The Gospel of Mark – Part 38

Seeing and Following Jesus – Mark 10:46-52

Mosaic Rockford – Dave Spooner – June 7th, 2020

Intro:

The passage we are looking at today is the final passage before Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem and the final healing recorded in the Gospel.  Jesus had been traveling for some time from the northern region of Galilee to the southern region of Jerusalem.  His disciples were with Him and crowds gathered along the way.  Jesus continued to prepare the disciples for what was to come as He continued to teach and minister to the needs of people. They were passing through the town of Jericho, which was about 15 miles Northeast of Jerusalem. As they were leaving that town, Jesus interacted with a man along the way who continually called out to Him. His name was Bartimaeus, and he was blind. In this interaction, we learn some significant things about our need, God’s attention, and the results of faith in Christ. 

The desperate cry for mercy  

Mark 10:46-48 ESV

And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

Jesus and His disciples were continuing to travel on their way to Jerusalem. Along the way, they passed through the countryside, small villages and towns. As they were getting closer to Jerusalem, the towns and the number of people grew. Jericho was a significant city that had been heavily invested in and built up by Herod the Great who had a winter palace there. It was also the home of many of the Levitical priests and people who worked at the temple (hence the parable of the good Samaritan was set on the road to Jericho). A “great crowd” had assembled to see and hear this man Jesus. He continued to have a huge following and the people came to Him from all around. As they were leaving Jericho along the road there was a blind man named Bartimaeus sitting alongside the road begging. We don’t know how old this man was nor how long he had been blind, but at one time he could see because he asked Jesus to “recover” his sight.  For the blind at that time, there were no social services or jobs for them, so in order to survive, they were either provided for by their family, or they begged. Bartimaeus was a beggar. More than likely he and his family had lived in this town for generations, because both Bartimaeus and his Dad where known by name. It is safe to say that His parents were probably dead by now, and no one was interested in being married to a blind man, so Bartimaeus was on his own and dependent upon the mercies of others to survive. Undoubtedly Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus because Jesus was the talk of the town and the nation. Being a busy city with many people coming and going from all over, the news about Jesus hit his ears time and time again. Based upon what he heard, Bartimaeus made up his mind as to who this man Jesus was. He indeed thought He was the Christ because when he called out to Jesus, he used the title for the Messiah, “son of David” (see Isa. 11:1, 1o; Jer. 23:5-6; Ez. 34:23-24) which later on in Mark (12:35), Jesus Himself used in connection with the title “Christ.”  Being blind, it would have been impossible for Bartimaeus to go to Jesus, but when he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was in town and was coming down his road, he “began to cry out.” Because he could not see, he would not know what Jesus looked like or when He was going to come by. So as soon as he heard the news, Bartimaeus started to cry out to Jesus that He would have “mercy” on him. He must have done so over and over and over again so not to miss Him. The crowd of people standing around him were becoming annoyed by his constant crying out