The Gospel of Mark: Bartimaeus

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. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 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.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 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.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. ~ Mark 10:46-52


The second section of Mark begins and ends with the healing of blindness. In a lot of ways, you could say that Jesus' whole ministry is centered on the healing of blindness. Frequently Jesus says that his disciples (and others) have eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.

He has come to open our eyes.

Open them to God's ways rather than our own.

And in the midst of symbolic blindness, here is a man with physical blindness who sees more clearly than others.

He "sees" Jesus as one who gives mercy. As one who heals. As one teaches.

He saw this in Jesus and is excited enough that he springs to life when he knows Jesus is there. His excitement speaks volumes about his "sight" - as if he is seeing more clearly than those who are closest to Jesus.


Holy God, thank you for the gospel - the good news - of your Son. Open my mind and heart to this good news and enliven me with your Spirit of servanthood that I might share this good news with a world in need. Amen


Engagement Question:


Do you think that our "closeness" to Jesus, or to his church and how his church has always been in our lives, sometimes gets in the way of our truly "seeing" Jesus?

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