Many of the people whom
Jesus healed are not named, but here is one whose identity we know. Bartimaeus
was a blind beggar living in Jericho. He used to sit at the side of the road
near to the entrance to the town, presumably a good place to attract the
attention, and hopefully, generosity of travellers either leaving or arriving
at Jericho. This is one of those occasions when there is a large group moving
along the road, listening to what Jesus is saying and watching out as to what
he might do.
I am guessing that many of
these were taking a last chance to see something of Jesus before he left
Jericho, and that the majority would not continue along the road away from the
city. It certainly seems that Jesus’ reputation was alive and well in Jericho,
which would explain the crowd, as Bartimaeus, despite his disability, knows who
this is and that he might be able to help.
With his loss of sight,
Bartimaeus is not able to approach Jesus, but he can shout to him, and that is
exactly what he does. It may be that Jesus is talking and those around, avidly
listening, do not want this to be interrupted. It may be that they saw
Bartimaeus as someone who should stay at the margins. Whatever the reasons,
attempts are made to quieten him, but without success. I wonder what would make
us shout out to Jesus, and what we would say.
But Jesus is not one to go
with the crowd. He stops. Bartimaeus is called to go to Jesus. Presumably, with
everyone stopping and being able to hear Jesus’ voice, his lack of sight now does
not prevent him from approaching Jesus. He comes to Jesus, and is asked by
Jesus – what do you want me to do for you? I wonder how we would answer
that question.
Bartimaeus may feel that he
is now being asked to state the obvious. There is just one thing he wants, but
he is more than happy to name it. Let me see again. Faith, once again,
comes into play; and Bartimaeus is healed. I wonder what part faith plays in
how we live.
So, Bartimaeus, it would
seem, becomes a disciple as he now follows Jesus on the way.
This encounter describes
Jesus meeting with a blind man but, as Donahue and Harrington (The Gospel of Mark) point out, it – “illustrates a
clear-sighted faith in Jesus the Son of David as the agent of God’s healing
power and the enthusiastic and wholehearted response that he evokes from people
of faith. More important than the restoration of Bartimaeus’ physical sight is
his spiritual insight into the person of Jesus.”
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