MARK 10:46-52
IN THE GOSPEL STORIES,
JESUS WORKED MANY MIRACLES. THERE ARE ONLY TWO WHERE WE KNOW THE
NAME OF THE PERSON WHO RECEIVED THE MIRACLE; ONE WAS JESUS' FRIEND
LAZARUS, AND THE OTHER WAS THE MAN WE HEAR ABOUT TODAY. BUT DON'T BE
FOOLED; BARTIMAEUS MEANS “SON OF TIMAEUS”, SO MARK WHO IS WRITING
IN GREEK IS TRANSLATING THE HEBREW NAME FOR HIS READERS. SO WE DON'T
REALLY KNOW HIS NAME AFTER ALL, JUST THE NAME OF HIS FATHER, AND
MAYBE NOT EVEN THAT. THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER INTERESTING THINGS IN
THIS STORY, THINGS TYPICAL OF MARK, WHO LIKES TO WRITE ON MANY
DIFFERENT LEVELS. TIMAEUS IS A GREEK WORD MEANING “LUCKY” OR
“FAVORED.” IT IS ALSO AN ARAMAIC WORD MEANING “CURSED.”
MARK, WHO KNEW BOTH LANGUAGES, MIGHT HAVE KNOWN THIS, BUT I DON'T
THINK HIS READERS WOULD HAVE. BUT THEY MIGHT HAVE SEEN THE IRONY IN
CALLING A BLIND BEGGAR “SON OF FAVOR” OR “SON OF GOOD LUCK.”
DO YOU REMEMBER THE OTHER
STORY FROM MARK ABOUT HEALING A BLIND MAN, THE STORY WE HEARD JUST
ABOUT FIVE WEEKS AGO. THE FIRST BLIND MAN NEVER SPEAKS; BARTIMAEUS
CRIES OUT. THE FIRST MAN IS BROUGHT TO JESUS BY OTHER PEOPLE; THE
CROWDS TRY TO SILENCE BARTIMAEUS AND KEEP HIM FROM JESUS. JESUS
TAKES THE FIRST BLIND MAN OUTSIDE THE VILLAGE, ALONE. BARTIMAEUS IS
COMES TO JESUS IN THE MIDDLE OF A CROWD. JESUS HEALS THE FIRST BLIND
MAN BY MAKING MUD AND PUTTING IT ON HIS EYES; AND REMEMBER HOW AT
FIRST THE MAN COULD SEE PEOPLE, BUT THEY LOOKED LIKE TREES? HE
NEEDED A SECOND TREATMENT. BARTIMAEUS IS HEALED WITHOUT ANY SORT OF
TOUCH. THE FIRST BLIND MAN IS SENT HOME, AND TOLD NOT TO GO BACK TO
THE VILLAGE, WHERE APPARENTLY HIS FRIENDS MIGHT BE WAITING.
BARTIMAEUS IS ALLOWED TO FOLLOW JESUS. NOW YOU AND I DON'T THINK
LIKE THE PEOPLE WHO FIRST HEARD THIS GOSPEL READ. THEY WOULD HAVE
HEARD A VERY LONG SEGMENT, OR PERHAPS THE WHOLE THING WOULD HAVE BEEN
READ. THEY ALSO HAD MUCH BETTER MEMORIES FOR DETAILS THAN WE DO, AND
THEY WERE MOSTLY ILLITERATE. THEY WOULD HAVE REALLY WONDERED ABOUT
THESE TWO STORIES, AND THE VASTLY DIFFERENT WAYS THAT JESUS
INTERACTED WITH THE TWO BLIND MEN.
DO YOU SEE A REASON JESUS
MIGHT HAVE TREATED THEM DIFFERENTLY? AGAIN, BIBLE SCHOLARS WHO HAVE
GIVEN THIS SOME THOUGHT NOTICE THAT BARTIMAEUS (WE'LL CALL HIM THAT,
EVEN THOUGH WE DON'T REALLY KNOW HIS NAME) DOES TWO THINGS. FIRST,
HE CALLS JESUS “SON OF DAVID”. IN OTHER WORDS, EVEN THOUGH HE IS
BLIND AND POOR AND LIVING AT THE VERY EDGE OF SOCIETY, HE SEES WHAT
NO ONE ELSE SEES, THAT JESUS IS THE PROMISED MESSIAH. HE PROCLAIMS
THIS TRUTH, WHEREAS THOSE WHO CAN SEE HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE. THE SECOND
THING THAT HAPPENS IS THAT BARTIMAEUS THROWS OFF HIS CLOAK AND RUNS
TO JESUS. THROWING OFF HIS CLOAK HAS IMPLICATIONS. THE CLOAK OF A
BLIND BEGGAR MIGHT BE THE ONLY PIECE OF CLOTHING HE HAS; HE SLEEPS IN
IT, HE KEEPS HIMSELF WARM WITH IT, AND HE PROBABLY LAYS IT IN FRONT
OF HIM WHEN HE IS BEGGING SO THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE MOVED TO HELP HIM
OUT HAVE A PLACE TO TOSS A COIN OR TWO. IN OTHER WORDS, THE CLOAK IS
HIS LIFE, IT IS HIS SECURITY, IT IS THE WAY HE MAKES A LIVING. BUT
HE THROWS OFF HIS CLOAK TO RUN TO JESUS.
