Stories in the Bible are often far richer than they first appear. Take this brief episode from Mark 10:46-52. One day Jesus is leaving Jericho, accompanied by a large crowd. We are told that “Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.”
I present this reflection as a small sample or demo of meditating on gospel narratives. No doubt, the original story as told by Peter or by Bartimaeus himself was much longer. This is a condensed version of it, for the sake of keeping the size of this gospel manageable (no doubt, had it happened among us today, an entire book would have been published on Bartimaeus’s healing). Many gospel stories are like instant coffee or milk powder. To use them, you must add water. In this case, that ‘water’ is imagination. Ignatius, the 16th-century founder of the Jesuits, got this right when he made this kind of imaginative meditation central to the spirituality of his order. See also here.
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A blind beggar. Considering that Scripture is, among other things, a mirror, a question suggests itself: Aren’t we all blind beggars?
I notice that Bartimaeus does not have a name. Bartimaeus is Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus and many Jews of his time. It simply means son of Timaeus. The omission is telling. Bartimaeus is known as his father’s son, not as his own person. The reason may well be that he is considered a burden to his father. As a blind person, he continues to be dependent on others, in this case, his parents. Everyone in town knew this, and this, therefore, was his identity: the son of Timaeus.
The father’s name, by the way, is derived from the Greek verb for to honor, timao. It means honorable or honored one. There is perhaps a bitter touch of irony here. What is the honor in being the father of a blind beggar?
Somehow, Bartimaeus becomes aware that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. Maybe the crowd and its noise tips him off that something unusual is going on and he asked to find out.
He must have heard of Jesus before, as someone who performs miracles and heals even blind people. Because Bartimaeus starts crying out to Jesus: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
He must have understood that, in all likelihood, this is his only chance to ever get close to Jesus. He has one shot – and he knows it. And he is right: Jesus never walked this road again.
The shouting must have been annoying. We are told that many rebuke him. There is a fascinating play on words here in the Greek text. Timao is the Greek verb for honoring. The verb used here for rebuke is epitimao. By adding a preposition, epi, the meaning of the verb is turned into what is almost its opposite: Bartimaeus is rebuked instead of honored.
But this is no time to hold back. Again, it is his only chance. If anything, this fortifies Bartimaeus. He cries out even more.
And Jesus pays attention. He stops and has Bartimaeus brought to him. When the messengers come to him and tell him this, we get to see his eagerness. Bartimaeus throws off his cloak and springs up. He is ready. Bartimaeus is not going to miss his chance.
As he comes to Jesus, he is asked: “What do you want me to do for you?”
How is Bartimaeus going to answer that question? Lord, improve my hearing? Lord, fill my bowl?
Of course, it is thinkable that he would have asked for something different. Besides, if Jesus heals him, his life is going to be radically changed; is he ready for that? Does he really want that? Perhaps Jesus is also testing his faith.
So, Jesus asking for the obvious does make sense.
However, there is a touch of humor here, and Mark hints at it in the way he tells the story. After Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” The text continues, “And the blind man said to him…” The blind man! Surely Jesus could see that too.
Yet, he asks, and Bartimaeus does not hesitate to respond: “Rabbi, that I may regain my sight”.
The story concludes with something that is easy to miss. Before Jesus pronounces healing, he tells Bartimaeus, “Go your way”, in Greek this is a single word: “Go”. Jesus puts no demand or expectation on him; once healed, he is free to go.
But Bartimaeus does not return to where he was before. He does not go home. It appears he does not even go back to pick up his cloak.
Instead, we are told: “And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him [Jesus] on the way.
He followed Jesus on the way. Might that be the application, the implicit point of the story? That the reader or listener should also follow Jesus on the way?
If we follow, it is Jesus who leads. He sets the direction and knows the way and its destination. Our part is to stay close to him and follow.
Mark may be giving us an image of life after salvation. It may be his subtle definition of discipleship: to follow Jesus on the way.
So, let’s go. Cry out if you don’t know where he is; he will find you. Respond to his call and leave the old behind. Go and follow him!
Attribution
Photo: my own, of a drawing by Kees de Kort. Plus, Pixabay.
References
Unless indicated differently, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.