Mark 10:46-52 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).
OUTCAST BUT NOT OUTSPOKEN
Text: Mark 10:46 – 52
Have you ever been in a crowd and you still felt lonely? Have you ever been rejected because you were not like anyone else in the crowd? Have you ever felt rejected so badly for so long that you were desperate enough to get aggressive to get attention?
“A man was walking along the street late one evening when he was approached by a beggar. "Can you please help me?" the man asked. "Would you give some money for some food to a poor man? I don't have a possession to my name, except this gun that's in my hand." ” (Steve May. The Story File. “Persuasion”. Peabody Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, p. 238). You talk about an offer that cannot be refused!
Bartimaeus was blind and he was desperate because he was a blind beggar. He was bold enough to pursue the only One who could heal him---Jesus Christ. He might have been an outcast, but he refused not to be heard because he was eager and desperate to pursue Jesus.
THE WAY THE CROWD SAW BARTIMAEUS
How did the crowd see Bartimaeus? The crowd seemed to be repulsed by Bartimaeus. They seemed to think of him as a nuisance. By their actions of ignoring him in the beginning of this recorded episode, we can draw the conclusion that this was the way that they usually treated him---ignoring him. To them is was the same old beggar and the same old begging. They treated him as a squeaky wheel that was begging for grease as they passed on by on the other side of his misery. They probably thought of him as a parasite---feeding off the wages of their hard-earned money. In short, they seemed to see him as a problem rather than a person.
What did the crowd do when Bartimaeus voiced his desire to be healed? They told him to get quiet, but why? Numerous reasons have been suggested.
1.Perhaps, they thought that Jesus would see Bartimaeus the same way that they did---a blood-sucking-freeloading nuisance.
2. A second reason might be Satanic interference. It has been said that Charles Spurgeon viewed the actions of the crowd as being motivated by the Devil himself. Spurgeon likened him to having a castle by the gate of mercy. At that gate is a big dog that barks at all who come knocking at the gate. In his own words, Spurgeon put it this way : “Whenever a sinner gets to mercy’s gate and begins knocking, that noise is heard in hell, and straightway the devil endeavors to drive the poor wretch away from the gate of hope”. (Richard Carl Hoefler. There Are Demons In The Sea: Background On The Miracles. [ Spurgeon To Meyer 1834 – 1929, Twenty Centuries Of Great Preaching. Waco: Texas: Word Book Publishers, 1971, p. 54 ] Lima: C.S.S. Publishing Company, Inc, 1978, p. 201). Satan is always looking for a way to interfere and people who will act as his agents of interference.
3. A third reason that has been speculated as to why the crowd silenced Bartimaeus was fear ---fear that Bartimaeus’s calling Jesus the way he did might cause tension with Roman authorities. Why? The reason why is because Bartimaeus calling Jesus, “Son of David” was the equivalent of “…hailing Jesus as the Messianic King of the Jews” (Hoefler, p. 201). Bartimaeus called not once, but twice because he wanted to heard and healed.
4. A fourth reason that the crowd might have tried to silence Bartimaeus has been suggested that “… his yelling was out of harmony with the person being addressed” (Hoefler, p. 203). The crowd was a lot like Jesus’s disciples at times. How? They were a lot Jesus’s disciples when they wanted to send away children (Mark 10:13 –16), the hungry crowd of five thousand people (Mark 6: 35 –44) and people like the Syrophonician woman whose daughter was ill (Mark 7:24 –30) because they seemed to think it was not worth their Master’s time. Although we might not like to admit it, we are sometimes like----- thinking that those Jesus would welcome are beneath the dignity of the church!
How do people respond to the handicaps of others today? Consider the observation that was made by the person in this next story. “A reporter decided to try an experiment in human relations. He feigned [faked] being disabled, spent two weeks in a wheelchair, and then wrote about his experiences as a handicapped person. The reporter was crushed by the cruelty and insensitivity of his fellow citizens. Many ignored him as though he did not exist, but somehow he could understand that attitude. What demoralized him most was the unbelievable number of passers-by who went out of their way to express their disgust over his condition by downright crude remarks and other rudeness”. (Earl. R. Allen. The Great “I Ams” Of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989, p. 71). That must have been how blind Bartimaeus felt about the way those who passed him by treated him.
THE WAY BARTIMAEUS SAW HIMSELF
How did Bartimaeus seem to see himself as a blind beggar? He knows what he wants and he is determined to get it. He also knows that “his options were limited and his alternatives few” (Douglas E. Wingeier. Ed. Keeping Holy Time. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002, p. 343). Bartimaeus saw himself at the mercy of other people who saw him as a nuisance. He could not depend on people much because he knew that his condition of blindness imprisoned him into becoming a professional beggar. Bartimaeus truly did not have much to lose. Probably the only friends that Bartimaeus may have had as friends if he had any was fellow blind beggars. As the saying goes, “Misery loves company”.
Bartimaeus knew that he wanted to be healed. His life was not going any where. He lived from day to day. Every day for him was not much of a life to look forward to because every day was the same. Go where the crowd is, find a strategic spot and beg to make a living. “In upstate New York, where the roads are long and sometimes a little rough, a sign reads, "Choose your rut carefully; you'll be in it for the next ten miles." (Steve May. The Story File. “Choose Your Rut Carefully”. Peabody Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, p. 91). It is not clear whether or not Bartimaeus was born blind or not. But, it is very clear that he was living in a rut. It is more than obvious that Bartimaeus had gotten tired of being stuck in a rut. That is what his life was---not a temporary rut but a never ending rut. He knew what he wanted. He wanted to be healed. How many people have you known or do you know who want to be delivered from the rut in their lives?
THE WAY THAT JESUS SAW BARTIMAEUS
How did Jesus see Bartimaeus? Jesus saw Bartimaeus as one of the poor, blind, bruised people that He came to heal by giving him liberty and the recovery of sight (Luke 4:18). Jesus saw him as a sheep who was without a shepherd (Matthew 9:37). Jesus saw him as a person in need of deliverance, healing and salvation and not as a problem or a blood-sucking-freeloading nuisance. Jesus saw him as a person whose life was stuck in a rut and helped him get back on the road. Jesus saw him as empty, lost and lonely and came to heal him, and give him life more abundantly (John 10:10).
Jesus also saw him as the disciples that he would become. Someone (Jerry L. Schmalenberger) has said that there are three stages of discipleship. He said, “It begins with our need, continues with our gratitude, and is completed by unswerving loyalty. ...Our faith is not practiced like a “basehugger” in a game of hide and seek” . (Jerry L. Schmalenberger. The Miracles Of Jesus And Their Flip Side. Lima: C.S.S. Publishing Company, 2000, p. 70). Jesus knows our need even before we ask. Like Bartimaeus, Jesus heals us, forgives us, reconciles us and saves us not so we can sit on the outside or on the sideline. Jesus delivers us to grow closer in our walk with Him. Jesus delivers us to go and make disciples of other nations. Jesus heard Bartimaeus’ prayer despite the crowd’s desire to silence him. Jesus called Bartimaeus, and he came forward throwing off his cloak. His cloak was his beggar’s clothes. When Jesus called him he came forward and received the clothes of God’s grace. Are we living up to our calling with our “continuing gratitude, unswerving loyalty” and daily discipleship in the great commission to go and make disciples? Bartimaeus was outspoken because he wanted to be delivered. Are we outspoken in our witness as Christian disciples in our calling to go and make disciples? Or are we like the crowd that tried to silence Bartimaeus?