BARTIMAEUS, THE BLIND
BEGGAR, THE SON OF FAVOR, HAS NOTHING TO LOSE. PEOPLE MAY TELL HIM
TO BE QUIET, AND TRY TO KEEP HIM AWAY FROM JESUS, BUT ANYTHING IS
BETTER THAN THE LIFE HE IS LIVING. HE LETS EVERYONE KNOW WHAT HE
KNOWS – THAT JESUS IS LORD; AND HE DOESN'T WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW, OR
WHERE HIS NEXT MEAL IS COMING FROM; HE IS SINGLE-MINDED AND
SINGLE-PURPOSED – IF HE CAN MAKE IT TO JESUS, THEN ALL WILL BE
WELL.
I THINK MARK MEANS FOR US
TO SEE OURSELVES ON BARTIMAEUS. THE PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS IN ROME,
THOSE FOR WHOM MARK WAS WRITING, WERE CONSTANTLY TEMPTED TO KEEP
QUIET ABOUT THEIR FAITH. THERE WERE MANY WHO CONVERTED, BUT WHEN
FACED WITH A CHOICE BETWEEN WORSHIPING THE EMPEROR AND BEING THROWN
TO THE LIONS, WOULD OFTEN EMBRACE THE OLD PAGANISM THAT THEY HAD LEFT
BEHIND. DESPITE HAVING BECOME CHRISTIANS, MARK SEES THAT THEY ARE
STILL BLIND, STILL NOT FULLY COMMITTED TO THEIR NEW FAITH AND TO
THEIR SAVIOR.
THE FIRST BLIND MAN IS
PASSIVE, AND MARK TELLS HIS STORY TO SHOW JESUS' POWER, BUT ALSO TO
REMIND HIS READERS THAT JESUS ANSWERS PRAYERS, AND AT THE SAME TIME,
OFTEN WORKS IN SECRET. WITH THE FIRST BLIND MAN, HE IS NOT YET READY
TO PROCLAIM HIS TRUE NATURE AS MESSIAH. THE SECOND BLIND MAN, ON THE
OTHER HAND, COMES FORWARD AS JESUS IS GOING DOWN TO JERUSALEM TO
SUFFER AND DIE. AND HE, PITIED AND SCORNED BY EVERYONE, IS REALLY
THE SON OF FAVOR, THE SON OF GOOD LUCK. BECAUSE HE PROCLAIMS CHRIST,
BECAUSE HE THROWS CAUTION TO THE WINDS, TURNS HIS BACK ON HIS LIFE TO
GO TO JESUS, HE IS GIVEN HIS SIGHT.
YOU AND I HAVE A LOT IN
COMMON WITH THOSE EARLY CHRISTIANS IN ROME. WE LET OURSELVES BE
CONTROLLED BY OUR NEED FOR SECURITY. WE DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING
THAT MIGHT RISK WHAT WE HAVE. WE ESPECIALLY DON'T WANT TO PROCLAIM
CHRIST AND RISK RIDICULE. SO WE MAKE EXCUSES, WE PROMISE OURSELVES
THAT WE WILL LIVE GOOD LIVES, THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH. AND WHEN THE
CHURCH CALLS US TO BE COUNTERCULTURAL, TO BE DIFFERENT FROM THE
PREVAILING SOCIETY, WE DON'T LISTEN. WE'RE NOT SURE WE EVEN AGREE
WITH THE CHURCH ON THAT SUBJECT. ISN'T IT BETTER TO BLEND IN, TO NOT
THREATEN ANYONE WITH OUR PRIVATE BELIEFS? ISN'T IT BETTER TO JUST GO
ON DOING OUR JOB, MAKING OUR LIVING, BUILDING UP OUR ESTATE, LIKE
EVERYONE ELSE? BELIEVE ME, THOSE THOUGHTS GO THROUGH MY HEAD. YOU
AND I CAN JUSTIFY ABOUT ANY POSITION WE WANT TO.
BUT HERE IS A MAN, A SON
OF FAVOR, WHO BOLDLY PROCLAIMS CHRIST AND THROWS OFF HIS SECURITY TO
FOLLOW HIM. AND HE IS THE ONE WHO GETS HIS PRAYER ANSWERED.
