Who Is Bartimaeus?

WHO IS BARTIMAEUS? (October 25, 2009)

Text: Mark 10:46 – 52

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)

Who is Bartimaeus? We have his story in Mark 10: 46 – 52, but other than that we really do not know much about him. He was blind, but was he born blind? Or, did he have an illness that caused him to go blind? Consider the story of Olympic Skater, Nancy Kerrigan’s mother. “… When Nancy was just a year old, her mother sustained nerve damage in her eyes from a virus and became legally blind. To watch her daughter perform, Brenda must press her nose against the TV screen and realize the blurred image is her daughter. Nonetheless, Brenda Kerrigan has always been her daughter's greatest fan.” (Raymond McHenry. McHenry’s Quips, Quotes & Other Notes. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004, p. 217). We know from stories like Brenda Kerrigan’s story that she was not born blind but became blind because of a virus she had. We also know that her blindness did not cause her to become a beggar.

Are we not all restless beggars who hunger for God's grace until we find it?

Bartimaeus became a beggar because that was the only way he could make a living.

1) He was at the mercy of both strangers and people who knew him for help.

2) Maybe some people even considered him to be a nuisance.

3) When you consider the way the crowd looked at Bartimaeus, it seems like a logical conclusion to make.

4) Are there times when we might see others the way this crowd saw Bartimaeus?

WHO IS BARTIMAEUS IN THE BIBLE?

How much do we know about him? Like we mentioned earlier, we know that Bartimaeus is blind and that he is a beggar? What else do we know?

1) How do we feel about beggars? Do we look down on them? Do we look at beggars with a “one-size-fits-all” point of view?

2) How often do we find ourselves being suspicious about the authenticity of each beggar’s circumstances?

3) Someone (Warren W. Wiersbe) once said that there are “lazy people who never work but expect others to take care of them”. (Warren W. Wiersbe. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete Old Testament In One Volume. Colorado Springs: 2007, p. 1077). It is one thing to be pseudo-needy, but it altogether another thing to be openly-greedy. Is Bartimaeus one of these so-called “lazy people?”

Not all beggars are alike. Consider this story to illustrate that point. “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!

Did you notice how the crowd in this story responded to Bartimaeus? There were two responses. First, the crowd shunned Bartimaeus. They wanted to exclude Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus had nothing in common with those in the crowd right? Wrong! The crowd that was following Jesus were beggars themselves. They were no different from Bartimaeus because they too, wanted Jesus’s assistance. Are we not all beggars at the feet of Jesus? Then there is the second response. Notice how the opinion and response of the crowd changed when Jesus told the crowd to tell Bartimaeus to come to Him!

Bartimaeus addresses Jesus in way that is different from those in the crowd.

1) Bartimaeus is the only one there who identifies Jesus as the Son of David. As someone (A. K. M. Adam) points out that the Gospel of Mark “… deploys healing stories to underline the contrast between outsiders who see Jesus and insiders who remain blind to [H]is true identity”. (David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor. eds. Feasting On The Word. Volume 4. A. K. M. Adam. “Exegetical Perspective”. Louisville: Westminster: John Knox Press, 2008, p. 215 ).