but he would not listen – “many sternly ordered him to be
quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!”
(10:48). Why would you shut up if you believe the son of David is walking by? One
wonders whether the fact that still, at this point long into Jesus’ ministry,
disciples are still telling blind men who call to Jesus to leave him alone
offers us a glimpse into their stubborn lack of understanding of Jesus’ mission. Bartimaeus
has something these followers of Jesus’ lack: the understanding that even if he
is (physically and spiritually?) blind, he knows where to go for the cure. He
has faith in Jesus and he will not be put off.
Jesus stops and tells his disciples to call Bartimaeus to
him – “Call him here” – and so they go to the blind beggar saying, “Take heart;
get up, he is calling you” (10:49). Bartimaeus
needs no other invitation and “throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to
Jesus” (10:50). Jesus’ question, “What do you want me to do for you?,” is, I
believe, more dramatic when you imagine it visually rather than simply on the
page. Bartimaeus remember has twice called out to the “son of David” to “have
mercy on me.” What exactly could this blind
man begging at the side of the road want? Jesus knows exactly what he wants, what the
sum of mercy in this context is, but he wants Bartimaeus to say it again, not I
would argue for Jesus’ sake or to annoy Bartimaeus, but for the sake of the
disciples and the crowd, some of whom moments ago were telling him to be quiet.
Mark presents Bartimaeus as unfazed by the
question: “My teacher, let me see again” (10:51). Jesus’ response is just as
direct, “Go; your faith has made you well” (10:52). Again, the two part healing
that ended Act 3 needed Jesus’ physical touch, twice, once with saliva and once
more with Jesus touching his eyes. Bartimaeus does not need the physicality of
Jesus, only Jesus’ acknowledgment of his faith. Bartimaeus’
faith leads to healing without touch. “Immediately he regained his sight and
followed him on the way” (10:52). The fact that Bartimaeus follows Jesus on the
way also indicates his complete healing and Jesus’ implicit acceptance of his
deeper understanding – he is not told to be quiet, not told to back to his village.
Bartimaeus’ eyes are not just opened by faith, but so is his spirit to see
Jesus as the Messiah, the one he must follow even into Jerusalem to the fulfillment
of his mission. Jesus has made it clear in Act 4 what it means for him and his disciples to bring his mission and ministry to fulfillment. Only those who want to remain blind cannot see it. Secrecy is gone, for his destiny is clear.
John W. Martens
Follow me on Twitter @BibleJunkies
This blog post was written while listening to the great Dwight Twilley.
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